Why You Should Hunt in Wool

Nowadays there are numerous options for hunting clothing. However, a large amount of modern hunting clothing is made from synthetic fibers derived from oil by-products. Even though science has tried their best for decades, there is no synthetic fiber that compares to that of wool. Let's take a look at some of those qualities!

Sheep's wool: Nature's all-purpose fiber!

Wool has been in use for centuries by people around the world. It is durable, absorbent, insulating, fire-resistant, sustainable, biodegradable, and will keep you warm even when wet. No synthetic fiber even comes close to the overall qualities of wool.

Independent woolen mills used to be common across the United States.

Back in the early 20th century, the period that we like to emulate with our products, people knew that wool was the best. Of course, there weren't any synthetic options at that time. However, wool was commonly accepted as the premier multi-purpose outdoors fabric. Water resistant canvas, such as Duxbak, was great for wet, but warm conditions, but canvas doesn't keep you warm when the temperature dips below freezing. Another popular option for extreme cold were down-filled garments, but these were expensive and very heavy, especially when wet. Wool has the best insulating factor for the weight, and continues to insulate even once it gets wet. Wool is also naturally wicking. Before we had "wicking technology", we had wool, and it does the same thing. Because it is absorbent, it will move moisture away from your body toward the outside of the fiber.

Pendleton, Woolrich, Hudson's Bay, and many other smaller companies used to produce tons of woolen garments and blankets for American hunters and workmen. Sadly, only Pendleton is left today.

So why did wool fall out of favor? Well, it's complicated, but the primary reason is that the 20th century saw huge advances in technology, and by the last quarter of the 20th century (1970s and later) there was a well-groomed concept of "new is better" in regards to anything that could be considered "scientifically created". Synthetic materials are cheaper to produce and can be made with waste byproducts from the oil industry. In addition, synthetic materials are easier to take care of. They don't shrink in the wash, and they don't get attacked by moths. The combination of "new space-age materials" and pressure from the oil industry caused sales of polyester fleece and synthetic outerwear to skyrocket. As a result, demand for wool decreased, and woolen mills began to close, which also caused a lot of sheep farms to switch over to raising cattle. The wool industry in the US was effectively snuffed out.

New green wool trail shirt coming soon to Logsdon & Co!

I have personally heard many older hunters who came of age when the switch to synthetics was actively happening in the 1960s and 70s suggest that wool gives off a smell, especially when wet, that deer don't like. This is specifically propaganda that was initiated by the synthetic fiber industry. While there is a mildly perceptible aroma to wool when it is wet, it has absolutely zero effect on deer. Many scents that deer have little contact with, or have no reason to associate with a threat, have a neutral effect on deer. In fact, deer are curious creatures, and sometimes these scents are intriguing to them. However, even when wet, wool has so little scent that the effect, if any, is negligible. In fact, wool has the extraordinary characteristic of not absorbing outside scents as much as other fibers. Cotton, linen, and even modern synthetic fabrics will quickly pick up smells of humanity, such as tobacco smoke, food, perfumes, urine, and other odors. Wool, however, will absorb far less of these sorts of odors and therefore will emit less odor. As a side note, wearing a tie while hunting will also help prevent natural body odor from escaping through your collar!

Wool is an excellent scent-resistant, warm, and rugged fiber for hunting clothing.

If you're ready to make the switch from camo-colored synthetic fibers to natural wool in classic colors and check patterns, visit Logsdon & Co for the finest quality reproduction vintage hunting clothes. In the words of the late, great, Fred Bear: "Your grand-dad hunted deer to the brink of extinction in red and black wool!" While we don't recommend overhunting and always are proponents of good conservation practices, we can say that there's no reason to fix what isn't broken, and what's worked for hundreds of years is still plenty effective today!