Anyone hunt in the cold Sunday morning?

[slas]

I thought it would be a good day to test some of my cold weather gear I'd purchased over the summer. My Dewalt heated jacket was wonderful...well, for the two hours the fully charged battery lasted. Looks like maybe a new battery is in order? Had a generic beanie and camo full face cover that worked fine, other than my glasses kept fogging. For you hunters with glasses, how do you keep that from happening? My Heat Factory Fleece-Lined Ragg Wool Gloves were awesome. One of the best buys of the summer. My $24 Smartwool Hunt X socks with my Danner insulated boots were lacking some. My toes were getting pretty numb after 3 hours...to the point that that was what finally caused me to give it up.

Pretty much after the battery went dead on the jacket it was downhill from there. The shivering commenced, toes went and it was time to leave. I didn't see a single deer but did see two coyotes cross the field where I've been seeing deer all year. I had brought my latest rifle purchase, a Winchester 300 Win Mag, in hopes of getting a chance to test on some live game in prep for my upcoming Elk hunt. Maybe next weekend......

Anyone else brave the frigid temps and what worked as far as keeping you warm???

 

[dennishoddy]

I made it out Friday evening and Sunday evening. Elk hunt as well.
What I've found over the years is to stay away from the electric socks and outerwear and stick to the basics of layering. For an evening in the deer stand, maybe ok, but in the mountains where you could get lost or injured you want clothing/gear to enable you to survive a long night at sub zero temps.
My main issue is feet getting cold.
I would buy boots to fit with light cotton socks and come hunting season try to stuff my foot with three layers of socks into the boot. Severely limited circulation and the result was cold feet.
Now I take heavy Marino Wool socks with me to boot shop. Buy boots to fit that combo that aren't too tight. Wool socks retain up to 80% of their thermal capabilities even when wet with sweat or water.
Modern long johns come in different levels of use. Hi to low activity, cool temps to arctic wear. Wear the appropriate set for the activity you anticipate, then I start putting on layers of tshirts.
Last night at single digits, had three tshirts on with a heavy weight button up shirt. Insulated hunting pants with long johns underneath. Covered all that with carhart bib overalls, and a carhart work jacket over that with a hood. Stayed comfortable for three hours in the stand.
I wear glasses too. Keeping them unfogged can be an issue.

 

[slas]

Still need to get me some good insulated pants and insulated bibs....For my planned upcoming Elk hunt I wasn't planning on using the heated jacket, more for sitting. I figured since I was going to be carrying a pack and walking I'd just layer up and go from there. Sunday I had three layers of pants, long johns, pajama bottoms and then jeans. My legs didn't really get that cold but after three hours I was starting to feel the chill.

 

[makeithappen]

For Saturday morning, I wore a mesh like base layer, allowing my skin to breath during the hike in. Over that, spandex like layer, then a more bulky fleece like material. I then put on my camo pants and shirt, then coveralls. I wore cotton socks with wool socks over them. My hands and neck got cold. Hard to keep hands warm when bow hunting and I don't shoot with anything other than a thin glove. I usually put on a spandex face mask, then a wool/knitted facemask, but I forgot the spandex one, so the wind was biting through. Hunted for 3.5 hours before I left due to wind picking up.

 

[swampratt]

I was in the field from sun up to 1030 am saturday then went in to eat and back out at 1pm until dark.
Sunday was 4 degrees I dressed the same and lasted from before sun up to a bit after 9.
Nothing moving. I was chilly in my face as the north wind was hitting me head on ,, toes were cold everything else was fine.

T shirt and jeans then a camo hoodie and then walls coveralls and then cheaper camo coveralls.
Hands stayed warm.
black cotton glove on the right and a mitten glove on the left.
I pull my hand into the sleve of the coveralls or put them in my pockets.

My camo beanie face mask would freeze up around the nose area.
Keep glasses from fogging by breathing through your mouth as much as you can.

I had wool socks over cotton socks on inside my cheap spacious boots.
No issues at all saturday.
Sunday morning was a wee bit colder.

 

[swampratt]

On a side note I bet a guy at FAA I could ride my Honda V65 Magna there every day for 1 year.
He said no way .. ice sleet..Yep!
I did it and Yes i slid it down macarthur at 30 mph 2 times one day to get to work..I was laughing so hard.

It was iced over.. Best gear was My work clothes with the Walls coveralls and my leather jacket under them.
Ant the outside covering was a rain suit.
That broke 100% of the wind and the rest kept me warm.
25 miles one way to work.

I wore my made in USA (Then) Wolverine Durashocks and I had some big yellow slip on rubber boots that fit over the Wolverines.

I tested many different gloves and combo of gloves.
I found New Welding gloves worked best.

You drive 25 miles in the cold 10 degree days on a bike at highway speeds you find what works.

I also Had a neck brace I wore Like a simpson neck brace.

 

[dennishoddy]

Not a fan of cotton socks under wool.
When the cotton socks get damp to sweat or water they lose 100% of their thermal capabilities.
Marino wool socks don't itch.

 

[badrinker]

We left the boat ramp at 5 on Sunday, the temp in the truck read 6 degrees. For the boat ride I wore a fleece balaclava on my head, which I then exchanged for a mad bomber hat. 2 layers of underarmour knock-offs top and bottom, then fleece shirt and pants. 2 pair of wool socks, waders (1600 g thinsulate) a hoodie and a waterproof shell. For my hands I have big fat gloves for the ride in, but change them to glomitts after putting out decoys.
Next time it's that cold, I think I'll only use 1 layer of underarmour, I was plenty warm, and it made me a little too stiff to move easily.
I don't wear cotton when it's cold, it gets wet and stays wet, leading to the saying "cotton kills".

 

[justin_h635]

3 tshirts Dennis? Guessing not cotton? Please explain the tshirt theory?


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[dennishoddy]

3 tshirts Dennis? Guessing not cotton? Please explain the tshirt theory?k

First layer, UnderArmor long johns that wick the moisture,( I have some walmart Rockies that seem to do just about as good, and are a whole lot cheaper) next three Carhart long sleeve Tshirts, (not sure what material, and I'm too lazy tonight to go out to the shop and look) Next layer a medium thickness button up camo shirt probably from walmart,(because I want the double pockets on front to carry the cell phone and back up battery) non-insulated carhart bib overalls then the coat.
Layers being the key with the premium long johns being the first line of warmth. Gotta get that moisture away from the skin. Same with socks. Never cotton, Marino wool only.
Works at -25 in New Mexico at 9-10,000' for me. If the activity level is high, I dump layers into the back pack.