Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Staying Warm???

In bitter cold weather (WI, not NC), hunting out of a treestand, and depending on the gates that are open have a long vs. loooooong hike to get in, I dress light and pack in my heavy stuff. But feet... I've yet to figure out feet. If it wasn't such a bitch to pack in and then change into heavier dry socks/boots once out there, would do it. Never had a hike-able pair of boots keep me warm after sweated up, then standing still on a thermoconductive metal grate for ten hours. Question if it's possible! Tried carpet, boot blankets, fancy insoles, chemical warmers, various boots/sizes/socks.... Never tried the electronic stuff, guess that's next.

Rule one and only REMOVE ALL COTTON FROM YOUR BODY !! ZERO 50/50 BLENDS AND SO ON !! Cotton holds the sweat and the evaporation process cools you..
I bet you had a tee shirt on.. ???

We may sit for an hour or several and then move and do it again. Open, rocky country. We have set up a blind with propane on particularly nasty days. A permanent blind looks better every year. We generally spot the elk and then decide how to handle them. We have never shot from where we spot.

Merino wool or synthetic base layer.

Under Armor sweatshirt.

Wool or down jacket.

Wear a [bleep] hat.

You will not get cold. Promise.


Travis

Not just a hat, a WARM one. It never ceases to amaze me to see dumbazzes wearing ballcaps in sub freezing weather complaining of the cold.

Have not been froze out yet while in a tree stand during Wisconsin's gun deer season or subsequent muzzleloader season.

I wear what I do during ice fishing.

Polypro and merino wool base layer. 60/40 hunting pants, Woolrich wool shirt, Cabela's Thinsulate bibs, Cabela's Primaloft Passage Jacket and GoreTex rain parka.

Feet - polypro, merino wool sock plus the Rocky 400 Thinsulate sock. LaCrosse Iceman boot with 9mm felt liner. The boot is one size larger than normal. That Rocky sock really made a difference.

Cap - Cabela's GoreTex/Thinsulate with ear flaps.

Hands - polypro gloves inside a fleece lined thumb and trigger finger deerskin mitten.

I have a Ducks Unlimited Fudd special. I can go flaps up or down depending on need.

That^^^^^^
Remember the old saying "WHEN YOUR FEET GET COLD, PUT YOUR HAT ON".

W Bill

Or as Flave would say "When your feet get cold, Put your [bleep] hat on".

W. Bill

Well, the wind is your enemy. You have to wear stuff that cuts all the wind or you'll get cold. Learn to use a wind-breaking coat with a hood to vent quickly and warm back up when needed.

Then vests layered underneath. Don't put lots of layers on your arms, or else when you bend your elbows you'll crimp the blood supply and make your hands get cold.

Really warm hat, and learn to use a hood as your venting system.

Boots have to be larger than normal, no constrictions of any kind. Thinsulate insulated. Wool socks with a synthetic liner.

Mittens are warmer than gloves, but a handwarmer muff is better than both. Keep your arms straighter and looser if possible to keep the blood flowing.

A fleece neck gaiter is a handy venting mechanism too. And a facemask to get the wind off your face, but make sure it has a hole for your nose and mouth both.

Mostly, get outside often and you'll get acclimated no matter how cold it gets. It hit zero today and felt relatively warm!

And everyone's personal thermostat is different.

I never get a cold torso because I keep that area warm, fingers, toes and exposed face always gets the coldest.

Keep your chest area warm and generally the extremities will okay until it gets really cold.

Hardest part is averaging out activity and sweating or sitting and freezing your ass. I wouldn't be able to sit still(hunting) in really cold weather.


Nothing $750 worth of work clothes won't do!


These should show up tomorrow. Christmas present to myself.

For sure.

I wear a ballcap and headband and possibly a hood.

Good from -20F on up. Basically all the time.

No hood, thus no ball cap here in a real cold wind.

For me an insulated ball-type cap and a hood. The hood if necessary for the (ever present) wind, cold wind on the back of my neck chills me faster than about anything. I don't draw down the hood so I can still hear, the windbreak effect is what does the trick. When even colder I have this Cabella's insulated cap with an attached knit face mask. Looks pure stupid but it works, and I can roll the face mask part up over the bill if I want just a cap.

With regard to hat's I have three that I use as needed. My orange ball cap if I'm not wearing on my head is attached to the back of my pack to provide a little more orange. Otherwise if depending on temp, humidity and wind could be either a fleece watch type hat or my favorite which is an eddie bauer down baseball type hat with ear flaps.

Another thing with the heavy duty pack type boots I've noticed is that if they are too snug for heavy socks comfortably, your better off wearing a thinner sock and your feet will be warmer.

Carhartt coat, Carhartt bibs, wool sweater, wool railroad cap, silk wild rag, Muck boot Arctic sports.

If it's above about 15-20, no wool sweater and replace the railroad cap with a ballcap.

I just live in Oklahoma. 36 tonight and 62 degrees forecast for tomorrow.

Just be patient . . . it changes on a daily basis. Cheaper than buying a wardrobe!