Cold weather hunting bibs and parka

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“Try Berne in a rural location, you might find some in an ag store where it means something to carry real insulation.”

My boy had a Berne coat for a few years until he grew out of it and said it was really warm.
 
JeeperCreeper said:
I'm getting into the "buy once, cry once" stage of my life

Granted, I'm in Alaska now, but I used to really try and get all my gear from Walmart and online surplus. I was a huge bargain brand guy.

But I found the gear really does not perform well.
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Same here. I replaced all my lower 48 gear within about 2 years of moving here (AK). What was 'good gear" in the lower 48 just didn't cut it up here. Spend the money Buy one cry once. There is no substitute for quality.
 
wombat13 said:
Last year for the first time I used a smell reducing spray on my clothes and wore my turkey hunting headnet. I had multiple deer within 20 yards that had no idea I was there. I’m really sold on the headnet. I had a couple deer look right at me, one inside 15 yards, and they just put their heads down and went back to eating. I’ve always been busted in the past when a deer looked directly at my face.

i shot a doe at 13 yards with the crossbow, the deer behind it on the trail stopped and looke at me and then just carried on their way. I was sitting in a treestand fully exposed!

I spray my outerwear and put them in a plastic tub with lid and keep them at hunting camp or in my truck. The plastic tub has leaves and dirt and other forest stuff in it. They don’t come in the house all season.
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I’ve been using scent-a-way biostrike for a couple years now, unscented. I feel like it’s the best that I’ve found for not spooking deer. I wash my clothes with that same brand laundry soap too. I usually find sales on it at the end of season and load up. I’d probably be just fine with All free and clear, and have used that in a pinch, but I’d prefer to use what I know works. I also use a plastic tub, but I spray it down with unscented stuff each week before I fill it back up. I know lots of guys will put evergreen needles in there to help, but I never do. I just spray it with my no scent spray and that seems to work fine. I prefer zero smell. I actually buy the antiperspirant and toothpaste and body wash/hair too. I probably go overboard, but I just don’t want to waste my time out there when I’m hunting in big woods with short shots….can’t afford to get busted.

I haven’t been busted for several years now. I also have my 11 year old boy up there with me in a 2 man stand, and he has been since he was 8. If they don’t see him moving…we’re good. They literally walk under us. We DO NOT get busted for smell.
I know you western hunters don’t worry about that, but I HAVE to.
 
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HoosierHunter128 said:
Ok. I know I can spend a bundle on Sitka, or lots of other brands for a new bibs and parka set. I’ve been wearing carhartt camo bibs with the black liner, and no clue the brand of my parka for maybe 10-12 years. I’ve gained and lost and gained weight, and the color is getting off, and the bands are getting loose. Time for new stuff. I’ve looked around on forums. I bought a pair of carhartt bibs on moose jaw, but they were too big and seemed cheap. I returned. I could go with cabelas, but their stuff looks cheap now too, both quality and price. What do you guys recommend. I hunt in indiana, and it used to get a lot colder earlier, but now in mid-late November it drops into the teens, and if I do the late hunt, it’s sometimes around zero in the morning. Also, I sit for hours, so super warm is needed at 20°. I don’t care about brand, I care about warmth, being able to wash, and tough (my last set lasted me 10 years). Also, I have a KUIU soft shell that is nice, I wear it to town, but I’d no where near hunt in it…not nearly warm enough, and hard to wash every weekend too.
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Honestly I don’t really do bibs anymore. I found it a good base layer and 2 good mid layers makes bibs pretty much useless for me. Your mileage may vary but on the outside I just wear a wind and waterproof later.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Same here. I replaced all my lower 48 gear within about 2 years of moving here (AK). What was 'good gear" in the lower 48 just didn't cut it up here. Spend the money Buy one cry once. There is no substitute for quality.
Click to expand...
If you don’t mind my asking, where did you move to in Alaska and where were you coming from?
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Same here. I replaced all my lower 48 gear within about 2 years of moving here (AK). What was 'good gear" in the lower 48 just didn't cut it up here. Spend the money Buy one cry once. There is no substitute for quality.
Click to expand...
Just wondering what you call the good stuff, that’s buy once?
 
Also, I like the idea of the heated stuff….not sure it would take my abuse and the amount of washes I do
 
wombat13 said:
Last year for the first time I used a smell reducing spray on my clothes and wore my turkey hunting headnet. I had multiple deer within 20 yards that had no idea I was there. I’m really sold on the headnet. I had a couple deer look right at me, one inside 15 yards, and they just put their heads down and went back to eating. I’ve always been busted in the past when a deer looked directly at my face.

i shot a doe at 13 yards with the crossbow, the deer behind it on the trail stopped and looke at me and then just carried on their way. I was sitting in a treestand fully exposed!

I spray my outerwear and put them in a plastic tub with lid and keep them at hunting camp or in my truck. The plastic tub has leaves and dirt and other forest stuff in it. They don’t come in the house all season.
Click to expand...

I wear a gaiter and a ball cap/beanie and haven’t had a problem with the face…not much is showing…
 
HoosierHunter128 said:
Just wondering what you call the good stuff, that’s buy once?
Click to expand...

Are we talking clothing? I'm a big fan of Carhartt canvas stuff. The B01 pants, the flannel lined version of the B01, coveralls (I know you said you had a bad experience with them) and, for really cold weather (-20˚F), the Arctic Duck bibs and coats.

The problem is that Carhartts are all some version of cotton, and cotton kills. Up here, I hunt 30 miles from the nearest road. If I'm in cotton, in fall, and get wet (likely, almost certain) that can get quite dangerous. I prefer t hunt in nothing but synthetic clothes. If I were a smaller guy, I'd be buying from Kryptek or maybe First Light. But I settle for Duluth 40 grit shirts, and DOTF pants, anything from their Alaskan Hardgear line (Tun-Dri shirts and Quickhatch pants, but I think they just discontinued them). The Duluth stuff is good, but if I could fit into the Kryptek/KUIU stuff, I'd buy that instead. Duluth isn't my 1st choice.

For footwear: Darn Tough Vermont wool socks (lifetime replacement warrant they actually honor) and Irish Setter Elk Hunter boots. (A close second are LaCrosse hip waders with the fitted ankles if it's going to be really wet and mucky, like duck hunting or float hunting from my canoe.)

Rainwear/outerwear, again, if I were a smaller guy, I'd be buying goretex from Kryptek, KUIU, etc., but I settle for Helly Hansen Impertechs (which really are not "buy once..." as I'm about to replace my pants...after 7 years.)

My base layer/cold weather stuff is mostly terramar brand, but I have some stuff, I forget the brand, that is 16 years old that I wear every winter and still going.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Are we talking clothing? I'm a big fan of Carhartt canvas stuff. The B01 pants, the flannel lined version of the B01, coveralls (I know you said you had a bad experience with them) and, for really cold weather (-20˚F), the Arctic Duck bibs and coats.

The problem is that Carhartts are all some version of cotton, and cotton kills. Up here, I hunt 30 miles from the nearest road. If I'm in cotton, in fall, and get wet (likely, almost certain) that can get quite dangerous. I prefer t hunt in nothing but synthetic clothes. If I were a smaller guy, I'd be buying from Kryptek or maybe First Light. But I settle for Duluth 40 grit shirts, and DOTF pants, anything from their Alaskan Hardgear line (Tun-Dri shirts and Quickhatch pants, but I think they just discontinued them). The Duluth stuff is good, but if I could fit into the Kryptek/KUIU stuff, I'd buy that instead. Duluth isn't my 1st choice.

For footwear: Darn Tough Vermont wool socks (lifetime replacement warrant they actually honor) and Irish Setter Elk Hunter boots. (A close second are LaCrosse hip waders with the fitted ankles if it's going to be really wet and mucky, like duck hunting or float hunting from my canoe.)

Rainwear/outerwear, again, if I were a smaller guy, I'd be buying goretex from Kryptek, KUIU, etc., but I settle for Helly Hansen Impertechs (which really are not "buy once..." as I'm about to replace my pants...after 7 years.)

My base layer/cold weather stuff is mostly terramar brand, but I have some stuff, I forget the brand, that is 16 years old that I wear every winter and still going.
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I'm 5'9, and I hate to say it, 240lbs. Kuiu fits me, though their athletic fit is annoying as I have to go up a size or two...
 
Hand muffs are the best! I like Carhartt, Duluth and Berne for work but not hunting, Berne a little better (not as stiff). For hunting I prefer down, wool & synthetic. I’ve heard good things about the older Cabelas Berber stuff, I’m not sure how the new stuff is for quality.
 
wombat13 said:
If you need to keep your hands warm, nothing will be better than a hand muff with handwarmers in it. If it is really cold, use a Zippo handwarmer instead of the chemical kind. Here are links to a hand muff (there are many on the market most of which are probably fine) and the Zippo.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-gore-tex-infinium-windstopper-handmuff
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/zippo-outdoor-deluxe-hand-warmer-pocket-heater
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How does that not produce an odor?
 
HoosierHunter128 said:
How does that not produce an odor?
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They claim no odor, but I can detect a very faint odor on occasion. I only use it on the coldest days. It’s never cold enough to need it in bow season. During gun season it is very unlikely that any deer will live to be within smelling distance.:cool:
 
Robert said:
I'm 5'9, and I hate to say it, 240lbs. Kuiu fits me, though their athletic fit is annoying as I have to go up a size or two...
Click to expand...
Yeah...I know the feeling. I'm shorter and ... err... "rounder" than you LOL.
 
wombat13 said:
They claim no odor, but I can detect a very faint odor on occasion. I only use it on the coldest days. It’s never cold enough to need it in bow season. During gun season it is very unlikely that any deer will live to be within smelling distance.:cool:
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If you can detect a faint odor, an ungulate (deer moose, caribou, whatever deer family you hunt) can smell it a mile away.

Something many don't think about, as well, does your laundry soap have "brighteners" in it? If so, your quarry is seeing you glow like a light stick at a teenager's rave concert.
 
I’m 5’7” and weigh 180. Used to weigh 195 but Covid dropped some pounds for me and being a little more conscious of fitness and food has me staying at my current weight.
Most of my clothing is Kuiu and I have to agree that you have to size up.
I have the guide jacket and it is sized XXL and fits me like it should.
I also have things from ten years ago and they are in excellent condition,excellent.
However being here in the Northeast, I have a pair of coveralls and a parka from Cablea’s/Gander Mountain, that I wear when really cold.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
If you can detect a faint odor, an ungulate (deer moose, caribou, whatever deer family you hunt) can smell it a mile away.

Something many don't think about, as well, does your laundry soap have "brighteners" in it? If so, your quarry is seeing you glow like a light stick at a teenager's rave concert.
Click to expand...
There is certainly a risk, that’s why I only use it on the coldest days. The days when it’s a choice between using it and hunting or not hunting.

It’s far from a guaranteed problem though. Ive used it for years and have had deer close many times. I’ve never observed deer winding me when I was using it. Very different from the year I decided to try doe urine to attract bucks. That year in just two days I had multiple does come within 80 yards, stop and put their nose in the air, turn and move quickly out if the area. Stopped using that or any lure. Never saw that before or since.
 
wombat13 said:
There is certainly a risk, that’s why I only use it on the coldest days. The days when it’s a choice between using it and hunting or not hunting.

It’s far from a guaranteed problem though. Ive used it for years and have had deer close many times. I’ve never observed deer winding me when I was using it. Very different from the year I decided to try doe urine to attract bucks. That year in just two days I had multiple does come within 80 yards, stop and put their nose in the air, turn and move quickly out if the area. Stopped using that or any lure. Never saw that before or since.
Click to expand...

I use this. If they get a whif of me, or see me move, I give a puff of this and they continue to go about their business. Best I’ve found for scent.
https://conquestscents.com/shop/#!/...t-Vaporizer-Kit/p/126082150/category=32529113
https://conquestscents.com/shop/#!/...t-Vaporizer-Kit/p/126082150/category=32529113

I mostly use the calm, and then estrus during the rut
 
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