For this season, I have a new pair of wool pants, an Asbell zip-up, and a Cabela's wooltimate windshear vest to wear overtop, to both keep in warmth and keep out wind, and to keep my bowstring from catching on my left chest/shoulder. I'm pretty happy with the setup, and looking forward to hunting with it.
But... I've never worn wool outdoor clothing before.
Any tips, or warnings? Disadvantages? I know it shrinks. Everyone says it's great for keeping you warm when it's wet. But does it shrink if I get caught in the rain with it? And I hear it picks up cockleburrs. Anything else?
It's heavy.
Other than that, it's the cat's meow.
Cons:
Heavy
May affect mobility (bulky)
Thorns stick to it very well.
Pros:
Warm
Silent
Long lasting
IMO anyways.
Wool is the best material for outdoorsman, be it hunters, hikers, surveyors, whatever.
When backpacking, the weight is criticized by some but I actually like the weight better. When it's cold outside and you have something warm and "heavy" on it feels more cozy than something that's just warm.
Also, some people complain of it being itchy. This quality of wool depends largely on the quality of the fibers used to make the fabric; some wool itches like crazy and other wool is soft like fleece or cotton. Since it's typically used in cold environments, even the itchy stuff can be combatted by using a cotton t-shirt or long johns under the wool garment as a base layer.
The only real downside I've found is that it requires more care when laundering than a cotton or polyester/fleece product. I don't like doing laundry so naturally I don't like taking extra care for my wool clothing but the benefits of the wool are worth it for a few garments.
Wash it either by hand or on GENTLE W/COLD water and Woolite. AIR DRY it and make sure to come and stretch it out with your arms a few times while it dries so it'll remain the same size. If you don't forget to stretch it back to it's original size, then it'll shrink as it dries.
I wear wool, from base layer to the outer layer. Burrs suck, it gets heavy when it rains, it wears thin if you bust brush, and it is usually not wind proof.
You wanted the negatives...so many positives that far outweigh the negatives! It takes a little getting used to and to layer correctly. I do use a down vest underneath if necessary, and a gore tex outer shell if necessary too. Rarely. Get a burr removal tool, the little block 3R sells. Any nylon layer can cut wind, like your vest has, i think. I don't know the wool you speak of, but I have been in hours of constant downpours in KOM wool and never got wet, several times. A friend couldn't believe it and bought it for the next year too. It resists bacterial growth and scent, and actually is not a problem when wet, just heavier.
It's so quiet, quite durable, water resistant, spark and fire resistant, and resists bacterial scent that it is really a fiber that has never been beat for performance. You never feel clammy.
Why do you think fleece and any other synthetics always compare to wool, the gold standard?
I know it is not cheap and quality varies by maker, but the natural fibers of wool and down are hard to beat, and this comes from a whimp when it comes to being cold easy. I get cold easy and it took a lot of work to come up with what works for me.
The price is the only con of it. God Bless
Wow, lots of quick responses. Thanks a bunch.
I got some real thick camo wool pants from the bargain cave at a Cabelas that I happened into. They appear to be pretty high quality, I got them over 50% off because someone (who was conveniently the same size as me) had them altered to fit, and then didn't buy. Hopefully they are not junk. If me and wool get along, I'll soon learn what is good and what isn't. I like warm clothes to be heavy, so I think I'll be OK with that part of it.
But what about getting it wet in a multiple-day hunt, let's say? Do I have to consider the possibility of shrinkage?
Not my favorite when mother nature throws some hot weather your way.
I can't wear wool. It makes me itch all over "like a leaf on a fuzzy tree".
Never been a fan of wool. It's heavy, not wind or waterproof. And, it irritates my skin.
For me the only con is the fact that it picks up burr's and such easy. Other than that the washing isn't that big of problem, I wash it by hand in wash tub with backing soda and uv killer soap, rinse, then lay flat to dry. Wool doesn't need to be washed as much as it doesn't hold odor as much as the other products, at least the way it seems to me. Pick up the 3R burr remover and your set.
wool is good..... GOOD wool is awesome. I love mine and never worry about it being heavy, itchy, etc. My only complaint is that most of the time it's TOO HOT down here to wear it.... I take it with me to MO every year though- and it shines.
I can not think of any.
I hate wool. :dunno: But its almost never cold here.
The only downside I can see is that it takes longer to dry than synthetics. I wash wool garment much the same way as GDPolk says and have never had a problem with shrinkage.
Also as GDP says, the itchiness depends on the quality of the wool. I've got some wool T-shirts that I happily use as underwear - doesn't itch at all.
The Asbell pullover and Wooltimate combo you got is a good one, it's relatively light weight and will keep you toasty. It shouldn't shrink if it gets wet from rain, unless you use high heat to dry it. I always just hang it or drape it near the fire at camp and it's still the same fit. That goes for any brand wool I use, which I have a few of.
Heavy wool pants can get a little warm on a hike of any distance, for cold sits and moderate activity they are great. I just use merino under my pants and light shirts to help with the itch...
The pros and cons above are my experience. I love it for cold temps. Nice and quiet too.
I haven't noted any shrinkage after getting mine wet.
Read what Thresa Asbell has to say about wool care on their website. She hand washes ALL wool products, air dry with stretching back to original size as it dries and NEVER twist/squeeze the water out of it.
Mine hangs to dry in the basement after a wetting in the outdoors. I've always dry cleaned mine when dirty, but her tips sound good.
I used to have full sets of KOM and Sleeping Indian. Probably spent a couple thousand dollars on wool at the time. It had and has plenty of positives of course. You asked for negatives, so here's what I didn't like so much:
Physically heavy and bulky to pack.
Burrs will run to wool and jump to get on it.
My wool retained odors that I could easily detect.
Dry wool is a sponge, waiting to absorb any water.
Wet wool is very heavy and slow to dry.
My premium wool wasn't as wind-resistant as I hoped. I had to top it with wind-proof layers.
Dry cleaning is inconvenient, but best for wool.
Having been down many roads, I found other non-woolen garments which suit me much better in cold, wet weather. I sold every last piece of my premium wool and haven't missed any of it. The only wool I wear these days is Wooltimate (wool/fleece blend) by Cabela's, and I only wear it when hunting my local whitetails. I haven't worn any 100% wool for many years, despite traveling to some far northern reaches of the continent.
I wear wool extensively. I have never had it shrink from getting wet in the field. Let it dry, maybe block it ( gently pull it) a few times. I have had it on in the field and gotten soaked. White out rain storm soaked. The worst time I was out for 2 days. I wore the clothing until it dried. No shrinkage, no cold. My wool clothing requires A LOT less maintenance than my bow, wood arrows, feather fletching, and shooting glove.
Burrs...for whatever reason, they don't bother me. I get them.....heck, I hunt mostly in Michigan. But I just pick them off. Those lava rock burr removal thingys work well. But if my hunting clothes have a couple burrs, I just don't care.
The pros of wool waaaaaay outweigh the cons. It is warm, yet comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. It truly is warm when wet or damp. I know this, I'm not just recycling what I have read.
I feel extremely camoflauged when wearing a subtle wool pattern It absorbs the light, it is SILENT (a significant component to the camo concept). It isn't bulky. If it is, it isn't a garment designed for bowhunting. I have some Filson Mackinaw coats. They are of awesome quality, and I like the style. But they are designed for timber cruising, not shooting a bow.
I also wear a wool sweater a lot these days. Remember how hot they are when wearing one to the office? I do. My wife cringes when she sees me wearing an expensive merino wool sweater as a hunting garment...I almost delight when I have a good sweater get a hole or stain.....because now it goes into the hunting pile :bigsmyl:
I never feel like my wool is too heavy. If I am wearing heavy Filson gear, it is cold enough that weight is my last concern. Most of my hunting wool is Asbell pullovers, zip ups, and vests. I also have a lot of the good old Woolrich shirts. A REAL cold day on stand might find me wearing merino wool long johns, a wool sweater, a Woolrich shirt , and an Asbell pullover or zip up. I will throw a vest in the bag as backup. I never get cold. If I am moving I would drop the sweater or shirt.
I don't find that wool retains odors anymore than other fabrics. I don't smoke, and I take reasonable care to stay out of stinky, smelly places regardless of what I am wearing. I care for my hunting clothes by wearing them, airing them out, and washing them if they are dirty. Wool or cotton.....the outdoor breeze deodorizes them better than anything else.
When I was stationed in Germany, we were issued crummy GI cold weather gear. Mostly quilted cotton stuff. The first thing I did was send home for my wool shirts. Somewhere I have a picture of myself in the field. I stand out from the crowd, because I am the only guy with a buffalo plaid wool shirt peeking out from under my bone chilling cotton field jacket.
It's great when it's cold but I wouldn't wear it in the Summer if I were you. It can get pretty hot.
Lots of good comments pro and con. For beginners I do think there is a misundertsanding of wet wool - try and avoid it. Wear a "wet" wool garment in legitamately cold weather and you are in trouble. I use a thin shell waterproof cover for the worst hits from rain - uncovered wool works ok in light mist or ocassional splash with no problems. I use KOM and love it but not for cold - I think it works best 25/30 degrees to 50 - in this spread of temperatures it excells. For COLD 0 to 25 I like Filson heavy tight weave - great for blind or stand but I can't walk in it - no kidding can't walk breaking full sweat almost immedaietly - I dress as close to stand as possible and move as slow as possible once dressed. Silk is my firts layer - wool/silk blend next - Filson sox in differet weights. I saw the comment about KOM shedding water - we have had this too - very good but only new stuff - when we washed our wool couple a years in ours lost that wtare shedding ability. Not sure if we had dry cleaned it would have held or not ? but one of the reasons we like KOM shirts and pants is we can throw it in a creek with a rock on it and it rinses clean quickly - say after working and elk. I have not had trouble drying wool - but the only wool I have had "wet" completely was a shirt and pants - a Jacket or coat would be a problem - bibs would be a disaster. For drying a couple 3 hours afternoon sun on a large rock or overnight near a woodstove has managed all our needs.
I am not a fan of cheaper wools - no offense but they were all a waste of money and time for us.
You guys that live in the south like I do need to try the ASAT wool pants from first lite. They are lightweight (I wear them from the end of Sept in TN to November/December), and they don't pick up burrs like normal merino wool. Their zip up jacket and pullover are the cat's meow as well. I have worn them in 85 degree weather down to the low 40's (with thermal underwear below 50), and they are great.
I'll run good merino wool baselayers but beyond that I have little use for it. For my body all wool itches, the stuff is crazy expensive, and I've found other products have a better warmth/weight ratio.
Part of my distain may be that I have to wear cheap wool at work part of the year. Usually have hives by the end of the night...every night!
Disadvantage? You will want to hunt even more than you already do. :)
Seriously, I live in MS where its pretty warm most of the season. I have wool hillbilly bibs that are far and above my favorite apparel. I put it on the first time the temp gets under 60 degrees with silk underwear and let it roll.
Warm weather is the only one I've found meaningful enough to take into consideration.
The only disadvantage wearing wool that I have had was when I would wear my gray wool pants, my Filson wool shirt and my brown Filson vest. I would always stop by the local Quick trip for a soda and something to eat for the hunt and the drive. The sweet and attractive manager, every time, would say "You really clean up nice, let feel that vest, you have such nice clothes, I SHOULD TAKE YOU HOME WITH ME." Scared me a bit, every time, at least I think that would make it a disadvantage or perhaps a danger would be a better word in this case.
Pavan, now that's a problem I've never had to worry about. Maybe my wool is cut differently?
Hunting in Germany, where the winter temps are usually a little milder than here in MI, I always wore a wool shirt and wool sweater with a wind-blocker jacket over it. If it got too warm, I could always take the sweater off and stow in my rucksack.
For the milder days, when it was way too warm in the afternon, but turned chilly toward evening, I had a light-weight wool cape (yeah, just like in the 3 Musketeers). Turned rain showers with no problem, was big enough I could drape it over me and my pack and I could let more or less breeze through as comfort required.
I'm still wearing some Pendalton wool shirts that my wife bought me over several Christmases 25 - 30 years ago that are my favorite sport shirts. They breath, they are light weight compared to the same thickness cotton and still look like new.
But that's just me. I like lamb chops too.
Most of it I've seen isn't terribly windproof.
The only downsides I've run into are expense and wool is harder to clean up/de-scent that synthetics. Other than that, it beats synthetic in every way.
Burr magnets
Washing PITA
Not the best if caught in a steady rain.
Pros out weigh the negatives. I found Cabelas wooltimate good to get rid of the wash issues. And I use my sitka stuff if it may be wet.
If you get caught in the rain you will smell like a wet dog.
To avoid itching I always wear a turtle neck and try not to have any skin contact.
Wool gloves are pretty slick on a wood bow grip. I use the kind with the little gripper dots.
The down side of wool.....nothing! There is a reason it has been used for hunting and work clothing for eons........... :thumbsup: The ONLY thing better than wool is another layer of it!! JMHO!! :notworthy:
I'm surprised about the posts of wool holding scent and cleaning. I have KOM wool and never clean it anymore. I just brush off the mud when dry and blot out any blood stains. It seems wool keeps naturally clean. As far as scent i just hang out on a line for a day and it smells fresh to me.
As a way of explaining how my wool held odors:
I was on a moose hunt in BC about 10 years ago with another die-hard wool guy. He was wearing KOM, and I had a full set of SI. The dilapidated little cabin we stayed in was heated by a woodstove. The weather was generally wet and cold. Our wools got really damp-wet, and were freezing cold in the morning. Our best option was to bring them inside the cabin where there was heat and hope they would dry. The woodsmoke and food odors permeated our damp wools to the point they were frankly awful. I could smell my partner's wools easily at 20 yards down-wind. The odor persisted when they were finally dry...both of us noticed it. After the hunt, no amount of dry cleaning, detergent, scent-blocker or other methods were effective at removing the smoke/food odors. My wools had so much odor I refused to wear them for whitetails that year. They had to hang for months before I couldn't smell them...and that's after 2 complete cleanings. I think my partner sold his KOM set, rather than deal with it.
This is no bash on wools, because they are fine. Most guys will never really abuse them with 10 or more days of constant daily wear in the backcountry with no real bath. I've done it both ways...wool and synthetics. At the end of such hunts my synthetics smell much cleaner. My wools would have a...shall we say 'richness'...to them that I disliked. That's why I no longer use any wool on those hunts, but I like it much for local whitetails and 'clean' hunting.
I love to hunt in the cold and have no choice but to work in it. Wool works great for me! I bought a long(comes down to your knees) Swanndri wool Coat from New Zealand years ago. I liked it so much I bought another coat,sweater and a lighter jacket.I learned a long time ago if you find something you like,buy a few,because they'll quit making it for sure! In really cold weather I wear a poly Turtle neck,the sweater and coat with poly long johns and a pair of heavy Codet wool pants. Stay toasty warm.
Anybody remember these Swanndri coats?
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc156/goshawkin/photo-117.jpg)
For mild weather I just wear a wool shirt, but for the colder stuff the grade of wool makes a pretty big difference. The camo wool slicker,as pictured above, that I bought from Paul b. years ago is still going strong and with a light yearly lanolin treatment, it will shed rain all day and it is fairly wind proof. Then when we start with the Filson shirts pants and coats, that is in its own class for taking on diverse conditions.
In the northern half of the country, many of us have many bows to deal with, hundreds of arrows, some spend thousands on leases and then scrimp for the cheap stuff at WalMart and suffer for it when things get damp or when the first cold snap hits that starts the rut. One good bow is all that is required, but you just have to have a variety of suitable weight garments to match conditions and I have found that nothing covers as wide a temperature range and wet range as well as wool. I wear the same thing when it is 70 out as I do when it is 50, try that with cotton or heavy poly blends, you will be chilled to the bone and ringing wet underneath.
Kevin Dill, a question.....are you saying other types of clothing [natural or synthetic] wouldn't have taken on the smells of camp under the same conditions......just wondering :notworthy: !!
Wool isn't perfect, but I can't wait to wear mine this year.
I like my long underwear with a high percentage of wool but that is about it. I love the looks of wool outerwear but don't like wearing it for some reason.
Rob
Archie, I don't know if anyone answered your question (will it shrink if it gets wet from rain or what ever). Only if you put heat to it like a dryer or you wash in hot water.
ron w...
I do think the synthetics will catch an odor, but I have a lot less trouble washing and removing the odors. My hunting tipi has a woodstove, and it's unavoidable that woodsmoke will contact damp clothes. The cling and 'presense' of the odor is much less for me than the wools I used to wear. I hypothesize that poly fibers release odor molecules much more readily than do the organic wool fibers. I have washed stinking poly long johns in a river and they came out smelling sweet. Nothing I could do ever removed the odor from my SI wool, which I left hanging for 3 months. Having done a sizeable number of hunts in BC, Yukon, NWT, AK and other locales...wearing wool and synthetics...the synthetics please me much better than my wool ever did. That's only me though, and I don't 'talk down' on wool.
The other huge advantage for me is how rapidly my synthetics dry while on a hunt. Wet wools can take a full day or two to dry, but I can wake up every morning in Alaska knowing my clothes are dry and light...as opposed to heavy and damp.
I'll always own some wool. It won't be my first choice when going on those really demanding and weight-restricted hunts.
I'll buy that.....getting stuff dry quickly is really important. But even damp wool does retain warmth. Thanks for your response...... :campfire:
:campfire:
Great thread! Thanks Kevin for all your input on those high demanding hunts. I just switch to wool this summer, so I can't wait to see how I like it.
Dri-All, the dry cleaning bag that you can toss in the drier for that general cleaning is handy and it needs to be done occationally. For muddy knees and butt and the like I use a wash cloth first. As often as I have been caught in the rain with woolen garments, I don't remember them ever shrinking or changing shape over it, but then we never toss wet wool in the drier.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier - wool doesn't burn easily. If you're sitting round the campfire and a few sparks land on you, you don't end up with a hole right through your jacket, trousers, whatever - maybe a small scorch mark.
The only thing I don't like is that it can be expensive. If you can get over that, you'll find that it's worth the investment.
Wool does not have to be heavy and bulky to keep you warm. True it does not buck the wind as well as some material but your underlayering clothes should take care of that.
My dad put me in wool when I started hunting at 12 yrs old. I wore wool from early season archery into late season rifle in Montana. The things that I didn't like about wool where that it was bulky, smelled when it was wet, would collect burrs, and the bottom of the legs would get matted with snow.
I moved out of Montana in my 20's and like most people got hung up on trying out the next best thing. This got me hooked on Sitka gear. I will argree that it is light weight and not as bulky as wool, and it does dry out fast. However, with that said I have switched back to wool. Why...well simply because most of the Sitka gear that I have has started to fall apart. Seams in the legs are coming apart, pockets on some of the shirts are starting to fall off (alot of the seams and pockets are glued on rather than stitched), and for me it just does not insulate as well. Plus, I was always layering it with wool underwear anyway.
I have picked up some of the Silent Predator and really like it.
Both has their place and I can see why some people have started to move away from wool. With that said I think you would be hard pressed to find better all around clothing than wool. If my life depended on it, I would choose wool over any other type of material.
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
The down side of wool.....nothing! There is a reason it has been used for hunting and work clothing for eons........... :thumbsup: The ONLY thing better than wool is another layer of it!! JMHO!! :notworthy:
Yep thats about it right there! The stuff just works. Lasts and wear's like crazy.
This year I totally switch from wearing my everyday cotton socks to wearing a light wool sock same thickness as cotton socks and it feels so much better and performs way better. Mind you this summer was hot and I'm a powerlineman and wear these wool socks to work with heavy 10' work boots and the wool is way better than the cotton. Honestly I have not had a pair of cotton socks on in over 10 months or so.
None. Wool is the best there is. Don't dry it on high heat unless it says it's okay. Otherwise, enjoy. It's still the best stuff out there. I even prefer lightweight wool in warm weather because it breaths much better than anything except the synthetic fabrics, and they stink to high heaven. Wool doesn't smell quite so bad even after a couple of days.
Thanks again all, for your replies.
I just wore my wool pants out last night to try them out. They didn't itch much, and were surprisingly comfortable to wear even though it was about 75 degrees out. Granted, walking around my backyard isn't going to generate much extra body heat. Very comfortable, I'm looking forward to putting them to work. They are Columbia Gallatin pants, supposedly waterproof or water-resistant. I wasn't shopping for wool, just picked these up because they were my size and on the clearance rack at a great price.
It gets very heavy when wet, other than extra weight its good stuff.
The Columbia stuff has a pretty open weave but mine tightened up real nice after being hand washed and air dryed a few times. Get good soft merino for underneath. For me one layer under and its good to the low 20s With a second its down to single digets. Zero and below I add a oversize set of malone bibs over top. Wind never a problem with several layers....
I wear wool everyday of deer season and nearly everyday at work from mid September till spring. I have not found anything better but then again I have not tried Sitka or anything like that. I think many people use it incorrectly. Most people buy the outer layer first. I would buy both a light and a heavy set of merino long underwear before I worried about an outer layer. I often don't even wear the outer layer unless its very cold. If u buy an expensive outer layer first and wear cotton long underwear you will be cold. Especially if it is windy. As far as an outer layer for tree stand hunting I wear wool when it is cold but not windy. The reason is wool is quiet. Really helps when it is time to draw your bow. If it is windy I will wear some sort of a windbreak. Cotton can be used for this as long as it is sewn tightly to stop wind. Carhart material works well. Also avoid wool garments that have a layer of windbreak on the inside. Wool is an excellent insulator. It does no good to have it on the outside. Keep your windbreak on the outside and you will be warm. This is what works for me. Your mileage may vary!
Hunting coastal nw ca with wool its heavy when wet better with polar fleece and a lite rain jacket been there.when you are hiking uphill and in a hurry you want to go lite.
Let you know in Jan. Just spent a large sum of money on merino wool underware. Could't believe how thin and light it is, hope it lives up to the reviews I have read.