Gentlemen,

Out of all the various makes, and materials, which do you recommed for wet, windy conditions and rugged terrain.

Picking brands at random -

Red Setter

Danner

Cold? Mountain

Do you favour 'real life' photo image cammo or DPM?

Do you think neutral, earth and foliage colours are adequate?

Fibre pile types, Goretex and equivalents or high tech wool?

With all the different varieties of wet and windy in the world, I'm going to make two, probably very wrong, assumptions. One, you are referring to wet and windy as in Scotland, and two, you are going to be returning to a house or really warm tent every evening.

The Scots figured out part of it long ago - waxed cotton coat over a wool sweater. It works in Canada and Alaska, too. My experience with gore-tex is that it doesn't breathe enough and I get about as soaked from sweat as I would if it weren't waterproof. I stay drier with the Scots-type outer clothes.

Mostly I don't use camo, but the DPM works as good as anything out there.

As for boots, it really depends on your feet and ankles. For me, as long as I'm not packing a load, canvas sneakers work fine. My feet get soaked, but the hiking keeps my blood going and my feet stay warm. It also drive my hunting companions nuts! They look at my sopping we sneakers and shudder. I just get back at night, put on dry socks (the cheap ones from the dime store work for me) and I'm good to go. I like to take 2 pairs of plimsols and wear them on alternate days, so they can dry a bit on the 'off' day. All that does is make them more comfortable when I first put them on.

If it is in terrain where I need boots, Rocky brand boots work for me.

Order yourself a Cabelas hunting catolog and study all of the different rain gear they sell. Something in that catolog will suit you as far as rain gear. Make sure it has Gore Tex for breathability.

to keep you warm, although its a bit heavy, Filson wool stuff is very good. Get merino wool as it doesn't scratch much. Wool will keep you warm even when its wet, which cannot be said for down and some other insulation materials.

robthom,

Is it for use in the UK?

For use in the worst of British weather, I would recommend Kammo if you don't mind the price.

I had one of their original Kammo Jackets in DMP for many years and it was absolutely bomb proof.

As for boots, I like the Aigle (Gennets?)..not too heavy, very waterproof and a non vibram sole. If you need some really tough boots for the hill in winter, Meindl are hard to beat.

Regards,

Pete

robthom: It is hard to find parkas and jackets, as well as pants, that are not some how Gore-Tex'ed in some way, and I agree with Rupert, if you really sweat and if it is REALLY raining, Gore-Tex will get soaked..I love Gore-Tex as long as it is not raining (or not raining very hard) and/or if I can truely dry it out at the end of the day...which only happens when I go back to a nice cabin or a big boat at night.. There is nothing like wool, pants and shirts, with a layered Gote-Tex parka, and as an outter shell, I wear Helly Hansen ImperTec..that is about as water proof as you're going to get in wet weather. I know of one other long-time Alaskan that also wear sneakers in the field (gasp) ..I wear LaCrosse Alpha boots..they are knee high, soft and very comfortable, 100% waterproof, and warm, and they come and on and off very very easily. They do not provide a lot of foot support, so thay are not mountain boots, but for 90% of the terrain that I hunt, which covers everything except sheep hunting, they work just fine.

Most stuff you have to buy camo'd, but anything that is brown or tan or some shade of darker green are the colors I like best..

Rob,
Please don't wear trainers whilst trekking & hunting. I've seen so many guys permanently screw up their feet in the army by using unsuitable footwear and not taking care of them.

I'm also in the UK and pretty much wear Carbela kit from head to toe....it's much less expensive than the stuff available here and the spec is impressive. Carbela is huge and do stock other makes, but their own kit is just as good and usually significantly cheaper. The one sting is that when ordering, you have to pay import tax.
http://www.carbelas.com

Learned my leasons in OR and wet springs here in MT. No cotton, ever, cotton kills. Wool or polar fleece warmth, nylon fishing shirts dry quickly, always poly underwear. PVC rain gear parka does not leak and if high quality is not too bad for "raining on the inside". Gore-tex pants seem to work well for me, more comfortable than PVC. I agree Cabela's has excellent selection and price points. I prefer their "outfitter camo" it's DMP style and cheaper than the other stuff which is just BS. If it wasn't why doesn't the military use it?

For foot wear packs are great, Schnee's Boots in Bozeman MT make the best packs in the world, much better than Bean or anyone else.

If your feet are going to get wet no matter what, because stream fords are unavoidable; try Northwest River Supply they make a working river boot that is a heavy duty hiker made of nylon and neophrene that is intended for complete submersion. Yes, your feet get wet but the shoe will not loose it's shape and support when soaked. Good product and relatively inexpencive. Might be better for swamps than the usual high top canvas shoe.

RupertBear gave the right advice if you are talking about hunting in European conditions. Check out the Barbour line of jackets and coats. The Australians make an equivalent product (I have one) with a brand name of Driz-A-Bone. Wax soaked cotton with a good wool sweater is what I have found to be the best in fall and early winter hunting in drizzly France. As for boots the French make two good brands for really soggy conditions: Le Chameau and Aigle.

It aint made in the US but do a search on Raven Wear. It is some of THE BEST hunting gear I've ever bought.

Gentlemen,

Thank you for replying. I think I have opinions covering squelchy bogs - Alaska to woodland S.E. USA. I also have information on quality brands which you cannot get from reading the various company's web pages. I have a copy of Cabela's catalog. The selection is bewildering.

I agree with those posting 'if it was not any good how come the military use it?' school of thought. I find realtree type cammo tends to either 'glow' or block out and become too dark when wet. The British Army DPM is bad for the latter. I find the Kammo brand of photo image cammoflage jackets too light for the area I hunt in. They might be ok for the North West Highlands, which are more grassy with lighter coloured backgrounds.

Musto jackets could be very good. . But they are very pricey and / or heavy in wool jacket style. The new Musto could be better, although I have only read the advertisements

I find the Royal Norwegian Army DPM pattern cammoflage to the be the best compromise pattern for the area of Scotland I stalk in. The outline break up affect and colours suit the conditions best. Fortunately, I have now found a source for anoraks / parkas in this DPM material.

Yes, my questions were formulated in terms of Scottish Highlands and deer stalking. Though, in the UK, you are going to get wet out doors anyway. Especially if any crawling / stalking is involved.

I do not like Barbour waxed cotton style jackets. They are ok if you are sitting on a tractor all day but for anything involving physical actvity - horse riding, walking up mountains, where you will build up a head of steam/sweat, you will just get wet on the inside from sweating. Then you will become cold when you stop moving.

This is why I prefer breathable materials. Unfortunately, these have an affinity for jagged, sharp rocks and barbed wire. They are not robust and when punctured are difficult to mend to the standard where they still are waterproof. The military standard 'goretex' type clone cloths are better for this.

Returning to a hotel or small house each night makes things mucg easier than tent living in the Rockies or Alaska. None the less, many wool garments soak up water, becoming heavy and they take time to dry. Drying facilities, especially in the 'newer type' of hotels etc in the Highlands can be a problem. Hotels etc used to have proper drying rooms....

Footwear must provide support and waterproof is a real boon. It makes the day far more pleasurable. A sprained ankle, etc, 10, 15 miles from the nearest fire cut road or farm track is inconvenient.

I have found Le Chameau - French Camel brand boots to be about the best, although I am thinking of getting a back up pair of Meindl high calf length boots. The Irish Setter / Red Setter ? brand, part of Redwing boots look good. These are waterproof, give good support and are high leg style. Thanks for the info on other brands. I will check these out.

The DPM vs. photo image cammo vs. neutral colours debate will take on more significance for UK hunters. The wearing of DPM is looked at increasingly unfavourably in the UK because of the public relations aspect with the general public.

People are upset and frightened by meeting people clad head to toe in military DPM when they are out hill walking or out in the countryside. The UK shooting magazines are keen to promote non military style clothing for hunting for these reasons. I have this small thought at the back of the mind concerning how much longer people/civillians will be allowed to wear military DPM. I understand civillians are banned from wearing DPM in many African countries for hunting.

Thanks for all your feed back.

i stalk in most areas of the uk and find deerhunter clothing the best ive tried
ive got three or four different patterns for different seasons
the deer tex fabric is waterproof and breatheable and dosent rustle
it can be picked up at most of the big shhoting stores here in england or the game fairs or country shows..
if you can get the deerhunter rusky series theses were developed for the russian market and are filled with defil which is what nasa put in there spacesuits its like material with a heat memeory really god for sitting in a tree stand in winter.
as for boots i have brawny boots in mossy oak
light warm and waterproof top stuff..
for stalking in the high lands the best jacket ive use by far is the swanndri bush shirt its made from new zealand merino wool and shrugs all the worst of the scotish weather of if you dont care for the overhead shirt swandrri make the same jacket but with a large zip up the front called a noisegal and thats a top coat nice for shooting stalking going to market or winter wear out for a beer with your mates.

I find that I agree with just about every post on one aspect or another.

The one poster whose advice I think is most important is the fellow who mentioned poly underwear. Often when I duck or goose hunt or deer hunt I face alternating times of great exertion followed by sedentary glassing or waiting, followed by...With good moderate weight polypropelene long johns and longsleeve crew or turtle neck tops the perspiration drys quickly and so I never get clammy and cold no matter how hot I've gotten or how much I perspired.

JPK

I have tried many boots and meindl has proven to be by far the best.They are very comfortable,durable ,offer great support, and my 12 year old pair is still watertight.As far as clothes go,I prefer an underlayer of polypropelene,then polar fleece topped off with a goretex shell.

I notice no one has mentioned the Filson line of waxed cotton. is it too heavy or not waterproof enough. I would think it as good as Barbour?

For boots, I don't think you can beat Russell's. They will make them to fit you foot in anyway you want for less than $400 a pair. I won't wear anything else.

Mac

I recomend danners as far as boots go take care
of them they'll take care of you it depends
on where and how your going to use them in deep
snow you will need felt packs. are you going to
be hikeing or sitting how cold is it going to be
etc

quote:

Originally posted by MAC:
For boots, I don't think you can beat Russell's. They will make them to fit you foot in anyway you want for less than $400 a pair. I won't wear anything else.

Mac

I too have used russell products (custom shoes) and liked them. But I can't speak highly enough of Meindl Boots.