Hunting is a dangerous and challenging but also a very fun and enjoyable activity. When you prepare to go hunting, it is the most important that you have to pick up your best and most suitable gun for each kind of animal you are going for. Some people therefore may neglect the roles of other suitable equipment.
However, just like fishing, besides fishing gears, in order to have the best experience as well as the best protection against all kinds of weather, you also need to prepare other suitable clothes, glasses and hats. You can also have a look at what to prepare for a fishing trip here.
In this article, I will provide a useful and informative guide about what you should buy when you go hunting. They include appropriate clothes as well as other special items such as best hunting boots and glasses.
Here is the list of what you need to wear when you go hunting, besides your ammo:
1. Hunting Clothing
The best piece of clothing that you may want to consider wearing is a camouflage. It is very important that your camouflage will match the pattern of the landscape you are going to hunt with so that you will be concealed and the targets will find it hard to recognize you from afar.
The Pattern of Your Hunting Clothes:
If you are going to hunt in a forest, make sure the camouflage has a dark green color pattern. However, if you go hunting in a desert, the camouflage needs to follow the sandy color of the landscape there.
Overall, there are many patterns of camouflage hunting clothes you could find on the market such as marsh, brush and winter theme.
The Material:
Besides the design of the pattern, you also need to pay attention to the material of your hunting clothes as well.
Basically, your hunting clothes need to be more durable and can stand well against extreme weathers. They need to be at least water resistant to keep you dry all day.
Other Things Considered:
There are also many other special features that you can look for in a piece of hunting clothing such as the scent-masking fabrics. Also it is much better if you can find clothes with a lot of compartments and ammo pouches to put in your ammo, your personal items such as your wallets and phones and other gears like knives and navigating equipment.
- The next piece of essential clothing for hunting that you should consider is a hunting jacket or hunting vest.
They are perfect in term of protection against windy, rainy and snowy weather.
Depend on the weather which you are going to hunt in, you should choose the most suitable one. For example, if it is going to rain, wear a waterproof vest.
Also for your own safety, if you go hunting with many other people, you should also wear clothes with a reasonable amount of blaze orange. It is even required by law in each state about how much you should wear with blaze orange.
You can also expect to find all types of vests and jackets with a lot of compartments as well as pockets for your important stuff.
- The last item on the clothing section is hunting pants.
Like other clothes, vest and jackets, a pair of hunting pants needs to offer protection against the wind and water. They also need to provide you enough rooms for your movements and flexibility.
2. Hunting Boots
The next thing that is essential item for hunting is a pair of hunting boots. Hunting boots are very important to keep you safe and comfortable under all kinds of weather as well as terrains.
There is a wide selection of hunting boots with different kinds and models serving different kinds of landscape and weather.
When choosing your hunting boots, you should consider these following criteria:
- Waterproof ability: it is considered one of the most important things when you go buying a pair of hunting boots. A water-proof hunting boots will prevent you from getting cold in your feet when it is raining or when you have to walk through wet surface.
Dry and warm feet will make you more focused on the hunting task.
- Material: There is a wide range of different materials for you to choose from. From the basic outside style material such as canvas and suede to the innovative and more advanced material such as Gore-Tex, Nylon Mesh and Closed cell foam. They come in different quality, durability and price.
You can do your homework and research about different materials as well as their pros and cons to be able to choose the best material which is most suitable for your needs.
- Sole and lacing: these two features will offer you support that you may need with the weight you are carrying. Put it in another word, if you carry with heavy load, you will need a thick sole to support your ankle and your knee.
- In term of lacing: you might want a pair of boots with lacing up to your calf to protect you from snake bites. On the other hand, boots with lacing up to the middle of the calf will provide more flexibility.
- Sizes and weight: it is very important that you could choose a pair of hunting boots that hug your feet completely. Make sure you go to retail shop and try all pairs of boots that you like one.
Remember to choose one pair which is slightly tight so that when the boots break in, they will fit perfectly.
The weight of a pair of hunting boots is also very important. You need to find one with the weight that you can still feel comfortable when lifting your feet up. With a lightweight pair of hunting boots, you can move around more easily and don’t have to spend much energy on walking.
- Insulation: Insulation will help to provide support for your ankle and knee. It is also suitable to keep you warm when you go outside. Keep in mind that a pair of boots which offer extra insulation is normally heavier than other types of boots. Therefore, if you go hunting in a hot summer day, you can wear a pair of hunting boots with no insulation. If you want to go hunting when the weather goes down to the freezing point, you should wear a hunting boots with at least 1000 grams of insulation.
Also when wearing a hunting boots, you should wear a pair of supportive and cushioned hunting socks for extra comfort and stability to your feet.
3. Safety Glasses
You also need to equip yourself with some pieces of protective eyewear. This is very important because your eyes are prone to many hazards such as the wind, dirt and tree limbs. Also you sure will shot with a gun near your face and the explosion which happens near your face might cause something bad happen to your eyes.
Besides protection, a proper pair of safety glasses will help you enhance your perception and hence improving your accuracy.
Features to look for in a pair of hunting glasses:
When you go shopping for a pair of safety glasses to wear to your hunting session, make sure you choose a pair of wrap around shooting glasses. Also because you have to wear them for a long time, you should wear ones with nose pads and adjustable features to make you feel more comfortable.
Other things that you need to consider when buying hunting glasses are shatter resistant ability and anti-fog feature. Shatter resistant ability will ensure the durability of your glasses even if they fall down to hard and rough surfaces. Anti-fog feature will help to maintain your vision whenever the outside temperature changes.
What lens color should you choose?
Besides features and styles, you also need to pay attention to your glasses’ lens color. Different lens color will offer you different benefit. For example, a pair of yellow lenses can increase your perception, hence increasing your accuracy.
A pair of polarized lenses, on the other hand, will reduce the glare from the direct sunlight.
So if you intend to go hunting in forest with a lot of trees in the background, you should go for yellow lens. However, if you go hunting in a field for small game like birds, you have to look at the sky a lot, making a pair of polarized lenses the best glasses.
Here are some of the most common and important items you need to wear when you go hunting. In order to enjoy the hunting sessions as well as protecting yourself from any danger and severe conditions, you should ensure that you can equip yourself with the best quality products which I mention above.
I hope that this guide will help you to prepare better for your hunting session and you would be able to make the most informed decision when coming to what you need to wear to go hunting.
