Hunting clothing for the cold

[Big Bad]

We used to wear dual wool jackets for high activity winter geophysics on snowshoes in Northern Ontario at temperatures from -10 to -40C.

I had two. A regular fitting good quality, button up wool jack shirt as the inner and a larger (sized to wear over the inner wool jacket), double shouldered, good quality, button up wool jack shirt as the outer when needed.

For pants we used those old felted wool German surplus pants with good button suspenders and no belts that restrict circulation.

How I miss those German army wool trousers, damn they were fine. We went in opposite directions though- despite careful care, they unfortunately shrank (seriously) while I grew. I did not then have the habit of buying large fitting clothing but the loss of those Bundeswehr pants are one reason I acquired it (it's also warmer and more mobile).




Edit: 'Heavyweight wool hunting pants' from Big Bill are the next best thing I've found, and that was after a lot of looking. Now sold on Amazon, I see.

 

[LawrenceN]

I'm an old guy (75) and normally hunt on a stand. I'll spend the day so being warm is a big priority for me. I have very warm boots with good wool socks but I have a piece of rigid insulating foam wrapped in plastic that I put my feet on so there's no ground contact. One of the best investments I made was a muff. I used to bring at least 2 pr. of gloves, one on my hands and one pair next to my body and keeps switching them as my hands cooled. Now I have a rechargeable hand warmer in my muff and with that combination I keep my hands very comfy for the whole hunt.

 

[Third Rail]

I'm an old guy (75) and normally hunt on a stand. I'll spend the day so being warm is a big priority for me. I have very warm boots with good wool socks but I have a piece of rigid insulating foam wrapped in plastic that I put my feet on so there's no ground contact. One of the best investments I made was a muff. I used to bring at least 2 pr. of gloves, one on my hands and one pair next to my body and keeps switching them as my hands cooled. Now I have a rechargeable hand warmer in my muff and with that combination I keep my hands very comfy for the whole hunt.

I have my daughter's sleeping bag from when she was a child. It is small enough that it is manageable to step into onto my treestand and comes up to my waist. I can sit for hours and it does not hinder my movement.

I have been using a hand muff for about 7 years now and it is a game changer. Got the electric hand warmer a couple of years ago and I can now say that it is usually sitting too long on my arse that prompts me to leave my stand.