Thiessens' New Whitetail Hunting Clothing Line

New V1 Whitetail clothing systems feature apparel options for all seasons.

October 01, 2019 By Drew Warden

Deer hunters in need of whitetail clothing have a new option to look to this season and into the future. Thiessens, a new outdoor brand based out of Lodgepole, Neb., that makes and sells pursuit-driven outdoor equipment directly to the consumer, has launched its new men’s V1 Whitetail clothing line today. This new clothing can be purchased directly by the end user at thiessens.com.

The new V1 Whitetail line features apparel options for deer hunters that fit all seasons, from the early, hot hunting days of September through the chilly — and occasionally downright cold — days of November to the brutal, below-freezing days in December. Product categories featured in this October 1 launch include: baselayer, lightweight, midweight, heavyweight and rainwear.

All clothing and accessories incorporate moisture-wicking, anti-odor treated material to help with scent and utilize innovative designs and industry-leading technology to excel afield. Aside from the baselayers, all also come in Realtree EDGE camo.

BREAKING DOWN THE LINE

Quick highlights can be found at the bottom of this article.

Baselayer

The baselayer lineup at time of launch includes a 1/4-zip top and a bottom, with both featuring an ultra-warm fleece with channel-pattern construction for optimized body heat regulation. Both items are available for $39.99.

Lightweight

The lightweight items in Thiessens' V1 Whitetail line wick away moisture to keep hunters cool and dry during the hottest hunting conditions they’ll face all season.

Lightweight garments also utilize an articulated design along with stretch components to offer a wide range of motion, which can be handy when moving about or when a tricky shot around a tree is required. A long-sleeved button-up shirt, long- and short-sleeved t-shirt and pants are offered in the lightweight line. Prices range from $24.99 to $59.99.

Midweight

According to Stuart Wilson, who spearheads a lot of what’s going on product-wise with Thiessens, although he’s proud of what the company offers in the lightweight line, and some of their other products, he thinks most hunters are going to be particularly impressed with what they’re offering in their midweight, heavyweight and rainwear lines.

“Those three categories — midweight, rainwear and insulated [heavyweight] — are going to be kind of the hammer categories,” Wilson said. He added that when it comes to price-value discussions, these three lines offer a lot to hunters.

The midweight line, which Wilson also casually referred to as their windproof line, is designed to protect hunters from colder temperatures, and particularly the wind. Items in the line feature Thiessens' proprietary Wind Defense technology, as well as a water-resistant treatment on the garments’ outer shells to guard against light rain.

Like the lightweight line, the interior material is moisture wicking and has an anti-odor treatment; however, the lining is a grid-patterned fleece for additional warmth. And, as with lightweight items, midweight garments have an articulated design for solid freedom of movement. A pant, jacket, hoodie and vest are offered in the midweight line, and prices range from $49.99 for the hoodie to $79.99 for the jacket.

Heavyweight

In terms of overall features, the heavyweight line — which includes a 3-N-1 systems parka, standard parka, bibs and pants — might have the most to offer hunters. In addition to the midweight line’s Wind Defense windproof technology, heavyweight products also utilize Thiessens' proprietary T-Dry waterproof breathable shell, as well as Thinsulate brand insulation for warmth.

The exact amount of Thinsulate varies throughout the clothing. Parkas feature 300 grams of Thinsulate in the core area and 200 grams in the arms; meanwhile, the bibs have 200 grams of Thinsulate above the waist, where a jacket will likely offer additional warmth, and 300 grams below the waist.

The pants utilize straight 300 grams of Thinsulate throughout. This variation is done to give hunters more heat where they need it and less where they don’t.

Additionally, the extremities (arms in parkas, legs in bibs and pants) have a slicker lining fabric than other areas for improved range of movement and to keep undergarments and other layers from bunching up in the sleeves and pant legs when putting on heavyweight clothing.

And, as with other categories in Thiessens' V1 Whitetail line, arms and legs are cut for articulation to help with movement.

“Articulation is a big thing,” Wilson suggested. “You’re going to get restricted, to a point, wearing heavily insulated garments, but we want to try to limit that as much as possible and just be able to maximize comfort…Articulation was a huge factor when we were designing these and making sure that they moved with you and that the pieces work within each other.”

A few other innovative, practical features include ample pocketing across the line; “Silent Snaps,” essentially snaps that fasten and detach really quietly; and two-way zip-to-hip zippers on the pants and bibs. The zippers are particularly useful in that you can quickly put pants on without removing boots — a very appreciated option in extremely cold weather — and, in the event you get warm after putting pants or bibs on, you can also zip down with the two-way zipper to cool down a bit.

Like the rest of the V1 Whitetail line, the heavyweight products have a wicking, anti-odor treated lining. Pricing ranges from $169.99 to $199.99.

Rainwear

Thiessens' rainwear products are built to withstand extended sits in wet conditions. Like the heavyweight line, these items utilize T-Dry technology, featuring fully taped seams for 100 percent waterproofing. They are breathable, and they also incorporate Thiessens' Wind Defense technology.

Unlike the heavyweight products, these have a mesh core lining instead of an insulated one. However, the lining is still moisture wicking and anti-odor treated. They also come with a stuff sack for storage once the rain abates. Rainwear apparel features a quiet, articulated construction for both stealth and moving freely.

The rainwear category includes four items: a packable rain jacket, a packable rain pant, a rain jacket and a rain pant. $89.99 to $109.99.

A variety of accessories are also available across the lightweight, midweight and heavyweight lines. These include gloves, caps, beanies, gaiters and facemasks. Check out thiessens.com to see exactly what is available.

THE THIESSENS STORY

At the heart of product development for Thiessens' new V1 Whitetail clothing line are two men: the aforementioned Stuart Wilson, and Kurt Grove. Both are avid end users who hunt religiously each year and who together also have almost 40 years of combined experience in the outdoor goods and apparel industry. Because of this, the move into designing and developing their own clothing brand is a fairly natural one, and with help from some partners (for whom the company is named), they have set about the task.

For Wilson, the initial interest and decision to get involved with hunting clothing goes back many years to his childhood.

“It’s rooted in the fact of, when I was growing up, if you go way back, I had terrible gear when I was a young kid getting introduced into hunting,” he said. “I was wearing bread bags on my feet inside moon boots, you know; two pairs of jeans were considered extra warm — that kind of stuff. I always wanted better gear. But, as I grew up and got into stuff, I could never afford it — the really good stuff.”

That changed after college when he accepted a job with a prominent hunting and fishing retailer and he was able to get discounted, and sometimes free, products — gear he had always wanted but originally been unable to afford. But, obviously, not everyone is fortunate enough to receive these types of discounts.

“The general consumer can’t get that same access,” Wilson said. “He can’t — still, in my opinion — get really good, top-end quality at a really good value. And I knew I could deliver that. That’s been the base of the business model: really good products at a really good price that the majority of the industry won’t be able to compete with. The idea [with Thiessens] was based in that.”

According to Wilson and Grove, there are three essential pillars, or end-result goals, that kind of guide their processes. First and foremost, they say, is quality — clothes that are durable and built to perform exceptionally. Second, is price. This does not mean being the cheapest, Wilson said, but offering the most value, maximizing quality as it relates to price. He points to the company’s heavyweight 3-N-1 parka as an example.

“As I show people our gear that are new [to seeing it, I ask them], ‘What do you think it should retail for?’” Wilson said. “And people are like, ‘$399.’ No. Competitively in the marketplace that’s probably where that thing could, or would, retail, and we’re going to be $199 bucks on it.”

Third, finally, is fit and finish. The goal here is ensuring that clothes offer a good, comfortable fit along with the best range of movement possible. With all their clothing, they said they also just try to simply give hunters more for their hard-earned money.

“What we try to do when we’re constructing any garment is try to go to that end level and give these garments or products a little bit extra compared to what’s out there,” Wilson said. “That means going that extra step and putting a crazy good, durable, water-resistant treatment on outer shells to give them that extra measure of comfort or weather protection, it’s utilizing a little bit more insulation when we can do it and it’s feasible…It’s ‘Silent Snaps.’ It’s going that extra mile and testing these and trying to put these things through as much as possible…We like to think that we’re putting just a little bit extra into garments when possible, but still maintaining that durability, that quiet and that comfort that the guy needs. Anything we can do to keep him in the field a little bit longer increases your odds of success. And we’re also doing this at a really good value.”

Speaking of testing and research and development, Wilson estimated that they’d been working on the V1 Whitetail clothing line, specifically, for about a year and a half. That time has included quite a bit testing, with extensive testing being done especially during last year’s seasons.

“This line we’ve been working on for close to 18 or 19 months,” he said. “We’re really hard on ourselves and our own process to make sure we bring really good quality products at a really good price, and if it wasn’t there, it’s been kicked out. The stuff at the end, is right.”

SEASONS TO COME

This October 1 launch will include 142 different SKUs, or individual products, in the Thiessens V1 Whitetail clothing line. Wilson and the folks at Thiessens certainly have plans beyond this initial line, though.

In the next five years, he said, they plan on expanding the current whitetail line, as well growing to cover all of the major hunting pursuits. So, there’s plenty to look forward to from Thiessens.

In the meantime, deer hunters across the country have an array of new clothing options to peruse.