Youth hunting gear suggestions

[irish52084]

Anybody have recommendations for decent quality youth clothing and boots? I have a 9 year old who is going to need some gear and I'm not really sure if it's worth the money to buy him high end gear if he can only wear it for a year. On the other hand I don't want him to have negative experiences in the field because he's uncomfortable.
He won't be doing overnight backpack hunts or anything, but day trips for deer and moderate hikers will be on the schedule.
I have looked at sitka's youth gear and the pricing wasn't outlandish.
So if you have suggestions send then my way.

[medic6]

Camofire.com often has youth size clothing and rain gear and I have had great luck with it. Warm, quite and water resistant. Both my boys have used them for a couple years now with no complaint 8/10 year olds. Duck, deer and elk on the west side. I believe it is lucky bums brand.

[Bob33]

I'd put the money in footwear first and scrimp on the rest if necessary.

[Rainier10]

Camofire.com often has youth size clothing and rain gear and I have had great luck with it. Warm, quite and water resistant. Both my boys have used them for a couple years now with no complaint 8/10 year olds. Duck, deer and elk on the west side. I believe it is lucky bums brand.

[Alchase]

I'd put the money in footwear first and scrimp on the rest if necessary.

 

Just do not let him get cold!

Good wool socks, flannel, multiple layers, good warm gloves, decent hat.
I found when my boys were young, if their feet got cold, your hunt is going to suck, LOL

Both my boys loved Sorrell's pac boots

[Fl0und3rz]

Tag. 

I am a fan of Sorels for my weird shaped feet, and they are nice and warm in the snow.  They suck for long treks, though.

[Henrydog]

My Kids are finally full sized but I fought with this for years.  My 2 cents is buy the best boots you can afford, and just Army Surplus or Walmart for hunting clothes. 

If the kids feet are cold and wet, you are going home early.   

Best bang for the buck are "Muck" boots or Kamiks.  At least for my clan.

Old East German Wool pants come in some real small sizes 

[300rum]

Go with Army surplus wool.  Roll up the sleeves, have the pants hemmed, belts, suspenders, etc.  Evidently there are some very small Swede's and Germans or, they fudged on their birthdays when they signed up.  The good wool is getting harder to get but the small sizes are more available then the "regular" sizes I have found.   

I never skimped on boots for my Girls either, it has always been especially important for my wife that the girls have high quality boots.  They both have a pair of Muck boots or XtraTuf (when the are old enough to fit) and they have a pair of 400 gram lace ups.     

I took my 13 daughter to hunt in Montana this November.  The coldest day was minus 4 with a 20 plus mph wind.  She did very well, we hunted hard and she kept up, no problem.  I have had both girls out multiple times each year in single digits.

[hiway_99]

I may have some youth under armour pants I could let go of.  I will check the size and let you know.  I always bought good boots and decent clothes for my daughter.  The last thing you want is for there feet to hurt or blister.  I had the best success hunting different seasons then my daughter.  She hunts the muzzle loader and me modern or vise versa.  That way she had my full attention.  It's amazing how many miles you can get these kids to go if their comfortable and not hungry.  Mine carried her own food and water.  I was the pack mule for the extra clothes and the gun alot of the times.  I made the mistake once of carrying 2 rifles.  To much weight and they burn out and wanna go back to the truck.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[thinkingman]

Buy quality used gear.
Keeping up with growth at that age is just crazy unless you have the cash and don't mind seeing gear get used a few times then outgrown.
I have some good youth gear incl goretex hunting boots(sz9).
Pm me your cell number for details.

[Karl Blanchard]

I'd put the money in footwear first and scrimp on the rest if necessary.

this is incredibly sound advice! Cold or wet feet is a game ender.  Only memories I have of gear that really stand out to me from my childhood is always having cold feet.  Payless boots were not the best

[Pegasus]

Bad boots equal bad times. My experiences of hunting and fishing as a youth were marred with the memories of cold feet, blisters, etc. The worse memory was the few times I was willing to try ice fishing with my feet freezing constantly. I eventually opted out of the ice fishing expeditions because of this. For youth hunting clothing you might try the local thrift stores, they often have children's hunting clothes in stock. Kids that young will outgrow their clothing very quickly. We passed them down from kid to kid and shared with other families.

[Karl Blanchard]

Bad boots equal bad times. My experiences of hunting and fishing as a youth were marred with the memories of cold feet, blisters, etc. The worse memory was the few times I was willing to try ice fishing with my feet freezing constantly. I eventually opted out of the ice fishing expeditions because of this. For youth hunting clothing you might try the local thrift stores, they often have children's hunting clothes in stock. Kids that young will outgrow their clothing very quickly. We passed them down from kid to kid and shared with other families.

  and honestly, "hunting" clothes isnt even really a thing.  Some thermals and a fleece quarter zip or two from old navy or the like for $20 is every pit as good as anything else.  Unless you are doing some really technical stuff, a kid doesnt need much more than blue jeans and adequate boots

[Tundra]

I have 3 kiddos and I buy quality gear on the front end so it can be handed down.  Cabela's makes some decent youth boots, but for real foot warmth I have used pac boots.  My oldest son got a set of Sitka Gear Youth stuff in 2013 and its been working its way down through the ranks.  Its held up well and been a good investment per se.  There is always a sale if one is patient.  Another good option is the True Timber Youth Pulse Truesuede Down Pants.  They go in and out stock on Cabela's website, but I got them for a great price and they are nice and warm and we have been happy with the durability.   

[irish52084]

I'll be on the lookout for a sale on boots. I remember hunting in some pretty terrible boots as a kid and I always ended up with beat up feet and miserable.
My dad started me with the surplus wool pants, but I see sitka is having a bit if a sale on the youth stuff so maybe I'll pick up a set of pants.

[swanny]

As much as some might cringe at the thought, shop REI for decent deals on quality clothing for kids. Past season deals are usually 50% off. You can get very good quality outerwear like rain jackets, puffys, etc for a great price and know that it's almost equal to the quality you'd get if purchasing for yourself. Or if you really want to spend big, I had an email from Kuiu on a new kids line this morning.