How to stay warm in Saskatchewan, Canada
We just returned from a Thanksgiving hunt in Saskatchewan, and although temperatures were much warmer than the norm during our stay, it was still much colder than most days in Texas. With that being said, I managed to stay warm the entire trip! I already did a Facebook Live video covering most of the gear, which you can watch below. I figured I'd provide direct links in a blog just in case my followers had trouble finding the items that were mentioned in the video. I will also include a few items in this blog that I forgot to mention in the video.
1. UA Base Layers: I wore 2 sets of base layers every day. First, I'd put on my UA 4.0 leggings and EVO Scrunch Neck top. Next, I'd put on my Extreme ColdGear Base Crew and Extreme Base Leggings.
2. Gloves: I cannot stand wearing gloves when I'm bow hunting. However, in colder temps, I needed something. I found that by cutting the fingertips off of my Scent Control gloves that have grips lining the palm, I was able to pull back comfortably and still have some protection on my hands from the wind and cold. Any time I was walking in between hunts or putting up a stand, I would wear my Primer 2.0 Gloves which were awesome for the cold weather! They are way too bulky to wear while actually bow hunting, and taking them off would be distracting to the animal, so I do not recommend the Primer 2.0 Gloves in the stand, unless you are rifle hunting!
3. Clearly my hands did not stay warm by solely wearing a thin glove and cutting the tips of the fingers off, which brings me to my next item - UA Scent Control ColdGear Handwarmer. I absolutely cannot imagine bow hunting in cold temperatures without this thing. It's pretty warm by itself, but my favorite part are the pockets on each end that hold a HotHands pack if you want some extra warmth! Back home in Texas, I use the Handwarmer by itself, but in Canada I used gloves AND a handwarmer WITH HotHands in the built-in pockets. My hands were rather happy!
4. UA Neck Gaiter - by far the warmest gaiter I've ever owned! I am not a fan of facemasks, so I doubled my beanies and wore this gaiter to protect my skin. I struggle with having stuff on my head while pulling my bow back, sometimes even removing my beanie, so a facemask wasn't an option for me. My head and face stayed warm the entire trip!
5. Love Your Melon Beanie - and now for my favorite beanie that I've ever owned! This is not an outdoor company that caters to hunters, but they are a great company serving a greater cause! I wear mine in the field as well as casually, and receive more compliments on it than any other item in my closet. I mentioned in the previous paragraph that I doubled my beanies. For my first layer, I wore a reversible Hoyt Archery beanie.
6. UA Brow Town 800 Boots: the warmest boots that UA offers for women, and my feet were warm MOST of the time. I found that adding a HotHands pack to the toes kept my feet happier.
7. Farm to Feet Socks: I have several pairs from this company, but the link provided directs readers to my favorite pair I own! I wish I had a dozen more of the exact same pair for hunting. You cannot beat the quality and comfort.
8. Heater Body Suit: essentially a sleeping bag with legs! It comes with extra insulation at the feet, so my favorite thing to do in the treestand was take my shoes off and stick a HotHands in between two laters of socks. This allowed my feet to breathe and it was extra comfortable for long days in the stand. This was the most important item on my trip. I cannot imagine hunting cold temps without it!
9: Late Season Gear: Unfortunately, the late season gear that I wore over my base layers is no longer available. I get a lot of questions about the pink suspenders, which can only be purchased with those exact pants. I would recommend the UA Siberian line as an alternative!
IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN:
There are a couple items that I'm really itching to try and that would've made my routine much simpler, assuming they're dependable. Keep in mind that we are filming everything, so convenience is huge for us. Also, when bow hunting, it's not ideal to have tons of layers on. It makes it tough to draw back, which is something I practiced beforehand so that I knew I could succeed.
1. Thermacell Heated Insoles: I first heard about this item at SHOT Show in 2016. I knew about previous designs but it's nice that you can control the latest pair from your phone.
2. 7V Heated Socks: If I could wear just one pair of socks and not have to use the HotHands near my toes, it would eliminate some steps and increase comfort.
3. Featherweight Heated Gloves: Heated gloves would eliminate the need for a handwarmer, HotHands, and 2 different pairs of gloves. However, it doesn't solve the issue of having to take them off before drawing my bow back. With enough practice, maybe I could get comfortable. At the moment, the thought of bulky gloves at full draw makes me cringe!
4. Heated Base Layers: Similar to my sock/glove situation. If I could take my base layers from 2 to just 1, I would have less of a routine and more range of motion in the field. The thought of them not working or the battery not lasting scares me a bit, but I'm still interested. There are multiple brands of heated base layers, so I'm more or less just listing this item in hopes of getting some feedback from my following! Any and all advice is welcome!
