Cold Weather Gear while bowhunting???
 

Someone please tell me how the guys and gals you see on TV are not bulked up from a lot of clothing when it is extremely cold and windy. I have been going to Illinois for 3 years now and I tend to have to pile on the clothing to stay warm. Does anyone know what type of clothing they are using or some of you are using to avoid the bulkiness? I don't have too much on where it interferes with me shooting my bow but it looks like they don't have much on.

they are wearing under armour. It is very thin and works on compression and wicking. I have some and it is unbelieveable. I live in Ohio and it is quite cold here during the rut. I wear the u/a and layer like crazy. It is also a good scent control garment. They have it almost anywhere but @Cabelas for sure. Good luck I have alywas been told that if your hands are cold cover up your head and that is true. If you can keep your head covered you will be warmer. You will notice that in the shows they often have a bunch of hats on.. Good Luck this season.

Under armour is the key...wicking and built to conserve heat. Also wool is awesome for cold weather. Its important to stay dry and "cold" as you walk to the stand, then get dress after you have cooled off. Same goes for your feet...I change my socks or use un-sented antiperspirant on my feet

I'm going to try "The Heater Body Suit" this year. I've read many good reviews. You can probably still get the $25 discount if you call them. Ebay has a couple listed under $200. Just my two cent...

I personally don’t think it has to do with Under Armor but more with layers of the correct material and what areas you protect. There are 3 key areas you must protect or you wont last in the woods on a cold day. In no particular order, Head/neck area, hands, feet. If one of these areas gets cold, you will be down out of your stand quicker than anything.
-For the feet, wool socks are awesome, they wick away moisture and keep your feet warm. Good boots are essential too. I like a boot with 1000 grams of thinsulate and waterproof. I hear a lot of people talk about putting hand warmers in the toes of their boots but I don’t see how that works if your boots fit your feet, where is the room for that to be in there, plus they need the oxygen to keep going, there isn’t much in the boot and the hand warmer will use it up in a heart-beat and you don’t get the full life of the hand warmer. Buy good boots and socks and your feet will stay warm.
-Head/neck area is crucial as this is where a lot of your body heat escapes from. A good wool stocking cap is a great way to keep heat from escaping your head. Couple that with a fleece face mask (I have one that goes over my entire head like what you see firefighters where at times) and you have a solid foundation for your head region to stay warm. But don’t stop there, if its really cold, make sure you have something around your neck as well, its another area that’s usually overlooked where heat can escape. A good mock turtleneck shirt is a good way to retain heat. This part is great if you are gun hunting, a small rolled up towel wrapped around the back of your neck and sides is a great way to keep heat in.
-The hands are a must obviously, and we will go back to wool again. A good pair of wool gloves with the fingers cut out of your release hand along with a hand muff tied to your waist is a good way to keep them digits warm. You can stuff hand warmers in your hand muff for instant warmth on your hands.

But to answer your question regarding bulky clothes and being able to shoot well, just do layers of the proper clothing. And like I said before, I don’t think Under Armor is the answer, yes it is thin and helps retain heat but for the money, I would for a different approach personally. Along with what I said about head, hands, and feet, I would go with a good set of polypro long underwear for starters, I would then put on a pair of fleece pants and my pair of cold weather bibs. You can always tuck one or two of those body warmers down your legs if you really need to. Now here is where you can save some money and loose some of the bulkiness on the top half of your body, where shooting your bow counts. After you put your polypro top on, grab a thermacare heat wrap and wrap the areas closest to your kidneys with it, its Velcro type front will allow you to adjust to get it right where you want, and they are inexpensive. Now you can throw on your mock turtleneck shirt, a fleece pullover (quarter-zip style) and then your outer jacket. You have very minimal clothing on with a lot of ways to retain heat on your body while giving heat to a core area of your body at the same time.

I honestly don't know.

The past 2 years, I've been wearing:

1. Moisture-wicking socks then wool socks over them & 600 gram insulate boots.

2. Long underwear and/or jeans with winchester insulated fleece bibs on top. Jeans are much warmer than sweatpants in my opinion.

3. Turtleneck, sweatshirt, denim or silent weave button-up shirt, and fleece pullover. The button-up really blocks the wind and the sweatshirt provides warmth.

4. Fleece stocking hat with full face mask built in with small slits/openings for eyes, nose & mouth
OR Beanie with a neck gaiter & 3/4 facemask

5. I wear light gloves and keep them in my pockets practically the whole time & usually bring a handwarmer or two.


I find under armor when deer hunting makes me colder than this set up. When I am after waterfowl where I'm moving more I wear under armor (and a completely different layering technique), but in a treestand, I have not been cold with this yet in IL. Usually temps down to 10 degrees, sometimes colder in wind.