I find myself in limbo clothing wise many times up here in the north east. This year was stupid warm on most days (even though i hunted in 6 inches of snow opening day). What gets me (and I'm sure many others) is the attempt to balance warmth and function. Just about every "bowhunting" jacket I have tried is just too bulky. I have a sort of anxiety about being unable to draw or getting the string in the sleeve disaster so I just have issues with these heavier coats. Layering with sweatshirts, thermals, and so on is barely better............towards the end of this season I became increasingly frustrated with doing this as well because trying to peel off layers as the sun warms the woods is no picnic either. Anyone have a nice warm AND functional bowhunting jacket to recommend??
I'm right there with ya. I wear thin predator bowhunting jackets with a fleece coat underneath. Not bulky yet warm. Best combo i've come up with. I've also found that a fleece beanie and balaclava will keep your head and neck warm, which keeps your whole body warm.
I've found that layering warm base layers has really eliminated the need for that heavy of a jacket and doesn't make things overly bulky. I have the polartec stuff & a older heavy baselayer from cabelas that is warm & thin.
I've got a coat from Cabelas that I really like. It's the Silent Suede. Waterproof and warm. Admitedly, it's a tad bulky, but not bad at all. I slide on an arm guard and problem solved. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0005023931159a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=silent+suede&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1
That was a Saskatchewan gun kill from 2007. High that day was around -10 and I shot him at first light when it was closer to -25. BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! :D
