10 Best Hunting Pants – 2021 Reviews And Top Picks

Now, you may have gotten an idea of what you may want and are ready to make a purchase but you might be feeling like something is missing. When you’re purchasing clothing online it’s a great idea to check that the pants you’ve decided to buy have everything you might need before buying them. Here are a few things you might need to consider so that you are making the best purchase to suit your needs.

How to Choose the Best Hunting Pants

Next, we will provide recommendations through which you can make your own choice. What should you pay attention to when choosing pants for hunting? Here are our tips.

Actual Sizes

It is crucial that you get the correct size as not every clothing brand based their sizes on the same chart. One brand’s size small could equal another brand’s size large or vise Versa. Having larger pants with enough space to wear clothes underneath is not a bad idea when you want to dress warmly. You should also consider whether or not the pants are long or short enough for you as having pants that ride up or drag can spell problems for making long treks through the wilderness. It’s a good idea to refer to buyer reviews online and questions on the items, to help you get a general idea of what size you’ll need.

Water tightness

Membrane hunting suits are perfect for wet weather. Membrane tissue has excellent water-repellent properties. But during active physical activity, it does not cope with sweat (for this reason there is thermal underwear). It does not only prevent evaporation. In the cold, it can play a negative role: the membrane can be covered with frost and stop breathing.

The weak point of this tissue is the seams: moisture penetrates through them. Clothing made of membrane tissue is suitable for standard hunting conditions, but far from extreme — optimal temperature conditions – up to 10 degrees below zero.

Durability

The material must be resistant to abrasion; the thickness of the tissue should meet the weather conditions.

Smell Blocking

The smell is very important in hunting. Or rather, its absence. Of course, it all depends on where you plan to hunt. Most animals quickly get used to extraneous background sounds, such as the noise of the highway or the sound of an engine running, but unfamiliar smells can easily frighten them. In preparation for the hunt, you must pay special attention to the smells. And we are not talking about strong smells, such as deodorants, perfume or cigarette smoke, but about barely noticeable smells, as animals have a very delicate sense of smell, they can smell you at a distance of hundreds of meters.

Try to consider anything that might give you away. We have gotten used to some smells, and we do not notice them; others may be too weak for your nose, so you shouldn’t rely on this.

Try to eliminate all possible sources of pungent odors consistently. Start with your own body. Before hunting, do not use deodorants, perfumes, lotions, or shaving creams. Even toothpaste can spoil the hunt. On a hunt refrain from smoking and chewing gum. Some animals can normally react to the smell of a fire, but tobacco smoke will scare them away. Try to take a change of clothes, which can be worn on the spot. They shouldn’t be saturated with any scent of the city.

However, it is impossible to get rid of all odors completely. Therefore, they need to be properly neutralized. There are many ways to do this; the most effective and popular of them are below.

Wash and ventilate the clothing. Your clothes are the main source of smells. Experienced hunters keep a special set of clothes and shoes, which are worn only for outings. They change into them upon arrival at the hunting ground. But even in this case, things will have to be washed.

The main problem after washing your clothing is the smell of washing powder and other chemicals. It is not always possible to pick up a tool with a neutral smell, but even it can scare the animal away. Prepare a box lined with pine branches, and put clothes in there. This will neutralize the odor and is a special tool for hunters, which can mask strong smells. They are available in the form of soap, sprays, lotions, and oils.

They may not have any smell, or they may have a natural aroma — usually pine. The advantage of such tools is that they get rid of any odors that any hunter has. It is universal and can be used in different parts of the body, clothing, shoes, and weapons. The problem is that the effectiveness is highly dependent on the composition and manufacturer, and it usually takes a lot of time to smear it.

Heaters

Special attention should be paid to the selection of the correct insulation when purchasing a jacket or winter hunting pants. In demi-season, there may be some additions to suits, the material for which may be an inexpensive soft and warm synthetic fleece. Cheap winter insulation can serve as a polyester pad.

Although, to create a real warm hunting suit, you need to use at least three layers of padding. As a result, the suit may become large and not very comfortable. So, it is better to choose insulation with modern technologies that will be warm, but not turn you into a bear.

Adjustment

The outer part of the leg may have a special zipper for adjustment. The pant leg is individually adjustable to fit the width of the boot or boot shaft. The heat preservation and ventilation are maintained.

There should be a good heat exchange- hunting is always active, and specialized clothing should have all the necessary attributes to ensure comfort during long marches. So-called “ventilation shafts” are located on the hips. Therefore, these pants are always dry, comfortable, and warm.

Strength

The strength of the garment is extremely important for hunters. It can be provided by a tight upper tissue – a tissue such as gore-tex is usually used. Polyester hunting pants have a good reputation due to their durable properties.

Impregnation

An additional advantage will be the use of membranes and impregnation. It is better to choose those that contain silver ions and other substances that prevent sweating, the spread of sweat odors, as well as the reproduction of bacteria.

Quietness

It’s no secret that all hunting camouflage suits should be silent. An important factor is that it is necessary to check the fabric in the store. The material should not produce creaking or rustling sounds. The presence of even a small noise can frighten the beast, and the hunter will not be able to approach him.

Sanitary Pocket

When choosing pants for hunting, you should pay attention to the sanitary pocket. The sanitary pocket is very convenient for the hunter. A zipper at the back helps you to go to the toilet without removing the entire jumpsuit. In winter, it is especially comfortable as it preserves both heat and time.

Best Features

When you are hunting, usually you want to have pants that function well with other gear you have and the situation you are working with. One pair of pants could serve one situation very well while doing horribly in another. Most pants come with several different features that help with different scenarios.

Pockets

Sometimes, you don’t want to carry large bags around because of the temperature, distance or terrain difficulty so you rely on the use of additional pockets. The King’s Camo Series Pants with 6 pockets will work great to keep you comfortable on long hikes through hot climates. Do you need to carry a specific size of ammo magazine or cell phone in one of the pockets? Maybe you need a few different pockets to allow quick access to an animal call. Some pants have pockets built in them that are specifically designed to hold particular items. Be sure to closely refer to the pocket sizes as some pants are not built to accommodate those types of extra items.

Belts

If you need to hold a gun holster or knife on a belt, it’s a good idea to have pants with wide belt loops to accommodate an operator’s belt. Most often these are built into tactical designs like the ZAPT or 5.11 pants. Consider the size of belt you are using for each pant and note whether they have wide enough belt loops to work for your belts.

Weight

The weight of your pants has more of a role in your personal comfort than most other aspects as it can make it harder to move or provide better protection. Even a little bit of a weight difference can make a long trek through the wilderness that much more uncomfortable than if you had purchased a lighter design. Walking through the sharp undergrowth, you run the risk of tearing your pants or skin if the design is not strong enough to withstand it. Generally, the weight is made up with the fabric density of the pants and extra accommodations. You can expect highly durable pants with lots of pockets to be heavier than a less durable design because there is extra fabric used.

Camouflage Colors

Consider your background here in the places you will be hunting most. Game animals can spook very easy if they see predator movement and camouflage helps lessen the chances they will notice you. Camouflage works best when your body figure’s outline is made the least apparent and looks natural in your surroundings. Are you walking through heavy wooded areas or barren grasslands with rocks scattered throughout? The color of the vegetation and soil are also important to consider. Some pants will offer many different camo options even if they aren’t on immediate display, so don’t forget to pick the right one for you before you check out.

Winter Hunting Pants: Overall Recommendations

They should be warm and comfortable in any situation, regardless of whether you sit in an ambush or move, trying to drive your prey into a trap.

When choosing winter hunting equipment, it is best to use three layers of clothing, namely: thermal underwear, fleece pants (preserving the maximum amount of heat and at the same time not preventing the further withdrawal of excess moisture outside), outerwear (to protect against adverse weather events, such as extreme cold, wind or rain). It is better to exclude two-fleece pants from the list and buy men’s insulated hunting pants.

In addition to pants, you can choose overalls for hunting, especially in winter. The jumpsuit will provide additional warmth to the lower back, which is an important factor if it’s cold outside and you decide to sit in an ambush.

Summer Hunting Pants: Overall Recommendations

Of course, it is much easier to choose summer equipment for hunting, because in warm weather you need fewer clothes.

The main thing is to choose clothes from natural materials. Why? In summer, it is important to prevent overheating, and it is best to cope with this by wearing natural tissues, namely linen, and cotton.

A suitable option and lightweight hunting suit for this period would be a shirt or a t-shirt with a light jacket and camouflage pants, which can be purchased on this site.

Demi-Season Hunting Pants: Overall Recommendations

The choice of demi-season uniforms may often be the most difficult. After all, with the two other types of equipment, everything is clear: the purpose of winter clothes is to keep warm, and in the summer is to prevent overheating.

But in spring and autumn, the weather is difficult to predict, and the day can still be relatively warm, cold at night, and sometimes there will be frosts. Also, it can suddenly rain.

Considering these factors, we can say that the main task of autumn clothing is to regulate the body’s temperature and to prevent the ingress of moisture inside. A suitable option will be clothing made of waterproof membrane tissues with fleece lining. The best elk hunting pants may be a good option in this case.

If while choosing the best elk hunting pants, you take into account all of the above tips, at the hunt, each hunter will feel free, comfortable, warm, and get maximum pleasure from your favorite activities. So, to sum up, it is worth highlighting the basic rules concerning all types of hunting gear:

• clothing should be comfortable, dry, warm, and quiet
• availability of pockets – the more pockets in your pants, the better, they must be safe, but access to them should be easy
• try to choose colors (according to the season) which will not call unnecessary attention to you

FAQ

In order to make your choice of hunting trousers as easy as possible, we have created a small FAQ with the most common questions.

How to care for your clothes?

Since hunting clothes are often made of membrane tissue, we will tell you how to care for them. This issue requires special attention because, with improper care, you can very quickly turn membrane clothing into a very expensive windbreaker without any useful properties.

Where to find general instructions?

You can always find on the label of your suit recommendations from the manufacturer, namely:

• do not use machine wash
• do not iron
• do not bleach
• do not use dry cleaning
• do not tumble dry

It follows that it is necessary to try not to stain membrane clothing, if possible, so as not to have to wash it after your activity.

How to wash?

Only hand wash at 30-40 degrees. Do not use conventional washing powders, because powders clog the structure of the membrane, and this leads to the loss of its specific qualities. The membrane, in this case, is clogged and stops “breathing” – and reduces the properties of breathability. A similar situation appears when you use conditioners and bleaches.

Do not use detergents containing chlorine and its derivatives. Chlorine molecules have a perforating effect on the membrane, due to which it begins to “breathe” better, but, as a result, gets wet. Thus, the water-repellent protective properties of the membrane tissue are reduced.

There are special detergents for membrane tissues – they are recommended for use. Don’t forget to use a special brush for hunting pants. If you do not have special detergents – you can use laundry or liquid soap without chlorine.

How to dry membrane tissue?

• always in the expanded form
• in a horizontal position
• at room temperature
• in a ventilated area

What can other special care be applied to membrane tissue?

A special fluoride-based spray is used to restore the water-repellent properties of the outer tissue of membrane clothing. Fluoride compositions allow you to create a water-repellent film that will not interfere with the movement of air. Also, the film will impede the penetration of external contaminants and increase the resistance of the tissue to ultraviolet light.

How to store clothes?

First of all, they must be clean. Also, while storing, it is better to use clothing covers or a polyethylene sheath, to avoid dust ingress into the porous structure of the membrane.

What is DWR?

DWR — one of the most common abbreviations in the world of clothing and equipment for outdoor activities. It stands for “durable water repellent” and is used to process tissues that are used in sewing clothes, backpacks, tents, and even sleeping bags.

DWR is a layer of durable hydrophobic polymer that is applied to the material and forms a specific structure that reduces the surface tension coefficient. This causes water droplets to roll off the treated material without it becoming wet.

How does DWR work?

Thanks to DWR treatment, the tissue does not get wet; that is, it does not absorb water and, as a result, does not become heavier and dries faster. Together with water, various contaminants do not penetrate the tissue structure, which acts as an abrasive and reduces the durability of the product. In the case of membrane tissue or capillary materials, DWR does not allow absorbed water to interfere with their “breathing” properties.

What DWR-impregnations are available nowadays?

Among other things, there are differences in the technology of applying impregnation of different brands: some manufacturers produce spray-applied from a can to wet clean tissue, and some offer a thick composition diluted in clean water to soak clothes.

Both methods are equally effective, so the choice is up to you. Once your membrane is washed, impregnated with water repellent and dried, you can wear or hide it for storage until the next hunt. Here you should pay attention to one important rule: membrane clothing does not like to be folded. An excellent option is to use hangers or lay them out in an unfolded form. For storage, you can use both a polyethylene shell and special covers for clothes to avoid the penetration of dust into the pores of the tissue.

Conclusion

As you may be aware, shopping for apparel in person or online may prove to have completely different results with availability or options. So with that in mind, this list was created so that you can be informed of great hunting pants options for any situation that you may have never seen before or heard of.

We hope that you will find this list of use the next time you are shopping for hunting apparel and that it helps you find what you need. Consider what your budget may be and your needs to pick the best hunting pants for you. We wish you pleasant shopping and productive hunting. Enjoy the process and take care of yourself!