Cold weather clothes?

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BJJ223

New member
I’m new to the cold. In Idaho last weekend I hunted in the low 20’s F. I know, that is probably warm weather for some of you!

The biggest flaw in my clothing was my hands and legs.

My hands were so cold they felt like they were burning. What is your system of gloves / mittens so you can activate your trigger and calls? Do you use a muff to keep your shooting hand warm?

I had smartwool and regular BDU pants. It wasn’t horrible. But, my legs were cold. Anyone have a system of layering and better pants they like? I tend to do a lot of walking. So, I am hoping to find something easy to hike in.

Thanks.
 
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I use wool mittens that fold back out of the way to reveal fingerless mittens. You can keep warmer with the mitten and quickly peel back the mitten where it grabs a velcro patch to stay out of the way of your now bare fingertips.
 
Insulated bibs with 2 way leg zippers to the waist or almost there. They can be opened for ventilation when moving. Goretex and thinsulate glomits like mentioned by hellgate and a pair of liner gloves inside them (l use electricians gloves). Because l operate the remote with my left hand l also cut off the last inch or so of that thumb of the glomit. This gets me down below zero but at times l have to tuck the left thumb into the flap with the other fingers and hold it between my palm and fingers to get it warm.
Some use hand warmers but years ago bowhunting l found that they are too warm and make my hands very cold when exposed.
 
You said you have regular BDU pants. Those are cotton and that sucks for cold temperatures. Especially if there is a chance they get wet from snow, ice, or drizzle. Wool, wool, and wool as in Filson. Or, a smart technology synthetic from Sitka, First Lite, Kuiu. Windproof is great as is a DWR finish to repel moisture. Same thing on top with layered merino wool or good fleece mid and base layers. Also keep your head, hands, and feet dry and warm and the legs and core are much easier to keep toasty.
 
Thanks. I’m looking at the KUIU guide pants. Are they a good choice?

Regarding mittens - do you like flip mitts over a glomitt that makes it easy to just expose one finger for shooting?

I have the Sitka incinerator muff and the Sitka incinerator mittens that fold back on the way right now. I also ordered the KUIU super down burner parka. This was an expensive week!
 
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It is below zero in this pic.
xFZQnM.jpg


Decent wicking longjons in really cold weather I prefer a polar fleece sleeveless union suit.

German winter weight wool army pants, breathable yet blocks the wind.

Layered upper clothes that can be opened all breathable wicking/synthetic. You want to be able to open your uppers clothing so you don't sweat on the way to your stand

The hand coverings are old rag wool flip over, any of the flip over mittens work well, I prefer the magnetic hold backs over velcro. ripping velcro when a coyote is coming in seems so loud.

I now make my own mittens that I don' have to flip over.

 
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If feasible, a muff with a couple of handwarmers tucked inside of it will keep bare hands toasty warm, one of the best investments I ever made for keeping my hands warm. I also wear either fingerless wool gloves or wool flip mittens and just slip my hands into the muff with them on if my fingers get cold.
 
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Gerbing Gyde S4 heated gloves. By extra batteries as they don't last long if you're going to use high setting much. I could find anything to keep my fingers warm until these. Bought some heated socks on Amazon that work fabulous and last a long time on their batteries and only usually have to go with the low settings. Let me know if you want the make. I have a parka and bibs from Cabelas that they don't make anymore that are great. Midway USA has some good stuff reasonable priced (a lot on sale right now). Mckenzie mountain is their heaviest than hunter creek is next I believe. Both in parkas and bibs.
 
Handwarmers that clip around your waist. A chemical handwarner in it and wear light wool gloves.

MidwayUSA has them for under $50.
 
Nomex flight gloves under insulated waterproof mittens. Good to 20 below walking around. Wool socks that are taller than your boots, buffalo wool is very good. I use a rechargeable hand warmer (Zippo).
 
Wool. A nice windstopper layer under with a wool outer layer. Glommets for the hands. Used to be able to pick up everything at a military surplus store without breaking the bank.
 
For the last couple of years, I’ve been buying nothing but Kings Camo. Their clothes fit great, they’ve lasted and had no problems with any of it, and the price is awesome. All my cold weather gear from them, keeps me very warm even in the coldest temps. If you’ve ever been to central Missouri, in the winter our -10 degree weather can be almost unbearable. But I’ve done it, and can honestly say I wasn’t straining.

I’m really curious to the new stuff I’m seeing advertised for Code of Silence. Their stuff seems too notch too

Happy Hunting Fellas
 
BJJ223 said:
I’m new to the cold. In Idaho last weekend I hunted in the low 20’s F. I know, that is probably warm weather for some of you!

The biggest flaw in my clothing was my hands and legs.

My hands were so cold they felt like they were burning. What is your system of gloves / mittens so you can activate your trigger and calls? Do you use a muff to keep your shooting hand warm?

I had smartwool and regular BDU pants. It wasn’t horrible. But, my legs were cold. Anyone have a system of layering and better pants they like? I tend to do a lot of walking. So, I am hoping to find something easy to hike in.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Shiver Shield
I have hunted in this stuff to close to negative 30 degrees, with nothing but a base layer underneath and was comfortable
 
I’ll second jetman, there are many quality brands available but make sure whatever you buy is windproof. I‘m personally sold on Krypteks Njord series.
 
Living in Alberta Canada where the calling season can get damn cold, this is how I survive. Layers, merino wool under wear and socks, insulated outer wear. Helly Hansen glove liners and lined leather mitts. PAC boots. Hand warmers are key. They also help the e- caller batteries stay warm. A good beard on the face helps as well.
IMG_2052.jpeg
 
If anyone’s looking for some cheap solid cold weather shooting gloves, I just used this combo yesterday while coyote hunting in North Dakota. It was -18ish with a wind chill that made it feel like -40.

I paired the Brushed tricot huntsman pop top mittens from scheels ($34 dollars) with a very thin waterproof layering glove from runnings ($5). I added the layering glove to help protect from the wind and to say it did awesome would be an understatement. I hate wearing gloves for anything and especially hate it for shooting but these a surprisingly tolerable. Running a call is no issue either. They’re not bulky like a lot of mittens and gloves can be. The also have zippers to put hand warmers in but I didn’t need them.

Prior to this, I used Sitka pantanal GTX Gloves ($140-150 dollars) and they were just okay in windy conditions. My fingers still got cold and shooting with them flat out sucked! Even running a ecaller remote was a pain with these gloves. I was so annoyed with them after two sets that I put on the brushed tricot gloves (which aren’t rated for extreme cold temps) and planned on my hands just freezing. But altleast I would be able to operate my gun and call. I was pleasantly surprised that my hands never got cold for the remainder of the day. I’m sold on these for the remainder of the winter and will buy them in a heart beat.

I feel like I can even use them to shoot my thumb release with my bow. I’ll have to try it out soon.
 

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