There’s a better way to stay sweat-free during the walk to your stand.
One of the keys to remaining undetected and comfortable in your stand is to arrive there sweat-free.
It helps to take your time walking in, but heavy gear, the anticipation of the coming hunt and the rushed feeling from the extra 20 minutes of sleep you got can kick-start your sweat engines. Then, if you’re hunting from an elevated stand, you have to contend with the climb – a strenuous activity for anyone, let alone slightly overweight 40- or 50-year-olds.
We’ve already mentioned the wisdom of walking slowly, but it often helps to add frequent stops to settle your heart rate.
Another good idea is to carry your outer clothing in a roll-top stuff sack. While you might need that heavy coat and bibs to remain comfortable in your stand, you don’t need (or want) to wear them during your walk. You can simply strap your clothing to the bottom of a backpack, but doing so exposes the fabric to snags (including barbed-wire fences) and hitchhiker weeds.
Roll-top sacks are available in a variety of thicknesses, quality and sizes. You can get a heavy-duty, waterproof sack for around $20. Some come with shoulder straps, which makes it easier to attach the sack to a backpack if you so desire.
The size you’ll need depends on the thickness of your clothing. You’ll want at least a 30L bag (which measures about 10 inches across) for mid-weight and heavy-weight clothes. Because of the compression qualities of roll-tops, you can squeeze a winter coat and pants/bibs into a 30L sack, although a 40L would be best for really thick clothing.
Another benefit of carrying your clothing in a roll-top sack is you can easily hoist the bag on your pull-up rope to an elevated stand. Just remember your clothes are heavier than you might think and, especially when combined with a bow or gun, you’ll want to use a strong rope with a solid clip or knot.
Finally, when you arrive back at the truck at the end of the day, take off your outer layer and put it back in the stuff sack, which keeps it dry and protected from scent contamination.
Next week we’ll share some additional uses for roll-top sacks for hunters.
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