Question about properly layering
 

Hello all!

I am hunting in the midwest (Northern Missouri). You never know what the temps will be here it could be 50 in November or 10...
Last year it was pretty cold so I am preparing for that. Here is what I have so far and looking for some recommendations.

Base layer: Lightweight Merino boxers, lightweight merino long johns and lightweight merino long sleeve
Mid layer: Heavyweight Merino zip up for a shirt and 600 fill weight scent lock pants.
Insulation layer: Cabela's 600 fill weight Puffy jacket
Socks: Midweight merino socks
Boots: Mucks Wetland
Hat: Merino beanie

Looking to add some good bibs and a shell possibly. What would you add or take away from this?

I wouldn't go hunting without a silk or merino wool scarf. If my neck gets cold, so do I. If you get too warm, just take it off.

I'm a big fan of coveralls. You can unzip for the walk in and zip up when you stop. Same with the jacket I wear under the coveralls, even the same with the down vest I wear under my jacket when it gets really cold. Unzip everything and it vents when your walking, the legs in the coveralls act as an air pump. A good reason to make sure everything is large enough, nothing binds and air circulates well when the zipper is down. Just an opinion, there is no such thing as too big, trapped air is an outstanding insulator. I really don't give a squat how it looks as long as it is functional.

well, I like wool, but never been a BIG fan of it as my base layer, I prefer something that wick's away sweat better and drys faster and well is softer and smoother to the skin than wool!

I always think that where many hunters go wrong in cold weather is being over dressed /insulated when walking in to a stand,
they break a sweat, get core too hot and then once on stand, they have some hat defeated ALL that good gear they have on, by having a damp/sweaty/or wet layer of clothing next to there shin, which, then as core cools down from being stationary and motionless,
you end up cold!
I like to wear as little as possible in on the walk to the stand, carry what I will wear for all day sits and add layers once I sit a while and cool down from hike in!,
even short hikes/walks into stands, i Never wear all my gear or even most of it
coveralls are nice if they have LOTS of zippers to allow venting, but I still carry mine in over wearing!

heater type body suits are also very good things for longer sits or folks that don't like the cold as much!

Coveralls are probably good but I wouldn’t get it personally.

A friend of mine used to wear them until one year he had to take a dump and crapped in his hood. The following year after discarding his hood guess where he ended up taken a dump in. After that he was done with coveralls

This has got to be a personal preference as everyone has a different tolerance of cold weather. I suspect my answer would be different if you were asking about and I had knowledge regarding remote mountain/wilderness hunting where weight and minimalist concerns are greater.

I hunt Illinois temperatures and conditions. Never too far away from the truck (i.e. less than one mile). I don't get carried away with any type of material, brand, or system. The only thing I do religiously is wear the minimum amount of clothing to keep me warm while walking to the stand and climbing the tree. I carry all of my outer clothing in a backpack and put in on in the tree as I cool down. The last thing I want to do is sweat. I buy thermals in the spring when I find them on clearance and wear them until worn out. For extreme cold, I have a bib and parka from Cabelas. Extremely warm and waterproof.

My undergarments including socks get washed in scent proof detergent after each use. Outerwear gets washed before season and rarely thereafter unless I feel they are compromised.

When the mercury drops below the zero mark my attire is the light weight Under Armor the military issued ECWG (extreme cold weather gear) either a heavy ThinsuliteGor-tex pant or a pair of flannel lined denim pants and Gor-tex over pant if its wet. Upper the same under clothing a heavy flannel shirt and my Browning or Arctic Shield jacket. A Gor-tex hat with a heavy balacava in my pack. On my feet is a silk calf high sock then a nice thick wool sock. Depending on the temp or how I plan on hunting I will either wear a pair of 800 gram thinsulite leather boots or 1200 gram thinsulite rubber boot.
I carry extra socks in my pack and my pack is big enough that I can put in any garments that I may not wear or need to remove.

Layering
 

Before living in Southwestern Va I lived in NY and grew up hunting there and in the Poconos in Pa. Temps vary in all these places and I found that an Underarmour base layer, which does a terrific job of wicking moisture has been the ticket in all locations (since it became available). Typically I’ll add a couple more light layers, one being merino wool when it’s cold to that. My plan is to be able to add layers , or remove them, based on changing conditions but in all cases they tend to be lighter in weight and all are moisture wicking. I’m also a strong believer in having something that I can zip up around my neck when it gets chilly. I don’t think any one garment works for everything so I have options and use them accordingly. Lastly, I like pockets as I’m a bow hunter and hate shooting with heavy gloves so being able to keep my hands warm while I wait is critical to me. Been doing this for a long time (46 years of hunting) and as materials improved over that time I adjusted.