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Cold Weather Saddle Hunting

raisins said:
nah, that is loud and picks easy

the downfall of down under exterior jacket is that the compression does hurt the down's insulation a bit...but i wear a thin jacket in/over and it is pretty roomy.....even with a bit of compression, the down is still way warmer than fleece and most other options

one tip is to put the down in a dryer with dryer balls every few hunts...the compression sack makes it not loft up as well....i see a difference in warmth after it has been fluffed up a bit....also, i don't store the down in the compression sack....i put it in the night before when getting my pack ready, but would never leave it for a week or something to really smoosh down
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Thanks!
 
Samcirrus said:
Thanks!
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glad to help...i'm super happy with that sea to summit compression sack....that company makes reallllly good stuff....the quality of the triglides and the webbing straps and how smoothly it glides and holds well is on another level

i hope sea to summit starts making more stuff like packs and jackets
 
raisins said:
glad to help...i'm super happy with that sea to summit compression sack....that company makes reallllly good stuff....the quality of the triglides and the webbing straps and how smoothly it glides and holds well is on another level

i hope sea to summit starts making more stuff like packs and jackets
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Yes I hate wearing a big backpack so the compression sack is intriguing! Also the down gear!
 
I’m a cold hunter, I have some tricks like you mentioned. Woolpower is the best base layer, bar none but it’s fragile, I use the top and bottoms. It dries the best, and has the best loft. I’ll typically go first light kiln over it on top for durability and some wind protection while walking in. When it’s real cold, I have down kuiu zip on pants, a puffy coat, heated pnuma vest, thick wool sweater, first light wool facemask over a wool hat, muff, boot covers, and chemical heat toe and muff packs. I use king of the mountain wool over all of it. Except usually the puffy pants are outer layer. It’s all quite quiet surprisingly. I sat all day the other day and it didn’t break freezing. Dark to dark. I mean I don’t love doing that, but I was not cold. I underboot because I use the boot covers. It was about a mile back up and down some hills, so I get easily heated. Can’t go too warm on boots or it’s just a wet mess by the time I’d get there. My pack is heavy, all the warm crap, plus stand/saddle/sticks
 
I wouldn’t know where to begin lol it’s “unseasonably cold” down here with a high in the 50’s…. :sweatsmile:
 
Maverick1 said:
Wear baselayers on during hike in, wearing backpack and carry bow.
Wear baselayers and saddle while setting up climbing sticks and platform/ROS.
Finish setting up. Climb down. Remove saddle.
Put on outer layers as needed. Put saddle back on.
Climb up sticks, get onto platform, and hunt.
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x2. This process works really well with sticks and a platform.

I slightly diverge as I pretty much consider what I wear in sacrificial due to sweat, so I go in lighter than my intended hunting base layers. Typically that's some old First Lite Merino bottoms and a tee. I change into thicker wool socks and synthetic core-HWT base layers to hunt.

I prefer minimal layers so I select outerwear appropriate for the degree of cold. In frigid temps I prefer Incinerator Bibs, Fanatic Jacket, and possibly add a puffy vest if necessary. It's just less to manage than "layering" systems.

When I used a Sit and Climb I changed in the stand sometimes. Maybe that isn't the safest, idk. I was always warm and dry to start the hunt.

I always take a moment to cool down before suiting up to hunt.

Starting out dry is huge imo.
 
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I'm 58 and both this year and last year I never once felt sweaty AND I one-stick AND no-Stick JRB style. I wear all my gear in AND up the tree too. I even have hot hands in my boots, gloves, and several around my core! Take my time getting to the tree WITH my jacket and top layers open, gloves off, hat off. I just wear insulated windproof pants over my jeans and long johns, and then a similar set up on top. Toasty!

WHEN it gets down past 10', I break out my old WarmBag! I cut a slot in the front for the tether to fit threw without having to unzip, so it works fine. I put it on once I get on stand, pretty simple.
 
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I have an Iwom too, and I can't imagine trying to put that on in the saddle... outstanding piece though, you won't get cold in that thing!
 
HeyBoom32 said:
I have an Iwom too, and I can't imagine trying to put that on in the saddle... outstanding piece though, you won't get cold in that thing!
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I've done it, but it's difficult. Lineman belt attached, pull the iwom over like a jacket. Feed the bridge through, and attach it. Undo lineman and pull the rest of the way down. Definitely requires dexterity to do
 
I wear fanatic bibs which are pretty warm on the morning hunts, I just unzip them and dump heat as I climb (1 stick mostly) zip them back up when I cooled off and slap some body warmers on the top of my boots (if wearing rubber) and put my top on. no issues. I usually bike in the majority of the way, that helps. areolite puffy pants/ vest if I temps allow also
 
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