Mountain Performance Clothing

[G. McAlister]

Being the flatlander I am, most of my hunting clothing is not designed to be out for multiple days in rocky, cold, and harsh environments. I am very hard on hunting clothing and would like to hear the forums opinions on the best clothing for out west. Right now I am looking at Sitka and FirstLite. Due to the price I'm going to look at replacing pants first and then purchasing shirts, jackets, etc as funds become available.

 

[sheff]

Look at the tags (the type of material used) and you can find cheaper clothing that is just as good for a whole lot less money. Now is the time to buy since most have their stuff on clearance.

 

[1_pointer]

Look at the tags (the type of material used) and you can find cheaper clothing that is just as good for a whole lot less money. Now is the time to buy since most have their stuff on clearance.

This! Alot of very good "western" hunting clothing is sold in stores not known as hunting stores. If your hunts will be with a rifle, IMO, camo is definitely not a requirement. Find the materials you want and shop for gear made from them. That said, the two makers you listed have a very good reputation for making good gear. FL has a sale right now on Realtree patterns.

Don't over look places like REI or Duluth Trading Co etc for good places to pic up western hunting gear.

 

[G. McAlister]

Thanks guys. Like I said, I'm really looking for something tough not necessarily a name brand. I can be hard on hunting clothes, which is what drew me to Sitka, especially their pants with the reinforced knee and seats.

 

[bowhuntmontana]

I think you're getting great advice. I have been hunting in two pairs of $30 hiking pants for the past two years and have been extremely impressed with both their durability and comfort. If they were camo, they would have a Sitka or Kuiu label on them and cost about $100 more. Don't overlook the hiking and mountaineering options.

 

[BlakeA]

This! Alot of very good "western" hunting clothing is sold in stores not known as hunting stores. If your hunts will be with a rifle, IMO, camo is definitely not a requirement. Find the materials you want and shop for gear made from them. That said, the two makers you listed have a very good reputation for making good gear. FL has a sale right now on Realtree patterns.

Don't over look places like REI or Duluth Trading Co etc for good places to pic up western hunting gear.

All of this is great info. I've owned clothing from the majority of western hunting brands. For me, First Lite and Sitka are tough to beat. First lite has their base layers down. Incredible stuff. There is some awesome stuff on REI, Backcountry, Moose Jaw, and Sierra Trading post for 1/2 the cost. Especially rain gear and soft shells. In the hunting world, you are paying for the camo pattern which they will change/update 3 years after you buy. Camo can look awesome to us humans but it is absolutely needed to be successful in field? That's debatable.

 

[BlakeA]

Thanks guys. Like I said, I'm really looking for something tough not necessarily a name brand. I can be hard on hunting clothes, which is what drew me to Sitka, especially their pants with the reinforced knee and seats.

I would checkout the Sitka Timberline pant. There should be some good deals online right now on the 2016 and older pairs. Hell of an "everything" pant.

 

[Irrelevant]

brown wool slacks from Goodwill should be less than $10. They'll breath well, are silent for stalking, and don't smell. Tops are harder to find, so I'd go FL

 

[G. McAlister]

brown wool slacks from Goodwill should be less than $10. They'll breath well, are silent for stalking, and don't smell. Tops are harder to find, so I'd go FL

Wow, so that basic then?

 

[Laelkhunter]

Keep checking camofire.com They have most of the name brands, and most are about 50% off. They change the items daily, and usually have Sitka three or four times a week.

 

[airlocksniffer]

Costco has good hiking pants and tops in hunt friendly solids. Many traditional outdoor clothing companies such as OR, Prana, Black Diamond, Marmot, etc have many more options/sizes than hunting-only companies and some good solid colors (think coyote brown, tan or pine). I also own a bit of First Lite, which is great gear.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

Unless you're bow hunting or otherwise at extremely close range, then you absolutely don't need state of the art hunting clothes. I bet more big game animals are killed in walmart clothes each year than sitka, first lite, kuiu, etc. combined. I now use merino wool camo shirts and a pair of First Lite pants I bought on clearance when bow hunting (it's just one less excuse available to me when I don't harvest). But you can rifle hunt just fine in a pair of technical mountaineering or hiking pants from REI. Subdued wool shirts in tans, browns, grays also work fine. Rain gear also doesn't need to be quiet. Surplus military goretex is a great option.

I shot my first elk in a pair of old BDU pants, a tan t-shirt, and a forest green fleece, while carrying a bright blue REI backpack and my grandfather's 1950 Model 70 with a $99 Nikon scope and box of $14 Walmart ammo. I've spent a lot of money on gear since that hunt and my success has not grown in proportion. So take it from me. There is a lot of marketing money and hype that is aimed at convincing hunters they need unnecessary and unnecessarily expensive clothing.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Plenty of Sitka on Camofire.com right now. Timberline pants $137 and also Ascent, Dewpoint, Primaloft, and Cloudburst for about 50% off.

 

[G. McAlister]

Plenty of Sitka on Camofire.com right now. Timberline pants $137 and also Ascent, Dewpoint, Primaloft, and Cloudburst for about 50% off.

I picked up a pair of the ascent pants. For most of my other gear my strategy is comparable materials at a better price, not camo pattern. My goal is to have a good base set and replace as funds become available.

Based on everyone's comments and my own research, it looks like I need the following items, some of which I have:

Base layer shirt and pants
Pants
Rain pants and jacket
Light/mid weight shirt
Fleece
Heavier jacket

Feel free to comment on other necessities. A big portion of what I have now is cotton and geared towards warmer weather, as it's normally in the 50-60s during November whitetail season.

 

[Irrelevant]

If you live near an REI their annual Garage Sale is a great place to pick up used gear for cheap

 

[hank4elk]

Good advice here.
Ditch any cotton. Get surplus/thriftstore wool.
I've been wearing sale Cabellas Micro-tex pants & shirts for years. Wore one set thread bare.
Just waiting for a tougher pants to come on sale in future.
Been impressed by the Sitka & like brand pants others have worn here & not just cuase it's in.
Saw some very nice REI pants a guy was wearing on the CDT the other day. Good tan color,rugged with extra stitching & quiet.
Contrary to some statements I saw I believe in quiet. At all times hunting.

 

[MooseCaboose]

Quiet is the most important thing if you are going to be bowhunting. Camo definitely helps in rifle and bow, depending on the situation it is nice to have.

First lite makes the best merino base layers. Would definitely recommend you get a top and bottom from them. After a week of wearing them the merino will still not stink. I prefer sitka outer layer like the mountain pant and the Jetstream jacket.

Other brands might be similar for much cheaper but it's a stretch to say they will perform the same. It's at the margins you will see performance differences.

It's the same idea with optics. Most of the time a 300 dollar binocular will do everything a 1500 dollar binocular can do. But there will be certain instances where there is a huge performance difference.

Same logic applies to performance clothing. Get the best you can afford and you won't be disappointed.

 

[G. McAlister]

I found some super clearance items on eBay. They are being sold as new by a company called its on sale. Could it be fake? Is there any way to tell? Mountain Mimicry is the pattern and the tags say sitka mountain gear.

 

[Revort]

I like to dress warm and I have mostly wool sweater and waterproof gear. We love taking the mountains with my boyfriend now and then as it's a great way for us to free ourselves from all the hardships of living in a big city. That being said of course it takes good preparation as you never know what kind of weather conditions you might happen to encounter! It's not like our regular walks in the city where we were marching gear from https://matchinggear.com/ in order to look cool and trendy! There's so many people asking us where we got them, as the quotes are really creative.

 

[roravetz]

The first light wool pants I got are comfy as f**k and have great pockets but ripped very easily. My go to has been Prana Stretch Zion nylon pants (mud color) and they are awesome. I can generally wear them comfortably from 15 to 100 degrees. I found em on sale for like $20 or $25 and wear them all the time for hunting, hiking, fishing , camping etc and they have yet to rip. I like the first lite tops. The lightweight hooded long sleeve shirt is really nice in any weather and offers nice sun protection.