caplock

I have had a HBS for about 10 years, only use it when it gets cold 15 or colder. Works real well at keeping me warm. Very easy to get out of and shoot, bow or gun. I like it better than getting all bundled up, much easier to shoot. Never had a problem warming up again after opening seems to warm right back up.

Big Bullets

I do not have dogs in this fight but, I am curious. You can buy a good sleeping bag for way less than $250. A couple of bucks for waterproofing if not already so.

Why not use that and save money? You may have to do a couple of mods but, they did so on the HBS with the heater pockets, etc.

sproulman

for years i used a WAL-MART JUNIOR SLEEPING BAG.
i put suspenders on it and it worked fine.
cost me 16 dollars and is CAMO too.
only problem it was not wind proof.not bad tho as you said.
water proof it was not also but usually you only use bag in cold, so no rain.

you are right.
i have WARMBAG .i like holes out the side.i like idea i can walk into woods and out wearing the warmbag.it is windproof and water proof.
other than that,YOU ARE RIGHT.
16 dollars vrs 350 for HBS .but HBS can go to below zero, so can sleeping bags too but they will cost over 100 to do so.

but i have a WARMBAG and like it.

Big Bullets

Even at $100 plus, still a bargain! I can do the sewing stuff myself. No cost there. All I need is a can of spray waterproofing and a few days to air out the smell. Maybe some cover scent for those picky deer.

Joot

^^ You're missing the point for wanting a warmbag. A warmbag will allow you to sit hours on end up in a tree stand in sub zero temp, waiting for a deer, doing no physical work. You're sweating because you're moving, doing physical work on the ground. Two different scenarios...

L. Clement

Well it finally got cold enough for me to adequately try out my HBS. I will say trying to put it on in the tree stand takes a little getting used to. Trick is put your right foot in first, this is the non zippered leg, then the left go’s in very easily as the zipper runs to the bottom of that leg. After that I pull it up, throw the suspenders on, and make sure you don’t miss the bottom snap button (keeps the suits zipper from going down to far when you come out to shoot).

Today I went out this morning and the temp was around 29F with a slight NW breeze at 730am. Around 1030a the wind suddenly picked up to 15mph with gusts to 20 mph according to the local airport ½ mile from me. I waited until I was as cold as I could stand to be before I put the suit on. After a few minutes in the suit I started to feel like I was warming back up. I really liked that the suit was breaking the wind and keeping the warmth inside. I was able to stay out from 730a-1230p with not many issues. My feet got wet as I walked in, shouldn’t have walked through the marsh like did and wont next time so my feet were a bit on the cool side but that was my only discomfort. I know that if I hadn’t worn the suit my feet would have been numb within 2 hours of the hunt and would have sent me to the truck. Had my feet stayed dry I think I would have been better off and ill be sure to not make this novice mistake again. (also need better boots)

Around 830a 4 doe’s appeared about 80 yards up wind, figuring a buck was following I quietly and easily unzipped, stood up, and grabbed the bow. The suit naturally fell off my shoulders and I was ready. The deer came to with in 5 yds of my stand, one standing right at the ladder. They stayed for 30 min looking at me and wind checking. Since they were so close I couldn’t make a flinch. This time out of the suit was the coldest I had ever been the whole hunt! Finally the doe’s moved and I was relieved to crawl back in. To my amazement I eventually stopped shivering and warmed back up. Having deer that close and then being able to warm back up was a great feeling. It was then obvious to me that the suit keeps more heat in then it lets out which is the key.

As I sat for the rest of the hunt I was pretty content operating the zipper to bleat, grunt, and use the range finder.

My watch said 1230p when I decided to head out and I really didn’t feel like I had to leave due to being cold. I was more hungry then anything, I remember dreading crawling out of the suit to roll it up and that allowed me to delay my departure a few extra minutes. In the past when I got cold I couldn’t wait to get out of the timber.

I’m sure a sleeping bag of either high or low quality would defiantly help but I would say a lot of body heat would escape out of the top of the bag, (convection) plus not having the wind proofing would have been an issue for me to day. At this point I don’t see how I could leave home with out the HBS.

Always where a safety harness when wearing this!

ADVWannabee

I am glad it works for you but I can't believe that 29 is considered cold. I thought you were going to say it was in the teens or lower. I hunt below freezing and even into the teens and can stay warm enough without the HBS. The best investment I ever made was in a pair of insulated bibs and a new hunting coat. I have an Arctic Shield coat from Bass Pro, a Field & Stream inuslated bib plus I wear long johns and a fleece under the coat. With that and a good hat I stay much warmer than I ever use to in cold weather.

You mentioned your feet got wet, are your boots not waterproof? Also, what kind of socks were you wearing? Wool socks keep their warmth even when wet but I would say it is best not to get your feet wet anyway.

L. Clement

29 was mainly cold because of the stiff blowing right into my face and I didn’t wear many clothes in to the timber as I wanted to test the HBS. I figure a few less layers at 29F with 20 mph wind would come close to the 0F with the same wind. Either way that wind was definitely pulling the heat away a lot quicker.

I don’t think 29F is very extreme but it was the coldest day we have had so far. Very mild for Iowa this time of year. Been a hot summer and a mild fall.

My boots are supposed to be water proof as they have gore-tex but they do seep when I walk through standing water. I had on just a liner sock. My feet sweat all the time and when I wear wool they sweat even more. Having cold feet was my main reason of buying the HBS as I have literally tried everything to deal with cold feet. Rubber boots, liner and wool socks, liners only, wools only, cotton, plastic bags in my boots then put on dry socks once I got to my stand, sprayed my feet with unscented antiperspirant… nothing works as my feet constantly sweat. I came to realize that keeping my core body temp up was the only way.

Ive hunted in -30 before and that will be the real test. Hope I get my deer before that though LOL.

caplock

used mine over the weekend, 8 deg plus windchill on saturday and sat for 5 hours in morning no problem, definitely better than being all bundled up.