wool

[Shootmoore]

If you are in the hardcore stuff, wool is your friend. Wouldn't trust my life on anything else.  

Pretty much this, the fancy stuff is designed to keep you dry to keep you warm.  If it fails or you work up a sweat underneath it, does not do a lot of good.

Wool keeps you warm in the wet, plus it is naturally quite, does not need to be quite +.  I have been using the set from Columbia, good wool at a reasonable price.  I also own several pair of German wool military pants, worth there weight in gold if you can find them.  I have started adding underarmor cold gear for when it really gets frigid with good results combined with the wool.

Shootmoore

[rasbo]

I hate the feel of wool drives me nuts.I heard there is some wool that is not itchy.

smartwool.
or merino wool maybe...

cabelas is supposed to have it,I was going to buy it for montana,but not working, the arctic pants work good for now.

[boneaddict]

Way I figure it, if my grandfather can spend the entire winter in the Pasayten in a pair of wool pants, then I ought to be able to trust it.   Course, I wouldn't want to smell those pants after that winter.  They used to make real men back in those days.  Now I wear thermals underneath mine just to keep the itch down. 

[tomy salami]

The itch...........the musty smell..........the way they can stretch out after a couple of years of beatin on em....

Hard to get dead from exposure in WA from woolies.

Merino and its blends are for socks, maybe undergarments,.....sweaters if you like em. Give me coarse, thick virgin strands for the exterior. Pants, jacktet, hat.

Gramps always knew what time it was.

[rasbo]

Way I figure it, if my grandfather can spend the entire winter in the Pasayten in a pair of wool pants, then I ought to be able to trust it.   Course, I wouldn't want to smell those pants after that winter.  They used to make real men back in those days.  Now I wear thermals underneath mine just to keep the itch down. 

theres still plenty of real men out there.I used to freeze my ass off calling dogs in SE Idaho and couldn't afford the good stuff.An old sheep herder said I was nuts and gave me a pair of goose down quilted long under wear,wow was that great,we became pretty good friends.It was cool he lived in a wagon kinda like the old wagon trains except on wheels

[Ray]

Wool is usually a good choice of product.

I just picked up one of these pullovers recently. Put a thin layer underneath if you don't like scratchiness. Made in USA.

http://www.gfredasbell.com/gfa_wool_clothing.php

[rasbo]

Wool is usually a good choice of product.

I just picked up one of these pullovers recently. Put a thin layer underneath if you don't like scratchiness. Made in USA.

http://www.gfredasbell.com/gfa_wool_clothing.php

I really like how quiet wool is ,im thinking polor tech undergarments that I have will work for the itchies

[tomy salami]

Helly Hansen poly pros..........when they are on sale at the outlet in Chehalis, is one of the best undergarments to team up with woollies.

Got a set for 20 bucks top and bottom, seven years ago. Still use em regularly.

Glad to see somebody other than Filson makes wool gear here.

[MagKarl]

To me there's nothing better than cold wooly days in the woods.  Getting the wool out is one of my favorite things about the late season hunts.  I wear wool shirts and sweaters but save the pants and coat till it's colder, usually not too wet if it's cold enough for the heavy wool.  It sheds water better than cotton, doesn't get clammy, and dries a lot faster.  I sweat like a pig, something magic about wool is it somehow keeps me warm and still breathes well enough to keep me reasonably dry.  I didn't like wool much when I was young, but I sure do now.  Add that to the ever growing list of stuff my dad and grandpa were right about after all. 

[sako223]

I love wool from the Merino socks and long johns out. Also have a layer of silk. With these there is a very broad temperature comfort range. Also no binding or itching. If you work up a sweat  there is no chill period when stopped.
Like has been mentioned some brands have water repelling treatment or fabric barriers. You can almost go broke on the good stuff with carbon and kevlar.

[mossback91]

Grew up wearing wool on the wet and snowy days!!
Friends call me paul bunyon but hey Im the one that  is warm and dry underneath my clothes at the end of the day!!

Noticed my outerlayers will get wet but will keep it from getting my long johns wet!! wear wool longjohns also!!
Cool thing is you can usually chake some of the water out of your wool! Sometimes get a little wet in the shoulders on a long rainy day though but never cold

I like the new cabelas wooltimate with windshear gear alot also.

[actionshooter]

My socks and thermals are merino wool, comfy, warm and won't stink even after 4 days of hiking my tail off.   

[mkcj]

One of the biggest things to me is wool does not "wick" moisture if I'm in a foot of snow they will only get damp to that point the water will not travel up to my knee's and beyond. like others I have had my filson and woolrich for close to 20 years now.

[300rum]

There is nothing better on the market than wool period.  I wear a pair of underarmour long johns to keep the itch away.  Normally I wouldn't pay so much for long John's but someone gave them to me as a gift and I must admit they are pretty good. 
Water will bead up on top of wool for awhile and then in very wet conditions it eventually will soak in but as everyone said wool will stay warm as long as you are wearing it.  There is nothing quieter than wool.  In snow it will stick to you.  When wet, wool becomes very heavy.  Another thing I don't like is that whenever you touch your britches your hands are wet as the rain/snow beads up on the outside.
I would personally stay away from anything that has a liner, either gortex lined wool or a jacket that has a cotton or poly type liner.  The liner takes away from what wool will do for you naturally as far as getting wet goes and the liners are loud.
A couple of suggestions with wool.  Most wool is dry clean only but I wash it anyway and just let it air dry.  It can take a day or so to dry, just keep that in mind.  I haven't had trouble with it shrinking too much if I let it air dry and wash in cold water.  I wear my wool pants a tad short in the legs, you don't want them bunched up or dragging or latching on to more water and mud as the mud kind of cakes on.

[mazama]

Have many articles of wool,in weather 25-65degrees i like wipcord wool,which i lightweight tightweave,they look like dress slacks i put different weights of long underwear on to adjust for temperature.IF it gets real cold heavy weight Filson.While hunting in a light rain i got tired of rain runing off goretex coat i ended up throwing in bushes and just wearing Filson wool coat,stayed warm and dry.