Winter coat recommendations for North West/

D

D. Hinton

Active member
This is my first year out of the south and need a warm coat in prep for the idaho winter.
Been considering a Filson tin cloth (highly recommended) or an LLbean waxed cotton down coat (water resistant..not proof like filson)
I also find I am having a hard time not flairing birds with current camo pattern choices which worked well for me back home with similar terrain..any recommendations there?
 
Layers are your friend. Don't think so much about one jacket to keep you warm. Get a good wind and waterproof outercoat that is large enough to fit over as many layers of clothes as you might wear on the coldest day you can imagine, and adjust your layers as the weather changes. I'd go with Goretex or something similar for durability and breathability. Waxed cotton is traditional, but not nearly so functional.

Poly pro long longs, polyester fleece and wool are your friends. Cotton sucks.

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of the 3-in-1 type coats. It's a lot of work to put all those layers together than take them back apart for a warm day. Just pile on the layers--insulation works the same whether they zip together or not.

Early season some years will see me in a T shirt and shorts under waders and my raincoat. By December I've got three layers on my legs and 4+ on top, with the same waders and raincoat over the top.
 
This is my first year out of the south and need a warm coat in prep for the idaho winter.
Been considering a Filson tin cloth (highly recommended) or an LLbean waxed cotton down coat (water resistant..not proof like filson)
I also find I am having a hard time not flairing birds with current camo pattern choices which worked well for me back home with similar terrain..any recommendations there?
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Find out what waxed cottons do in very very cold, which is what you will see. A couple guys I know have complained that it gets very stiff, but I don't know what company the stuff was.

If it is very cold, you don't really need very waterproof, just wind breaking ability and insulation.
 
Wool, wool, wool and a good windbreaker on top of that. Filson tin cloth is not warm - very rugged yes but not very warm unless you have layers on underneath. Ditto the layering comment. My standard clothing in Wisconsin this time of year is one or two pairs of Merrino wool long johns (Minus33 brand is the cheapest), one or two merrino wool sweaters (my fav is the Filson waterfowlers sweater), merrino wool neck gaiter, merrino wool balaclava, Filson wool lined waterfowlers hat and either a gortex coat or a Grundens brand rain coat (warmest). For pants I have Cabelas wool wipecord pants. For picking up decoys Atlas 495's with removeable liners. See a wool pattern? :) I am almost NEVER cold.

Camo pattern shouldn't make any difference. I shoot more ducks while wearing my solid green raincoat than anything else. Just don't move until you are ready to shoot AND use a face mask.
 
Camo pattern shouldn't make any difference. I shoot more ducks while wearing my solid green raincoat than anything else. Just don't move until you are ready to shoot AND use a face mask.
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Pete nailed this one, if you are sitting still and the sun is not reflecting off your face, the camo pattern should not matter one bit.

Like others noted, layers are the way to go. I have an old Cabelas 4-in-1 Parka, had it since around 1998. Works great. The newer ones are even better.
Polypro and wool for layers underneath. And good socks!
 
Agree with all that's been said and share a personal story.

I like combing Polypro long johns for warmth and comfort with Wool for durability and warmth.

Several years ago on a 17 degree morning I tripped on a root while setting out my decoys. Water wasn't deep, but deep enough to flood over the top of my waders.

Cold enough to take my breath way...could talk for several minutes.

Fortunately my vehicle was only a few hundred yards away.

Once I got there I was able to get out of my waders and strip off my wet gear.

Hung my Wool pants up to dry (they actually froze), then I took my polypro long johns off and used the truck's heater to dry them in about 30 mins.

Other than a tramatized hunting partner (don't think he was expecting that kind of a Moonrise) I was no worse for wear. Actually got back to hunting in my dry long johns, a fresh pair of socks, dry boots, and my hunting parka (whihc I wasn't wearing as I set the decoys).
 
Jeff is 100% correct. I grew up hunting ducks in nw IA and now I live in westcentral AR. I have hunted in the coldest of temps (minus 10 or less, with plenty of wind) and the warmest of temps (70+ on a January day in AR). Layers are what you want and a variety of such................... just match the layers to the forecast. Have a quality outer jacket that is waterproof - I like an oversized goretex jacket of soft material with a good detachable hood and plenty of pocket space to top it off. THis setup will work no matter where you hunt. A bid heavy jacket is not worth the expense - IMHO and experience!!
 
This is my first year out of the south and need a warm coat in prep for the idaho winter.
Been considering a Filson tin cloth (highly recommended) or an LLbean waxed cotton down coat (water resistant..not proof like filson)
I also find I am having a hard time not flairing birds with current camo pattern choices which worked well for me back home with similar terrain..any recommendations there?
Click to expand...

I have a Filson coat and can tell you that it's just a shell. It wears like iron and keeps the wind out but as everyone has already pointed out, you need layers. Like Pete I also have the waterfowl sweater and it was a better investment than the coat. It, combined with other layers, is what keeps me warm. The coat just keeps the burrs and water off the sweater.
 
Well I'm a bit more west in the northwest here in Southern WA / Oregon and a bit more wet here also but still deal with varying temps. For example on the Opener in Klamath it was 31 deg at 5:00 am in the morning and 70 by 11 am but dry. A heavy coat is nice in the morning but will kill you later in the day. As everybody has said Layers Layers and then Layers. Tomorrow I am heading to the coast and the temps won't change much but it will be wet. I avoid cotton here because it will freeze you to death when it gets wet and here it will get wet. Layers allow you to adjust to the forcast and changes throughout the day. The biggest problem I had when looking for a new coat was all I wanted was the shell not the liner.
 
A polar fleece would work good under the filson. I have Filson, but don't often use it.

My cold weather gear is a fairly thin Cabelas coat for the outer layer, a fleece, and wool vest. The Filon or LL Bean could be the top layer as well.

Filson is not totally waterproof. In a down pour the shoulders will leak. But who wants to be out in a down pour? From experience the Idaho ducks don't like to fly in a heavy rain.
 
I like my Filson Upland/Waterfowl coat. I have it in Tincloth which I have heard can get stiff, mine is 15+ years old and has never gotten stiff on me (I bought it used) I think they make the new ones out of Sheltercloth which is supposed to be more water repelant and softer.
 
I live and hunt in Colorado so I would assume that the conditions you will hunt are going to be similar to the conditions that I hunt. For me, the bottom line is this: breathable everything.

I'll second the suggestion that you look towards a layering system, as opposed to simply one jacket. If money were not a concern, I think I would simply go with Sitka. I'm a big believer in making sure that clothing functions and fits well. I've had a chance to wear the Sitka stuff and feel like it fits the bill pretty well. But should you not be able to purchase a complete setup outright, I think it's important to make sure that at least the outer layer is Gore-Tex in the camo pattern of your choice. The Gore-Tex stuff is, to my mind, the way to go, especially if you're hunting conditions that vary as much as they tend to out here. What to layer with: whatever you do, stay away from cotton. Go with any of the fleece and wicking layers.

The camo patterns I have found successful for hunting in high mountain parks as well as well as out east on the rivers tend to be lighter and less “graphic-y”. Again, if you're hunting terrain that I hunt, mainly what you're trying to blend in with our river grasses, Sagebrush, and marsh grass. We don't really have too many trees here!

Good luck- geoff
 
What part of I Da Ho are you in?

It can get mighty cold down south along the Snake. Like below zero cold with a decently high humidity to make it all the more colder feeling.

It looks like you are asking about hunting clothes and not walking around clothes.

I tend to skip down these days thanks to PrimaLoft. Not a lot of duck hunting gear made with this stuff. For any situation where you could get wet I would not consider down unless it was in a water proof system.

As for flaring birds, you might need to hang up your coat and walk away to see if it actually blends into the terrain. I did this and learned that the Duck Blind camo from a distance looks like a big white/gray blob. Useless in a grass marsh.
 
I'm not 100% sure what Idaho weather is like, but if its dry (as in not humid), go with down... not many things as good as down for warmth. That was my go-to jacket down to -20 celcius when I lived in Calgary. Just a T-shirt and a down jacket.

However, if its a real humid place (like the west coast), down is nearly useless, and you would do best with gortex over wool. My go-to steelheading clothes out west was wool, rubber raincoat, and neoprene waders. Kept me toasty warm, even if rain got up my sleeves...

I had a waxed cotton jacket (barbour), and I gotta say that thing was a pile of crap in real weather... Looked nice though, but thats about it.
 
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