I'm going thru a midlife crises on what to wear for hunting. I have always wore camo of some sort, never got cought up in having to wear the latest fashion statement for camo, if it looked like it would conceal me and the price was right I bought it. Right now I'm wearing a department store leafy suit and I like it, but it is getting worn and I have been accumulating wool wear ( some of it is Fred Asbell's stuff) I love the traditional look and feel of wool, it makes me feel complete as a trad hunter, but................... Then my more youthful brain (that has been brainwashed over the last 50 years with the need for the latest greatest gadgets and trendy hunting outfits ) kicks in and I think I need the latest greatest gillie suit I see so much talk about here. Then I wake up the next day looking at the cool woolens (dreaming about that woolen two tracks vest :) ) and I want to be a true trad hunter when I grow up. ( walk the talk, and talk the walk :) )
Just throwing this out for tradgang conversation, I enjoy everyones thoughts and they will be used to help me thru this mid-life crises :dunno:
Thanks,
Dan
The "pattern" (or lack thereof) may not be what the fellas on TV say you should use, but you simply blend in, much like an animal. I think it's from the natural fibers and the way they reflect light. I wouldn't even worry too much about the color, just worry about not stinking and hunt the wind.
I killed a couple of deer last year wearing a green plaid shirt, was still wearing some natural gear pants as I haven't found any that I like that are not camo. I still normally wear camo but realize now that it's not required to be hidden from a deer's standpoint.
I understand that we all have slighty different ideas as to what constitutes trad archery, but ultimately it comes down to what you like and makes you feel good about yourself. There's nothing wrong with camo, there's nothing wrong with wool and there's nothing wrong with plaid. It all works and it's all good.
Some people wear camo while others basically don't. Me, I like to wear camo. Even if I don't bag something, I look.....GOOD! :thumbsup:
Over the years, I've looked at lots of camo patterns and for me, I liked how Predator camo looked and how it concealed me even if I was out in front of bushes or in front of trunks of trees.
Since I live in the evergreen pines of southeast Texas, my camo of choice is Predator. So I have "10" full sets of Spring Green and also of Fall Gray and the disconintued Fall Brown. I prefer these patterns over Predator's Deception pattern.
I figured since I loved these patterns, Predator would discontinue one or more of them. I was right since Predator discontinued Fall Brown, but with "10" sets of all three patterns, I'm set for the rest of my life. :D
Google Predator and check out their patterns.
You know what? Some days I wear wool and some days I wear modern syntheics. Some days I mix the two.
It doesn't seem to matter a hoot.
When it's 60°F I prefer the lighter synthetics or even, gasp, killer cotton. In fact, the image in my avatar is plain green Polartech 200 jacket and mil-spec green cotton pants. No camo or pattern at all.
Though I did once notice two deer pointing their hooves at me and laughing.
I go back and forth between one of the name brand camos and brown, red, green flannel. I dont see a difference as far seeing game when wearing either.
There is a "free" preview of the Sportsman's Network on Dish this month. I saw an add for this camo and I think it is perfect for your mid-life choice.
(http://www.rockytrail.com/camobooty.jpg)
Good work Stump!! Archerporn! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I use camo but nothing fancy mix and match whatever I buy.Last year after a morning hunt my grandaughter asked to take a walk in the woods.My wife came also and took these pics.I try to blend in but plaid also works.Kip
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/camping2009etc013.jpg)
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/camping2009etc012.jpg)
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/camping2009etc016.jpg)
I think it helps and I use it.I also use a face mask when hunting.Kip
I'm using ASAT; mainly the leafy suit as it lets me wear whatever I want underneath it, usually lightweight merino wool that I layer depending on the temperature.
Wool...nothing looks better nor works as well. Just my two cents, which in today's economy isn't worth much.
I'd be styling with stump killer's camo !
I'm really leaning towards making the leap to wool, but I'm surprised to read a lot of camo people here. I guess what I'm mentally struggling with is you see the high tech pics with the hunter hidden by his camo in the woods, and then you see the occasional plaid wool hunter pic that is not blended in at all. I'm thinking I will look like a neon sign out there. But mentally I would feel real traditional, and I am enjoying that feeling, but feelings don't get deer.
Buy a Rolex(cheaper than a Corvette) to ease your midlife crisis and hunt with what youve got. What were you wearing when you kiledl your last deer with? :thumbsup:
I've been wearing Predator for years and I feel like I'm so invisible I can't even find myself half the time. But I have a friend who routinely pokes mule deer wearing whatever tee shirt he grabs, white, red, blue whatever and blue jeans, which is a color that really stands out to deer. He's just really good -- uncanny -- at being in the right blind spot at the right time.
I wear camo. Always have and always will. I think camo is not nearly as important as we make it out to be. My father never wears camo. He wears a tee shirt and blue jeans. If it is cold he will wear a sweat jacket. He kills deer no problems. Heck he kills more deer than I do.
i got to where i dont have as much money to spend as i did in the past on huntin clothes. and as they became rags, i have just been huntin more and more in jeans, and a green t shirt, or a plaid flannel overshirt, seems to work just as well as any camo i have ever worn...I do have some wool for colder weather hunts.
My favorite camo is Predator camo. I bought a few sets of it about half a dozen or more years ago. I think it and ASAT or the 2 best camos out there.
That bein' said, I don't think it's necessary. Wool is great if ain't too hot. Plaid is just as good as good as any. All that said, if ya pay attention, don't move, and watch your scent which is most important any way, you don't need any of the above. Save your money and slow down. :bigsmyl:
predator! hands down no comparison. i have shot at deer and missed while they stood there and watched me in my tree stand knock another arrow and get em on the second shot.i shot an 8 point at 20 yards wearing predator that i stalked in a soybean field.and i had a turkey at an arms length away and a hawk once who was swooping down at im guessing my moving eyeballs. i love that predator camo!
Deer don't care what you wear. Keep your human scent down, keep your movements down and hunt with the wind in your favor.
Predator camo rules. It's the only camo I buy anymore.
Hmmm........ Not too many wear wool ? I know the camo works, it was the plaid type wool I was wondering about.
I must admit when I posted this question I was leaning towards plaid wool, now I'm really confused on if I want to make the leap.
My heart (traditional) side wants wool, my brain says camo. Hence midlife crises.
Dan
Just get a 3-D leafy suite, and put it over your woolens, then you have both and your doubly as cool!
I have regular 3-D leafy and ASAT 3-D, ASAT works great out west, works over here in the Northeast but not as well.
I wish they sold predator in 3-D leafy, the green is great over here in this neck of the woods.
To tell the truth I've bought very little camo in the past 6 0r 7 years. Most of my hunting is done in bib overalls, a plaid flannel shirt, and an old worn out green jacket. I love predator camo but the new stuff is too expensive. I'm still wearing camo that I bought 10 years ago and most of it is military surplus.
gray wolf woolens makes great wool camo, as does first lite, kuiu has wool camo baselayers, day one also has wool in asat but I haven't tried that. I love wool and love camo, have your cake and eat it too!! lotsa days i wear pure wool. Merino baselayers, gray wolf outer layers, its awesome
I wear camo and like kuiu or firstlite merino base layers. Add a max-1 firstlite sweater over that when needed. If it gets really cold throw on the primaloft jacket. Rain and wind, add the goretex raingear... now I can take just about anything nature can dish out. If its hot, a pair of shorts and the old asat 3d suit works good. I'm talking about the old asat, before the new owners changed the pattern. I had a bird land on my shoulder once in that suit and elk look me in the face, headnet on, at 2 feet.
With all that said, you don't really need camo. But I would do something about the face. Facepaint works well and it keeps you from getting sunburned. YMMV
Just wool plaid shirt, one thin, one heavy, a wool vest and a Asbel plaid Mac for when it gets realy cold... A pair of wool pants most of the time. I tried every thing, and wool is the best camo or not!!
Do a search on the web for some new camo called Vertigo.
I used to use some of the skyline camo thats no longer being made and some of thier patterns were excellant at breaking up the human outline.Which is what I like.Especially in a tree with a nice buck at 15 yards.They also work very well on the ground.
I dont get too excited about all the camo available.Most of it makes me yawn.But these Vertigo patterns look excellant to me.i have not bought any camo in like 10 years.I think i will buy some of this as I could use some new duds.
Take a look at it !
I get the camo thats on sale .I hate wool feels itchy. But do alot of hunting when its cold in flannel shirts. It all works. I do use a face mask and light wieght camo or brown gloves my bright pink skin shows for miles.Deer and coyotes ect do not need to see you they can smell and here where your at. IMO.
Okay. I hope I don't offend anyone here. I have been reading all these threads about what is Trad. I must admit that I also have been looking at wool plaid. The fact is I have never owned any and the stuff is very expensive to buy it new. I check the second hand stores but I never find it there either. You can buy camo synthetics now with scent control for a lot cheaper than wool and it can be washed easily. I don't have any place to hang my clothes outside where they won't get rained on so this is a big deal to me. My offending question is why does hunting have to be a fashion show anyways? The clothes I buy to hunt in are for hunting. No one sees me wearing it.
Bicster, I agree with you on the fashion statement, I sometimes talk with a little bit of sarcasm and that was what I was saying when I talked about getting the latest camo fashion out there. With that said I used to (25 years ago) have to have the latest greatest model year wheelie bow, it seemed like they were changing yearly back then. The same was for camo, new looks were coming out yearly (and I think they still are) and I had to have them. Now is where the midlife crises jokingly comes in. I have matured into realizing it's what you know and not what latest bow or fashions you are wearing, I have also matured into enjoying the challenge trad archery brings, along with age I enjoy relaxing and flinging and building arrows. I don't carry a cell phone when I hunt (not saying that's the smartest thing) but I enjoy getting away from all that high tech crap. Again I attribute that to my maturing and knowing what I like & enjoy. With all this maturing talk going on, I do want to wear wool, I think it is very warm and quality stuff, and I will admit I like the trad feeling it gives me (notice I said feeling, not look or style, my looking stylish & picking up wild women days were 30 years ago lol) I guess I'm saying I want to wear wool.
But......... I my brain keeps telling me I will stick out like a sore thumb wearing plaid in the woods, and I am trying to decide how much concealment I'm giving up in trade of "feeling" traditional. Now I use the word "feeling" that's just me, I don't care what other hunters wear or how they "feel" that's there choices, maybe they want to look stylish in the woods. I get my rocks off looking & feeling traditional.
I can calculate ( therefore make a decision) on how much I am giving up by using a trad bow over a crossbow, I chose the trad bow for the enjoyment. I cannot calculate how much I am giving up by wearing plaid wool over the latest greatest camo fashions. I can go In my backyard and shoot a friends latest greatest bow and compare that to my shooting with my trad bow (plus draw upon years of experience with modern bows) and I know exactly what I'm trading off in performance.
I do not know, nor do I want to spend my next 5 years of hunting in plaid wool doing an experiment so I can know what the comparison is, I guess I was hoping someone else has done this experiment.
This question is hard to put into words, as it is not a yes or no, black & white answer, it is one of them touchy - feely type questions. I know I'm probably giving up some performance with plaid, I just don't have a clue how much.
Dan
Here is what to do. Buy yourself a set of Minus33 100% Merino Wool top and bottom baselayer. Grab you a cheap wool sweater from a goodwill store and then top it all off with the NaturalGear Fleece with windblock. I just got the NatGear Fleece with the windblock and it is awesome. Great looking product too.
I found out last year trying to be "traditional" like to froze me to death when the bad weather hit. I had layers of wool but when the wind started cutting completely through me all this talk about wool being warm went out the door with me. Plus, I find it cheaper than all the "traditional" clothing.
PM me if you would like the place I ordered the Natgear from. Got free shipping and it was on my doorstep the next day, plus additional savings with a coupon code.
Dan,
Here are some thoughts on plaid as camo for ya.
Natural predators have spots (leopards), stripes (tigers), or are a solid color (puma, lion). Big cats use stealth more than predatory dogs do so I think they are a better comparison. Those predators are required to move so the large contrasting shapes break up their outline. I think 3 of the best patterns we have that follow that constrasting idea are predator, asat, and plaid wool. Combine any of those patterns with wool -a nonreflective quiet material and you have got great concealment. Look at the asbell wool color montana magic -its the equivilant to a mountain lion with some brown tiger stripes on top -awesome camo.
I had a friend come hunting with me a few days ago, I lent him a black/brown asbell pullover and a pair of gray wolf wool pants in predator, and my asat first lite bavaclava. He got out of our little natural ground blind to pee and 15 yrds down the trail he was really hard to pick out -and he was walking!
In nature only prey animals have mimicry camo -trying to look like leaves and sticks, like insects, moths, toads. Realtree and mossy oak are great if you don't want a bird to eat you.
Even as we age, it seems as if we still want to just fit ino the scene(Pun also intended).
New Camo fads and fashions work fantastic. Just look how invisible their actual expense vs. return are to the masses who buy them. Yes, I too have repetitively been a victum. Still recall routinely harvesting deer while wearing jeans and flanel.
Now turkeys still have my attention when it comes to blending in. Sunday slacks or whatever for the bottoms and all black up top when blind hunting. If I'm stalking, then the camo bug owns me.
Note: I still am in favor for opting for the best protection from the elements. I'm not as tough as I once was nor am I tough once as I ever was.
I wear what I think will blend in the best, stink/sweat the least, and keep me comfortable, and don't care much what people think. I change into jeans anyway when I get out the woods. My only requirement is my pants have to have button or snap cargo pockets - can't live without those.
Kip, you sure that is a picture in Evangeline Parish? Familiar looking terrain, but I don't see no stinkin palmettos. :D
Dan, I don't think you are giving up anything wearing plaid. Camo's job is to break up the outline. Plaid does that with contrasting colors and patterns, same as camo. Most of todays camo is too dark and blobs at any distance anyway. Wear the plaid, feel good about it and kill stuff.
QuoteOriginally posted by bicster:
Okay. I hope I don't offend anyone here. I have been reading all these threads about what is Trad. I must admit that I also have been looking at wool plaid. The fact is I have never owned any and the stuff is very expensive to buy it new. I check the second hand stores but I never find it there either. You can buy camo synthetics now with scent control for a lot cheaper than wool and it can be washed easily. I don't have any place to hang my clothes outside where they won't get rained on so this is a big deal to me. My offending question is why does hunting have to be a fashion show anyways? The clothes I buy to hunt in are for hunting. No one sees me wearing it.
i have had good luck buying what wool i have here on the classifieds, have some nice sleeping indian as well as king of the mtn i got about 1/2 of retail.. dont overlook good will stores, i have picked up some nice quality wool shirts there for like 5 or 10 dollars...
Hi Will Actually it is just into Allen Parish 1/2 hour from home mixed pine and hardwoods.A club I hunt a 1/2 hour from home opposite direction is solid palmettoes and hardwoods.Take care Kip
Definitely not a crisis!
Looking around for and picking up the occasional hunting garment is one of the small pleasures in a hunters life.
Buy and wear the plaid wool. I hunt in it all the time and get plenty close to animals
I am making the slow and cumbersome transition to more wool. It is just EXPENSIVE. I have a good amount of Sitka gear and like it a lot. It just doesn't do well late season when the cold slips in.
I agree that good wool is pricy, But stuff like Sitka gear is to! And i'm sure that good quality wool(filson) will last longer than most synthetic stuff. The other thing that make me choose and call me what ever you want, is the fact that it is not a petrolium base product. Wool grow back every year on the back of a sheep so the impact on the environement is a lot less!! Be camo or plaid or solid color, wool is the way to go!!
Wool is great unless you hunt in Lousiana or other semi- tropical states in October.Kip
Don't think of it as Trad clothing but instead, vintage. When I got out of school and started hunting alot more I started to accumulate bow bowhunting clothes and bird hunting clothes. After a season of bird hunting pants wearing out I started to look at better clothing(Filson) and since that have always liked the old "vintage" feel/looks/and durability. That Filson stuff is awesome and they stand behind it. I'll skip all the filson storeis and get back on track....
I also picked up a wool vest from filson and a pair of wool filson pants and that there started my love with wool and occasionally used it bowhunting. For most of my bowhunting I stayed with camo but went with Predator wolfskin(synthetic) pants and a wool predator coat. Just this past year I'm makeing the switch to earthtone and plaid wool colors for bowhunting and fading out the camo. I'm not trying to impress anyone with the "plaid wool thing" just taking a step back to a simple "vintage" look and also switching out the last of my synthetics.
synthetics don't last as long as wool!!! Did I mention I like filson wool stuff???? LOL!
QuoteOriginally posted by dan d:
I'm going thru a midlife crises on what to wear for hunting. I have always wore camo of some sort, never got cought up in having to wear the latest fashion statement for camo, if it looked like it would conceal me and the price was right I bought it. Right now I'm wearing a department store leafy suit and I like it, but it is getting worn and I have been accumulating wool wear ( some of it is Fred Asbell's stuff) I love the traditional look and feel of wool, it makes me feel complete as a trad hunter, but................... Then my more youthful brain (that has been brainwashed over the last 50 years with the need for the latest greatest gadgets and trendy hunting outfits ) kicks in and I think I need the latest greatest gillie suit I see so much talk about here. Then I wake up the next day looking at the cool woolens (dreaming about that woolen two tracks vest :) ) and I want to be a true trad hunter when I grow up. ( walk the talk, and talk the walk :) )
Just throwing this out for tradgang conversation, I enjoy everyones thoughts and they will be used to help me thru this mid-life crises :dunno:
Thanks,
Dan
Camo is made to catch hunters, not fool deer. If you want to fool deer, look at texture more than color or pattern. Fuzzy and uneven are good. Slick and flat are bad.
You could also go with this, and have the best of both worlds, it's still available, though also still in storage.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=64;t=003257;p=1#000000
I wear camo. Always have.I used to get caught up in the "latest-greatest" craze, until I sicovered Predator camo. Wore it for years, but somewhere along the way, they changed their dyes or something, and the stuff is just to bright.
I bought a set of Cabelas outfitter wool bibs, jacket and parka. I rarely need the parka, but I love wool. I also started using ASAT stuff earlier in the year(cotton pants and LS tee shirt). I bought an ASAT leafy suit, which I can wear over top anything. PRoblem solved.
I have a pr of mil surplus wool pants, wool sweater, fleece vest with Windstop liner, ditto for a fleece hoodie. Then I can layer as needed, and wear the leafy suit over top whatever I decide.
The advantage wool and fleece have over all others is theyre soft completely quiet and don't shine.
I love the ASAT leafy suit over any of the others. It breaks up the outline of the human shape wonderfully. From here on out, its prety much all I need.
Hey don't over think this thing! I hunt in Michigan where it's cold and damp for much of the archery season or at least the best part so wool is the natural answer. I try to use muted or "earthy" colors in my outer wool as much as possible and if they are also a plaid then so be it. Of course not everything in nature is all vertical and horizontal lines as it usually is in a plaid pattern but it won't matter at all to the game animals.
I have gone through similar feelings in regard to camo vs non camo (must be a Michigan thing) but only because I want to hide from the other two-legged predators. With as many archers as we have in the state it behooves us to keep our "spots" to ourselves. That being said bowhunters have adapted military camo (and olive drab) for as long as it's been available. Don't worry about what you wear so much as how you feel while hunting. You're hunting with a recurve or longbows so you're traditional.
If it ever will cool off this fall, I have some old Woolrich wool camo that I bought in the 80s; it is sort of a WW2 pattern, is warm and quiet, and is about my favorite hunting wear when it is chilly. It seems like I wear more of the modern camo when it is warm, but I often wear a wool shirt under my lightweight camo jacket. When it is cold and wet, wool is king, and I believe as many do here that we don't need no stinkin' camo. If I didn't have so many hunting clothes, I would be on some of the Asbell wool in a heartbeat.
Ah...... The wool guys to the rescue, I was getting nervous as when I first posted it sounded like I had to have predator camo !
I do hunt the ground now that I'm traditional, nothing to do with being traditional, just getting to old to fall out of trees.
I think I will be ordering one of them Mackinaw's from Asbell !
Looks like the midlife crises might be over :) Im done wanting to look cool, now I'm gonna look like my Dad :)
Dan
I use whatever I have, and I have both. They both work, but the plaids and wool just make me feel good. Just my thing I guess. Wear what you want and stop worrying.
ChuckC
That's a good choice Dan d, I have one of Fred's (Theresa's) wool mackinaw's and shirt and like it fine. Do yourself a favor and get one of those windproof vests they offer as well so if the wind really picks up you can put it on right under the wool. Now you have a versatile wind and water repellant setup for many conditions.
When it gets cold I like to wear merino wool (soft) long johns as my base layer with a fleece or wool sweater over that and then Asbell's wool system as my outer garment. The key here is to buy sizes to allow layering and again, don't forget that lightweight windproof vest. I realize you weren't asking about how to wear this stuff but thought I'd throw that in there. wulf
Thanks Wulf ! I was wondering about them windproof vests, Thanks !
Dan
I've been using more and more wool - Just because I'm retro-minded.
I shoot wood bows, paddle homemade skin-on-frame kayaks, play lacrosse with wood stick, and do my running barefoot. (really, I don't even have $100 "barefoot shoes") My family jokes about my "Hillbilly Ways".
That said - I just made a deal for a Cabela's Wooltimate jacket with wind-shear. Poly wool fleece blend with a high tech membrane.
'Cause I'm also Schizoid minded I guess?