It's about 9:30 AM. You've been on the stand for three hours. The sun has raised itself above the aspen, but the cold blue light doesn't add much heat. The sun begins to warm the trees, and branches pop like small-bore fire. You're cold. Cold all the way through. You've been standing as motionless as possible for three hours, and the 15 degree cold has gradually sunk right in to your core. Even shivering doesn't help. You gave up on your toes 20 minutes ago.
   As you open the bolt to begin your climb down, it happens. There's a crash of brush 40 yards to your right, a glint of sun off a huge rack... and he's gone.

   Anyone who's hunted northern whitetails has learned the challenge of warmth. In this article, I wish to share with you the combined wisdom of our little camp. This comes from a lot of discussions around the fire, at the range, from half a dozen guys who have spent up to six decades trying to stay warm. Please note, that in this article, I'm not trying to sell you anything here. A few brand names will be used, but only to indicate a type of product.

The Fundamentals
    There are two things you have to know to get a doctor's degree in warmth. Ready?
       1) Stay dry
       2) Trap air

   That's all it takes. Sounds simple, right? It would be if you could stay in the cabin. But if you're going to be walking, perhaps at several levels of exertion, and sitting still, and trying to do this quietly, and not be smell, each adds one more variable, and a bit of a difficulty. A jogger can stay warm for hours at 0 degrees with the right clothes. Yet if that warm jogger then tries to stand still for ten minutes, he'll be in danger. Ice fishermen, a sedentary lot, can bundle up and stay warm too. But if they tried to work hard very long dressed like that, they'd have problems.
    Why stay dry? Because water, a liquid, transfers heat more readily than air. The moisture can come from rain, melting snow, the creek you fell off the log into, or, more likely, just your sweat.
    Why trap air? Because air doesn't transfer heat as fast as a liquid, you want air to surround you. You will stay warm if you can keep the warm, trapped air between you and the cold.

The Inside Story
    Let's start at the skin. Clean, dry skin, without an excess of oil, is where we need to start. Then comes underwear. In the past few decades, we've had several generations of underwear improvements, each of which have made life a bit more wonderful for whitetail hunters.

    Cotton thermal: This was the basic stuff of the fifties. It worked great for a little while, unless you had to walk. As soon as sweat came into it and condensed, bingo. Time to start a fire. Avoid cotton for everything except lounging by the fire or wiping off rifles.
    Cotton/wool sandwich: A bit better, as the wool added some wet warmth, but the cotton is still the culprit.

   Wool: Still one of the best, but many can't wear it against their skin. It needs special care, as you can't just throw it into the washer and dry, unless you wish to give it to your 12-year-old.

    Quilted polyester batting: This was the great step ahead in the sixties. Some was cotton thermal-lined for comfort, others were just nylon. It is bulky, wears out easily, and is also not very warm if wet. It's an imitation of:
    Quilted down: This is still the premium stuff for absolute warmth in deep cold. Even so, lots of moisture puts it out of commission. It does breathe, releasing a good deal of perspiration and is comfortable across a much wider temperature range than synthetic batting. If your stand was a hundred yards behind the cabin, it was 20 degrees below, and you promised to walk very slowly, then down would be unquestionably the best choice. Fine quality down is expensive, (with inflation, even down's up...) but can easily last you half a century if cared for. On very cold mornings, one of our guys always wears an Eddy Bauer jacket he bought right after WWII. It's still feels great.

    Polypropylene: Now we're moving into the modern period. Poly is great because it wicks the moisture away from your skin, so that it doesn't condense and chill you. It has a limited amount of insulating quality, but if the day is only moderately cold, and some deer drives are ahead for the day, then it can be wonderful. It washes well, but can be hard to get odors out of. Even though it wicks well, you still have to have breathable clothes over it, and (can you guess?) no cotton!

    High-tech wicking fibers: Here is the greatest invention of the last decade. These high-tech fibers, like Thermax, wick the moisture away, they 'breathe' and they trap air well. Some are hollow, like microscopic plastic macaroni noodles. I think a light undershirt of Thermax feels as warm as a heavy rag-wool sweater.

    The first morning I wore a shirt like this, I was enlisted in a long search, in heavy cover, for a wounded deer. After a successful three hours, I climbed back into my stand. Sweat dripped off my wool shirt onto the stock of my custom '17 Enfield. I zipped up my jacket, an was able to quite comfortably stay put in 20 degree temperatures for the next couple hours. Finally I had to go in for the afternoon, but was still warm, though soaking wet. That really impressed me. The Thermax undershirt did the trick.

    One thing to consider. The little 'macaronis' can fill up with body oil, detergents, etc. Some decrease in warmth seems to happen in a few years.

Roland Wells

Seasoned Hunter

• Hunting Whitetail for 40 years in Minnesota
  
• Knowledgeable on ballistics and handcrafting ammunition

Wool - still the best
Polypropylene - wicks the moisture away from your skin...

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