Gear ?'s

Good morning,

I need a pair of upland pants. I have insulation I can wear underneath so not a huge deal breaker if they aren't overly warm, just need to be durable.

Also wondering what you're favorite vest is?

I'm going to primarily be chasing upland game here in Iowa, however after my wife and I have ample time to deal with some family issues we are moving back to Montana. Would like to be able to bring water along w/o it being overly heavy. No insulation needed on the vest either.

Thanks all!
 
I tend to buy extra gear for hunting.. (two is one, and one is none.) For my upland hunting pants, I have a pair of Columbia briarshun, Cabelas, Browning and carhartt upland hunting pants. I like them. Orvis also makes some nice upland hunting gear.

I have several different upland hunting vest/ strap vest.. Cabelas, Browning and Woolrich.
Tenzing TZ makes a upland hunting vest with a water bladder compartment if you're interested in that type of vest. (but, I usually carry 1-2 water bottles in my vest.)
Get a good/ well made vest, because you'll need sturdy vest to carry ammo, birds, and a water bottle & snack bar.
 
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On cold days, I wear the Duluth Firehose pants with insulation under and chaps. My under gear consists of silk long underwear then Nike or UA Coldgear. Check out www.wintersilks.com. Seldom wear a coat, usually a pullover.
 
No coat? SD or Iowa, in December, can be a bit raw, esp with driving snow or wind. Have hunted with windchill in the minus 20 or lower. Think about a coat!
 
No coat? SD or Iowa, in December, can be a bit raw, esp with driving snow or wind. Have hunted with windchill in the minus 20 or lower. Think about a coat!

I'm a diehard bowhunter, I have tons of insulating pieces aling with really warm coats so good on that end thankfully!
 
I use Duluth Trading company briar pants with long johns for cold weather, also I bought the ALPS Outdoorz upland vest this year to try for more of a pack style vest instead of the Columbia coat I wore last year.
 
In the spirit of internet forums, I'll totally ignore the OP's question...

I prefer chaps instead of dedicated pants. Can wear them with my everyday jeans. Only have to have 1 pair, no matter how many days I'm hunting, instead of multiple pairs of brush pants.

For a vest, I like a simple strap vest. Current one (10 years old or more) is a Cabelas brand that they don't make anymore, but its simply two front pockets for shells and a back pouch for carrying the birds. I like the strap vest because it isn't restrictive in movement, and I can wear it over whatever layers I happen to be wearing, from a t-shirt all the way up through my heaviest layers on brutally cold sub zero degree days.
 
In the spirit of internet forums, I'll totally ignore the OP's question...

I prefer chaps instead of dedicated pants. Can wear them with my everyday jeans. Only have to have 1 pair, no matter how many days I'm hunting, instead of multiple pairs of brush pants.

For a vest, I like a simple strap vest. Current one (10 years old or more) is a Cabelas brand that they don't make anymore, but its simply two front pockets for shells and a back pouch for carrying the birds. I like the strap vest because it isn't restrictive in movement, and I can wear it over whatever layers I happen to be wearing, from a t-shirt all the way up through my heaviest layers on brutally cold sub zero degree days.

I actually like the chaps idea, hadn't seen those before. I have quite the selection of pants to choose from, would be nice to just be able to protect them from briars and other crap!
 
I wear chaps quite a bit but there are a couple of issues in wearing chaps over jeans. Unless you roll up your jeans so they don't hang below the chap the cuffs on the jeans can quickly become frayed. Also there are times early season that chaps over jeans can become quite warm. Other than that chaps work well. I'm also still on the hunt for a good pair of upland pants that fit me well.
 
I have three pairs of chaps - seldom wear them...too hot and bulky.

Prefer long underwear and hunting pants vs chaps and pants. The light-weight chaps seem to work the best, but it needs to be cold or wet snow for me to wear them.

Wrangler hunt pants seem to fit well and are not too heavy...
 
Pants:

For warm to mild temps: Columbia upland pants
Cool to cold temps: L.L. Bean upland pants w/articulated knee
Wet conditions: Cabelas Gortex lined upland pants

Vest: Filson strap

Field coat: Cabelas

Boots:

Warm to cool temps: Danner Fort Lewis

Cold temps: Danner Elk Hunter w/600 Thisulate
 
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My last three pairs have been jeans with nylon facing. One each of Columbia (too baggy), Wrangler (too slim), and Cabela's (about right). I'm ready for a new pair this fall. Hunting central Kansas I only need long underwear about 2-3 days per year, but all of us have a different internal thermostat. I also have a pair of waxed cotton chaps, Cabela's house brand (Filson knock-offs). They only come out if there's snow or ice. There's been precious little of that for the last several years.

Some of my friends wear nylon chaps, but they always look heavy and hot to me. Cheesy's point about hunting multiple days makes sense, but I rarely go more than 2 days in row. I'll wear the same jeans for two days.
 
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