Wool hunting bibs

[Swill]

What are the pros / cons of wool hunting bibs? Filson and Cabelas make some nice wool bibs, but for half the price you can buy the blaze orange bibs for 80 bucks. I used my duck hunting bibs last year, but man they were heavy and just too bulky.

I would like a pair of bibs for icefishing / hunting, and not look like a traffic safety barrel during the ice fishing season!

[sticknstring]

I've got a pair of camo Wilson bibs. I strictly use them for December bowhunting. They're definitely warm but pretty bulky. I usually pack them in and put them on at the base of the tree. If you do any amount of walking, you'll get sweated up pretty fast. They are expensive but will last a lifetime.

[kingr]

I've got wool pants. I love them. Very warm, and quiet... that being said, the last couple deer hunts have been prety warm, then I just wear a pair of silk long underwear and they aren't too warm.

I don't think I'd wear them ice fishing though beucase they aren't water proof and you start kneeling in the slush and you're knees will be soaked

[Little Joe]

I used to wear Codet bibs a while back but haven't touched them for many years. I stopped wearing them for ice fishing because they aren't waterproof so the knee's get wet, slush builds and freezes too well on legs when augering holes. They are also terrible in the wind - goes right through.

For deer hunting, they're quiet in the woods and breath well so they're good for stalking but I would want something warmer on cold days sitting in a tree.

[Neighbor_guy]

I love wool for bowhunting. I wear sythetics for rifle and for Ice fishing. Wool is great because it isulates even when it is wet. It also "fades out at distance" meaning that a wool coat and pants will blurr out like a deer does so im makes it MUCH harder for a deer to spot you.

But as stated above, it is not wind or water proof. If it was, I would use it for everything. Even a wool pimp like me knows it has its limits.

[Swill]

thanks for the great info.

On the bibs topic...what about the Carhart Arctic armor? I have regular carharts, insulated, but not he arctic type. I have worn them before deer hunting, but they are brown! Which is not a good think when walking in the woods....

[sticknstring]

I've got Carhartt coveralls - the brown ones with black insulation. Incredibly warm. They work great for ice fishing. I wouldn't want to be walking around in the woods with them though. Too hot. I wouldn't worry about what color they are, you'll have to wear blaze over them anyhow.

[DonBo]

Good wool is tightly stitched and very little wind gets through. I have a pair of Pendelton wool pants from Cabela's and wouldn't trade them for anything.

Just be sure to get something that is machine washable because as a bowhunter, I wash all my clothes often.