Staying warm in cold weather... TIPS?

[Flee]

Don’t sweat going in. I wear my base layers in only. Even at 25-30 degrees. It’s cold but you’ll warm up in 5 min. I started wearing a normal medium weight wool sock walking in. And if I need to I change my socks at base of the tree. I did start doing the anti perspirant on my feet. Also use boot blanket with hand warmers.
Down is amazing. And as mentioned it doesn’t have to be made for hunting. I scored two down jackets of decent brand for cheap on eBay. Even a down vest for that extra layer just in case. And down vests can be found cheap. I found a good military primaloft pant to wear under an out layer pant for real cold temps. There are good down pants also but a little more pricey.
Basically a good base layer, mid layer, and shell or insulated jacket. Good brands are nice but the middle line companies work. To me it’s more about the middle layers. As mentioned neck and head matter. I’m a fan of the hand muff also with a light glove.
Don’t forget that with layers you need a forearm guard to suck in those layers for the bow string.

 

[Gbk68]

Watch the John Eberhart YouTube video on assortment of chemical warmers. Def an eye opener. I currently use a heated vest and socks. Both work great.

 

[Archer19422]

look into action battery heated clothing i am 64 and have used it for three years now cant beat it

 

[Chimney7]

Every time I see this thread pop back up I’m hoping for updates where you say you stayed toasty warm this season and bought nice socks!

 

[Bowhntr69]

I am not sure where you guys hunt that is dry enough to wear Crocs to the stand! I have good look with wool socks and toe warmers that stick to your socks. I wear LaCrosse uninsulated boots. It can be into teens here at times with greater than 50% humidity at times. Trust me humidity matters. Layering your clothing is key. When I was managing a bowhunting lodge along Mississippi River north of Vicksburg, I had clients from Michigan and New York that would freeze with Temps in 20-30's because of humidity. A good outer layer with that is windproof helps a bunch.

 

[DMTJAGER]

I have a multi faceted approach to hunting in very cold temps and my definition of very cold temps is anytime temps are at or below 20*F and will never increase past 20-25*F for the entire day
First I wear absolutely no cotton clothing (residents of Alaska have a saying " cotton kills")whatsoever all clothing is 100% synthetic, or wool
Second I wear a top and bottom base layer of 100% synthetic clothing that is highly efficient at and actually does wick away moisture
Third I layer in insulated LJ's that are constructed of a polypropylene wicking inner layer and a wool outer layer number of layers depends on temp and wind chill
Forth I wear clothing sized so as to be not be snug fitting to any degree not loose just not snug and absolutely not tight, to snug of clothing compresses your clothing and will dramatically reduce the clothing's ability to trap a maximum amount of air and retain body heat
Fifth absolutely do not allow yourself or your clothing to get sweated up while walking to your stand remain as dry as possible do this by dressing in a bare minimum number of top layers or dress as lightly as possible to avoid sweating at all while walking to your stand pack with you your final layers and heavy outer jacket
Same gos for your boots I wear thin 100% synthetic socks for the walk in the just before I climb up changev o my dry heavy insulating socks same applies if my boots have removable liners
Sixth Invest in at they very minimum windproof jackets and I do mean wind proof
Seventh windproof balaclavas are your friend and no warmer better cold fighting insulating head/ neck cover exists
Eighth invest in heavy good quality neck gators and finger mittens with a convertible flip top to wear over a thin pair of 100% windproof gloves also large enough to fit a Hot Hands mini chemical hand warmer in each next to your fingers
But beware of ones that use magnets to hold the mitten portion when you fold out of the way to the back of your hand the magnets will drastically affect your compass while you take a reading or setting a bearing
An alternative I use and can recommend is a tubular insulated hand warmer with chemical hand warmers inside use one with CHW and you hands will not get cold
Speaking of Hot Hands chemical warmers they are the cats bASS I use all sizes and in my gloves and the largest ones that have a peal and stick feature I use on my 2nd or 3rd layer of clothing to help keep my upper body warm good quality CHW will last and give 6-10 hours of usable warmth they also make them for your boots to be placed on your toes
Essentially to stay warm enough to remain comfortable enough to stay on stand and hunt you must keep your core temp up and two areas above all others warm you hands and feet and to do this nothing is more important than keeping your head and neck extremely well insulated and cut your body heat losses to an absolute bare minimum as we all know we loose estimates range from 60% to as much as 70% of our body heat from our head and neck area
To minimize sweating on my walk in I dress in 3-4 fewer layers on my upper body and max out the number of layers I put on my lower body and pack out 80-90% of my top layers
My strategy for sedentary stand hunting in very cold temps is to just prior to climbing up put dry feet wearing dry socks into dry boots that will absolutely keep my feet warm, keep my body and clothes dry and sweat free wear sufficient layers for the temps wear at least a windproof jacket, balaclava and gloves and use hand warmers to keep hands warm and maintain core temps
Lastly if at all possible pack a insulated jug of very warm liquid as drinking it will definitely help keep you warm and if you pack water either warm it up and store it in an insulating jug but when sedintary stand hunting avoid drinking cold liqids especially very cold at all costs as drinking cold liquids will definitely lower your core temp
Keep your core temp up, wear clothes that block and defeat the winds affect on you keep your head hands an feet warm and you can comfortably hunt in very very cold temp at least for 4-5 hours

 

[tmattson]

look into action battery heated clothing i am 64 and have used it for three years now cant beat it

Your socks, the wool blend version I assume. The ones that run off of AA batteries are much cheaper in price, think I would prefer that as I have a nice charger and lots of rechargeable batteries. Would give the option of carrying extra batteries. Just keep wondering in the socks really work.

 

[atwoodnative]

Cabela's Wooltimate - For the poster that asked about Cabela's Wooltimate, I have a jacket and pants and good stuff. I also have it in their berber fleece version and that is good stuff too. I think it all comes with that windproof inner lining, and as other posters in this thread say, blocking wind is critical. I also have their beanie hat in Wooltimate and neck gaitor and a vest in the berber fleece version.

Merino Next to Skin - For poster asked about wearing cotton under the merino, I'm not sure if you asked that if you were concerned about itchiness. I have had minimal issues with itch wearing merino wool next to skin. I wear it in September elk hunting, and if I get real sweaty in it I get a little itchy. But overall, no itch. I also have a few pair of merino boxers by First Lite.

 

[PineRiverSwinger]

Lots of great info in this thread. Will second the next-to-skin qualities of merino base layers. I do have a set of Smartwool boxer briefs but barely ever wear them under long johns. One of my non-hunting hobbies is winter camping, where you're not coming back to the truck each night, so clothing choices have the potential to be more consequential.

One thing I don't think has been mentioned for staying warm during a hunt is positioning chemical handwarmers (I like the Mega Warmers) over your kidneys, either using the adhesive ones or try to find the belt they used to make (or if you or your wife can sew, easy project). Just a band of fabric with two pockets over your lower back and some velcro or something to keep it together at the front. Lots of blood flow through that area, and they're fairly close to the skin. Amazing how much warmer you'll feel.

One last thing I'm not sure I saw - light gloves and a handmuff, vs heavy gloves. Can throw handwarmers in those too.

 

[Topdog]

IWOM xt and the mission platform, I fell asleep this year in a snow storm with that set up, no it’s not for everybody and I only wear it when its really nasty but man does it work, I wear light clothes in and crawl into that thing and it’s like being in bed under the blankets, for the record I only rifle hunt when it’s cold and would imagine it would take some more practice with a bow.

 

[Gbk68]

Layering is key. I wear 2-3 layers of Merino wool. Wooltimate vest and/or a heated vest. FL Solitude bibs and Woodbury jacket. Heated socks or Heavy wigwam socks. I also have polar fleece bottoms I can wear under my bibs.

Probably going to pickup a cold weather jacket that is wind proof. The Woodbury jacket serves me well for 80% of the season, but isn’t windproof.

 

[raisins]

Lots of great info in this thread. Will second the next-to-skin qualities of merino base layers. I do have a set of Smartwool boxer briefs but barely ever wear them under long johns. One of my non-hunting hobbies is winter camping, where you're not coming back to the truck each night, so clothing choices have the potential to be more consequential.

One thing I don't think has been mentioned for staying warm during a hunt is positioning chemical handwarmers (I like the Mega Warmers) over your kidneys, either using the adhesive ones or try to find the belt they used to make (or if you or your wife can sew, easy project). Just a band of fabric with two pockets over your lower back and some velcro or something to keep it together at the front. Lots of blood flow through that area, and they're fairly close to the skin. Amazing how much warmer you'll feel.

One last thing I'm not sure I saw - light gloves and a handmuff, vs heavy gloves. Can throw handwarmers in those too.

What advantage does the Grabber Mega Warmer have over Hot Hands? I've only tried Hot Hands and the yaktrax ones, and hot hands are better (more consistent).

I second the kidney position of the warmers. I like them high enough up that you can press down with your upper arms and push them into your side. It's like a little warm turbo blast every time you do it. I put them right at the lower rib cage.

 

[PineRiverSwinger]

What advantage does the Grabber Mega Warmer have over Hot Hands?

Local availability, mostly Plus they're "mega", which gives them supposedly longer life. Never tried the others but I'm sure any decent ones will work similarly.

 

[DanielB89]

Watch the John Eberhart YouTube video on assortment of chemical warmers. Def an eye opener. I currently use a heated vest and socks. Both work great.

What socks are you using?


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[dbow0603]

For me the first thing to ruin a hunt is cold feet. Lately I've been using Sorel snowmobile boots (because that's what i have) and milsurp bunny boots. Bulky and heavy but they keep me in the woods. A poncho liner ("woobie") is a big help as well.

Yes I use bunny boots too. Cheap and work just as good as anything out there. Hand muff is a plus. Honestly when it gets to single digits I just use a ground blind with a heater.

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[Gbk68]

What socks are you using?


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Snowdeer socks from amazon. So far so good. Three heat settings. Removable/rechargeable battery pack.
Saw a video where a guy tapes chemical handwarmer to the outside of his rubber boots(on the toe section) when in stand. Says they warm feet nicely

 

[Flee]

Snowdeer socks from amazon. So far so good. Three heat settings. Removable/rechargeable battery pack.
Saw a video where a guy tapes chemical handwarmer to the outside of his rubber boots(on the toe section) when in stand. Says they warm feet nicely

Before my boot blankets I cut off a pair of socks and used the elastic for the ankle to put around my toes and stuck a hand warmer under it.

 

[raisins]

Before my boot blankets I cut off a pair of socks and used the elastic for the ankle to put around my toes and stuck a hand warmer under it.

This is a really good idea. How was the traction on a stand? How far back on the boot did you go? Did it make a significant difference? How did it compare to boot blankets? I have Arctic Shield boot blankets, but I consider them a little bit overkill and I wish they were smaller to pack easily. Right now, they are lashed to the outside of my pack.

I'm thinking of trying this but might sew a channel to run elastic cord with a cord lock up top (can really cinch that down).

 

[Flee]

This is a really good idea. How was the traction on a stand? How far back on the boot did you go? Did it make a significant difference? How did it compare to boot blankets? I have Arctic Shield boot blankets, but I consider them a little bit overkill and I wish they were smaller to pack easily. Right now, they are lashed to the outside of my pack.

I'm thinking of trying this but might sew a channel to run elastic cord with a cord lock up top (can really cinch that down).

I used them from my climber and hang on days. It worked. Obviously not as good as boot blankets but it worked. They get chewed up and I’m not sure how they’d do with squirrel steps and so forth. But how many extra socks do we all have laying around to replace them.

 

[Gbk68]

Snowdeer socks from amazon. So far so good. Three heat settings. Removable/rechargeable battery pack

Before my boot blankets I cut off a pair of socks and used the elastic for the ankle to put around my toes and stuck a hand warmer under it.

watch the Eberhart video on chemical warmers. He explains how toe warmer are meant for boots because they require far less air circulation to be able to heat up. Hand warmers in boots most likely won’t get enough air to warm properly.
He also explains how you can simply put a body warmer etc in a ziplock bag when 4hr-ish hunt is over ...and the warming action stops(no oxygen). Take it out of the ziplock the next hunt and use the warmer again. No more need to waste 1/2 the life of an 8hr(or whatever) warmer....on a short hunt