How to keep warm in December

mveniot

mveniot

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NW Ontario
Well I must say, I froze my ass off this December, deer hunting.
We had temperatures in the am at -25 Celsius.
I was okay walking around, I dressed in layers and peeled off what I didn't need.
But the deer where held up in the thick stuff where they could get out of the wind chill and they could heard me coming a mile away.
So I tried putting up my Cabelas pop up blind and put a propane heater inside.
Well when you turned it on it sounded like a freight train. So I used it when I had to.
But it seemed every deer that came by got very leery of blind.
Probably stood out like a house in their back yard!
I would like to use my tree stand but how to get away from the cold.
I found some info on heater body suits on the net.
Anyone have experience with them?
Any members have any other ideas.
I was thinking about a more permanent blind with insulated walls but I need to be mobile.
http://www.heaterbodysuit.com/index.html
http://canadiancocoon.com/start.htm
http://www.thewarmbag.com/
http://www.iwomouterwear.com/
 
I ground hunt. All I do is wear double long johns top and bottom and wear sweat pants all under my camo bib. Trust me you gotta walk slow to your spot or else you will sweat in no time! haha

For the top half double long john, Slong sleeve shirt and then my heavy camp jacket..

I start getting cold after the 4 hour mark
 
Alberta had a real cold snap near the end of November where it went down to -28. I use lots of layered insulation that I can open up while I'm moving around. When I stand, I like to stand on some spruce bows to keep the cold from my boots for a longer period. For my blind I use my camo tent with a small propane heater. Its not perfect, but if you can keep the wind off yourself, keep your feet off the ice, the small heater gives you a few extra hours relief from the cold. Further this, if i plan it really well I will bring a hot thermos of coffee and a wide mouth thermos with some warm chili, stew, pasta, or any other warm meal I can think of. Eating good meal with lots of complex carbs is proven to keep you warmer, and when you're moving on the trails, move at a pace or make frequent stops to not sweat up. Your time is much more limited when wet or damp.

Nothing is perfect, but that is what I find helps me in severe cold.
 
Layered clothes with zippers to open or close depending on activity.

A quality down filled vest takes up all the air space around the chest to stay warm and keep any draft out.
I top that off with insulated heavy coveralls and warm boots and a warm hat and gloves... seems to make a big difference in not freezing before legal light ends.:)

What part of NW Ontario you talkin bout?. I think some parts are open till late December for rifled deer, lucky you!..:)
 
i personally think you cannot beat the Helley Hanson thermal underwear, especially the heavy one piece long johns. They are pretty pricey but well worth it. When the temps reach -20 or better the heavy one piece will keep you toasty and any colder all it takes is to add a layer or 2. When you work outside like i do in the oilfield they are a mans best friend!! i haven't tried the lighter stuff, but a bunch of guys i work with really like them up to about -15 with a sweater on over top. Just my opinion!!
 
grijim said:
Used two piece Halley Hanson in Northern Alberta at -40 and survived , it works.
Click to expand...

Agree. That or the Cabelas winter weight that wicks moisture which are like 150 a set. Hunting clothes is one area I buy better than I can really afford. Almost 100% cabelas gear. For me it is a set of their winter weight wicking underwear, covered with a wicking turtle neck , then a woolrich wool pants and woolrick heavy weight wool shirt, down vest and a set of cabelas gortex, tinsulate parka and gortex insulated pants.
Boots are sorel pack for minus 60, three pairs cabelas socks plus I take two padded camo seats one for under butt and one for under boots on ground.Mittens with fingers slot a old solid fuel hand warmer, face mask, neck gater and cabelas insulated hat with ear ligs and I am good to go on the coldest day.
 
i have a couple sets of near new canadian military gortex thinsulate waterproof breathable arctic parkas and bib pants for sale in the ee. cant get much better than that.
 
Wear layers, try not to sweat while moving around.....
I find that if I cover my face and neck I can handle the cold.
My feet freeze fast so I invest in very good boots.
One the positive side the deer move more in the cold! :) Nothing warms you up like pulling the trigger on a fine game animal. :sniper:
 
I was hunting in that cold snap (-29 C) in Alberta this Fall that was already mentioned. I dress in layers as allot of people have already mentioned so my body was comfortable. My hands, feet and face were the problems in the cold and on stand I had to move around allot. I put on a balaclava and bought some hand and foot warmers. The foot warmers are a peel and stick type so they don't move around in your boot. I bought a pair of half finger gloves with the flip over mitt that also had a pouch to put a hand warmer in. Everything was purchased at Can Tire and were relatively inexpensive. It's the only way to go for me from now on in cold weather and in fact, I had the foot warmers in my boots today when I was out sledding. Great products!
 
I spent a LOT of time out in the hills South of Moose Jaw, hunting in crappy weather.

The key for me was feet. If I could keep my feet warm, I was OK. When it was cold, I'd wear the CF issued white mukluks. Not worth a damn, until it got cold enough out that the snow would not melt on the outside of them. And the liners had to be dried without fail, every night!

I used to wear a couple layers of clothes, then zip up an old pair of white work coveralls over the whole lot. The coveralls held the seams together, cut down on the wind blowing through, below the jacket, around my middle. The zipper worked OK as heat control, when dragging out.

I wore a set of Ragwool finger mitts, and had a large pair of cheap black leather work mittens to wear over those. The left hand kept the two mitts at all times. The right mitten stayed in the coveralls pocket, and was used as the pocket to keep my hand in when I did not need it for other things. It allowed me to pull the right hand free in a hurry, and still use my fingers for the trigger and safety as required.

Nothing as nice as puttin' the hands into a nice warm gut cavity to get the latest deer cleaned out, when you are hitting near 30 below!

Cheers
Trev
 
I just wear my work cloths, it's what I trust and I know it works.

Tight T shirt, long sleeve shirt, light jacket with a big collar flipped up, coveralls, hoodie flipped up then a winter parka over top of it all.

Boots, I wear my Baffin work boots. The big $13 a pair "Read Head" socks from Bass Pro are nice when it's cold too.


When it gets much below -30 I need to put on my insulated bib overalls over all of it. Horribly bulky but necessary.
 
Good long johns,army pants,fleece pants over.T shirt long sleeve,hoody thick,fleece zipper front,cover with insulated coveralls and coat.light socks and baffin - 100 boots.Face mask wool, peak hat,toque,can sit for hours in tree,not for walking.
 
Gee, guys, -29C. Humph, come up here. It was -37 one day. And only 4 hours north. Who'd'a thunk it? Dang cold that day. NOT a DANG THING MOVING! And yet I was out.

Military gear all the way. Not really bothered by the cold since I am out a fair bit, but that wind this year was chilly. Once I blocked that, I was good to go. Several layers and the military mukluks were almost constantly used throughout the month of November and December. As long as the nose is covered, I am usually pretty good. Get rather cold on Stand after about 4 hours. Bought a ground blind this year in early november and when set up it cut the wind to nothing. Didn't seem to bother the deer either. Heated it when my wife was in it with my tursty old Coleman Catalytic heater. No noise.
 
I start off with a base layer of polypropylene,followed by layers of polar fleece,topped off with a layer or goretex.This combination is light and warm,as well as being wind and waterproof.Take off layers if you walk a lot,then replace them for sitting.

As for -25C,that is only cool for us Northern Albertans.Cold starts when it drops below -30.
 
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