The only things to be lost are time in the woods and hard earned money.
The only thing that I lose is maybe an extra half hour sleep in the morning. It does take a little extra time to get clean.
Money? About the only products that I spend extra money on is chlorophyll and an ozone machine (home unit not a field unit). The rest is stuff I'd buy anyway...soap, toothpaste, floss, Smartmouth rinse, laundry detergent.
How you use those products are as important as the products themselves. It's more a result of a system and effort and not the result of spending money on products. I lose no time in the stand because of my system...a little time in bed, maybe, but not in the woods. Prioritize...being prepared (showered and clean body and gear) takes precedence over a little bed time. I'll catch up on sleep after the season.
Most of odor reduction comes down to effort, it's not an extra cash expenditure.
Hey, half the battle in tagging the buck you want comes down to confidence in your tactic. Confidence leads to less doubts, which leads to more stand time and less second guessing about your set-up. If I question my set-up for the day (for whatever the reason), I'm more likely to be fidgety and impatient. A lot of my bucks came from persistence and stand time. I have to be confident with my choices for the day or the day becomes a long day with doubts.
If you feel you can pay little attention to personal hygiene and only depend on the wind, if that allows you to feel confident in your stand, then go for it. Hunt like you want.
For me, I just don't feel totally prepared for the hunt if I'm not paying attention to
all of the details. Odor reduction is just one of the several details I pay attention to.
Sporadic success can be attributed to luck. Consistent success is attributed to all the pieces of the puzzle coming together due to addressing details on a regular basis.
Not every hunter wants to put forth the same effort as other hunters and that can be defined in more than just odor reduction. Spending money on leases, lodging and transportation, knocking on doors to gain trespass permission, off season scouting, stand prep, access routes, equipment section and care, discipline in the employment of all these things...some guys think a lesser approach is more fun and that paying attention to all the little things is an annoyance.
Others, like me, enjoy all those details. For me, the hunt begins long before I head toward the stand. I like all the strategy and the prep.
Trad bowhunting in high pressure areas like Pa is hard enough. I want to take every precaution I can. For me, that's all part of the fun and contributes to the rewarding feeling I get when I tag. I've been doing it this way for so long that I just don't know any other way to hunt. To each his own. Good luck to you this fall.