I'm thinking about buying a pair of wool pants and a wool jacket for the upcoming hunting season, as well as general late-season mucking about in the woods. I've, thusfar, looked into LL Bean's guide series pants and shirt-jac, as well as Filson's offerings (through Cabela's).

Anyone have any experience with the above two brands or suggestions/thoughts on other makes of wool clothing?

Any of the Filson products are the best. Check oout their websight.

The Filson Whipcord pants over lightweight merino wool
longjohns is the most comfortable hunting clothing I wear.
Could wear them everyday, fall to spring.

I bought a LL Bean wool jacket with windstopper and didn't really like it. The windstopper sounds
like a good idea, but is noisy.

I 've have the LLbean shirt jac and its good quality. made in pakistan, However i'm a big fan of the johnson wool mill stuff and its made in the usa. My johnson green and black shirt jac is currently 23 years old and still going strong. The one I had before that has been used by both of my sons and is 35 years old. Bought johnson wool bibs last year and am very pleased. The LL bean gets used for daily wear. the johnson stuff gets worn hunting and ice fishing. I hunt over 100 days a year and ice fish maybe 20days so the stuff holds up. bruce

Johnson Woolen Mills http://www.johnsonwoolenmills.com/ in our neck of the woods the other thought is Beagle wear http://www.beaglewear.com/

For cold climes, I have been wearing an outfit from Woolrich for the last 20 years. I have the pants, shirt, vest and jacket. Great stuff. Here it's in use in NZ.

You might check out your local Army Surplus stores as they sometimes have deals on wool clothing. I once got a pair of Norwegian Army heavy wool pants for about $20.00.

I have several different brands/sizes of wool pants (as I seem to bounce back and forth in several weight classes). Hands down, the Filsons are the best. All the Filson stuff I have is American made and I've heard that they are outsourcing some (all? most?) manufacturing to elsewhere. I hope not. As much as I like Filson, if I find a made in China label on it, I will look for something made in USA or Canada.

I been wearing East German Army wool pants and Woolrich Shits for the last 15 or so years. Those Surplus army pants were 10 bucks a pair, I bought 4 pair and had them fitted. I wear down over coats most of the time, if it sit, still hunting I generally will wear just a heavy wool sweater, with some layers under neath. Noting like wool, keeps you warm even when wet.

Thank you all so far for the experiences. I'll have to look into Johnson Wool Mill. I'm all for made in the USA if possible.

I love my East German woolies when it gets cold!

the woolrich stuff is imported now, like everything else. I bought two of their shirts, they really shed a lot of fiber in the wash and they shrunk. I bought a couple of L.L. Bean shirts, they are much better.

the sportsmans guide often has mil surp wool pants. not made in the USA, but not made in China either.

I like wool and use it a lot. I really like the Filson whipcord wool pants. In really nasty weather I put some sort of shell over them, usually my Barbour waxcotton pants.

I like the Filson wool coats, and their sweaters.

Also for shirts I use the Pendleton's wool shirts, the thickness depending on the weather conditions.

They make one called the "Sir Pendleton". It is about as thick as a good cotton dress shirt, but 100% wool.
I use it most often as I can always put on more stuff under it, and add a sweater over it.

And being wool it breathes great, is warm when wet and dries fast.

I wear wool too but the newest synthetic materials are thinner, lighter and warmer....there's no denying it. I have a pair of LLBean wool longjohns that I wouldn't trade for a truck-full of that underarmor crap.....and I'm just plain old school.

PS.....Tony that is a gorgeous photo.

I have worn wool for long time too but I have been relpaceing it with the newest synthetic materials. As Norton said thinner, lighter, warmer, drys faster.

When I lived outside of Durango and was guiding in the Weminuche Wilderness in the mid-1970s, I bought two really warm shirts from Sheppler's in Denver. I generally wear them more like a jacket when the weather is chilly but not bone-numbing cold. They came in a couple colors. The one below is the gray version; I also have a blue one.



This is another with the green Woolrich pants but with one of their orange wool shirts to abide by Colo.'s blaze orange law.



And this is one with another Woolrich hat, shirt and pants combo in camo.

I've long used Filson's heavy wool pants and wool shirts, with various longjohns, some wool/ wool blends. This is the warmest and most comfortable way for me to dress in moderate to severe cold. I also have a couple of older Cabelas wool shirts that are machine washable. While fairly light/ thin, when layered they are great. Over 10 years old, so don't know if they are still made or not.
I have one of the old Filson double mackinaw jackets that is the ultimate in warmth, have been well below zero in that, and warm even in heavy, wet snow. However, as I get older and have more neck/ back pain, I find that jacket and any other layers too heavy, esp. bulky around the neck and shoulders. Therefore, i have been experimenting with the newer, lighter synthetics also. Multiple layers are half or less of the bulk and weight, nearly as warm when sitting, plenty warm when moving. HOWEVER, if you sweat in them, or wear them many days in a row, as on almost all backcountry hunts, odor control is a real problem. They are not nearly as forgiving as wool in this regard, which I feel is a serious limiting factor.
I'm still on the fence here, searching for the best answer.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Norton:
I have a pair of LLBean wool longjohns that I wouldn't trade for a truck-full of that underarmor crap.....and I'm just plain old school.

I agree, Under armor is a fad as far as hunting goes.
State of the art companies like Sitka / First lite / Ibex understand that you can't beat merino wool as a base layer. Wool just sounds too old fashioned.
Better hope your hunting partner isn't wearing synthetic base layer on an extended day hunt, he'll smell like a damn goat soon.

I bought some underarmor a few years ago and it quickly found its way to the bottom of my drawer. I've recently fallen in love with smartwool socks and undergarb. Incredibly comfortable and really does a good job of helping regulate my temp. I always thought it was an odd concept before, but I wear their wool socks year round at work.

I'll probably end up getting some lighter weight pants and shirts as I'm a big fan of layering in cold weather (engrained in me from my Boy Scout days). Heading to LL Bean's outlet near me next week to see if they have anything in the store to take a look at. Then probably follow that up with a trip to Cabela's to look at Filson's offerings.

For you guys with Sitka experience...

I am in the final selection process to acquire a Sitka Gear clothing set in Open Country pattern.

Is the Sitka Jetstream jacket breathable given that it has the wind barrier? I don't want to get one with goretx becasue of this concern but I assume the wind barrier membrane may also fail to breathe as well?

Check out Beagle Ware wool! I have there there heavy coat and bibs the coats is 12yrs old and still looks like new and I have hunted it hard and cold. I have never got wet for rain in this coat. I remember one hunt that I carried a small canvas tarp to wrap my muzzleloader in to keep it dry!! My legs(before the bibs) and rifle got damp but under the coat was dry.Clint

I have a few different wool pants and several shirts and think they are the best thing going for cool to cold weather hunting. I spray camp dry or similar waterproofing on the rear and knees and that allows me to sit in the snow for quite a while without getting wet. They are comfortable alone up to 50 degrees or so and with a polypro underlayer down to -5 or so that I can remember. I switched to synthetics for a year or 2 and was really disappointed in the performance. So now I'm one of those older guys wearing wool chasing after elk and think it is a mark of wisdom.



My best pair are LL Bean very heavy wool in a charcoal color that I picked up for $10. I usually have a polypro under layer then wool shirt/pants and then a light windbreaker with a down vest in reserve so the layering covers a wide range of temperatures. I also carry light rain gear in case of a downpour or if it is extremely cold and I need to stay still.

I give a hearty vote for Johnson's wool products made in VT. They make a good, warm, durable product.