Sitka Dynamic Rewarming Drill

texag10

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My synthetic/polygiene experience (patagonia capilene, not sitka) mirrors Ryan's. I've also found with the humidity in TX, it doesn't matter if you're wearing wool or synthetic, you will take forever to dry out. Might as well not reek.
 

mtwarden

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I thought I would revisit this thread as I had the unfortunate experience of getting dunked up to my neck on a recent snowshoe trip in the Bob Marshall ( https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/one-tough-trip-snowshoeing-across-the-bob-marshall.259138/ )

It's a spooky feeling getting dunked in cold weather when your no less than two days getting out.

I was in my base layer top, now soaked. I pulled out my mid-layer and put it on over my wet base layer top (my pants and boxers were fully soaked too). My buddy was ahead of me and I started hiking (fast) after him. I caught up to him in about 15 minutes and told him what happened. I said I wanted to keep hiking and try to dry my layers out. About an hour later I could tell I was definitely drying out pretty good up top, less so on my bottom layers. It was getting close to supper time and thought a fire and a hot meal would help. It did :). We found a rare dry spot and built a small fire right next to the trail. At this point my upper layers were fully dry and my bottoms probably about half dry. The fire finished drying the bottoms. Part of the reason my bottoms were taking longer as I had my gloves and fleece beanie in the cargo pockets and they were wet too.

Couple of takeaways- a thin synthetic base layer dries pretty quickly. You want a mid-layer that is decently warm, but also breathes well to move that moisture out. With the right layers, moving (your body heat) will dry out wet clothing.

In hindsight, I probably should have wringed out my top and bottoms before moving. Adrenaline was kicking in pretty good though, so not sure if I'd remember that.

Anyways, take a couple of minutes and watch the video :)
 

billoo349

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May 26, 2020
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184
Thanks for bumping this back up. I've noticed the quick drying while hiking after getting soaked in rain but I never really thought about it. Good survival method to have in your mind on auto pilot.

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW ace using Tapatalk
 

Kevin_t

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I thought I would revisit this thread as I had the unfortunate experience of getting dunked up to my neck on a recent snowshoe trip in the Bob Marshall ( https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/one-tough-trip-snowshoeing-across-the-bob-marshall.259138/ )

It's a spooky feeling getting dunked in cold weather when your no less than two days getting out.

I was in my base layer top, now soaked. I pulled out my mid-layer and put it on over my wet base layer top (my pants and boxers were fully soaked too). My buddy was ahead of me and I started hiking (fast) after him. I caught up to him in about 15 minutes and told him what happened. I said I wanted to keep hiking and try to dry my layers out. About an hour later I could tell I was definitely drying out pretty good up top, less so on my bottom layers. It was getting close to supper time and thought a fire and a hot meal would help. It did :). We found a rare dry spot and built a small fire right next to the trail. At this point my upper layers were fully dry and my bottoms probably about half dry. The fire finished drying the bottoms. Part of the reason my bottoms were taking longer as I had my gloves and fleece beanie in the cargo pockets and they were wet too.

Couple of takeaways- a thin synthetic base layer dries pretty quickly. You want a mid-layer that is decently warm, but also breathes well to move that moisture out. With the right layers, moving (your body heat) will dry out wet clothing.

In hindsight, I probably should have wringed out my top and bottoms before moving. Adrenaline was kicking in pretty good though, so not sure if I'd remember that.

Anyways, take a couple of minutes and watch the video :)
I agree with a fast drying base combined with a very breathable mid layer. I love love love the active layer stuff. I love Polartec Alpha Direct
 

pattimusprime22

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Sep 3, 2019
Messages
213
I agree with a fast drying base combined with a very breathable mid layer. I love love love the active layer stuff. I love Polartec Alpha Direct

What are your favorite Polartec Alpha Direct pieces? I don't have any (yet) and love buying new gear :)
 

mtwarden

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^ I've got two- one is the Sitka Arrowhead MDWi, the other is the Sitka Active Hoody; actually I have three now- the Rab Alpha Flash- haven't used it yet. The other two are very good pieces :)
 
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Great video. Thanks for sharing it.
My only wool is my beanie (100% merino). I may consider switching the beanie to synthetic at some point. I like the idea of the odor control you get from wool but I just haven’t been able to justify the extra cost and most importantly to me… the weight penalty. This pretty well solidifies my decision. It’s not as if wearing wool would allow me to ignore wind. I sure like the idea of how much lighter my sleeping bag and puffy could be if they were down but it’s a no go as I’m allergic to down. I’ll take the consolation prize of wet performance 😉

Edit: I may have added some merino blend stuff through a trade with another Rokslider. Now I’m curious and I’ll have to check those out.

FL Wick Aerowool shirt - wool blend

FL Klamath hoodie - grid fleece

Anyone have experience with getting either of these or something similar wet?
 
Last edited:

pattimusprime22

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Sep 3, 2019
Messages
213
^ I've got two- one is the Sitka Arrowhead MDWi, the other is the Sitka Active Hoody; actually I have three now- the Rab Alpha Flash- haven't used it yet. The other two are very good pieces :)

I was just about to ask you about how you like the Arrowhead MDWi and then I saw your review. Answered all my questions and very thorough, thanks!
 

Kevin_t

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What are your favorite Polartec Alpha Direct pieces? I don't have any (yet) and love buying new gear :)
Sitka Kelvin Active and Rab .. I used the Sitka for a few years, up until late season .. really a base layer, that, and puffy vest, and wind / water layer was my layering system for temps from about 20 -60 .. Just got the Rab a bit ago , haven't used it on long term trips , done a couple hikes. Wearing it a lot , see if it gets stinky on me (my wife hates when I wear a shirt for a week or pants .. to see if it gets sticky or stretches too much ). I also bought a little of the fabric for some experimentation
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2021
Messages
1,583
Sitka Kelvin Active and Rab .. I used the Sitka for a few years, up until late season .. really a base layer, that, and puffy vest, and wind / water layer was my layering system for temps from about 20 -60 .. Just got the Rab a bit ago , haven't used it on long term trips , done a couple hikes. Wearing it a lot , see if it gets stinky on me (my wife hates when I wear a shirt for a week or pants .. to see if it gets sticky or stretches too much ). I also bought a little of the fabric for some experimentation
Where are you hunting in -60°? 😬
Or did I misread and it’s 20° to 60°?
 
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