according to steve rinella

[Kc_Kracker]

One if the the biggest mistakes hunters make is wearing cotton 

[Magnum_Willys]

All the big name hunters wore levis hunting but not in the rain.
In dry weather its not a big deal if you don’t sweat .

[Kc_Kracker]

aside from cotton what else do they wear? he was saying cotton makes you sweat more.

[mburrows]

Merino wool

[Magnum_Willys]

Universal setup: Merino wool baselayer and jockeys, sitka/kuiu breatheable pants and jacket.  Packable rain gear.  Down puffy jacket in pack ( fits in sandwich bag).

[bobcat]

Wool, polyester, fleece, synthetic anything. Anything but cotton. However, I do wear cotton. Just last weekend I was wearing cotton pants. But I was in eastern Washington and there was no chance of rain.

[Stein]

I've even switched to merino for waterfowl, it handles moisture and stink so much better than anything else.  The only drawback is durability.

[Bobvernon2]

Cotton kills is what I’ve had driven into my head from hunting Alaska. Cotton absorbs a crap ton of moisture and traps it close to your body speeding up hypothermia. A cool test is placing the very end of a cotton sock into a glass of water and watch it spread. Polypro base layers and wool socks are what I preach and practice. Oh did I mention that cotton weighs a metric crap ton when soaked.

[Switchback]

Cotton is not a bad fabric IMO, so long as you don't get wet! It's a natural fabric, so unlike synthetics, it doesn't reflect UV light (at least not as much... it doesn't have that sheen that animals seem to pick up on with synthetics). It's like wool in that regard.
Most all of the "performance" hunting stuff is made/marketed with the theory of getting wet, and/or extended trips. Cotton stops being good (in theory) if you're in the backcountry, because you can't guarantee you won't get rained on or sweat through it – and once cotton is wet, it stays wet. But if you're doing a day hunt, and there's no chance of rain, cotton is fine. It's very breathable, doesn't reflect UV light like synthetics, and it's a comfortable fabric. It can be woven tightly for durability like Carhartts/jeans, or a loose, breathable lightweight weave for a shirt.

Never heard of anyone who had to stop hunting because they were wearing cotton, or anyone who didn't get an animal because they happened to be wearing cotton.

It's definitely not the best fabric choice for every hunt, but it's just fine in a lot of applications. That's my  anyway.

[Tiger1358]

I can't understand how cotton can make you sweat more, if there's one material that makes you sweat less is actually cotton.

In military uniforms, the higher the cotton %, the less you will sweat. That's why they still haven't removed cotton from military uniforms worldwide.

But yea, when it gets wet, it doesn't feel good for sure. I wear cotton/poly blend most of the time though.

[mburrows]

Cotton gets wet and stays wet forever compared to wools and synthetics.

Theres a reason all the high end apparel brands use wool and synthetics in their products over cotton.

[Kc_Kracker]

so what is stuff like underarmor made of ?

[MountainWalk]

Jim Zumbo killed a helluva lot of big bulls on his Levis! As long as it isn't pouring and your miles in,  it ain't bad. Look at hickory shirts. They is cotten, but out in the riggin,  you don't get soaked thru. My fave deer hunting clothes is a hickory and my riggin pants.

[MountainWalk]

And of course, smelling like saw chips and saw gas! Best cover scent there is!

[jackelope]

so what is stuff like underarmor made of ?

Nylon, polyesters, other synthetics. Cotton doesn't dry nearly as quick as synthetics or wools. That's the problem. If you get real wet in cotton, you're gonna have problems.