Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Price of hunting apparel and gear

Since everyone is griping about the prices of everything, I’d like to gripe about the cost of hunting clothing and gear. I’ve been looking for a new waterfowl jacket or shell and the prices on some of this stuff is insane. $400 for a waterproof shell jacket and $300 for a liner (Sitka)! I’m not sure how we got to the point that average folks are perfectly acceptable paying that much for a jacket. There has always been the high end gear but it was generally not well represented in the field but I see lots of it in the field now. Then you have smaller companies trying to break into the market by pricing themselves in the same bracket, which is an odd strategy to me. Appears some apparel manufacturers think the higher you price it the better it will appear to be to consumers. I guess I’m too cheap and behind the times

buy during off season clearance sales. Save 50 per cent

I saw the same thing yesterday. A half whimp camo jacket is $100 . I rufuse to pay it . Made in China anyway. I went to Walmart and got a Wrangler Jacket, it is dark green colored. I went home and took my 1/2" magic marker and drew all kinds of black lines in it. It was $34. Instead of camo pants, I bought the dark green pants and drewsome black lines on it. Shot quite a few deer wearing it already.

No.. No.. I am not ok with paying 3-4 hundo for a fancy piece of camo... a Carhart jacket will do just fine.

I will however, spend money on boots.

I can see if you hunt for a living paying that much for gear,but for us weekend warriors or average guys,no thanks.
I'm in the same boat for hunting boots,Crispi's 400,Kenetreks-4-500,
everything is junk chinkernese stuff,except the 4-500 dollar things.

You would need to buy the expensive stuff to LOOK like you been hunting. But not to actually go hunting.

I see them here all the time at the only convenience store/gas station in out little town, they come up from the city. All dressed up in their fancy 3-400$ pants and shirts and then see them out driving the roads. While I still wear blue jeans and my 30 year old wall mart camo shirts. Some of them look like hunters spandex.

You should see it out west. Its turned into a fashion show. Guys walking around in a $600 Sitka or Kuiu outfit, $500 matching backpack...

Outstanding…😂

In some climates/areas you don’t need to spend much money on hunting clothing. Other areas it’s a bit more important and can really improve the quality of your hunt/experience.

$22 wrangler hiking pants from Walmart.

Try the sales at midway now too. decent stuff for the money


https://www.midwayusa.com/clothing/...s=Sale&Discounts+and+Deals=Clearance

SKRe and plythal on sale is decent stuff for the money. check camofire

I’ll spend good money on boots for mountain hunting. And I have an old set of Cabelas rain gear that was a couple hundred, and worth every penny. I’ll only hunt in the rain in Alaska.
Other than that I buy on sale and at a fraction of retail, or I won’t buy it. No way in hell I’m spending $500-1000 for a pants, jacket, and vest of Sitka gear or other “trendy” hunting clothes. If some guys want to do it, it’s their money.

I've seen quite a few who resemble that remark here in KO as well. I'm still using leftover gear from my Military days, and cheap Cabela's, BP, or SW gear. However, I have a couple of buddies who are heavily invested in Kuiu gear.

Honestly I think they are far more comfortable than I am on late season hunts, as in warmer and carrying less weight. Their gear takes up ½-⅓ the room my gear takes up. You could go to REI and probably pick up similar gear in solid colors, but I'm not sure you'd save a whole lot.

I also think it's ridiculous what what Kuiu, Sitka, First Lite, and other cost. I do also think I'd heavily invest in that clothing if I did more remote area hunting. I guess it's no worse than investing heavily in Sent Lok clothing.

You may be surprised to learn how much credit card debt your peers are carrying.

And just how much of that overpriced crap is made in Communist China?? Too much, and I won't pay for that schitt.

Best (as far as camo) Camo jacket I ever had was a faded army olive-drab that I drew black splotches on with a permanent marker. The marker cost almost as much as the jacket, IIRC.

Rain gear? Olive HH does just fine, for under $100 I think. (It's been years since Iv'e had to buy any new). I've never had a set of "breathable" crap that actually worked as advertised in heavy rain, wind, or going through brush. though it might be a tad quieter (I've still-hunted wet on purpose a few times). And the "breathable" generally was "waterproof" for only about 3 days, unless one is sitting in a covered blind or protected tree-stand. With moderate to heavy exercise, you are wet inside anyway, either kind. Might as well be warm and wet as cold and wet. One kind will definately keep all the outside water outside, the other not so much. The breathable works well in mist or below freezing temps with snow falling, and that's about it.

You can buy high end guns, and ammo/ bullets for 2-10 times the price of stuff that works at the business just as well. Paying for fluff, often enough. The only "not previously owned" gun I have is the Savage/Fox SS in 12 ga. I've got less than $150 (take-off .260 barrel, bedding epoxy,) into the Rem 725, which was given to me in bad condition, off a wrecked Eskimo sled out in the boonies. It works fine to 400 yards, as long as I shoot 140 gr. bullets, mostly Corelokts.

The $400 Walmarty cheap-ass, POS Rem 770 I acquired has sufficient accuracy (1-1.25 MOA) with factory ammo ( 150 Corelokt) that it killed dead and dead two bull caribou, both 300-400 yards, back in August. I'll have to look at why it badly stubs the noses of Corelokts 180's on feeding and see if I can change that. Or not use them, maybe, if it makes a difference in accuracy.

Get 'er done! Whatever works.

SItka is made in China.

It all comes down to what guys want to spend. I killed my biggest whitetail in a pair of blue jeans and an olive green hoodie, walking out of my stand and got lucky to intercept deer on way to water.

I have a few pieces of high end gear,I.e.. gloves, and some decent merino base layers but other than I that it still cheap solid color pants from outlet stores and such. It’s no different than what was said earlier in post, how much do you suppose guys have in high end rifles, and other gear that works as well as the guys shooting savage axis or Ruger Americans. If you have the money to play all the more power to you.

Sounds gay, but I always thought one of those collapsible umbrellas would be a smart move for at least getting shelter out of the rain. If I wasn't scared of getting zapped by lightning, I would have tried it by now. Especially in the mountains where a storm rolls over the hill, you could get under a tree, have a snack under your umbrella and wait it out.