Petzel, only a New Yorker would recommend a $500+ jacket w/ a straight face! To a bunch of hunters no less! Women must love your expensive taste!

I have been scrimping on all sorts of other stuff all of my 76 years in order to buy the best (and most expensive) clothing. I am still wearing most of it while my friends have had to replace their stuff many, many times. So, I have wound up saving lots of money in the long run. The best you can buy usually winds up being the cheapest. I have been trying to wear out Filson clothes for a very long time with no success.

tom

Anytime talk of camo stuff comes up around our camp, I just get up and walk away. Personally, I put on my old Carhart coverall's, my orange, and go to the woods. If you're going to spend a ton of money on something I would think that boots and ammo(plus time at the range) would be money better spent. If my feet get cold/wet - I'm done. Back to camp or truck I go. Where I hunt, you would need 3 different sets of camo. Green stuff for early bow season, brown for mid season, and grey for late. I'd hate to think what that would cost! A hunting buddy of mine swears by his camo. He says it lets you get closer to the game. So how close do you need to be? About 100ft. is as close as I need with the bow. Would close enough to count the eyelashes be close enough? HAHA I think that if a deer picks you up visually it's because of something you've done. We all get the fidgits sooner or later, after all we're only human. Point is, take the time to cover yourself, brush in your stands/blinds and sit as still as you can for as long as you can. Usually works out fine for me. But then what do I know - I hunt in Oklahoma scrub oak and fields of grass. HAHA

That's good stuff alright. I have a bunch of Filson wool gear, Columbia Gallatin wool pants and jacket/shirts (x2) and Woolrich Camwoolflage pants and shirts, not to mention Cabela's Microtex Outfitter stuff.

For what I have invested in all that wardrobe, I could buy me a set of Sleeping Indian. If I choose the right one to wear, I never get cold, and I can wear a differnt 'fashion' every day! LOL Anyone hunting the Mountain West better have a good set of wool and a windproof shell for when the weather turns to snot.

Good stuff, Dave

With so many of us out of work and the econmy in the crapper we need to have reasonably priced hunting wear and firearms.
Not that I don't appreciate the features this clothing offers (I do) but let's face it, I'd rather wear some cheaper duds than sit home because I can't afford these high prices.
Same goes for the guns I buy, I'd love some fancy-schmancy import but I get by just fine with good old USA shootin' irons.

WA Mnt Hunter = Yesterday was the end for me this season. "My" buck crossed the road at 5:45 -- 45 minutes after legal shooting time... He'll be bigger next year.

Did you do any good for deer or elk?

I have a columbia wool parka and it is a medium and is the closest size i can find that fits me but the sleeves are way to big and my bow string hits it when hunting. i have looked at the sleeping indian camo after a friend told me about but then i saw the $539 price tag and decided tha bagy sleves on my columbia wool jacket can work.

I'd rather put money into boots than shirts and jackets. Boots are what get you there and back and I put many miles on mine each season. My choice-Lacross Alpha Lites, warm-waterproof-and very lightweight.

Looks like some high quality stuff. The prices for hunting clothing are ridiculous. I shop at walmart and keep one heck of an eye out for clearances and bargain bins at the stores and online. I have it a little easier also being in the Army. I think the outdoor clothing industry are all off their rockers and won't pay that kind of bread.

I'll stick with "my new line". The Nat Gear brand has been around for a little while. Comes insulated or non.
ALOT cheaper and the bobcats HATE it !
Just ask the 30lb.er', I "snuck up on" on Sat. !

I'll just wear my Filson Mackinaw Cruiser's while those less fortunate shiver and freeze in the snow and rain.

Carhart Bibs and Jacket work just fine for me.

JiminMO, I gotcha beat on a price for My First 3 Pendletons
$8.95 at the P.X. in Hanau Gemany in 1972, after that I bought 1 a year untill I retired even though the price went up last one was $42.50, by then I had 25, still have all of them and I have been retired 20 years, the first ones still look new and still FIT. {8^)

Moishe-
Again I find myself in total agreement. I wore Carhart bibs and a Colombia parka for outer garments during an elk hunt in O-5° weather at 7400 - 8000' and was perfectly warm and dry. Carhart's new cammo patterns also are the blend in anywhere type.

Is this clothing
1. Quiet or noisy, and
2. Odorless or stinky? I used some synthetic clothing a couple of years back that sounded like tearing a sheet of paper every time a branch brushed against it. And I have some polypro that, while it keeps you warm, stinks so bad with sweat that all you have to do is stand upwind of a deer; the smell puts him down (just kidding. Actually, he snorts, wheels, and runs away laughing).

All;
After a long drawn-out trip home from Iraq (two engine shut-downs, one was over the North Atlantic). I finally got to go elk hunting Thursday/Friday of two-weeks ago. The General Season had closed for most of WY, so I was just hunting cows on a ranch up near Lusk.
More human tracks than elk tracks unfortunately. No elk that I could find. I must have jumped about 100 mule deer. The rut was on, and I saw some really impressive bucks frozen in their tracks, waiting for the doe to get up. I probably could have killed them with rocks they were so focused!
I do have 2 "Antlerless Mule Deer" tags for my cousin's ranch up in Montana and have plans to hunt this Saturday. I'm going to shoot one with my 375 Ruger, I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
I finally got some primers that I ordered from Cabela's in April. Now I can do some reloading for next year (Lord Willin' and all the props keep turnin'). Only the large pistol primers are still on backorder.
AKX

Like the man said, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em".

I have had enough things foul up an elk hunt without letting inadequate clothing be one of them. Every year, I hear guys talking about buying this or that clothing to go hunting. Aside from a few socks and replacing lost gloves or a new "fashion hat", I don't think I have bought any new clothes in years. Buying cheap clothes (or rifles) is false economy. I think I am going to buy an extra set of Cabela's Microtex Outfitter before some genius decides to stop selling it.

this is like most things..."you get what you pay for"

Once upon a time I travelled in those pricey circles, but it was only after I inherited the goods from a great uncle. After many years, the impecable hunting clothes and fine boots wore out and I sold the takedown Savage 99 with leather case so that I could buy two other rifles I'd been losing sleep over. But the best part of the inheritance may have been the two expensive, honey-colored, all-leather suitcases. Don't think for a minute that I didn't puff up when all eyes turned toward me as I lifted those babies off the airport carosels. But, alas, they too gave it up. Since then its been ratty boat bags, tattered duffles, and eBay bargains, a fitting comeuppance for the haughty airs I once feigned.

WAMtnhunter: I drew an elk permit in northeastern Nevada this year, passed up a small five-point bull the second day. Then, to my embarassment, I missed an average bull. My partner said it was 300 yards, but by the time it stopped in the pinion juniper and presented a shot, it was a good deal farther. Shot right under its brisket. You will be able to see my miss in all its glory on "On Your Own Adventures" on the Outdoor Channel sometime next fall. With my arthritic knees, I felt fortunate to have gotten a shot. I was resting over a spotting scope tripod at the shot. No excuses...I should have made the shot.

I am presently filling the freezer with whitetail does here in Montana. Most landowners won't let me shoot a buck, which irritates me.

tomwarner has it right. Buy once cry once. If you guys would quit buying those junky rifles you could pick one thing a year to upgrade. The SI stuff is quality. It is not, however, the only solution you will ever need which the price inherently implies. For example, high wind means you may get chilled with only the shirt and undergarments. But, it is top notch and enjoy mine. Wool is its own thing.

Great new Animal Track app out in the App Store. Pretty useful, look for MyNature Animal Tracks.

There are people on here with a LOT of money, poeple with enough to live comfortably (most of us I think) and some that are struggling, so your point is made. But lighten up a bit.

midmichhunter, Where do you live in Mich?

Meant for only two people they will know who they are.

Well, letsee, last review was on an expensive knife that most of us wouldn't bother to buy. (It wouldn't have been my choice at any price). I think Mr. Petzal should start writing for one of those "exclusive" hunting mags where all the ads exhibit the priciest (not best) of items so F&S can employ a (more) knowledgeable writer to review affordable products for us "common man" subscribers. I would add that there are superior products for both items for less money. Articles reflective of both would be worth reading.