Looking for "real wool" Pullover
Whitetail Deer
I have some bday funds from family....I know, way too old to be getting money for turning a year older(33)!
Anyways, I want to buy a wool pullover for the coming season. Let me clarify, I don't want a paperweight light layer like firstlight for $200-$300. My wife bought me a merino wool zip up from them in ASAT and seriously a long sleeve thermal shirt is warmer and thicker than that thing!I am talking a real hardcore wool pullover. I looked at king of the mountain stuff but yikes $600.00 is alot of dough for a piece of gear. Sorry Sitka guys my pockets are not deep like yours.
Does any one have any suggestions on where to look for an authentic, tough, last a lifetime, has natural oils still in the fibers wool sweater of preferably pullover in the $150-$250. range?
I layer of course but my goal is to shed 1-2 layers with something this warm and solid. Once the temps drop to 20 degrees or lower I want this to be my go to piece in addition to my Cabelas Berber fleece.
As always, I really appreciate the feedback...you Sitka divas, don't get all bent out of shape. Be thankful you are fortunate and blessed financially...I am only messing with you.
Tradgang.com Fred Asbell's wife makes them w/wo a hood. they are a sponsor there.
http://www.shrewbows.com/wool_shirts/
Check out the Silent Predator stuff. They have a very nice pullover. I have serval of there pieces and have been very happy.
LL Bean has some nice wool stuff in their hunting clothing
I like the Asbell pullover. I wear it with a Cabela's woolimate fleece vest and it works great for me.
as usual the first post nails it
I guess a sucker is born every minute. If your wife told you that your new FL cost $200-$300, she got at least one nice pair of shoes out of the deal too, and maybe a purse to go with it. You should be fine with the above recommendations for standard wool. The value of merino wool "performance" gear is warmth-to-weight. Is it AS warm as standard wool garments? No, but it doesn't weigh as much either, and I bet it drys faster if getting wet.
I like the Asbell stuff too. I have the med/light and heavyweight in hooded pullovers.
I'd look up Day One Camo. they have very good wool. I found the Asbel stuff too lightweight, but then I live in NH and get cold easily.
TBB
Filson Waterfowl sweater. I've had mine going on 20 years. Other than some blood stains on the oilcloth shoulders it looks almost as good as new.
A lot of Canadian hunters swear by their gray Stanfield sweaters. Inexpensive ($50 when I bought mine), warm and comfortable. The wool is the opposite of merino as it is coarse and a bit scratchy but you don't wear it against the skin. They have some weight and bulk to them and a very large neck that breathes just fine for active use. I find them excellent for active use in wet weather but bulky for back pack hunts. They are a decent layer for the tree stand and the gray wool is fine camo for a lot of uses. So far no moth holes after 4 years, unlike Merino which really attracts them.
I've been pretty happy so far with my Asbell wool, but I do plan to add the windblocker layer to it as the wind does cut through it pretty easily.
One of my favorite pieces of hunting clothing for the past 20 plus years is a surplus German Army issue gray wool sweater. I paid $10 for it. Then a friend told me it was her favorite piece of clothing, so I bought another one as a back up. What can I say, I lost my head and splurged. It wears like iron, is tight knit, and is heavy enough to be warm, but not too bulky.
HuntHard,
You can try Gray Wolf Woolens at my link but it still might be out of your price range. I have one of their fall brown lined wool pullovers and I love it.
Here's a photo of my lined wool pullover. I've had it about 8 years...
You know, I have an old shetland wool sweater that a friend of mine was throwing out years ago and asked me if I wanted it. Sat in my closet for 15 years and I started wearing it to hunt in a couple years ago. Its green, not super heavy, but I can say that it is without a doubt the warmest insulating layer I have, even when it gets damp.
Its not camo so I just put a button-up camo shirt over it or shell. My point is, you don't have to spend a small fortune to buy wool camo. Mine was free and there are tons of em on ebay for ten bucks made of the same wool or better than what some of the camo company's sell em for.
The Asbell 'Timber Ghost' pattern looks excellent.
If you want "heavy" wool, go for the Austrian Military Surplus sweater. Probably can't get much more heavy duty than that.
Lone Wolf Woolens.
Bowmania
This is a picture from 2008 with a wool pullover long hunter shirt I got from Ron Laclair. I think Teresa Asbell makes them. I have the pull over vest with hood that I use over the shirt.
Funny, I got a gray wool sweater from a 2nd hand store for I think was 6 bucks. It's the color of a gray rock, it hard to see.. It's in my pack all the time. It's about a pound.. I love it. Been on all my back country hunts over the last 4 or 5 years... I think it was a high dollar dress sweater at on time.. It's quite, soft and warm.. I would get that same sweater again if I could find it.. Stay warm,,, Ed
The older I get the more wool I wear. Warm stuff.
I don't know if this stuff is wool or not but, take a look at "raven wear"
Bill V
Raven wear is not wool but is so very warm, and a bit pricey. I have their heavy vest and just love it.
Hey dm/wolfskin, that's one of the better trophy pics I've seen in a long time.
Well done!
That pullover looks comfy too.
This is a zip up from Asbell.
This is a pull over vest from Asbell. I couldn't find a better picture of it. I guess I need to take pictures of my outfits instead of critters.lol
Best part about the Filson waterfowl sweater is the fact that Filson will stand behind it for as long as you are alive.
Long Shirt from Ron LaClaire, Pullover and Zip-ups from the Asbells, and the Raven Wear Vest are all part of my layering. I love the long shirt primarily because it is long. IT is heavy weight and warm. Ditto for the Asbell stuff. The heavy weight is very warm as well. And the Raven Wear vest is so thick and warm, you just want to fall into a deep sleep.
Wolfskin on the lose!!!!!!!
My goodness man, you are a killing machine.
I like Asbell wool. Warm, regulates core temperature well, will absolutely toast you to sleep if you wear a wind blocking vest, and, it is affordable.
I have quite a bit from Beans, Cabela's, military surplus, etc... While some of these are warmer, they are much more pricey versus the Asbell stuff. And, when you start with merino on the skin, wool over it as a second layer, a thick fleece or woolmate vest, under an Asbell pullover or jacket, you are good to the single digits setting still for hours on end. If your feet survive. And, you can get up and move extensively without over heating by simply removing your head gear.
Wool is great. Good wool is even better. God Bless
"The older I get the more wool I wear."
TRUTH!! ^^^
That green shirt in my last picture is a army wool from the 1950's I got at Army Navy store for $12. I got three of them.
I have never left wool,,, old school,,, check out Asbells' stuff, the guy hunts
I would go with the Asbell wool pull over in Evening stand brown, ES green, or Timber ghost for best value by far. I start off with Core4 merino wool zip up shirt, Asbell ESB pullover, and a Cabelas Woolimate vest and/or jacket to allow me to stand hunt to zero. BTW Camofire has Core4 merino wool zip up shirt right now for $39.99.
Asbell in heavy weight. Under $100. My whole family has them in evening stand brown. Don't order in the fall or before Christmas if you can help it as Theresa is pretty much a one woman operation and gets really busy then. I ordered another one for myself this past winter, January, and got it within two weeks. Ordered one for my granddaughter two falls ago and it took a month, but it was custom made for a 6 year old girl. Best buy in 100% wool there is.
As mike the cheesehead said Gray wolf woolens....you will own it for life! I have sat many times in -10 to -20 and was comfortable.
How is the Asbell products as far as being itchy against the skin?
Everybody is different when it comes to itch tolerance but I'd say its pretty itchy. Way rougher than merino or cashmere.
The Asbell pullover is useless if it's cold and windy. Reading guys say they wear a wind blocker "under" it is pointless. The insulating value is gone if you block the wind after it blows through that course wool. The hood is way to big also, you can wear a cowboy hat under it and the sleeves need to be 3" longer. It doesn't have any stretch and if you layer up under it, can be a struggle it pull it off. Besides that I have two and like them OK. Oh, and the pocket should be a complete pass through pocket, not two pockets.
I like the First Lite pull over but sure wish they would double the material thickness. It is way to thin for sitting in cold weather. I have in FL 4 pairs of pants and a pile of shirts, the vest, jacket, pullover and I believe Merino wool is best suited for next to the skin use and not as an outerwear. The synthetic stuff out there these days is way better than wool in insulating value, weight.
Good luck in you search. Maybe Kotaman will do a review. I bet he has two of every single pullover made.
If it useless there's alot of us useless people wearning the stuff. I never wear next to my skin. Around my neck I wear a polar fleecee gaiter.
I use a combination of First lite and Sitka gear. Both have good qualities. The one thing though that I do struggle with is finding a good light wind breaker that has sleeves. When I hunt here in Minnesota come November and December that wind cuts right through me. I am still looking for that wind breaker.
Mike you're not useless you're just in GA not MI. Your coldest 30 degree winter day would be a blessing to us Yankees in the winter.
Isn't the Asbells from Michigan?
I'm not certain why anyone would purposely spend a few hundred dollars on a wool pullover when they can have an Asbell made one for like $60-$80. Mine lacks nothing and is as high quality as it gets. If you need more pockets then get a fanny pack.
Yes they are from Southern Michigan. And what? Cold is cold. You're not sitting all or even for an hour at 30 degrees in the wind with an Asbell pullover unless you're polar bear. Its that simple. There is good wool and there is cheap wool. Guess why they cost only $80 bucks???? You can try and argue all you want but fact is fact. Decent mild weather they are find, cold weather with wind they suck. That's experience talking not schoolyard BS.
I hunt with hounds up on the border and many days I am out there when it is sub zero. I wear a wool union suit, wool shirt by Johnson, wool Johnson bibs, and an Asbell pullover. I wear the same thing in late bow season, but I am strictly a ground hunter so I don't sit much. If there is snow I strictly track and carry a pack so I can strip off layers. Being a longbow shooter, I use a Rancho Safari pack quiver that carries my layers as I heat up. Camo means nothing to a tracker as you are trying to sneak up on a deer that has bedded or cutting him off. The silence of wool makes it deadly for a ground pounder.
I have a winderstopper version of this cabelas sweater. I've used it hard for about 10 years. It is increadibly warm. In fact, I can't wear it while walking to the blind unless it is really cold.
After 10 years, I am starting to get a few ripped seams in the windstopper lining. But I after my wife fixes those, I'll be good for another 10 years.
I picked this piece up on ebay...one of my favorite pull-overs
