When I started hunting nearly a decade ago,ÌýI balked at the absurd expense of hunting apparel. I was a lifelong penny-pinching minimalist. Did I really need a $400 jacket, $250 pants, and socks that rang in at $28 a pair? It seemed like overkill (pun intended).

But, on one hunting trip in Montana in 2017, winds and snow blew at rates far exceeding 40 miles per hour. Thankfully, a full set of truly windbreaking Sitka gear kept me comfortable—I moved easily across the open mountain ridge, completely unaffected by the gusts. Beneath the burly outerwear, First Lite’s merino layers wicked sweat and kept me warm. My feet were toasty and dry in wool hunting socks, and they remained blister-free in my well-fitted boots for all six miles of the loop hike. Eventually, I took one shot on a legal mule deer buck that I later field-dressed and packed off the mountain alone. It was my first solo big game animal tag, and if it weren’t for my gear, I would have turned around long before I ever had the chance to spot it.

Much of the hunting apparel in my camouflaged closet continues to perform year after year. Its durability surpasses that of most casual outdoor brands I’ve tried, and I find myself using my hunting gear for many unrelated outdoor activities. It’s certainly kept me comfortable enough to hunt in conditions I’d have avoided before becoming a hunter.

Over the past ten years, I’ve cross-country skied, snowboarded, snowshoed, ridden my horses, hiked, backpacked, traveled, and bundled up chilly friends in my hunting apparel. Below are the hunting-specific pieces that I’ve relied on most. The other good news: Hunting brands are starting to wake up to the versatility of their gear, so you’ll find that every piece below is offered in solid colors in addition to camouflage.

At a Glance

• Best base layers:
• Best rain gear: and
• Best pants for women:
• Best pants for men:
• Best socks:

When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside.ÌýLearn more.

Best Base Layers

First Lite Kiln Base Layers

I bought my first pair of Kiln baselayers eight years ago, and I still wear the same ones today. After hundreds of wears and washes, the wool continues to hold up. We even featured the most recent edition of the KilnsÌýin our 2025 winter gear guide, because they’ve held up so well over the years. This 250-gram base layer is both the perfect weight for fall and winter hiking and backpacking, but it’s also the best-fitting base-layer legging I’ve found for women. The very high waist provides maximum coverage and keeps seams above pack hipbelts, and the wide band resists rolling down and sagging over the miles. The Kiln line comes in a crew, quarter-zip, hoody, and for men, as well as hoody and long-jane options for women.

Best Rain Gear

Sitka Gear Dew Point Jacket and Pants

I’ve tested dozens of other brands, but I’ve yet to find one I trust more than Sitka for wet weather.ÌýThat’s especially true for the Dew Point. This three-layer Goretex jacket is lightweight, packable, and supple enough to move quietly—which means no crinkling or swishing when you’re sneaking up on wildlife for a photo-op or trying to avoid waking your partner in camp. The packability is also ideal for many scenarios, like backpacking long miles when you need gear that won’t take up too much space in your pack.ÌýPit zips allow for dumping heat, and it’s the most breathable rain gear I’ve worn to date.

Best Women’s Pants

Ditale Sofia ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Pant 2.0

Ditale is a boutique brand that’s newer to the hunting apparel scene, but that under-the-radar status isn’t likely to last long. Last year, I wore the Sofia ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Pant for everything from hiking and hunting to cross-country skiing, and I fell hard for them. It’s the best physical fit I’ve felt as a curvy athletic gal thanks to the wide range of sizing and smart features like the full running crotch gusset and articulated knee darts. Compared to other brands, the waist is both stretchier and higher-cut, but curved like a great pair of jeans. They’re actually flattering. This, to me, is the best all-around hiking pant for spring-to-fall temperatures, and the DWR makes it a great option for rain and wet flurries, as well.

Best Men’s Pants

Stone Glacier De Havilland Lite Pant

Stone Glacier specializes in gear for men only, and the guys I hunt with are all clamoring to get a pair ofÌýthe De Havilland Pants. Offered in both a Lite and ($189), these pants boast all the technical details you need for three-season hiking, backpacking, and adventure travel. DWR-treated fabric, side zips, roomy side pockets, and a patented contour waist systemÌýmean these pants can take whatever you throw at them—and stay in place without slipping or chafing. The modern cut and neutral colors mean that you can wear them to workÌýor a casual dinner, and then hit the hills for an evening hike.

Best Socks

Farm to Feet Ely Socks, Full Cushion

Like many four-season adventurers, I have an obsession with wool socks. My favorites are the Farm to Feet Ely hunting socks. I have to hide them from my mother because she tries to steal them anytime she comes within striking distance. The light cushion version beats out every boot or ski sock I’ve ever used, and the full cushion version keeps me warm and comfortable over long miles during the cold season. Gentle compression in the foot prevents blisters, and my Elys are stepping into their fourth year of use without any holes or threadbare patches to speak of. For under $30, I recommend treating yourself.

The post Need Hardcore, Durable Outdoor Apparel? Don’t Sleep on Hunting Brands’. appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.

Yes: Sometimes Pants Are Just Pants

By , Freelance gear reviewer and editor

Being a centrist in today’s world feels lonelier than it should. Most of us fall somewhere in the broad middle of the political spectrum, but feel forced to pick a side even when it’s not strictly necessary. Many far-right or far-left folks abide by the idea that a dollar is a vote, and that buying a company’s products means subscribing to the social or political views of that company. I disagree.

Let’s use camouflage as an example. And let’s say we’re in a bar in rural Montana during big-game season. An educated consumer like me can draw all sorts of conclusions about the bar patrons wearing this or that pattern of camo. One brand indicates a person who doesn’t drink a certain kind of light beer anymore and hunts in a tree stand; another signals that the wearer is into public-land conservation, which means they’re hiking lots of miles on BLM property adjacent to the big private cattle ranches. Someone else in yet another brand strikes me as a guest of that ranch down the road that charges $10,000 to hunt elk this time of year, with all the big-ticket luxuries that go with it.

But the truth is, the assumptions I might draw about brands and values and tendencies are just that: assumptions. Life in the real world isn’t so simple. I’ve come to understand that there are a multitude of other moral universes in addition to my own.

As a longtime gear writer and editor, my integrity as a journalist means that the professional must supersede the personal. In order to review, rank, and recommend equipment, my job requires me to set my biases aside, ignore the rhetoric from brands regardless of their political or social leanings, and focus on what works best for the consumer. This leads to testing and even recommending gear and apparel with a branding message that doesn’t always square with my personal values.

Through this work, I’ve made friends across a wide swath of the political spectrum. My curiosity overcomes my moral superiority when I come across people wearing polarizing gear; I find that, like me, many of these people have complicated and interesting ideas about how to stay safe, connected, and purposeful in this world. What I assume they believe is rarely what they actually believe. Nuance lives in the herd of fluffy sheep making up the flock of ideas, and I can only understand these by consulting the shepherd.

So why use gear if its brand espouses different beliefs than mine? Clothing is one way we express identity, but in my experience the stuff we use outside is more about function than form. The best products we can afford keep us safe and help us pursue our passions regardless of brand identity.

We acquire gear for a variety of reasons. As someone who looks past the values of brands in an effort to practice unbiased journalism, the answer is clear to me: you can wear the pants without letting the pants wear you.

No: Representation Matters

By Wes Siler, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø contributing editor

We aren’t living in normal times. Right now everything, from the future of American democracy to which people have a right to control their bodies to the environment as we know it, is under threat. And the people and corporations with the most influence in these areas wield their power through profits.

It’s my belief that each of us needs to be doing everything we can to fight for what we believe in. As a journalist, I can use words to shed light on important issues, expose bad actors, and try to bring clarity to topics increasingly muddied by disinformation and outright lies. I do that in my work for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and other outlets—where, in addition to politics and science, I also write about outdoor gear. And whether we like it or not, the products we buy and use are more than just stuff.

I started to think seriously about this in the summer of 2020, when Black Americans stood up and demanded that cops stop murdering them. In the middle of all that, Donald Trump Jr. posted a racist video while wearing a shirt prominently featuring the logo of one of my favorite brands. Around that same time, the brand’s PR person emailed me hoping for coverage. A little worked up, I responded by asking if the company had any plans to disavow Junior’s comments; I also requested details about its financial relationship with the Trump family. When the answers weren’t satisfactory, I loaded everything the brand had ever sent me into a box and dropped it off at Goodwill.

No longer being seen in that company’s clothing may only amount to a small statement. But it also means that I’m not endorsing a company that profits from fear and hatred.

While I understand that I can’t impose my views on others, and that I can’t expect every policy or employee of a given gear company to line up on what I consider to be the side of good, I’ve extended the experience described above into an ethic that now informs which brands I will or won’t work with.

I have plenty of friends in the outdoor world who don’t vote like I do, and I don’t always seek to learn the politics of a brand or its owners before writing about the products it sells. But I’ll do without gear that’s clearly and deliberately aligned with fear, lies, and hatred.

Avoiding brands that don’t match with your values isn’t just a preoccupation of the progressive left. The right also acknowledges that the brands we support matter. The right canceled the Dixie Chicks for opposing the invasion of Iraq and shot at cases of Bud Light when that brand did a social media collaboration with a transgender influencer.

We stand on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but both groups agree: where you spend your dollars matters.

There’s plenty of good gear out there. Choosing not to buy products or support brands that finance actual harm is simply the responsible thing to do.

The post Should You Buy Gear from Brands That Don’t Align with Your Values? appeared first on ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online.