Best Budget Clothing for Western Hunting?

[basschump]

Some solid advice above.

The biggest factor (for me) in late season hunt is snow/rain/graupel vrs just cold weather. If the hunting conditions are generally dry, good base layers and any outer shell will be sufficient. When is gets wet and nasty- Gore Tex, Gore Tex, Gore Tex and really dry boots. Bad weather complicates everything in the mountains, but it often what is needed to get game moving. The high dollar kuiu and sitka were designed of those conditions.

I've had excellent success with synthetic base layers. I use and like REI, Patagonia, and even cabelas base layers. A set of lightweight and midweights are a good start. If its cold, i wear both, cool, usually the lightweight. I depends on how much walking is involved that day.

In rife season and when hunters orange is required, I don't focus much on camo. There are a ton of quality hiking pants that make excellent outerwear for dryer conditions. I have really outstanding performance for Marmot hiking pants. They are comfortable, built to move in, and make a great outer shell. They are not gore-tex, but water resistant. If you have an REI or similar hippie store nearby, run by the clearance rack on a regular basis. I've found lots of top quality hiking wear that is perfectly suited for western hunting this way- at outstanding prices.

For tops, same synthetic base layers and a good mid weight under armor top or fleece jacket are outstanding. They are warm and layer well. For really cold days, I use a Cabelas wooltimate pull over.


Smart wool socks are the best things ever.

Some type of rain outerwear is good to have at all times.

It may take some time to fine tune to the situation you are hunting in. Even when its in the upper-teens and 20's, it doesn;t take a ton of clothes to say warm if you are still hunting or moving around some (and its dry). The bigger pain is packing outwear so you don't drown in sweat on the initial hike in or climb, then keeping up with the clothing all day.

[basschump]

I always wonder how people hunted out west before all the expensive clothes were invented.

They wore carharts and were tougher than today's hunters.

and killed trainloads of elk and deer with at stupid 30-06. morons.

[MLank]

I'm just going to list what I use and approx. price. None of it is camo, but I'm like that.
I wore it and it worked well at sub 10 degrees in Colorado, I'm confident in the gear. Though, when it is that cold, we truck/car camp and head out on day trips. I use a lot of the same gear but shed the layers and/or change pants when it's warmer weather.

light wool t shirt, amazon - $40
wool, minus 33 medium weight bottom and top - $100 (most used and important)
Darn tough socks - $20
light, thin green fleece - $6 bargain buy
black REI poly thin puffy vest - $40?
BRIGHT green REI puffy - $50-60; normal colors were on sale but extra money
puffy ski pants, off brand - $50; bargain buy
crispi boots - $280 on sale at blackovis; before these snf for cold trip mentioned above I
used cheap Keens, however they had leaks and snow melted into my boot (cold!)
Orange cap and cheap orange beanie over that.
Ski mittens - yes, gotta go mittens! $50-75
Sunglasses - polarized, take your pick
Columbia gore tex rain jacket - $50
outdoor research gaiters - $30
trekking poles - $15-30; yes, I go cheap but they work
pack - ouch, Kifaru base with exo 3500 pack attached - $450 used; Honestly I over bought, but
I'm only crying once

If not wearing ski pants over wool bottoms, my warmer weather choices:
first lite wool pants - $120 on sale
wrangler hiking pants - $20 wal-mart

[Mossback]

check the kuiu/sitka/first lite clearance sections of the websites after the season and beofre they roll out next yrs gear, get some heavy discounts that way

[MLank]

They wore carharts and were tougher than today's hunters.

and killed trainloads of elk and deer with at stupid 30-06. morons.

Today's gear junkies gonna gear junky.

[wdtorque]

Truth

They wore carharts and were tougher than today's hunters.

and killed trainloads of elk and deer with at stupid 30-06. morons.

You don't need the latest, greatest, most bestest, high $$$ of everything.
Most guys out west don't wear all this stuff. Jeans and carhart for many still. I like 5.11 products, especially their pants. I'd check out backpacking stores and catalogs for ideas on neutral colors. I'd suggest a good rain coat, great socks, and nothing new. One of the best elk hunters I've ever met wore brown jeans and solid color shirts, but he came back to camp every night. Wool is good out West and up high.

[S-3 Ranch]

Today's gear junkies gonna gear junky.

When uncle and I were moose and caribou hunting In northern Alaska the outfitters Sent us a list of must haves, when our Bush pilot showed up he
Started laughing and walked us over to the extra gear shed
And dumped all our gear out and picked out the stuff we really needed , 1/2 our gear was a waste of money And couldn’t fit in the cub we we’re flying out in
Take lots of liner socks, wool socks, medium weight and heavy weight long underwear, wool pants and shirts , thermal fleece hoodie , and some good gloves
Good boots, Good meat pack
Clearance sale

https://www.duluthtrading.com/men/collections/alaskan-hardgear/

[Mac]

I prefer a merino base layer for a few reasons, they wick moisture away, stay warm when wet and I can wear the same ones for a few days without getting too ripe unlike the UA stuff I’ve got. I have some first lite that was kinda pricey (I got it almost half off) and I also use some stuff from Costco that costs like 10 bucks a piece. The Costco brand long Johns are black and not some cool camp pattern but they feel just as good against the skin, warmth isn’t an issue, they don’t stretch out real bad after days of use and so far mine have been holding up for 3 seasons out west. For pants I have the first lite obsidians and have worn them from temps in the high 90s to freezing blizzards and never an issue. They are a little pricey but I’ve had the same two pair for 5 years now and they are still going strong. Prior to that I used the wrangler outdoor pants that were a cathartt type material and coat 20 bucks a pair. Neither have a waterproof seat but I picked up a little folding pad that weighs like 2oz and works perfect for glassing in the snow or wet grass. My tops are just a hodgepodge of layers that I’ve got either used or on clearance.

[SFAbowhunter]

I'm a big fan of First Lite. I have owned lots of pieces from them for over 5 years. It is hands down the best hunting clothing I have ever purchased. Super comfortable and warm when layered properly. I'm sure sitka and kuiu would be similar in those 2 things as well, but I don't have any experience with them.

[one66stang]

used from RokSlide classifieds

also dont be afraid to get used quality or on sale ski gear. The good ski gear is where all the good hunting companies get their ideas from.

[TxAg]

You can save a lot of money buying outdoor/hiking clothes in earth tones rather than camo everything.

[Jared.King]

Camofire will have some good deals. I use the BlackOvis merino and am a huge fan. I also like the MidwayUSA camo. It's pretty good, and not too expensive.

[wytex]

I always wonder how people hunted out west before all the expensive clothes were invented.

We suffered through sometimes with heavy wool as outer layers and cheap long johns. When affordable merino wool came put it was a game changer.
The newer camo clothing lines were light years ahead of what we worn. Wind blocking layers, gore tex etc all made hunting in bitter conditions doable.
Patterns are not a big game changer but the materials of the clothes are what makes the real difference.
Quiet, wind blocking materials are the main change. Patterns come and go but the materials are the difference.
The newer clothing makes it possible to hunt in below zero conditions without being weighed down by thick , heavy clothing.

Buy on sale and closeouts, Camofire, Black Ovis, Sportsman's Warehouse, etc all will have sales and closeouts from time to time. You can find new stuff on Ebay even sometimes.
You want a pattern that is not too dark but just breaks up your body outline.

[brunner]

Great info all around


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ThisLadyHunts]

I just slowly picked stuff up via Cabelas, Academy, Sportsmans Warehouse etc when I found it on sale. I do have a couple of articles of Sitka that I found on sale for a good price I bought 8 years ago but everything else was off the sales rack at the above stores. For base layers though the absolute best thing that I have found is the cabelas brand ecwcs tops and bottoms. They are fantastic when it is super cold out side. I wear a skintight wicking layer underneath them and then the thermal, then a fleece pull over, then a button up shirt over that and a jacket over that shed as I heat up. Put back on when I get there. I also carry a puffy jacket in the pack and put it on once I get to my glassing spots. Before that I carried a carhart and put it on when I get there with all my layer on but I do not like being cold. For pants I just wear a pair of the cabelas thermals, then a pair of hunting pants similar to the sitka stuff over that and then a pair of camo jean type material over that for 3 layers. Works great for me. The cabelas brand wool socks that come in like a 3 pack I think also are great for me, if walking a ton a good set of silk liner socks help a ton but still take moleskin just in case.

For rain gear I picked up a set of the space rain cabelas stuff and keep it in my pack at all times. Never know what will happen once on the mountain.

For hat I just wear a ball cap, but my head sweats terrible so I can't wear a beany or anything like that I will get to hot and start sweating.

Gloves no name wool mitts I found at my local gun store, this year I am adding a pair of silk liner gloves but that isn't really necessary.

This is all assuming you are rifle hunting. Which is what I mostly do out west. If I was hunting early season I would still take all the above stuff with you just in case, but would wear less layers and probably get a set of lighter gloves you could shoot your bow with them on. There are some nice gloves out there with a hole in them for your release to go through while wearing the glove.

One last thing I just remembered by the best **** boots you can afford and wear the hell out of them to get them nice and broke in before you go. I personally don't like insulated boots but I sweat through my feet a lot if doing much walking so thats personal preference.

Any recommendations on the boots?