wool

Sometimes Cheap Is Better

During hunting season here in New York, it can be a challenge to keep your fingers warm. Especially since you don’t want thick gloves or mittens on that will infringe on being able to pull the trigger. I own many pairs of gloves, mittens and glove/mitten combos but nothing worked very well for me. As of late I was wearing a lightweight pair of gloves (pair I ware for bow season) with cheap wool liner gloves over top with the fingers cut off. This setup worked fairly well until the temps dipped down into the teens and single digits (Fahrenheit) this season. My fingers and hands were not happy. My brother and I happened to stop at Herb Philipson’s (local sporting goods store) and saw a huge display of fleece lined rag wool glove/mittens. I tried a pair on and thought to myself this might be what we need to keep our hands warm. The best part………they were only $9.99! You can’t beat that for a glove that ended up keeping our hands happy the rest of the season!

With the fleece lining it makes the gloves a little thicker and warmer but with no fingers it allowed for easy trigger pulling and with the availability of the mitten cover being pulled over the fingers made for an ideal glove in my opinion. For really cold mornings we threw hot hands (chemical hand warmers) in the mitten part and when the mitten was pulled over, the warmer would be sitting on top of our fingers keeping them warm without interfering with being able to pull the trigger.

On the last day of hunting season, we stayed out through hours of freezing rain and sleet. Even though our wool gloves were soaked, they kept our hands warm. I can attest to wool keeping you warm even when wet/soaked. Needles to say we were happy campers with our recent purchase. I found that I could pull the trigger even with the mitten part over my fingers. Another nice feature is that the wrist part of the gloves is extra-long, so they easily roll over or under the sleeve of a jacket and stay put because of the extra length. No gaps for wind and cold to get into.

All in all, we are very happy with our inexpensive purchase that replaced many more expensive pairs of gloves that just didn’t cut it in cold weather. I can’t believe I’ve never come across a pair of these gloves until now. What gloves or mittens have you found that work great for cold weather well hunting? What cold weather clothing is a must for you? Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

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Update On My G. Fred Asbell Wool Pullover

 

Three and a half years ago I did a review on my wool pullover from G. Fred Asbell and I figured it was about time to do an update on that review. Especially since the original review is my most read blog post to date. People are reading that original review daily even after three and a half years.

So, what do I think after three and a half years of hunting and camping in the original wool pullover I purchased? Well, simply put, I love it. First off, you wouldn’t even know it has been used that much. Mine has held up nicely and has become one of my favorite pieces of cold weather clothing. I liked my wool pullover so much that I bought one of their Pathfinder pullovers, got my wife one of their wool jackets (which she loves) and my oldest son ordered one of the Pathfinder pullovers because he liked mine so much.

My wife wore her wool jacket all last winter and loved how warm it kept her. It’s nice to know that I have good quality cold weather clothing that I can rely on living here in central New York during the colder months. I end up wearing my original wool pullover most of the winter when outdoors.

One of the best things about G. Fred Asbell wool clothing is the price point. You’re not spending an arm and a leg to get quality wool clothing. This is wool that the common man (or woman) can afford without breaking the bank. It’s sort of like a Mora knife. You’re getting an awesome product that’s worth way more than you paid for it and you can’t figure out how they do it for that price. Yes, there are a few extra things the higher end wool pullovers have that these don’t but to me the extra cost wasn’t worth it. Maybe if I had money to spend/waste, but a lot of us don’t have the extra to spend.

In the end, after three and a half years of use, I’m glad for every purchase I’ve made from www.AsbellWool.com  Disclaimer, I’ve bought and paid full price for everything I’ve received from G. Fred Asbell. They have never sent me anything for free and are unaware, to my knowledge, of my reviews. These are my experiences with the wool products I’ve owned from G. Fred Asbell and nobody else’s. If you own any of their wool what are your thoughts? Do you like it and why? If you don’t like it, why?

Reasons To Buy

  • Price Point
  • Quality
  • Built To Last
  • Supporting Local Mom and Pop Businesses
  • Tired of garbage outdoor clothing falling apart

If you’re on the fence about buying one of their wool pullovers, I’d recommend jumping over the fence and making the purchase. You won’t regret it, in my humble opinion. Thanks for reading and now I’m going to throw on my wool pullover and head out into the cold outdoors with snow covered ground knowing I’ll be toasty warm on my adventure.

 

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G. Fred Asbell Wool Pullover Review

I’ll be honest I was looking at buying the wool boreal pullover that many of you may have seen reviewed on many YouTube videos, but I just didn’t have the money available to spend on it. The boreal pullover looks really nice and looks well made with options that are not on the pullover I purchased but it costs a whole lot more as well. The boreal pullover was well outside my budget.

As I was searching the internet for wool clothing I came across this website, http://www.asbellwool.com I looked at the site and all that is available and narrowed down my choice to a wool pullover in the Timber Ghost color. I really wanted a pullover in the blanket weight but I also liked the Timber Ghost color for everyday use so the color choice won. Note each color comes in different weight wool. The Timber Ghost color comes in extra heavy weight wool (25-28oz).

The Weight Guide:
Light Weight——————9 – 10oz.
Light/Medium Weight—–13 – 16oz.
Medium Weight————-17 – 20oz.
Heavy Weight—————-21 – 24oz.
Extra Heavy Weight——– 25 – 28oz.
Blanket Weight—————29 – 32oz.

Manufacturers Info:

Wool Pullovers

“There’s nothing like wool in the woods, it’s whisper quiet and interacts with daylight and shadows like a natural camo. Our pullover shirts are the base layer of our unique wool layering system. They’re generously cut to hang loose and help break up your silhouette. Hand warming pockets are standard. There’s a hood option for those who like the idea of a little extra protection and comfort. Our hoods are oversized to accommodate hats of all sizes. Try one of our Asbell wool pullover shirts today, they’re the natural choice.
Our Wool Pullovers are available in:
Medium, Large, XLarge, and XXLarge please select your size below. Also available with or without hood.”

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I decided to get a pullover without a zipper because in my mind that’s a stress point on the wool, the zipper will inevitably have problems, and I didn’t want anything that could reflect light or make noise well hunting. I wanted a simple pullover with little chance of failure. After deciding what I wanted I purchased one in December as well as an Olive Drab bandana. I ordered the bandana so that I could use it around my neck since the pullover hood does not cinch closed. Everything on their website is handmade by them so expect to have a little wait time. I received my order as expected with the expected amount of wait time. No complaints.

First off I will say that these are very well made and are exactly what you expect you are purchasing. The bandana is much bigger than I was expecting, which is a good thing in my mind. The pullover is perfect for what it is. No frills, but functions very well. The pockets are generously sized and the hood works very well, well wearing a hat underneath it. I ordered a large but could have ordered a medium because they are oversized on purpose. The larger size grew on me because I can easily fit it over other clothing and it still hangs loosely. Also by having the larger size I can sleep comfortably in it well in the woods by pulling the sleeves down over my hands easily and the hood covers most of my face when I’m lying on my back or side without a hat on. The pullover really does function very well. I wore my pullover all winter as we had a colder than usual winter this year in New York. It made this winter much more bearable. If you know anything about wool you know that wind does blow right through it so you would need a wind breaker shell of some sort on cold windy days. I wore my wool pullover in conjunction with my light mountain hardware winter jacket. With these two coats and only a tee shirt underneath I would stand out in -15 – -30 degree temperatures with winds blowing over 30 mph and be toasty warm. It was amazing. Trying to do much physical activity and I would get to warm. Whenever it wasn’t windy I would just wear the pullover.

This wool pullover was in my budget and functions very well. The only few things I would have liked that the much more expensive boreal shirt has is the neck gusset, a cinch cord for the hood and a cinch cord for the waist. Those things would be nice but I can live without them with the difference in price. This is a great wool pullover that should last you a very long time, and if well taken care of, you could pass on to the next generation. If you’re looking for a wool pullover or jacket I recommend checking out G. Fred Asbell’s website before you make any purchases. I am really glad I found this site and purchased the pullover I did. It works very well for spring, fall, winter, hunting, camping and any other outdoor activity where you want to stay toasty warm. As a plus, wool pullovers won’t burn and melt like synthetic materials will. As always get out and enjoy nature and maybe do it well being a little warmer.

Disclaimer: I did not receive anything from G. Fred Asbell or anybody involved with his site to do this review. I paid full price for what I received. I did this review because I really like the products I received and think others would as well.