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.

Those $20 Wrangler hiking pants have been a very nice surprise. They're the best way I know to keep a constantly growing boy in non-cotton outdoor activity pants. I resisted for a long time but finally sprung for Kuiu raingear; even the sale price made me angry but it's worked well so far.

Some of the best hunting clothes I've spent money on is this stuff; durable, warm, and quiet: https://asbellwool.com/

If you don't need camo you can find great deals on top shelf mountaineering and ski gear in the spring from the outlets like Sierra Trading Post. If you play hard outdoors in all weather modern gear greatly enhances your pleasure and safety. Lightweight, stretchy and very tough is the hallmark of good alpine gear built for hard use in the roughest conditions.


mike r

My hunting comfort has vastly improved with some of that fancy gear. What doesn’t work gets quickly culled.

I’m not comfortable in the rain regardless of what I’m wearing. Call me soft but unless I get caught out in it I’m not willingly going out in anything moderate or heavier rainfall. Thinking an old PVC camo rain jacket to wear for boat rides and when it gets really nasty over my normal water resistant outer layers is the more sensible route. My favorite coat is an Under Armour hoodie, that thing is lightweight and warm for its size but they no longer make it as they got out of waterfowl gear. I have a Columbia Widgeon shell that leaks like a sieve even after waterproofing so it’s going back but they don’t even seem to offer much for hunting anymore so who know what they would replace with.

I can definitely see the benefit of the higher end stuff for mountain or backpack hunting but I do neither of those.

Where/when I grew up in the 60's early 70's you wore old clothes to hunt in period. Buddies brother brought me an army jacket liner home from Germany where he was stationed. I thought I died and went to heaven.

Brown flannel lined pants from Costco are usually $19.99, down vests on sale for $14.99 and the jackets for $19.99.

They are so light that they are perfect for layering under any old light camo shirt/jack that you might have laying around.

Boots is where I don't mind spending a little $$$ though.

Sitka has always been priced at the top end & it's good stuff if what they have suits your needs...................kinda buy once, cry once. It doesn't suit my need very well in most cases.

But there's plenty of other decent stuff from all kinds of manufacturers at decent prices, today, if you look hard.

Just depends what your goals & expectations are.

I bought KOM & Sleeping Indian wool stuff 20 years ago, it only gets worn hunting & it will last another 20 years. Cheap, no............great product with long life, yes.

Friend of mine, a guy I worked with for a few years, started Scent-Lok.................he made a few bucks since starting that business.

MM

Used to love the hunting spammers on Outdoor Channel in full disappearance mode climbing into a dark blind, that cost as much as a used Mustang I bought at 19. Guess that was in case a critter crawled into the blind it wouldn’t see them.

EBay is my friend. Bought most of my hunting clothes there. No complaints yet.

By about day 5 of an early oct SE moose hunt you’d pay about anything for clothes that work…grin. For what we’d do your money is better spent on clothing than on rifles IMO.

What's the saying? There's no bad weather, only bad clothing choices.....

Now, I'd look like a commercial wearing Sitka in the woods I hunt.

I'll probably be wearing Carhartt during the ice storm this week.

^^^This^^^

Midway always has some great sales after hunting season.

I don't wear any super expensive gear and 25 below (and colder) along with wind is pretty common. I think the most expensive outer gear I have is a quiet, soft shell gore-tex from Cabelas. Quite often when it is nasty I am wearing a German Army Gore Tex surplus bibs and a shell as an outer layer. My expedition style Outdoor Research gloves are not cheap but they are not grossly expensive either. Keeping hands warm is a priority in my mind.




There is no reason (in my opinion ) to spend 500-600 on a big name camo. Elk and deer don't know Coolio camo from German Flectarn . But If a guy wants to spend his money on it, then that is their business. My Scottish heritage runs too deep. I watched a guy rip one of those jackets in a small town gas station in Idaho. He snagged it on something (on the display) walking by and it ripped. It tore open and from what I could tell it appeared to be pretty darn thin. I will stick with my military surplus polarfleece and Goretex

Get on this website's email distro list for Sitka close-outs, https://mountain-archery.com/sitka-gear-clothing.aspx.

I've bought several Sitka gear products at 50% off from these guys. I'm by nature rather skeptical, but having bought and worn Sitka brand technical clothing, it's good stuff. I'm still too cheap to pay MSRP, but when these guys run sales, that's when to buy.


https://mountain-archery.com/sitka-gear-sale-and-closeouts.aspx

If you do, please dont be offended if I see you and break out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. But on the other hand you may have a great idea there (the camo parasol) to sell to all the spandex hunter types, you might become a multi millionaire..
To sell it would have to be made of graphite and spandex, and cost about 5 times as much as a regular parasol.

Sitka has ya' covered there too. It's actually a pretty nice tarp.

Sitka Gear Flash Shelter

BDUs.

fine in Sept bow hunts

Nothing like a bunch of losers whining about stuff they can’t afford. Who cares what someone else wears anyway?

Just like the macho hunters that brag about how nasty the hike was to get where they elk hunt and then say they wouldn’t shoot anything in that thick stuff.

Do you go to Rodeo Drive and throw rocks at all the rich people driving expensive cars too?

I also have the German flectarn army surplus camo. Got it from Sportsman’s Guide for cheap years ago. Hooded coat with removable liner and suspender coverall pants. I did eventually replace the zipper with a heavy duty YKK zipper on the jacket liner. I wear the liner more than anything, makes a great insulating layer and has a turtle neck that goes up to your nose.

They do a great job. I don't get a chance to use one regularly, but I've camped out under one on several occasions. It is amazing how bad it can get and I stay dry.

I've got a tower blind that is open to the sky-- no roof. I mounted a 2X2 to one of the posts and drilled a hole for one. I took 2.5 hours of graupel/snow/rain sitting under the umbrella and only got wet from the knees down. When the weather lifted, a nice fat doe walked out.

Not necessary, but it does make you more comfortable which in turn helps you hunt harder. Under armour style underwear and long sleeve t-shirts make a difference for any hunt. Breathable waders vs neoprene is no contest.

All funny however in light of the girl child's pink rainbow and unicorn hunting pack and purple flower rubber boots. She really helps stock the freezer, though.

With many of the old major players getting out of waterfowl clothing (Columbia, Herters, Cabelas, etc) what tends to be left is crap that is semi-waterproof or way thicker/heavier than it needs to be. Personally I prefer to layer rather than a big bulky jacket. I have no issues with someone spending $1000 on a pair or waders or $700 on a waterfowl jacket system, it's their money and if they think it's justified I'll just have to disagree based on my use. There should be other options that are reasonably priced cosnidering most of it is made overseas with cheap labor. As for being able to afford, well I could easily afford that gear and many other things that are not practical for my use. Fiscal responsiblity seems to be a lost concept to a lot or Americans these days....we buy things we can't afford, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like....keeping up with the Joneses and all

It’s all relative. I don’t hardly ever wear camo but have started wearing better clothes hunting, but not the hunting specific brands.

It is funny to watch people bitch about the price of this or that, but have 10 redundant rifles, drive an $80,000 truck, etc.

We all place importance on different things.

One time I tried bowhunting like that. I learned real fast that shorts and sagebrush don't mix. It took me 30 min to have my legs scratched up and I spent the rest of the day with my legs burning from sweat running into the scratches.

I'm sorry.

😜😁

That's why ya' carry gaiters.

Attaboy

Bodies like this is why clothing needs to be worn. Maybe you don’t think so, but anyone seeing you would agree.

Gore owns Sitka. Since the patent on Goretex expired they have to make up money somehow. Glorified polyester for the most part and selling for hundreds a piece. In defense of them they do have a great warranty.

You know you want some of big sexy.

I'd make it hurt so good.

And yes with my gorilla arms I'd give you the reach around of a lifetime.

I mostly wear old wool, but I've picked up a few higher end pieces over on the slide for much less than new $. It's amazing how many people buy all new high end clothes for some big western hunt and then barely get out of the truck. Then they decide to sell it before it's a year old. But I digress.

Lots of bargains to be had in milsurp stuff. I found Goretex pants and a parka, both brand new, for about $100 total. The Euro-stuff has zippers on the wrong side, but who cares? Excellent quality. I also have a couple of sets of fatigues in Woodland that cost a fraction of the price of “hunting” clothes. Brand new as well. Gotta read the reviews to avoid the ones with short legs and such. Polypropylene long johns are another bargain, available in different weights.

I’ve always struggled to find gloves that are big enough. Milsurp to the rescue again. Nomex flight gloves with goatskin palms in 2xl are a perfect fit.

Don’t buy camo. It’s cheaper

I have a few pieces of Sitka. gear and I love it. I have a Kelvin down hooded coat, a heavyweight hoody and a lightweight hood and a pair of their baselay pants i also have a pair of puffy pants from an off brand company. I dont wear the heavy outwewear until i get to my stand but the stuff keeps me super warm once it's on

Style points and brand name tags count big time for alot of nuggs.
Especially Neophyte types posing for cred.
Clothing cant make up for lack of knowledge or experience.
But looking the role is a big thing to many.

They still suck at woodscraft, reading sign and terrian, and marksmanship......



I might buy new camo pants and a shirt every 3 to 4 yrs.
Do some mods on em.

Baylor chewed up my rain jacket.... Frigging cheesehound..

Need a new one 50 or 60 bucks.

My orange vest and hat...
Lol!!
Schit almost 23 yrs old.
Sewn up and repaired a dozen times..

Hunting boots
Baylor knawed the toe off my ECWC,s ... Frigging cheesehound.

Got a 20 buck pair of very lightly worn rockies at a yard sale find.

Fold up hunting stool
Gotta mod those to lower for proper knee to elbow height.
Last about 6 to 8 yrs on avg, unless it gets snagged in briars in a overgrown clear cut at 430 am and you dont realize it.

My day pack..
I traded a NG recruiter like 8 or 9 Army coffee mugs for one of his NG daypacks back in 98.
Give away schit to nuggs at some combined service recruiting event.




I'm pretty fugging Spartan in what I use and will spend.
It has to work and be functional....


Paying for a name for style points versus lower priced gear that is equal or better makes zero sense other than trying to play a role many times.

See the runway model types in their hunting clothes all the time here in Tn and on FTCKY.
Usually with a gypsy wagon pack full of schit and a climber all cluster fugged attached going up a firebreak.
Some sally wagon from gunsmoke schit....

Same types with all the hunting stickers on their back window.


They dont kill much or at all...
Kinda like these types in the Army.

Pink elmer fudd cap


😂😂👏🏻

“Hey can u see me”?


Yep 🤪🤣

Keebler’s backpack had 35 lbs of whatnot in it and they only hunt 200 yards from their pickup


🤦🏻🤣

Good will. Pendleton or copy shirt, sunday go to meetin wool pants.

Or spend a fortune on mossy oak that will not blend in with Colorado terrain.

“How many quickloaders you got” ?

3


“WOLVERINES”!!!!!!!!!!!! 💁‍♂️🤟🏼😱🤯🕺🏽🤠🦌

It's "aged orange" man....
😄😄😄😄

I do some pretty cold weather hunting and have a few "better" pieces of hunting clothes. some of that new battery heated stuff looks awful tempting!
Years ago (15-20) Cabelas used to sell "Goretex Thinsulate Jeans" I acquired 3-4 pairs over the years. They are my go to hunting pants and cold weather fishing pants. Kahki colored, warm, waterproof, breathable and comfortable! Best hunting pants I've ever tried. Mine have some rips, tears, repairs, etc but I still love em! Bloody pants leg? hose it off! Only place to sit is wet? sit down, they're waterproof! Good for a late fall football game too!
15 or so years ago I bought a Cabelas Orange Parka. Thinsulate and Goretex. Zip out orange jacket liner, plenty of pockets, detachable hood, warm, waterproof, versatile, and comfortable.I'm not a fan of Camo, never really was. Especially all the new stuff. just my opinion.....
What's the purpose of camo pants, underwear, long underwear, belt, knife, rifle sling, shirt, vest, jacket etc, then to cover it all with blaze orange? seems stupid to me.
When I was a kid we wore heavy canvas coats/vests and pants for ducks and Pheasants. I have no problem spending good money on quality heavy wool socks, boots, gloves, and hat!
All that being said, the prices of new stuff is ridiculous and mostly all of it seems to be crap made in China. If it's from China it should be about 10-20% of what they charge.
I'm 62 and my stuff still has another 10-15+ years in it. I'm set.

Good gear allows you to have fun at 10k ' ASL in a blowing snow storm, if you play hard in the mountains it is worth the price of admission. There will be days this winter when my boots and clothing cost more than my rifle and scope. All are optimized for what I enjoy the most.

YMMV


mike r

You are like Agent Orange.

The deer you come in contact with die many years later.

Check out the prices of a Filson Double Mackinaw. Glad I bought one when I did.

I refuse to wear camo that feels like your wearing silk pajamas.

Ain’t Filson, but it’s not $600, either....

https://stsranchwear.com/collections/men/products/mens-smitty

The hell am I going to do with that taking a wet boat ride in January on the Pamlico Sound? I suppose I could wear it while watching the new Yellowstone episodes and feel at home.

I did find a Frogg Toggs Pilot II MO bottomlands camo jacket in my size for $70 shipped from eBay, new with tags. Normally a $200 jacket that is waterproof, breathable and has a lifetime warranty. Reasonably priced, waterproof and breathable are a hard find in something that isn't rubber or PVC.

Couple years ago I bought a Filson Tin Cruiser. Heavy duty shell for work in soggy 20-40F weather.


It's alright, haven't put a hole in it yet but for close to $300 less I prefer H/H Impertech.

Of course you don't want to be wearing the H/H while fixing fence.

Yellastone and all you gotta watch that barbwire..

LOL. Always wanted one of those Sam. I’m too tight to buy one. 🤠

This is where that money is well spent. Not weighted down and can still move freely in comfort.

C, at the rate it's been raining here it'll last me about 6 lives...lol

Just bought some coveralls and boots for grandkid, not too bad of a price for a growing boy. Have about $210 invested at this time.

Words of wisdom.

I think society would benefit from calling this what it is. Prices aren't high - the value of the dollar is low.

To phrase it correctly helps keep the cause in focus.

Printing trillions of dollars out of thin air has consequences that are well understood and predictable because they're unavoidable.

When the "value" box is larger than the "price" box...I buy.

I can pretty well tell the weather and topography you frequently hunt in by how you respond to this tread.

Prior to Sitka and the like, I bought a lot of mountaineering clothing to hunt in. Prior to that, I did it the hard way with carhartts and the like.

Clothing made for the Fudd army won’t cut it, and can even get you killed. But it’s fine for an awful lot of hunts.

But hike a couple of predawn hours in a nasty blizzard to catch feeding elk and you’ll start to get an idea. Then when you get up to a high point and slow down, notice how you don’t get as cold because the fabrics are wicking the sweat off your skin, and you were able to carry up some really warm outer layers to boot. Pretty soon, you’re dry. Rinse and repeat all season and the fabrics still look new for the most part. You’ll be willing to spend the money too.

If you go hunting and aren’t extremely uncomfortable to mildly worried in your Fudd army attire from time to time, then you’re probably going to have a hard time seeing the justification for Sitka.

I wore wool for years, Filson, Sleeping Indian and King of the Mountain, then I discovered KUIU and have not worn wool since. It's mainly the weight and comfort, makes a big difference if you are climbing or walking distance. I tried Sitka but just doesn't fit as well, I wear KUIU camo up top, solids on the bottom. Mostly I buy the stuff on sale when I can as I have most of what I need, picked up a new pair of pants Monday on their 25% off sale. I recently bought a KUIU rain jacket and it's so quite and comfortable that I wear it as an outer layer to block the wind. My father killed a truck load of deer in his life in his Dickies work clothes, never owned a piece of camo, and his 12 ga shotgun so I know you don't need fancy clothes to be successful but life is tough and why not be warm and comfortable when you're doing the thing you like most (at least in my case) and be comfortable. A lot of the people here that say you don't need fancy camo are the same ones hunting with rifles costing $2k +++ so it's just a matter of what you like.

“I wish I had a [bleep] clothing”. For some reason that though hasn’t crossed my mind.

The reality is that, if bought correctly, quality gear will last a lifetime. I like Filson products and have had much of it over 20 years. It still functions like new. That includes shells, liners, hunting pants, insulated caps, wool undergarments (full length) etc etc. None of this was cheap, but it has lasted for many hunting trips without a lot of sign of wear. None of it was cheap, and I was paying $400 for a tin cloth shell twenty years ago. But it's still with me.

I broke down bought a pair of those fancy $500 hunting/mountaineering boots a couple years back.
Best money I ever spent.
Western hunting ain't sitting on your ass.
Rest of my gear is more pedestrian and old.
Old Columbia wool pants, old Mad Dog knee length rain resistant jacket.
My kid bought me a pair of KUIU attack pants for my birthday.
They are pretty damn good in rain, snow and brush.

I buy what I want and what works for me. I dont care whether it cost $4 bucks and is used or costs $1000 and is new. I dont care what others do with their money or what they choose to wear and use fir gear or what their motivation is for buying it. People have different needs and desires and different products are developed to satify those needs and desires. If you think you can develop a line of clothing or gear that has all the features and performance of the expensive stuff at half the price then by all means get to it. You will be rich beyond your dreams. We are all standing in line waiting for you to roll it out on the market. But please make it in 4xl because I want some…. I agree you can alway find sales and thats a good way to get quality stuff for less. I started out with a $7 army surplus poncho as rain gear.
Im not going to trade down back to that poncho out of my expensive breathable rain gear anytime soon.

Nothing Americans love more than to talk about how other people spend their money.

I need to get myself about 3 horses or some of those Denver Pyle Old Number 7 mules to haul my 6 passenger wall tent, cots, dead deer, back bacon, romance novels, wood stove, cast iron bean pot and all my tripods, spotting scopes, and tiddy baby creature comforts like they do out west. Maybe a Sherpa or a couple of teenage boys.

a simple pair of new Skechers from Payless Shoes would fit the bill. Ahh hell, gimme the silver tipped Dan Post roach stompers, I want to look good for my blog entry

Oh oh oh....and I need some canvas bags of water to hang off of one them bitchy mules....cause that’s how my grandpappy Horace did it.

lol, They trying to look like a GQ model on front of Peterson’s hunting magazine.

Don’t forget your cool- gel piller.