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Heater Body Suit

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Limb Chicken</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Totally different animal in my opinion.

You have a self contained compartment verses clothing. </div></div>

Ditto....

A heater body suit is for treestand or groundblind hunting. You will not walk around in it like you could with wool coveralls, etc. However, I find it very easy to move around in my treestand with the legs in the Heater Body Suit. With that said, I would not trade my heater body suit for several pair of wool camo clothes. Only because 99% of the bowhunting I do is sitting in a treestand dawn to dusk during the rut. I have never had to leave the timber due to weather conditions. Last year during the opening day of shotgun season I was tucked in all comfy with my old hawken smokepole then by midday I began to realize conditions were getting much worse out than I realized... got out of the stand due to the ice building up on my platform and tree climbing bolts.

In my opinion, getting into a HBS is likely more difficult if one is overweight. It is easiest to sit down on your seat after attaching your safety harness then reach down and pull the legs on as if you where putting on a pair of boots. If you have trouble sitting down and reaching down and grasping your ankles then you may have difficultly getting into the suit comfortably. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif

I can't speak for the cocoon, but I like the fact that you peel out of the Heater body suit. In my opinion that is what makes it perfect for bowhunting. I can dress realitively light except for during the most brutal late season hunts, and when I peel out to take a shot I have no worries of upper body clothing bulk getting in the way of my bowstring. These things are a dream to shoot out of... feels like shooting in your back yard in a sweatshirt. The cocoon looks like it would be very nice for gunhunting.

I will be enjoying my HBS with the old smokepole up a tree all this weekend /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
 
For those of you that have the Heater Body Suit and use if for bowhunting, how long does it take you to get out of it and get your bow and how much movement is involved?

It seems sometimes I've had deer "appear out of nowhere" and be 20 yards or so in front of me. Just wondering what the possibilites are for getting off a shot is if your all bundled up.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Full Quiver</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For those of you that have the Heater Body Suit and use if for bowhunting, how long does it take you to get out of it and get your bow and how much movement is involved?

It seems sometimes I've had deer "appear out of nowhere" and be 20 yards or so in front of me. Just wondering what the possibilites are for getting off a shot is if your all bundled up. </div></div>

I have never had an issue... the suit has the zipper on the inside with a longer rope/tab like attachment that is easy to grab to unzip it... you can also quickly get out by putting your hands together like in a praying position and quickly separating them and the zipper easily opens up (I know it is kind of hard maybe to picture this)... there really is no 'bundled up' affect.. it has elastic straps like you have on a pair of suspenders that you cross across your chest and the suit falls behind you when you go to take a shot.

I shot a real nice doe and buck out of mine this year both at very close range before I peeled out to make the shot... the doe actually got down wind of me and spooked and stopped 15 yards from the base of my tree. She looked right up at me and I thought for sure I was busted.... then she felt the overwhelming call of nature.. she squatted down to pee and seemed to forget about me long enough for me to peel out and grab my bow....

Check out their website... it shows video demos about getting out and etc..... http://www.heaterbodysuit.com /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif
 
How do you guys that use a cocoon or body suit of some kind meet the orange requirement in gun season? Maybe wrap an orange vest around one of the legs? Just curious.

The 'Bonker
 
HBS makes a blaze orang overlay for gun hunting. FWIW, a friend of mine bow killed a 190" buck this morning while wearing one of these. The radio said 10 degrees as I was heading out this morning. My toes felt more like 5 degrees after being in the stand for 15 minutes. I'd like to give one a shot, but shooting a longer bow, I am a bit concerned about the bulk and it getting the way.
 
i think as long as you arent walking with it orange wouldnt be an issue...i personally hate the fact that i have to wear orange and have had some deer pick me off with it, i think as long as you arent walking around with the suit on the orange thing would not be too much of a prob plus you would prob be wearing it underneath
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: stringleech</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i think as long as you arent walking with it orange wouldnt be an issue...i personally hate the fact that i have to wear orange and have had some deer pick me off with it, i think as long as you arent walking around with the suit on the orange thing would not be too much of a prob plus you would prob be wearing it underneath </div></div>

So if I have orange on inside my blind I don't need the 12"x12" piece of orange on the outside? I think I do. Which brings up another question, if you hunting from an elevated box type blind does it need the 12"x12" chunk of orange?

I have a couple of bow stands in a bottom where I'm well below the ridge top. In that situation, on that piece of ground, it would be suicide not to wear orange. Either that or my wife hired it done. Either way, I'm toast.

The 'Bonker
 
Any extra noise associated with the HSB.

After watching the video on thier website it looks like as a person turns or leans back against the tree that is going to make contact. Whats the outside material?
 
yea safe is best, where i hunt here in wisconsin there isnt alot of hunters around usually i can sit all day without seeing anyone...if i do hear folks coming i can usually get it on quick...im a safety fan i just have had cases where deer picked me right off with the orange on...than again i guess i have had cases where they didnt too so.........i still think im going to try to get one....supposed to be zero this weekend...i hate the cold in my old age
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Silvertip</div><div class="ubbcode-body">HBS makes a blaze orang overlay for gun hunting. FWIW, a friend of mine bow killed a 190" buck this morning while wearing one of these. The radio said 10 degrees as I was heading out this morning. My toes felt more like 5 degrees after being in the stand for 15 minutes. I'd like to give one a shot, but shooting a longer bow, I am a bit concerned about the bulk and it getting the way. </div></div>

I have only been using a compound bow for a couple of years... I shot a 60" recurve for most of my hunting career. That is the beauty behind the suit peeling off as you come out of it... I have never had any problems with it getting in the way.

It does have a snap on blaze orange cover available for the upper 1/3 of the suit that easily meets the blaze orange requirements. I use it for safety while in the stand, plus I wear a blaze orange vest underneath for walking into the stand. The outer material is a very soft fabric that does not make any noticeable noise against the tree, etc. They make a waterproof model that I have heard is slightly more noisy when in colder weather. I bought the windproof model and it is totally silent. It easily sheds snow without getting damp. In a heavy rain I am sure it would leak, but I bought mine for hunting during very cold weather when I would only expect it to snow here in Iowa.

I can honestly say that of ALL my hunting gear this is the one item that I would not want to have to do without. I love my bow, and other equipment but they could easily be replaced with other brands, etc. and I could still be successful. But to try to perform as many all day sits as I do during cold weather would not be possible.

My only complaint if I had to purchase another one would be the current choices in camo pattern. I bought mine several years ago and I got the Predator brown camo pattern and I love it! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif

Maybe I should be a dealer for these.... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Cornfed....I was wondering what you thought of it when shooting a recurve. I really enjoy hunting the late season and think I will have to give one of these a try.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">getting into a HBS is likely more difficult if one is overweight </div></div>

Sooo...I guess I should feed this big bowl of ice cream to the dog... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

You might have already mentioned this but...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="color: #CC0000">A safety harness is included with each Heater Body Suit. This harness feeds out the back neck area of the collar. It is to be connected to the tree before getting into your Heater Body Suit. You are, therefore, safely attached to the tree while you are getting into, while hunting, and getting out of your Heater Body Suit.</span> </div></div>

That's kind of a neat safety feature but is that alone enough or do you still use another harness?
 
$300 for a HBS and $400 for a cocoon? I seen a guy on AT talking about a sleeping bag conversion and others said a sleeping bag works gr8. I am all for a good product and am not afraid to spend $$ on good stuff..but they sure are proud of a sleeping bag with shoulder straps..just my opinion.
 
I just bought Polar Tech clothing. The stuff is awesome. It is a must in cold weather. It's not good clothing to wear to the stand, but to pack in and put on once you get there.
 
LATE SEASON BOW HUNTING:

I have not done much late season bow hunting. I know bucks of any size get more timid,,First, because of survival as winter wears on,Second, they have been spooked by bow hunters,shot at by guns,in general bothered alot,all this said,, has anyone ever seen a buck of some age more than a yearling walk out in the open in the late season? I have a food source that should still be around by then and I know you are supposed to get back in the brush where they will wait until dark to come out ,but I have many trails to cover and the land is only condusive to waiting at the edge. Will I be wasting my time there the last of the season?
 
Re: LATE SEASON BOW HUNTING:

Sorry,,got this in wrong place. I will probably need a body suit this late season!
 
Re: LATE SEASON BOW HUNTING:

Lone Ranger,

I have seen mature whitetails feeding at high noon when the winters get brutal enough. If they get hungry enough, they will leave cover and move to the open. I think a deer's biggest survival technique against hunters in the winter is when they yard up or get in big groups. I have many times watched mature deer enter fields and not even seem concerned or a bit nervous if there is already 20+ other deer out in the field. The hard part is fooling that many deer. There always seems to be 1 or 2 does that have only one purpose in life, and that is to single you out and ruin the whole deal. A hunter heater suit would be the ticket if you get cold easily definitely!!
 
Re: LATE SEASON BOW HUNTING:

I picked one up last week and tested it out over the weekend. It was toasty warm, fairly easy to get into and out of, and wasn't that much harder to carry than my heavy jacket and all the layers I would have had to bring out otherwise. I just strapped it to the shoulder straps of my fanny pack and off I went. I'd rather have Predator camo than the Skyline Apparition XT but did have 6 does archery close that never saw me so no complaints.

My brothers has used one for years and swears by it.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: nannyslayer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just bought Polar Tech clothing. The stuff is awesome. It is a must in cold weather. It's not good clothing to wear to the stand, but to pack in and put on once you get there. </div></div>

I'm an idiot, I ment to say I bought Artic Shield clothing. I bought the coat and bibs. They are rediculous on how warm they keep you.

I do have polar tech as well. I wear that as a base layer.
 
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