I am seeking advice as to what people have found most effective. Hopefully I will get to hunt Canada soon. Has anyone had experience with Lamilite from Wiggys or Smartwool brand wool?

Although "Canada" conjures up visions of cold and snow, etc., I was goat hunting in the Kootenays last September around the 15th and it was in the mid 20s every day. That would ne mid 70sF, I suppose. I have also seen snow here at home evey month of the year since I have lived here. The trick is flexibilty. Polypro clothing is great because of it's warmth to weight ratio, it dries quickly, and will wick perspiration away from your skin very well. The stuff with Windblocker and such from Cabela's is great, but layering is the key. Most hunting in Canada involves activity; not much is done from stands etc.. FWIW.

Raven Wear

www.ravenwear.ca

fleece with wind barrier (ComfortMax)

HBH

Arcadian,
welcome to the forum.

I have a warm weather system and a cold weather system. I quess it really depends on where and when you want or plan to hunt in Canada. Give us a little more info and we can help you out.

Daryl

Daryl you meen warm weather for when it gets above 40 below.

Arcadian: What type animals, where? I've hunted in Canada at -20 with a 30 mph wind, and I've hunted Canada in 80 above.

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JD

I have had some experience with wiggy's sleeping bags in winter camping and really liked them. The insulation is great....they seem to be closer to their comfort ratings than others. While they are very bulky when you put them in a stuff sack they compress well. I recommend using a good compression sack...then they get small. You can also leave them compressed indefinitly unlike all other bags. They make some claims about how good they are wet...I personally do not want to field test a wet sleeping bag!

I know two people that have the wiggy's antarctic parka and really like it. Very well built, well thought-out features, and warm.

I really like the smartwool I have. The socks are great... soft,warm and seem to wear good. I haven't sprung for the $60 long underwear but I looked at them...very nice. I think cabela's has some 100% merino wool for about half that.

Unless you expect below 0F temps you really don't need a heavy coat/parka IMHO. You are much better off using several wool shirts or fleece shirts/jackets and a windbreaker/waterproof shell.

Wool and fleece breath well, important if you are hiking. I think it comes down to personal choice with wool and fleece...I own and like both. Fleece dries quicker...wool is more durable...fleece is easier to clean than most wool...wool is heavy when wet...fleece melts when too close to a campfire.

Arcadian,

Just got back from the Yukon a couple weeks ago and you will find it hard to beat just plain wool. I wore a Filson Double Mackinaw Cruiser and a pair of their wool bibs with a wool shirt. The swedish military surplus wool pants are also a great and inexpensive option at under $20US. I simultaneously wore fleece pants and a zip up fleece sweater as underwear. Combined with smartwool socks and Sorels, I was nice and toasty. If you are hunting in winter as I was, you will also want to wear some sort of hat with full facial coverage. The main advantage to wool over say a synthetic snowsuit is the wool is much quieter. Your guide will be happy to see you arrive in natural fiber clothing for this reason.

If you have the cash, you might also look at Northern Outfitters and King of the Mountain for some really high tech natural fibre stuff. Check a post titled "Yukon Suitable Clothing" that I started a month or so ago before my trip for the links to these sites.

Best of luck,

JohnTheGreek

I second the Ravenwear. Susan Hindbo(owner) will custom make your hunting clothes to fit your particular bodystyle.

I cannot say enough about the insulation factor built into the parka and bibs she made me. I have never been cold while on stand. It works best to carry the bibs and parka in with you in a pack and put them on just before going on stand, 10 to 11 hours at a time.-------------Chainsaw

Some parts of Canada have very strick rules as to colour. In Sask for example your outer suit must be a complete suit of orange, red, yellow or white in one colour or a combination of these. The hat can not be white but must be one of the others.
I believe the only exceptions are for hunters on Indian Reserves or archery and muzzleloading in their special seasons which do not fit into non resident seasons. Even if you use a bow durring regular rifle season you must wear colours.

For really cold weather and active hunting, I vote for North Face technical gear: well cut, light and tough/undestructible.
King of the mountain is also really tough and warm, but also too heavy for my taste.
olivier

Thanks for the replys and website links, now I can start researching these. I guess I better find out the regs for where I going to hunt also, I would hate to spend a couple of hundred dollars and then show up in the wrong colored clothes.

Just to second what Murf said, Manitoba has color restrictions, Alberta does not. - Dan