Favorite pant or chaps to hunt cattails in the snow?

grossklw

grossklw

Active member
I spend a lot of time chasing pheasants in the snow which means I beat the shit out of the cattails with my golden. Anyone have any recommendations for a high quality waterproof chap or upland pant? I have a pair of browning and Carharts that I like and wear every time out, but I do get wet once the snow flies. I’ve learned to just live with it.

I run hot, could be -50 during pheasant hunting and I won’t get cold. But it absolutely drives me nuts how my pants get wet and then I do get a bit cold going between spots. Not to mention the annoying wet feeling all day, I don’t deal with a ton of briars in the cattails, so it doesn’t need to be burr proof necessarily. A few stickers at the end of the day doesn’t bother me. I spend 90% of my time once the snow hits walking through thick cattails with my golden.

I’m fine with my early season pants when there’s no snow. But when I’m beating cattails in 10 inches of snow all day what have you found that you like (or 18 inches in WI today)? I have no limit on budget, buy once and cry once.

Pics of my crew for attention.
 

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Ditch the chaps and get a nice pair of over the calf gaiters along with a good pair of dwr treated pants and you won’t be wet anymore.
 
I have Filson double tins, they are good and very warm for cold hunting conditions. I just received a set of Stone Creek chaps, they might not be as warm, maybe more waterproof (if the Filson's aren't kept waxed), I really like the heavy full length zippers, you can put them on after your boots or remove with you boots on. Just slide them on with any pair of jeans and go. As far as durability, I will average twice a week hunting heavy cover, the Filson's have been incredibly tough, not sure how those polyester shells on the Stone Creek's will wear, but they seem tough. At $75, the Stone Creek (made in the USA) are much cheaper than the Filson ($195ish). Let us know what you pick and post field report/review.
 
I had a couple other people recommend Dan's Five Star Chaps (50$'s) which I may think of giving a try, also made in the USA and cheaper than the Filson. I already wear Kennetrek Gaiter's, it's my thighs that get wet. Reviews seem pretty decent as well. I'll order some up and post a review, I'm headed back to SD the 1st-4th so they should get a workout in there. I'll also be hunting around home in WI leading up to that as well.
 
My buddy wanted to try the Dan's, but his wife surprised him with a set of ORVIS chaps. They are very light weight, a "gentleman's garment", just not sure they will hold-up to pounding through heavy cover. Sounds like they cost around $120.
 
I wear some sort of Sitka pants that offer a little stretch along with varying long johns depending on cold/windy it is. Then I throw on a pair of the Orvis toughshell chaps and couldn't be happier. I also have a pair of the Filson double tin hunting bibs and Orvis toughshell upland pants but overall comfort wise can't compare to the little bit of stretch that the Sitka pants provide and are much more cumbersome when walking through the thick stuff.
 
I have a pair of Orvis chaps that I like for colder weather. We haven't had much for cold weather this season, but I really doubt I'll ever need any thermals on underneath them. They do a great job of keeping you dry, as well. My only complaints are, they are too warm to wear in the early season, and they are a bit noisy. I think I'll pick up a pair of gaiters to try before next season.
 
The Dans Bibs duck taped from ankle to over the top of the boots to keep the snow from coming in from below works well, but that Nylon stuff is noisy and eventually will start leaking at the knees. The waxed cotton stuff works well but a bit heavy.
 
I'll be wearing my gaiters over the top of the chaps when wearing them. I got the Dan's in last night, they do seem a bit noisy, but for 50 bucks they seem pretty decent quality. I'll likely only be wearing them for a dozen or so hunts each year when the snow is deeper or on the cattails. I like just my regular Carhart brush pants as long as the snow isn't deeper than 6-8 inches or so.
 
grossklw said:
I spend a lot of time chasing pheasants in the snow which means I beat the shit out of the cattails with my golden. Anyone have any recommendations for a high quality waterproof chap or upland pant? I have a pair of browning and Carharts that I like and wear every time out, but I do get wet once the snow flies. I’ve learned to just live with it.

I run hot, could be -50 during pheasant hunting and I won’t get cold. But it absolutely drives me nuts how my pants get wet and then I do get a bit cold going between spots. Not to mention the annoying wet feeling all day, I don’t deal with a ton of briars in the cattails, so it doesn’t need to be burr proof necessarily. A few stickers at the end of the day doesn’t bother me. I spend 90% of my time once the snow hits walking through thick cattails with my golden.

I’m fine with my early season pants when there’s no snow. But when I’m beating cattails in 10 inches of snow all day what have you found that you like (or 18 inches in WI today)? I have no limit on budget, buy once and cry once.

Pics of my crew for attention.
Click to expand...
 
I like your pics of the family and your Golden...tell us about your dog -background, age, training et al.

Thanks!
 
Have worn rain pants for deep and wet snow and they work well. Under the pants, light-weight lounge pants. My legs sweat so this combo seem to work best, at least for me. Often a double layer can constrict leg movement; this combination doesn't.

Good Luck with whatever you find.
 
When I was a duck hunter I just wore my LaCrosse hip boots. They worked for many rears. No longer made in LaCrosse any more and are crap !! Someone made canvas topped hippers that worked very well too. Think they might have been Herters.
 
I ended up going with the Dan's 5-star, we had fresh snow Friday night so I wore them Saturday and Sunday in the snow. First thought when I put them on is they're a little noisy, but once I started hitting the cattails I didn't notice the noise. I had a thought that it would make pheasants a bit spooky but then I figured a golden retrievers tail wagging so violently it's knocking over cattails is probably a little more unsettling to them. They worked as expected, I wore my gaiters on top of them so snow couldn't sneak up my gaiter leg into my boot. I hunted 3.5 hours Saturday and 3 on Sunday and my legs were nice and dry. For 50 bucks at least my first weekend in them they seem great. Even if I only get a couple years out of them, you can't go wrong on the price. I wore them in 25 degrees on Saturday and around 10 degrees on Sunday with my thinner Carhartt upland field pant and I was nice and dry and plenty warm. Pheasants didn't seem to mind, killed 2 on Saturday that flushed off Lambeau's nose and another on Sunday. Flushed 20 or so birds over the weekend most of which held tight. I'm up to 17 roosters killed in WI, all wild public land birds, been a really fun year. I'll be in SD for a quick 3-day trip in early January, will put them through the ringer there.

@jonnyB we bought him from a breeder out of Cannon Falls. I honestly got lucky, I had just graduated college (so no high buck bird dog) and found a small family that had a female that didn't hunt but bred him to a hunting golden. He'll turn 6 in January and has really hit his prime, he's a blast to hunt over now, works slow, when he hits a hot scent he checks in on me making sure I'm close, no more puppy days of flushing birds at 80 yards without a care in the world :) Even to a point now where he locks in on birds before flushing them if he knows they're there, not a true point, but still really fun to see when he locks in on a cattail. I trained him myself, he wouldn't pass a hunt test, I never force fetched him and he has a tendency to really like to stop about 3 feet short of my hand when delivering a bird; but in saying that I don't really care. He flushes them, I shoot them, and he finds them. He also has the classic golden personality, my 3 year old and him are attached at the hip. I'll always have goldens.6D1B4882-7FE6-4A7D-8D9D-8D152D945ED4.jpeg
 
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The past few years I wear nothing but nylon athletic pants from Walmart, about $16. Made by Russell. Have beltloops. Tight fit around boots thx to elastic. Start my season in MT for prairie birds around 9/1…just back from SD last nite, more trips planned. I wear poly athletic pants now as my first layer, with the nylon pants as outer layer. Muck boots on my feet. Never had a better system!
 
grossklw said:
I ended up going with the Dan's 5-star, we had fresh snow Friday night so I wore them Saturday and Sunday in the snow. First thought when I put them on is they're a little noisy, but once I started hitting the cattails I didn't notice the noise. I had a thought that it would make pheasants a bit spooky but then I figured a golden retrievers tail wagging so violently it's knocking over cattails is probably a little more unsettling to them. They worked as expected, I wore my gaiters on top of them so snow couldn't sneak up my gaiter leg into my boot. I hunted 3.5 hours Saturday and 3 on Sunday and my legs were nice and dry. For 50 bucks at least my first weekend in them they seem great. Even if I only get a couple years out of them, you can't go wrong on the price. I wore them in 25 degrees on Saturday and around 10 degrees on Sunday with my thinner Carhartt upland field pant and I was nice and dry and plenty warm. Pheasants didn't seem to mind, killed 2 on Saturday that flushed off Lambeau's nose and another on Sunday. Flushed 20 or so birds over the weekend most of which held tight. I'm up to 17 roosters killed in WI, all wild public land birds, been a really fun year. I'll be in SD for a quick 3-day trip in early January, will put them through the ringer there.

@jonnyB we bought him from a breeder out of Cannon Falls. I honestly got lucky, I had just graduated college (so no high buck bird dog) and found a small family that had a female that didn't hunt but bred him to a hunting golden. He'll turn 6 in January and has really hit his prime, he's a blast to hunt over now, works slow, when he hits a hot scent he checks in on me making sure I'm close, no more puppy days of flushing birds at 80 yards without a care in the world :) Even to a point now where he locks in on birds before flushing them if he knows they're there, not a true point, but still really fun to see when he locks in on a cattail. I trained him myself, he wouldn't pass a hunt test, I never force fetched him and he has a tendency to really like to stop about 3 feet short of my hand when delivering a bird; but in saying that I don't really care. He flushes them, I shoot them, and he finds them. He also has the classic golden personality, my 3 year old and him are attached at the hip. I'll always have goldens.View attachment 2619
Click to expand...
Good looking dog - thanks for the background/history - always interested where the Golden's originate.
 
I wear LaCrosse alpha burly boots and a pair of breathable rain pants I bought at Walmart on clearance.
Both have lasted me 8 winters now.
 
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