(thank you for all the responses on the hunting clothes post, now on to the next animal in this)
How do you transport all your clothing to your stand? Ideally I would carry them in a a backpack, but, the packs that I have aren't large enough to fit my insulated bibs, thermals, layers, and jacket in. I would love a pack that not only has all of that, but also has some small pockets that allows me to carry all the smaller things I carry in. The bag would need a large main storage and a few smaller compartments to meet those needs.
Again, the most cost friendly options are great!
thanks, fellas!
Strap them to my climber. If not using a climber I just carry by hand. They keep my hands warm walking in.
Two ways for me Daniel - first, if using a climber, I simply tuck them into the strap used to cinch the stand down (Summit) but any bungee type will work.
If I'm heading to a lock on set, I use a lumbar pack from Cabelas and it has 2 straps on the bottom (that tuck into their own sleeve when not in use) that I roll my gear up as tightly as possible and can strap my layers into those straps. If they don't work, I carry a couple extra nylon cinch straps to bundle and affix to the pack.
Again, once I started doing this system to take dry base layers and my outerlayers in, and take off my wet (sweaty) layers...I rarely get cold. Being dry makes a HUGE difference.
I use the badlands packs and they too have straps you can roll up clothes and strap on. My legs don't really sweat or get cold so maybe I don't carry as much as you but the less you sweat carrying all kinds of stuff in the colder you get
I use a very old and inexpensive turkey vest. Got it for like $10-15 on clearance from hunters specialties over twenty years ago. Super lightweight. Plenty of pockets in addition to the large game pocket for bigger clothes. Keeps everything organized too. I've been able to use the standard backpack straps on my Lone Wolf type stands right over the loaded vest. Doesn't work bad, or you could strap the vest to the stand if you want the stand flat to back. Vest hangs easily on an accessory belt or tree hook.
The whole issue is a pain, is the best way I can describe it.
I finally simply attached two pieces of para-cord to the straps, just above my day pack. I tie the extra clothing to that.
There are some potential negative issues with this set-up, but I've been doing it for years and haven't gotten around to a better idea.
One negative is if I have ordinary clothing and it's raining. I've always thought of creating a better solution. But, I simply envelope my ordinary clothes in a super light weight rain jacket and then tie this to my pack. Seems to work.
And, if I have no extras, then I just have some para-cord hanging down. Not much of an issue to my thinking.
Bungee outer layers to my stand (hang-on w sticks.) The stand is set up with actual backpack straps and backpack belt (no weight on shoulders).
Then everything I need for all season-any situation is in my turkey vest in appropriate pockets. I always know where everything is. I can access stuff as needed as I climb. I hang vest in the tree and everything is easily accessible.
Anytime I want to hunt I just grab my vest, throw on the stand, grab my bow and I am off.
Dan in KS
Early season.....Badlands fanny pack.
Late season......Kelty backpack.
I have a old mil Alice pack and when I need them, I just strap my bibs on the outside.
I remember when I was young and dumb and I wore everything to the stand. Never did understand why I was so cold so fast. Now I go minimal to the stand. I wear boots with less insulation and use boot covers if I need them. Good wool socks keeps me from needing them most of the time. I don't put my bibs on right away either. I cool down a little before I put them on all the way.
lately, I've been hunting in a ground blind and can hardly believe how much warmer it is. Haven't used a heater yet, but will if it gets cold enough.
Depends on how much I am carrying in. I always wear the minimum going in as in most cases I am covering a lot of ground. If possible I carry them in my pack. I am usually carrying a camera arm and a camera in the pack so this helps pad everything and not only keeps it safe but also quiet. My pack (I use a Badlands "Treestand" pack in most cases) has compression straps on the bottom so I can also roll up additional clothes and cinch them tightly to the bottom of my pack. This is usually where my wool vest, pullover or jacket goes. If I still need more capacity then it gets strapped to the stand with bungie cords.
QuoteOriginally posted by BowHunterGA:
Depends on how much I am carrying in. I always wear the minimum going in as in most cases I am covering a lot of ground. If possible I carry them in my pack. I am usually carrying a camera arm and a camera in the pack so this helps pad everything and not only keeps it safe but also quiet. My pack (I use a Badlands "Treestand" pack in most cases) has compression straps on the bottom so I can also roll up additional clothes and cinch them tightly to the bottom of my pack. This is usually where my wool vest, pullover or jacket goes. If I still need more capacity then it gets strapped to the stand with bungie cords.
Steve,
that's about what I carry in as well! My problem has been finding a bag that allows for the extra clothing and all the essentials (lights, batteries, camera, arm, etc) and it being able to carry the clothes as well. A few years back I lost a jacket relying on the straps you roll your clothing up and strap it to your stand with. It must have gotten snagged on something walking in and it was a pretty pricey mistake. I never found the jacket. since, I have stopped trusting something that wasn't enclosed.
For winter hunting I wear a Gortex shell outer layer to walk in with just my merino wool top under it. My pack is not expensive and holds my foam pad against my back, pee bottle (brown creamer bottle in side pocket), toilet paper and VHF radio in other side pocket, thermacell, reloads and other things like hand warmers in front pocket, down jacket and wool shirt in pack with small thermos of coffee. I think the pack is called a Field Line.