How to stay warm?

[Outdoors Junkie]

My son is 12 and will be deer hunting for the first time this year.  He doesn't have a lot of meat on his bones yet. 

I wanted to get some tips from our members on what they do to stay warm in the stand.  What tricks do you use? 

Is there certain clothing or hand warmers you like? 

Please share.  Thank you in advance.

[dakids]

I will be buying one of these for my daughter next year.
           http://www.abupholsterydesigns.com/ABD-Warmer.html
I talked to the sales lady there and she said that they could have school colors put on the inside so it could be used at football games to.

The first couple of years when I was much younger I took a sleeping bag to the stand with me when it was really cold.           

[Grute Man]

I go with the thin poly proelene long johns then wool pants & shirt then fleece then insulated bibs & coat.  That's if its REALLY cold.  The milder/warmer it is, the fewer outer layers there are but the long johns are always there.

For my hands, I keep my left in a mitten and my right has a thin poly propelene glove on it and in my pocket.  When  a deer come up, I then pull it out of the pocket and get ready to shoot.

And lastly, I ALWAYS wear something for my neck head.  Just a hat isn't good enough.  If my neck gets cold, Im done.  I ahve a head band that I wear around my neck. A scarf would do but this is neat and out of the way.

[Backstrap]

I'll be taking my 11yr old with for the MN hunt and the WI hunt.  I will layer him as such.
Bottoms: long underwear, fleece lined sweat pant, insulated bibs.
top: cold gear under armor, long underwear top, fleece shirt and insulated blaze organge jacket.
and pack boots with liner sock and wool sock.  No cotton!

[Bobby Bass]

Don't forget to eat and stay hydrated, no fuel for the furnace and it don't matter how many clothes you wear..

[thunderpout]

Not wearing all the warm stuff out to the stand is a start... ya get all sweaty, and then ya freeze... biggest mistake people make I think.  You bring a small backpack to hold yer heavy parka(and other stuff)... when ya get in yer stand, get your warm stuff on and hunker down. Good head and foot gear is a must.... eating and drinking enough fluids is huge.

[JoeFisherman]

My toes and fingers are usually what get cold first.  If it wasn't for that, I could stay on my stand all day long (though that usually isn't necessary).  Grabber hand and toe warmers work wonders.  Mittens or a hand muff worn about the waist work well for the hands too.  I've also tried the battery powered electric socks.  I agree with Don M, keep your head and neck warm.  If the wind is hitting me, I wear a pull over face mask. 

Your success rate will dramatically increase if you have patience, stay warm, and stay at your stand.  How many times have you gone to warm up, or started tromping around the woods to warm yourself, then headed back toward your stand only to see a deer within range of your stand.  Deer can and will come by anytime during the day, especially if they are being moved by other hunters.

[Grute Man]

Well here's another idea but it won't work for everyone.  If you have the land and a fish shack, you can hunt from inside the fish shack.  Bring a heater with you and you'll be warm as toast.

[SHELLISMILE]

I have hunted in Portable Huts with a Mr Buddy heater. 
Wow is that nice.  When you are comfortable you really can take a better shot, if you
are not shaking cold. 
I will never forget my first time hunting it was -37 degrees up by Duluth. 
I lasted 2 hours and had to go to the truck to warm up. 
It is then when I realized boots, you have to have good boots.
I now use toe warmers and hand warmers.  A neck warmer that you can pull
up over your cheeks if you need.

[fubar]

enclose the stand and put a small heater in it. even if you jsut use burlap it will help alot when you have a heater going. if i am going to stay out all day i bring my little coleman heater out with me to warm up the hands.

[jjcoffe]

Remember never i mean never wear cotton against your skin.  cotton does nothing but retain moisture.  So don't wear your cotton socks under your wool socks, get a good pair of polly propalean socks to wear under your wool ones, of the new smart wool.

[Outdoors Junkie]

All great suggestions!  Thank you.

If there are others, please continue to post them. 

[GOLDTIP]

Here is a good one that I tried myself a couple of years ago on a really cold day up north, buy a few self adhesive body warmers and place one on each side of your chest so they surround your heart.  Place them on top of your very first layer and you will be very shocked at how good this works for him.  My toes and fingers always got cold and this took care of it, because your blood is constantly flowing and therefor your extremities stay warm. 

Hope you get this before this weekend!

[Spinach]

That makes sense Goldtip. The heated jackets and vests that they sell have the heaters in the chest and upper back areas.

[Go Big Red!]

Does the Cold Gear Under Armour really work?  Is it worth every penny?