I'm confused......

[lonewolf_one]

.......about what to buy. There are so many options in regards to outwear, that I'm lost. I want something that I can use for all types/temperatures of hunting (if there is such a thing). That being the case, I assume I want Realtree AP HD for camo? I live in the northeast. This is my first deer season. I plan to move up to larger game as time goes by. That would include out west and possibly Alaska. Is there an all purpose outerwear on the market? Should I go with jacket/pants, bib or coveralls? I assume one of the 4 or 7 in one parkas would be best for wide swinging temperatures? I know they're pricey, but if I knew I was only going to have to buy one, I would probably buy it. I'd appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

[Graybeard]

Put me down in the column that thinks camo pattern matters not in the least. If you're hunting in snow then some mostly white pattern should help but otherwise I just honestly don't think patterns matter. Further I think none actually do all that much good out there in the real world. They look good in the TV ads and magazine ads but in the real world they don't really help that much.

The only way to break up your outline is with large patterns of contrasting colors and the old military woods pattern did that better than any of the newer patterns. I tend to buy what I like the looks of in a garment that does what I want it to do. Since hunting season around here mostly means brown woods and gray trees I like a pattern with mostly brown and gray in it but none of them today really has a large enough constrasting pattern to suit me.

As to what garments there is no one magic set to do in all temperatures and conditions, you really gotta buy more than one set in my opinion. I like a set of lightly insulated coveralls and overalls both and a heavily insulated set of both as well. I then want both light and heavy vests and jackets to go with them. I like fleece underware next to my skin as nothing seems to keep me as warm as fleece next to my skin. I like Worsterlon shirts best but wool works fine as well but generally doesn't take to the washing machine so well. Worsterlon has all the good qualities of wool but washes just fine. I have shirts, overalls and coveralls made of it.

Same with boots to me. I prefer an uninsulated but Gore-Tex lined boot for most of the time but an insulated one for real cold conditions. For gloves I wear a thin leather glove and then use Hand Blanket to put my hands into. That keeps my hands warm on stand but as soon as I pull my hands out I have only thin leather for good feel to fire the gun. If moving around I wear heavier gloves or mittens over the thin leather gloves.

While you might look more stylish in matching camo I think you actually get more camo effect if you mix rather than match. Have a hat with a different pattern than your upper body pattern and a different pattern for your pants or overalls. That tends to make you look less of a one entity than a matching pattern does. In a way it all seems moot anyway if you have to wear an orange cap and vest.

I think a bold plaid works just as well and maybe even better that most camo patterns today. I buy them more because the really good clothing comes only in camo patterns and cuz I like the way a pattern looks than because I really think that pattern is gonna make me invisible to game.

When you get right down to it Americans buy probably 95% (yeah I made that statistic up right outta thin air) of the camo sold in the whole world. Hardly anyone uses it when hunting in Africa and yet they still kill game just fine. We Americans I think are just too fashion conscious in our hunting. For the first 40+ years of my life all my hunting was done without camo or using the old military woodland pattern and I did just fine back then.

[lonewolf_one]

Thanks GB. I appreciate the input.

[drdougrx]

I just love ya GB!!  I get into all kinds of arguments with folks over camo.  I think it's overrated and not at all necessary, though I buy and wear it because the clothes are designed for hunting and not working, skiing, etc.

[Graybeard]

Yup Doug that's mostly why I buy it as well. I do like the looks of some of it I have to admit so try to choose a pattern pleasing to my eyes but the reality is that if really good hunting clothing was sold without the camo I'd buy it just as quickly.

[Sourdough]

Thanks to the wife (Christmas and birthdays) I have all types of camo hunting clothes, and camo insulated suites that I wear snowmachining and hunting.  The one thing I wear most of the time, especially when calling, I made myself from an old army cold weather parka.  It's a coat with a removable liner and hood, that comes down to my knees.  It's military green, and I bought it for five bucks at a thrift store.  I then took some burlap material in black, brown, tan, and green.  I sewed strips of material onto the coat so they hung down about 12 inches.  I over lapped these strips and covered the entire coat from bottom to top.  I also mixed the colors as I put them on.  I then took scissors and cut the portion that hangs down into thin little strips that are 12 inches long.  Now when I am sitting on the ground or on a bucket I look like a bush out there.  The strips flutter in the wind just like leaves, very realistic.  Even in a field of snow it blends in well with the surrounding bushes.  And warm too.  If it's snowing I'll wear the white suites, but otherwise I wear the old Army parka.  The wife hates it, I was sitting in the back yard one day trying to take a close-up photo of grouse.  My wife (she is 4'11") came by walking the dogs.  As she walked by the dogs jumped up on me, I suddenly stood up (I'm over 6' tall) scaring her so bad she had to go back inside and change her clothes.  Actually I'm lucky she did not have her pistol on her or I would have been shot.  Yes, I meant to scare her, but not that bad.  If I leave that old coat in the entry way she will throw it out into the yard.  She issued orders for me not to leave it in her house, it stays in the garage, or she will throw it out.  And she does every chance she gets.