RE: Why is hunting gear.....
I just last year think I finally pinned down the perfect layering system for my bowhunting. I hunted w/ this system from 10/1 the whole way through 1/15 in late season in PA.
I have the x scent under garment setup. I have 3x pairs of this stuff. I bought it all from Walmart, for about $35 a set. This stuff is awesome at wicking moisture.
On top of this stuff, I have a scent lok savanna coverall w/ head cover. I layer this on top. When it is warm (50+ degrees), this is all I wear. I may pack my fleece jacket in my pack on the way in just to cut the chill while waiting for the sun to come up.
Last year I bought at Dick's Sporting Goods a set of no-scent fleece wind proof/water proof hooded jacket and pants. These things are awesome. I think I paid $35 for the jacket on a early fall sale, and about $40 for the pants. These things are dead silent, really warm, and they really are water and wind proof. I will layer these on top of my x-scent and savanna suit as needed and this honestly keeps me warm well into the 25-30 degree temps. When it gets cooler, I will layer hensley/mock turtle neck sweat wicking material shirts between the x-scent/savannah suit as needed and this has kept me warm down to 10-15 degrees or so last year during late season.
The best boots I have ever owned are a pair of Lacrosse Alpha Burly's w/ 800 grams of thinsulate in them. They are actually bearable in warmer temps even into spring turkey season, and if I layer a x-scent wicking sock under a wool sock (buy the boots big) I am comfortable down into the 20's or so. If it gets any cooler I use stick on types of toe warmers and am fine for an all day sit with these. These boots feel like slippers inside and I have many times put 5+ miles in a day on them while turkey hunting and my feet are comfortable the whole time. I love these boots and think they are the best tool I have in my hunting "tools".
The last thing I love the most is my backpack/quiver system I use. I kind of stole the idea for this rig from Michael Waddell. It consists of a $50 modular backpack I got from wally world. It is actually a really nice pack that I can zipper off the main backpack portion from the fanny pack. On the kidney strap of the fanny pack, I have attached a quiver bracket for a kwikee quiver. It tucks the arrows/quiver up and behind me and they are out of the way there, protected, and don't get caught on stuff while walking through the woods (unless I walk backwards). I also use the main compartment of the bag for packing in layers of clothes, as well as food, a book, compass, knives, calls, scents, etc. I will try to take a pic of this rig tonight when I get home because I love it so much. I have a quikee quiver bracket on the pack, on the bow, and another on a screw in thingie that I use to attach the quiver to the tree. When walking in the woods, the quiver is attached to the pack. When climbing the tree, I attach it to the bow and pull up w/ the bow, and once up there, I screw it into the tree. It works beautifully and for about $80 or so I had an awesome pack and quiver setup that is easily customized. The pack also has a bladder pouch to add in camel pack style.