Elk Hunting Outerwear and Layers

[Wyoming762]

This year I moved to Wyoming. I wasn't able to go elk hunting this year but did get an antelope and a deer. I fully expect to go elk hunting next year but need some advice about the clothes to take (if your wondering why I'm asking this now it's because, being close to Christmas, there is a lot of stuff on sale).

I am rather stumped on what type of outer coat to get. I've heard some people suggest parkas and others say they're too bulky. Well, I do know I want something with with a waterproof and breathable membrane but am not sure what I need beyond that. What do suggest I get for upper outerwear? I have been looking at Cabela's Dry Plus coats/jackets. Any experience with this line or a specific one you would suggest? What do you think would be a better choice?

I also don't know exactly what to do about underlayers. What I have in mind right now is a synthetic long underwear upper, then a poly fleece jacket, then a a wool sweater/jacket undrr whatever outerwear I get. I come from where it is quite hot and flat and have no November high mountain hunting experience so don't know if that system would be advisable.

Any advice and personal experience is greatly appreciated. You can count on me to consider it all.

 

[IlikeSA]

I live in Colorado myself, and while I don't elk hunt, I do spend time hiking in all seasons.

I prefer wool as a fabric over anything synthetic when it's cold. I find that synthetics make my skin feel clammy and don't wick like wool does. Cabelas has wooltimate with windshear and I would add it to your list to look at. Costco actually had really good merino wool socks for a decent price, around 12-13 bucks for 2 or 3 pair.

Depending on your budget, check out thrift shops. It is almost all I ever shop at anymore and there is more wool clothing there than I can shake a stick at, especially for 3-5 dollars per item. There's nothing like wearing 100% wool Ralph Lauren pants to go hiking in and not care too terribly if they get ripped.

If you want to spend some money, check out Filson and Pendleton for new items. You will pay for it, but it will last you a long time. I have thrift bought Pendleton shirts that are fifty years old and still going strong.

For layering (and you want to layer) I would start with a lightweight merino wool undergarments (Ibex, smartwool, icebreaker) and put a wool shirt over it. Depending on the temperature, either a sweater or not, and then your jacket. Your legs will be moving so merino wool long johns under wool pants should be adequate.

Leave room in your backpack to taking off layers if necessary.

 

[X-Rap]

Wool, Gore-tex, fleece, polypro will all fit into your hunting wardrobe. You really need to plan on everything from sunny and 80 degrees to wet snow and 0 IMO. You can plan a lot by watching the weather but I can look out my kitchen window and see vastly different weather from my 5200' to the 10,000 a couple miles away. Summer or winter it can be like night and day, when I look across and up the valley it's the same.

 

[rtz]

This video has some good info. Just play it on double speed if you think it's too long or slow going:



This is good also for cold weather gear:



All this Army surplus gear can be found on Amazon and Ebay:

http://www.mcguirearmynavy.com/Genuine-GI/GI-Clothing/Gen-III-ECWCS/

Level 1, 2, 3 for the base layers; 4, 5, 6 are optional/not required. Level 7 is interesting and very warm.

Some cold weather coat/jacket options:

http://www.frabill.com/apparel/ice-apparel.html

http://stores.clamoutdoors.com/icearmor/outerwear.html

Or for a coat they wear in Antarctica and the Poles:

https://www.canada-goose.com/us/en/men/parkas/

Main thing is the wind. If whatever you are wearing; the wind is blowing right through it; no way to stay warm. One option; wear warm clothes; then wear a rain jacket and rain pants or running pants, or wind pants over the warm clothes to keep the wind from cutting through. Walmart has cheap jacket/pants to experiment with.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

I suggest that you check out some of the high end manufacturers for a good overview on layering. I'm partial to http://www.sitkagear.com but use a mixed bag of clothes depending on conditions. Depending on how much you are going to hike weight is also an issue.

 

[ChefJeff1]

I have the cabelas dryplus shell. Wind proof, waterproof, pockets and hood. I love it and it goes on any hunt regardless of weather forecast. Mine is in outfitter camo, which I like but if you look close at it, it's kinda shiny. I don't really care about the camo pattern. The Jacket performs great in wintry conditions with proper layering. I layer with Patagonia capilene.

My only criticism is I wish the inside lining was more slippery and less grabby.

 

[hq]

This year I moved to Wyoming. I wasn't able to go elk hunting this year but did get an antelope and a deer. I fully expect to go elk hunting next year but need some advice about the clothes to take

The big question is how much you're going to walk. As you're talking about layering, I assume it's not about sitting in treestand for hours, which would warrant insulated coveralls. My combo for all moving hunts in 0-40°F weather is waterproof, breathable shell, with or without insulation (lately Cabela's MT050 and Beretta Static), synthetic underwear and fleece pants/jacket in between, depending on temperature. After the kill and field dressing, fleece layer goes into the backpack for the walk back to the camp/truck. I'd suggest looking for zippered vents in top layer (armpits etc.), they're great when it gets too warm. It's usually better to prepare for cold, rain and even snow than freeze oneself in anticipation of getting warm.

It also depends on personal preference. You'll have to experiment a little to figure out what's the perfect combination for you.

 

[Don McDowell]

Layer up, but not to much. The last thing you want is to get soaked with sweat. The polypro long underwear is good for keeping you relatively comfortable, yet wicks the moisture away. For jackests I prefer a sweat shirt worn under a light parka. That way you can adjust the outer layer to suit the conditions. I like flannel shirts, and while some of the experts cuss levi's, been trashin around the high country in them for well over 1/2 century and haven't froze to death yet.
Good boots that give plenty of support with goretex and no more than 200 grams of thinsulate, and heavy socks that give additional support to your arches and calves of your legs.

 

[X-Rap]

Layer up, but not to much. The last thing you want is to get soaked with sweat. The polypro long underwear is good for keeping you relatively comfortable, yet wicks the moisture away. For jackests I prefer a sweat shirt worn under a light parka. That way you can adjust the outer layer to suit the conditions. I like flannel shirts, and while some of the experts cuss levi's, been trashin around the high country in them for well over 1/2 century and haven't froze to death yet.
Good boots that give plenty of support with goretex and no more than 200 grams of thinsulate, and heavy socks that give additional support to your arches and calves of your legs.

Can't help but say your giving out some poor advise there. You might live your whole life and never freeze to death in the outdoors but it is undeniable that your chances in an emergency are greatly diminished if you are wearing wet cotton clothing.
If your out in the back 40 hunting deer you could probably get by wearing anything and still make it back to the truck or house but I know of few outback situations that offer that luxury. By all means wear what you like but doling out information like that to a rookie seeking advise is not productive.

 

[Don McDowell]

X-rap, I make my living in the outdoors, most the elk hunting I do is usually starting from camp at or near 8000ft and going up from there.
I did not go into the need to carry survival equipment, etc.
Wet clothing is just that whether it's cotton , wool or one of modern versions of either one.
The worst thing a person can do, even if it's just cold and not snowy is to have to much clothing, get sweated up , and then the cold sinks in and that person is in huge trouble.
FYI, don't necessarily have a "back 40" but here's a picture of my back 720...I'm well versed in cold weather..

 

[X-Rap]

Can't really believe you are standing by a recommendation to go with cotton shirt, pants, and sweatshirt in the Rockies elk hunting. I guess the weather up there in Wyoming isn't as bad as they say.
I've spent the majority of my life working outdoors and will admit to wearing cotton much of that time but when I have there's been a heated shack to dry spare clothes in. When I don't have that luxury I wear exactly what I specified in my first post.
Your Levis statement

while some of the experts cuss levi's

seemed a bit cavalier, forgive me if I read it wrong.

 

[double bogey]

I don't hunt in these conditions, but this sticky has info from those who do.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=661698

 

[gamestalker]

It never really bothered me 35 years ago, but I'm getting up there in years, and this deer season hit me pretty hard in coping with the cold temps. Sleeping was no problem, as we have a nice toasty wood stove in our tent, but sitting on a slope glassing off a tripod, in which I'm not moving around, it gets cold real quick, even more so if there is a breeze.

I had lots of clothing with me, so layering up wasn't a problem. What was a problem, is all those layers created other issues, they're bulky, which can make it a but more difficult to move around, thus posing a higher risk of ending up planting my face while walking in that treacherous terrain. In addition to that, I was also getting way over heated when making my way around the slopes. And removing clothing wasn't an option, as I would then have to figure out what to do with all the unneeded clothing.

So on the second day of dealing with the 18 -20 degree temps, which isn't really cold compared to what you deal with, my DIL who is the exact same size as me, hooked me up with some high tech, and really thin light weight insulated thermal wear. I actually laughed when she recommended I try them, because they were so thin and girly looking / feeling. The material resembled women leg stockings, so I really thought I would freeze that morning. But to my surprise, I never got cold, the wind couldn't penetrate them. And when I started humping the slopes, I didn't get sweaty and over heated either, great stuff. And another big plus, I didn't feel at all physically restricted by the multiple bulky layers I had been dealing with all these years.

So I would recommend spending the money for some super high quality thermal under wear. Don't go cheap though, get the high tech good stuff. I'm going out shopping this week myself, I gotta upgrade my out door wear, I can't believe I've been using this out dated stuff for the last few years.

GS

 

[MCMXI]

Wyoming762 , I live in NW Montana and hunt deer and elk up here. You can spend a lifetime building up your system of hunting gear and I'm fairly new to this but so far have accumulated gear from Sitka and Under Armour. I was hunting deer and elk around Thanksgiving in 0°F to 15°F weather and was fine with the system that I chose.

Upper

Base layers:

http://www.sitkagear.com/products/big-game/next-to-skin/merino-zip-t

http://www.sitkagear.com/products/big-game/next-to-skin/core-heavyweight-hoody

Middle layer:

https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/mens-ua-storm-scent-control-barrier-hooded-jacket/pid1259182-946

Outer Layer:

https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/m...scent-control-insulator-jacket/pid1259187-946


Lower

Base layer:

https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/mens-ua-coldgear-armour-scent-control-leggings/pid1259134-946

Outer layer:

https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/1238327/pid1238327-946

I have other "systems" from both companies such as a Gore-Tex bib and pants and non-hooded versions of some of the insulation layers. I recently ordered Merino bottoms from Sitka as well as a few other insulation layers.

http://www.sitkagear.com/products/big-game/next-to-skin/merino-bottom

I was wearing some really comfortable Gore-Tex boots by Meindtl but need to get the insulated version since my feet got a little cold when standing still for extended periods. Overall I'm very pleased with Sitka and Under Armour products.

 

[waffentomas]

Silent Suede and MTO 50 are good, as they have cloth bonded to the water-proof shell. This keeps them quieter than just a shell. If you go with any water-proof garment, remember that Gore-Tex and Dry-Plus are FABRICS! They get dirty and matted, and then loose their 'waterproofness'. Wash them once a year or so in Nikwax to reinvigorate them. So much stuff gets returned to my store because after a couple of years hunters come in and say its not waterproof anymore. I ask them if they've ever washed the garments in a waterproof recommended cleaner. "No" is the answer I get 99% of the time. Why are hunters so dumb AND hard headed?

Also, a 'breathable' waterproof shell is still not near as breathable as a synthetic non-waterproof shell. Think of it, it's still a 'plastic' waterproof barrier (essentially), and there is no way it can breath as well as fabric without the shell. Sure, Gore Tex is breathable, but no where near as breathable as that merino wool base layer or top layer you should be wearing. First Lite and Kuiu are top shelf as well, as is UA. Do your research.

I'm not a big fan of any waterproof garment, but do take one with me just in case, I just won't wear it unless it's actually raining, otherwise I wear Sitka Gear as it's super breathable.

For layers, merino is best, but UA gear is good too. I hike a lot when I elk hunt and so even when it's 20 degrees out I'm pretty lightly dressed. I keep a primaloft vest in my pack in case I stop for any length of time, and sometimes a spare pair of heavier base layer pants. Keep your hands, head and neck covered when it's bitter out and you'll have 1/2 the battle won to stay warm. Layer. Don't buy Wooltimate unless you are sitting or standing a lot. It's bulky and only 33% or so wool.

Don't wear cotton.

Expect to try stuff you'll hate. Trial and error is the best way, though time consuming and expensive.

...and keep your ears uncovered...elk are loud sometimes and your ears will get you a lot of kills...

'Wind Stopper" is NOT waterproof.

Good luck.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Over the years I have spent at least six months in the Rocky Mountains and I think it rained one time hard enough to get you wet. I don't think they know what rain is in the sense we do around here.

So, I started just taking a very thin cheap stuffable rain parka in my pack and usually a down jacket because it is warm and light weight and maybe a wool sweater or two under that.

Now, your feet and legs will get wet from the snow so gators are nice.

As far as underwear I just use the cheapest poly in regular weight and stack it as much as three layers thick for those 20 below days. Poly is poly as far as I am concerned and the rest is marketing.

And, if you are riding horses on a tight trail with heavy snow ride in the rear so they get all the snow down their neck before you get to it.

 

[Snowbank!]

I follow old school because it works. Duofold union suit. Silk under socks covered with wool, pants- malones by woolrich or filson. Get them big so you have lots of room with high quality button suspenders. Army jacket liner under a woolrich shirt. A quality orange cabelas vest. Boots- pacs or caulked pacs. Depends on how steep. Caulked boots don't slip on rocks if you use the carbide core caulks. Hat- Filson or mmad bomber style. Depends on how hard the wind is blowing. If walking an orange watch cap. Air force surplus arctic mitts. If on a horse a wool trench coat with saddle pleats or a filson double mackinaw. Its still warm with water running down your legs or in a blizzard with 40 mph wind.