Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

I’m looking for some new “big game” clothing and don’t want to spend the money to be a Sitka phag.

Anyone have a good “off” brand lightly insulated, water proof or water resistant jacket with a hood and some pants they would recommend?

I’ve been putting in for some deer, elk and antelope tags in a bunch of states out west for a while and anticipate drawing a tag or 4 this year.

To.be honest you won't find anything off brand that has good water proofing. I use arcteryx gear when I know it's going to.be pouring and that's is more expensive then the sitka gear. On our caribou hunts I use the kuiu dcs guide jacket and have a thin puffy jacket I wear underneath while glassing. For water proof clothing you can either be 100% rain proof by wearing rubbers (grundens or helly hansons) and sweat or wear gortex that will soak through at some point i dont care what you say it will soak through if it's raining hard all day long. Best thing I have came up with is layering lighter clothes together because if they get wet they will dry out quicker especially if you put them in yuh our sleeping bag through the night especially when hunting out of tents.

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"Off Brands" got sidelined years ago in favor of store/private label. I think Cabela's used to be good, but the acquisition and profit pressure seems to have decayed their reputation for quality

I'm a frog togs guy. I wear whatever assortment of layers mixed and matched throughout the years and various brands. If it starts raining I pull my frog togs out of my backpack or blind bag and I'm good to go.

I used to have decent waterproof hunting outerwear but I gave it up in favor of my system I got going now.

One, I usually got hot and it wasn't breathable as advertised.

Two, there's something to be said about having a tough waterproof outer later that's thin, easy to rinse, and dries fast.

If you end up going on a spot and stalk through a decent rain by the time you get done and pull yourself out of what inevitably become some greasy gumbo clay shit like they have out West in a lot of places.....you're soaked, filthy, and you need that some clothing to be dry and relatively clean by the next day in order to be comfortable. This can pose a challenge regardless if you're staying in a hotel/motel or in a tent.

Me?

I take off my frog togs and I'm for all intensive purposes clean and dry. I don't even get the seat wet or dirty in the vehicle hopping in when it's time to call it and go get some grub and beers. I can rinse my stuff out in a bathtub or puddle, ring it out, and hang it somewhere where it isn't being poured on and the next day I'm back to square one.

Dude in a wet, soaked, and muddy outerwear is still usually wet, damp, and covered in mud in various stages of drying from cracked and chipping to still being wet.....which sucks for him.

I agree on helly Hanson’s and grudens for cheap and waterproof.

I buy the expensive stuff at 40-70% off and it’s worth it to me at that price. I own a lot of Sitka, Simms and striker stuff all bought at deep discounts.

I used to buy the high end cabelas stuff but that has dropped in quality significantly. The last cabelas purchase was goretex rain pants that soaked through as quick as kaki’s.

With all the Sitka hate sometimes I feel like a Chad wearing it.

Kings camo is about as offbrand/affordable as you can get w/ taped seams, light weight etc......

the sitk/clothinga craze is almost laughable when it comes to big game clothing. Patagonia, MtnHardware, Arcteryx, Montbell have been doing what the trendy hunting companies are for much longer and usually at less $$$.

Don't get caught up with brands. i.e $20 wrangler 4-waystrecth hiking pant from walmart > $150 sitka ascent pant

If you can stil find a set, the caabelas M050 rain gear got ridiculous good reviews for not much $$, frog togs also work....

Hint: https://www.steepandcheap.com/ is a wonderful site for mtn hunting clothes if you don't need a camo pattern that goes in the male version of vogue magazine.

Still blows my mind guys pay $550 for a Sitka jacket to lay in a field for 2 hours 200 yards from their truck.

Like if you haven’t killed your birds in 3 hours you should be in your truck scouting and not laying in pouring rain anyways.


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Gamehide because I don't like crying myself to sleep at night after the barbed wire and buck brush had their way with my clothes. I've stayed dry in frog toggs when we have to bail the boat by hand and lightning is hitting trees all around us. 7 " of rain and I was just wet around my neck and one shoulder was getting damp....the flatheads we're eating baits as fast as we could throw them out in that kunt of a storm.