Still, looking around the Bucks & Beards Outfitters' bunkhouse, you'd be hard pressed to find a group of more miserable looking hunters. Although the temps had only bottomed out in the high 20s, the damp, cutting Missouri wind had seemingly sucked the will to hunt from the rest of camp. 

Trevor and I sat there, listening to one after another describe how they had sweated their tails off getting to their stands, only to shiver the rest of their days away. One hunter went so far as to thank God that the shooter he had seen hadn't ventured into bow range. Apparently, it saved him the embarrassment of telling his fellow hunters that he was shivering too badly to pull off the shot. As much as I felt left out by not being able to relate some horror story of my own, Trevor and I had been perfectly comfortable the entire day. We had dressed light to the stand and spent the rest of the day wrapped in Heater Body Suits.

When I was initially asked to do a product evaluation for Bowhunting.net, I was hesitant. Frankly, I don't enjoy doing them. To begin with, I am not one to rank products from 1-10. Simply put, they either work or they don't. In my book, if an aspect of a product does not function the way I want it to the entire package is a failure. Yes, I am extremely demanding, but the years have taught me that if one component of a product is faulty in my eyes then it will be the one that costs me a deer, even if the other 99 components work flawlessly. 

I was relieved to find they wanted me to evaluate The Heater Body Suit. I have drug them around with me all over the Midwest for six years now. Why? The Heater Body Suit works and serves an invaluable role in my hunting strategy.

Firstly, it eliminates the need to add extra layers of clothing upon arriving at the stand. Being an odor control fanatic, that has always driven me nuts. I shower using Wildlife Research's Scent Killer products, dress in treated clothing, drive to my location, change into fresh treated clothing, slap on my Scent-Lok suit, gather all my treated gear, walk 3 miles out of my way not to bump deer, only to either arrive drenched in sweat or create a mushroom cloud of odor at the base my stand by dressing in more layers. With The Heater Body Suit, I wear as little as possible getting in, climb my stand, slap on the suit and bask in comfort for the entire sit. I find it to be the perfect solution for temperature from the low 40s on down to well below zero.

Next, The Heater Body Suit keeps me in the stand countless more hours than before I used one. Like it or not, it is hard to resist the temptations of physical comfort. For me anyway, it seems that the colder I get the more easily I am able to convince myself that I won't see deer on this sit and may as well return to the warmth of my truck. Sure, I know that is a false justification even when I'm doing it, but the more frost bite sets in the easier it is to buy. By zipping The Heater Body Suit up and down as much as the temps dictate, I am able to perfectly regulate heat retention. Because of that, I never get too hot or too cold.

Furthermore, it helps keep my head in the game. Instead of my mind being preoccupied with my own misery, it is able to focus much more on spotting deer. This alone has greatly reduced the number of times I've been caught flatfooted or, worse yet, been busted by deer that catch me fidgeting in the stand. 

Finally, I use it to hide the movement of my hands. For example, with my hands inside my suit, I can bring a grunt tube to my mouth without any detectable movement. That may seem rather insignificant. However, after you've been busted several times by unseen deer, its significance increases substantially.

I will spare you blow-by-blow instructions on how to use the suit or its features. A quick trip to their web site www.heaterbodysuit.com will provide both better than I could. What I will say is that once you use one you will never want to hunt in temps below 40 without one again. Part of my payment to my cameramen is providing them with one. 

To a man, after they climb inside for the first time The Heater Body Suit becomes a frequent companion on their own hunting trips. I am willing to stake my reputation on saying that almost any avid hunter will find this a great investment. There are pitifully few products I am willing to say that about. 

TSS Heater Body Suit
www.heaterbodysuit.com
E-Mail: tssequip@heaterbodysuit.com

TSS Equipment Company
14302 Pigeon River Rd.
Cleveland, WI 53015
Telephone: 920-565-3273
Fax: 920-565-2733