Filson Mackinaw Wool Bibs

[Haskell_Hunter]

Link to product:  https://www.filson.com/mackinaw-bibs.html#sku=11014011-fco-000002086

There have been a lot of recurring threads about warm gear to get and in many of them folks have mentioned Filson's gear.  I've been shopping around for wool pants over the last few years to wear while stalking deer in northern NH.  I have some Carhartt arctic bibs that are awesome, but they are bulky and heavy.  Great for sitting outside in a sub-zero snow storm, but not the best things to wear while stalking; mostly due to how warm I'd get from both the effort of moving and the insulation of the bibs.

I hunt with a lot of folks from up north, and the pants of choice are always wool.  Light, warm, and they'll continue to keep you warm while you wear them.  I like bibs more than pants to keep the heat contained and around my body, plus you don't get a midriff breeze of you lean over or have to reach for something.

I ordered the Filson bibs because of the great reviews and recommendations from folks on this site (mostly the latter).  They aren't cheap, but they do come with a lifetime warranty.  I beat the crap out of my clothing, so I am hoping that this is the last wool bib I need to buy for the rest of my life.

I placed my order at the end of the day, Friday, November 16.  I knew the next week was a holiday week, so I ponied up for next-day shipping.  I'm glad I paid the the fast shipping.  What they don't mention on the site, or maybe it was mentioned and I didn't see it, is that when you ask for a custom size, it takes about a week for them to do it.  It was probably 2-3 days, but with the Thanksgiving holiday, it took a week and shipped on Friday.  I called them on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving to check on the order status, and all they could tell me was that it's being worked on.  Well, I got them today for my hunting trip on Wednesday.

I was concerned about sizing because they are bibs, not pants, and most places give you sizing charts for pants.  I wear a 36" waist in Levis 501s, and that didn't give me the confidence to order the same size in the bibs.  At the Carhartt website they have a sizing calculator for all of their products.  Since I already own the arctic bibs, I used their sizing calculator to find my size for the Filson bibs.  My Carhartt bibs are a 40" waist, but I wear them with jeans underneath, so they're a little larger than I need.  Carhartt's calculator said I should order for 38", and that's what I did for the Filson bibs.  It worked out perfectly!

The bibs are extremely well made and seem very durable.  There is enough room underneath them for a couple of layers such as a merino wool base layer (which I plan on wearing) and long underwear.  It's not too snug against my beer gut, so I couple of base layers and a T-shirt underneath it will make it snug, but not uncomfortably so.  Length is a little longer than I expected, but they can always be hemmed again if it annoys me too much.

I will be field testing them later this week in NH.  I expect to be tromping through at least a foot of snow in the woods in temps not expected to go over 28°F but not below 10°F.  I might not need all of the base layers, but we shall see.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with what I received.  I wish I knew about the nearly week-long delay in shipping, but I had planned well enough to receive them in time.  If I had planned better, I could have ordered them with more time to spare and saved $44 in overnight shipping.

I'll reply back to this thread after the field test.

[Mallard1100]

Wise purchase. I love mine as well. Bullet proof gear for sure. Do yourself a favor and order yourself the mackinaw field pants as well. You will not regret it. I prefer the pants over the bibs when I’m on the move. 

[Hitemnasty]

I recently bought the pants in size 34, I normally wear 33 with room to spare but the Filson are kinda tight. Well made for sure but I also have a problem where all the seams join together in the crotch. The seams there are very bulky and uncomfortable between my thighs.

I guess if I was a skinny chick with a thigh gap it be ok but as of right now there’s no way I can wear them to walk any distance in without waddling! I’m hardly fat, it has over a inch of bulked up material where it needs to be the thinnest. So it looks like I need to spend more money and have a tailor sew in a gusset like they should have already. 

[Rusty]

Bibs = good

Wool = good

Sounds like a Win-Win.    

[Live to Hunt]

28 minutes ago, Rusty said:

Bibs = good

Wool = good

Sounds like a Win-Win.    

[MGHunter66]

Good luck with them, they are quality for sure. I still have and wear a 30 year old woolrich jacket and pants set in realtree allpurpose brown. Wool is king!


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[CJ3a]

I have two of the tin cloth jackets with a wool liner.  Great for trapping in the rain.   I did wear out the sleeves on one though. 

[Joeybeets]

Nice enjoy your trip looking forward to your review. 

[Lunatic]

17 hours ago, Hitemnasty said:

I recently bought the pants in size 34, I normally wear 33 with room to spare but the Filson are kinda tight. Well made for sure but I also have a problem where all the seams join together in the crotch. The seams there are very bulky and uncomfortable between my thighs.

I guess if I was a skinny chick with a thigh gap it be ok but as of right now there’s no way I can wear them to walk any distance in without waddling! I’m hardly fat, it has over a inch of bulked up material where it needs to be the thinnest. So it looks like I need to spend more money and have a tailor sew in a gusset like they should have already. 

Did you call them, maybe something went wrong when they were stitching your pants? 

[TDietz]

I bought the wool pants and jacket/parka liner when Filson ran their own style camo around 2003, and I have beat the crap out of the pants, tore a tiny hole in one thigh when I hit a multifloral in the dark one morning, (I should figure out how to darn it), but it hasn't gotten any bigger so I just keep wearing them. I have a lot of miles and hundreds of days in those pants without a whole lot of wear showing. Bought the same camo in the bibs about 5 years ago off ebay, and they are beautiful for stand hunting. I had them on the one morning I got out this year with a pair of Cabelas fleece lined jeans underneath and even in my compromised condition I was able to climb into a treestand. Good luck up in the great white north!

[Haskell_Hunter]

For those folks who have old and worn Filson gear, it says right on their website and also on the tag I got with my bibs that they will, forever, fix/repair/replace gear for free.  They've noted that a lot of people ask them to fix it because it's 2nd and 3rd generation hunting gear that's been passed down.

If you have Filson gear that's worn or damaged, give them a call.  They will make it right on their dime.

[tjfslaughter]

For those folks who have old and worn Filson gear, it says right on their website and also on the tag I got with my bibs that they will, forever, fix/repair/replace gear for free.  They've noted that a lot of people ask them to fix it because it's 2nd and 3rd generation hunting gear that's been passed down.

If you have Filson gear that's worn or damaged, give them a call.  They will make it right on their dime.

100 percent correct. No BS but I was a legit pro staffer for Filson for about 10 years. Not just a truck sticker type either. Here is one of my articles.

 

https://www.filson.com/filson-life/guest-blog-tom-slaughter-preparation-is-the-key-to-success/

 

 

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[Haskell_Hunter]

So I owe this thread a field test review.  So here it is.

Conditions in NH during the week I was there:  Cloudy, light frozen precipitation (snow and sleet/ice pellets).  Temps were around 25°F.  We had anywhere between 10"-20" of powdery snow on the ground.

I dress in layers and was mostly stalking during this hunting trip, but I did sit for a couple of hours one day.

Here were my layers:

Head:  A cotton hat that I got at my local outfitter for $20.  Hunter orange so I wouldn't get shot in the head.
Torso:  Thermawool base liner:  https://www.terramarsports.com/collections/mens-tops/products/tw8745?variant=33248429318
               Cotton long-sleeve T-shirt (from the Fordham University bookstore)
               Woolrich shirt:  https://www.woolrich.com/mens-wool-stag-shirt-jac-6138/
Legs:  Thermawool base liner:  https://www.terramarsports.com/collections/mens-bottoms/products/tw8749?variant=33253889926
Feet:  Thermawool socks base:  https://www.terramarsports.com/collections/mens-socks/products/1088-2?variant=5385030979
            Some other off-brand heavy wool socks
             Gander Mountain-brand 1000g Thinsulate rubber boots

I don't have a full-body photo, but here's what the top half looked like:

With all of those layers, which really isn't much, I was toasty warm the whole time.  I didn't wear gloves until it started precipitating out and my hands eventually got cold.  Other than stalking, I had to lay on the ground a few times to get the chains on/off the truck, and I was laying on a snow-covered logging road when I did it.  I was amazed that the bibs never got wet or picked up any moisture.  They didn't even get muddy.

On the day I decided to sit, I wore the same layers but brought a light rain jacket I usually have for fall bowhunting, so it isn't insulated at all.  I walked in for about an hour, and then sat in snow for a couple of hours.  Yes, my ass got cold from sitting in snow, but it never got wet.  It never got unreasonably cold (numb, but not frostbite numb).  My toes got very cold, and it's probably because of the rubber boots.  I have heavier boots for sitting, but I wanted to see how this outfit would hold up.

The bibs did an outstanding job.  Quiet, comfortable, and warm.  The shipping weight of the bibs was 3#.  My Carhartt bibs I use for long, cold sits are probably twice as heavy, but they are bulky, loud and awkward to walk in.  Great for sits, horrible for stalking.

I was so impressed with the bibs, I took my Christmas money and bought the Filson jacket to go with it.  https://www.filson.com/mackinaw-cruiser-alaska-fit.html#sku=11010043-fco-000000113

So after the first trip out with these bibs, I was very impressed.  I plan on taking them out during January and February to stomp around in the woods.  They are very well made and come with a lifetime warranty.  You can't beat that.  Yes, they are expensive, but they are the last wool bibs I will ever need to buy.

5/5 Haskell rating.

[BowhunterNJ]

Great review HH!  Sounds like some quality stuff!

[Lunatic]

Wool is the way to go and Filson makes some quality clothing. ( I now use  merino wool for your first layer, there is nothing better IMO).
I have fielson's jacket. same color same wool which is also a liner for my tin cloth filed jacket and I wear it all the time by itself. Its a the same weight as the jacket you are buying, it is light and keeps you warm so I was thinking about buying the one you are.  This time I am actually thinking about a trip to NYC to to their flagship store to put my hands on some of their products. 

https://www.filson.com/wool-jacket-liner.html#sku=11010036-fco-000000538

https://www.filson.com/tin-cloth-field-jacket.html#sku=11010003-fco-000000468

https://www.filson.com/our-company/store-locator/new-york-store

 

 

Good review