hey guys, probably a gross question, but am wondering how many days you wear your long johns while out hunting?

I'm going to utah, for 10 days, we're staying in a house so I'm only planning three days clothes and will wash every third day. problem is I'm told it can be COLD, and I only have one pair of long john bottom, patagonia (the top fit 40lbs ago, no more).

so I need to buy some good ones, but they seem pricey. I don't generally wear underwear UNDER my underwear, but maybe that is a route? I don't want to buy three pairs but guess I'd need to wash them every night?? (depending on weather and need of course).

thanks guys.

red
I hope this doesn't double post, it hung on me so....

Till they can stand up by themselves!!!

Okay, seriously, I never thought about not wearing undies under my long underwear. But I've also never been on a hunt longer than three days more than 30 minutes from civilization.

How active will you be? That may make an impact. If you're stand hunting all day, you'll exert yourself much less--and sweat a lot less---than if you are spotting and stalking all day.

You may want a second pair just as a reserve if you've got an accident happen. I once had the seat of my pants rip out at my son's birthday party. Stuff does sometimes happen. You definitely don't want to be having to wash every night. A second pair may be really cheap compared to the hunt and experience.

LWD

I'll probably embarass myself here, but here goes.

This goes for when I'm in the bush, obviously when I'm near civilization I'd hange daily if able.

I wear soft wool boxers under my longjohns, and have worn wool,silk, or poly longjohns up to 10 days in COLD weather, and they were still tolerable.

Under Armour stinks like hell after 2 days, I'd just as soon burn it as try to get it clean. Will not buy another pair.

I always try to take 3 pair of uppers,2 pair of lowers. I change every 3-5 days depending on exertion, and try to shed clothes prior to sweating when hiking/ packing, so they don't get too wet/ smelly. If you use wool or silk, if they are hung to air out they can be re-worn if need be and don't tend to hold odor.

Get 2 pair and rotate them.
You might want to take them off at night to let them air some.
I went Elk hunting and only had 1 pair of bottoms they worked without getting to rank.
Although when coming out of the mountians we got served pizza in record time,we ate before getting a hotel room for the night.
Good Luck on your hunt.

I didn't see the double post at first, I had trouble when I posted this that night, sometimes the forum does that to me where it'll just sit there and never close out my post window or show the post.

thanks for the replies but MODS please delete the duplicate thread, and forgive the mistake.

Red

Do what we do on sheep hunts. The first pair - burn them after five days (stand away from the fire). The second pair you throw away at the hotel or airport.

2 pair will do you just fine and they're light weight and don't take up much space with the luggage issue.

I change LJs' ever 3 or so days depending upon the exertion expended during the hunt.
I also recomend wearing under wear at all times...

Warning.... possibly a bit of over sharing below......

I have gone up to a week + w/o an LJ change when staying in a remote tent camp.
>> Note to self - remember to double check that you packet BOTH pairs of LJs' <<

One of the things I have noticed is that certain materials that wick moister well don't nearly retain the ah....well...... "smell" of other materials such as cotton or wool.

That said I think you can certainly get away with one pair of LJs' if you wash them but I think I'd go for 2 pair myself.

I have a little trick I use for washing garments when camping & hunting etc. This works particularly well for synthetics that are designed to wick moisture....

Get yourself a couple or 3 shammies and do the following. Rinse your garment/LJs' and then sandwich them between 2 or more shammies. Roll the lot up and then put it on the floor and step on the roll from one end to the other for a 30 sec or so. If you do this AND the garment is of the wicking variety the things will damn near be dry. Ring the shammies out and hang the garments up.... If not as dry as you like....repeat..

I use the shammies for a TON of outdoor activites....dry my rifles & guns in wet weather, sop up any leaks in the tent, dry clothes, as a camp towel, on the boat, dry off camp chairs & equipment, and when size & weight is an issue as a small personal towel. I keep a bunch around....

Moisture & water in general is (at least for me here in New Hampshire) such a constant advasary anything that can help keep it at bay is a HUGE help!

One last use.... Not a perfect solution but they can also be stuffed in wet boots or waders to help the drying process.

One last point. The better the quality of the shammy the better it will work. The real cheap ones don't work as well....

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Dave

A friend of mine wears them 2 days then turns them inside out and he says they are good for 2 more days.

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
hey guys, probably a gross question, but am wondering how many days you wear your long johns while out hunting?

Until the weather warms up, or we go home...

On wilderness hunts you are limited as to how much stuff you can take. So, it kind of depends on the hunt. I, generally, take two changes of two piece poly type long underwear and enough nylon undies for every other day change plus a couple more pair in case of accident. (You will, undoubtedly, have at least one hunt where you will experience minor or major diarrhea.) I have discarded underwear rather than return with it. Have never, ever washed underwear while on a hunt.

On some hunts you may have access to laundry facilities with staff to do the laundry, as on Africa hunts. There I have had laundry done every day or two by safari staff.

Face it,hygiene is something that, to some degree, gets sacrificed on hunt trips. Most of us do our best but that would certainly not be good enough back home.

Kinda reminds me of by brer in law's theory of hunting and underwear. He says you pack six for a week's hunt. When you get home, put five back in the drawer and take one out to the back yard and bury it.

When I lived in Southern Wyoming, I put them on Labor Day weekend, and didn't take them off until Memorial Day! But not the same pair! I did wear them a week at a time.

Up here in Northern Wyoming, I have never worn any.

September 30 - April 1, of course!

First of all, do wear briefs (or something, for heaven's sake!) under the long johns.

Second, bring 2 or 3 pair of long johns; they can get wet, but you'll be able to dry them by hanging indoors.

Third, forget about washing - waste of time - wash when you get home.

In cool weather, with 10 days, they'll only just barely begin to "get ripe"

enjoy your hunt!

friar

There is only two things I need to survive, rubbing alcohol, and Tabasco sauce. The rubbing alcohol is my field shower, and Tabasco sauce make anything edible. Your long johns will last much longer that way, plus putting a wash cloth soaked in in rubbing alcohol where the sun don't shine toughens you up for sure!

Eeeewwwww, he's not talking about wearing long johns without regular skivies underneath is he?

For extended wear away from the washing machine, I wouldn't consider anything but Merino wool. You can easily get by with two pairs of long johns for several weeks.

Some things that will help:

- Use plenty of gold bond powder to help absorb moisture.
- Use baby wipes to keep yourself (and thus your underwear) clean.
- Alternate them every other day. If you can set up a clothes line in the sun, a quick rinse in a creek or lake every few days will get the salt from your sweat out and a little sun will kill any bacteria. If there's no sun, wring them out really well and let them dry in the tent or your vestibule. Even if they're a little damp, they'll dry quickly once they're on.

The same thing goes for socks. Merino all the way.

Pete

The colder the temps and the less the activity = zero to little sweat. Went I went up North of Nome three years back on a Grizzly hunt, we hunted out of an Argos which equated to little physical activity. Wore my UnderArmour ColdGear daily for two weeks. Slept in my Patagonia LJ nightly. One night I made the mistake of sleeping in my UA and their was enough body perspiration in the UA that I froze that night in my fart sack. My itchy head (lack of shampooing) felt worse than my nasty body.

Alan

I wear union suit long johns. I think duofold is brand name. it depends on how sweaty I get and how long the hunt is. I currently own 5 sets so I try to make them last through the hunt with one spare just in case I get wet or what ever. This year my hunt will last 10 days so I will try to make each last 2 or 3 days each. I use baby butt wipes to knock off the big chunks and keep the smell and crotch rot down to a minimum. Probably about day 5 I will heat some water and take a proper bath.

A couple of thoughts.

To a large degree you get what you pay for. I have been using the lightweight silk l/u for several years. They can be purchased for around $18 each for top and bottom. Will typically last a couple seasons. Wool works great as it doesn't retain smell and is warm when wet. I stay away from cotton. As you say, Polartec or UnderArmour can get pricey, however, you won't regret investing in good gear.

Although it usually does not get as cold in Texas as it does northward, my hunting camp has no power or water. I may stay there upwards of a week at a time during season. Can be in the 20's in the AM and 70's during the day. Plenty of opportunity to sweat and generate odor, what with camp grub.
I use gold bond powder on my pits and parts. Holds down the smell. I also employ "hooah" or another brand of unscented field towel. Strip down in my sleeping bag, wipe down my parts, powder up and I'm good to go. Even then I usually rinse out my duds after three days or so.

GWB