Sitka Help

[Hockley]

Primary use will be September hunts in CO, backcountry 8 miles or so in. Trying to decide between the following pieces and looking for advice since it is tough to find a place to put hands on these in the south.

Jacket - Mountain vs Jetstream (I know the Mountain is much lighter, but I'm thinking I could shed a mid layer of two with the Jetstream?) The Cloudburst is my rain gear layer.

Mid Layer - Traverse Zip T, Heavy Weight Zip T, or the Apex Hoody (I convinced myself to go with the Traverese Zip T, but the Sitka rep highly recommended the Apex Hoody)

Pants - Mountain Pant, Traverse or Apex (Same story as above, had convinced myself to go with the Mountain then the Sitka rep pushed me towards the Apex)

Any help is appreciated! Really wish I could try on all of them and actually use them for a day or two.

 

[MtGomer]

I go with the ascents for pants, paired with some kuiu zip offs they’ll get you down to pretty cool temps.

I also ditch the soft shell jacket all together. Get a mid layer you like to wear and bring the cloudburst.

 

[Hockley]

I go with the ascents for pants, paired with some kuiu zip offs they’ll get you down to pretty cool temps.

I also ditch the soft shell jacket all together. Get a mid layer you like to wear and bring the cloudburst.

I tend to agree with you on the mid layer and cloudburst combo, but I end up carrying the mountain vest in order to have a windblocker without using the cloudburst. The Mountain jacket is only a few ounces more than the vest.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Mountain jacket is very light. No insulation. No hood. It is also quite slim fitting. Size up if you want to layer. Jet stream has a bit of fleece but is not super warm. Both are great. If I were trying to save weight, I would go mountain or as some do, ditch the soft shell all together are rely on other layers. Hunting in the northeast, I wear my jetstream a lot for every type of weather up to heavy / steady rain.

I like the looks of the apex hoody. It is more like a heavier shirt than a mid layer. It has a bit of grid dot fleece in the shoulder yoke but I don’t think it would come close to the warmth of a midlayer IMO. The heavy weight core and traverse zip tee are very similar. The traverse has a more durable, less breathable and slightly water resistant face. Under a soft shell I would go core but as a stand alone the traverse. BTW the traverse hoody is a different beast altogether. Same face fabric but a heavier Berber insulation.

Pants are a toss up based on weather. Ascent are crazy light and breathable but aren’t going to do as well in wet, cold or wind. Mountains are pretty thin and breathable and block w ind a bit too. If it is very cold you are going to want a base layer under either. Apex pants seem interesting. I haven’t worn them but fondled a pair. They seem in between the mountain and ascent in terms of warmth even though they have a little micro flex dot grid.

 

[1shotgear]

Primary use will be September hunts in CO, backcountry 8 miles or so in. Trying to decide between the following pieces and looking for advice since it is tough to find a place to put hands on these in the south.

Jacket - Mountain vs Jetstream (I know the Mountain is much lighter, but I'm thinking I could shed a mid layer of two with the Jetstream?) The Cloudburst is my rain gear layer.

Mid Layer - Traverse Zip T, Heavy Weight Zip T, or the Apex Hoody (I convinced myself to go with the Traverese Zip T, but the Sitka rep highly recommended the Apex Hoody)

Pants - Mountain Pant, Traverse or Apex (Same story as above, had convinced myself to go with the Mountain then the Sitka rep pushed me towards the Apex)

Any help is appreciated! Really wish I could try on all of them and actually use them for a day or two.

I personally would look at the Jetstream over the mountain jacket. It is my personal favorite, and hunting in Colorado the weather can change very Quick. The mountain jacket is just a shell and does not pack enough heat if it were to snow. The Jetstream comes with a hood and pit zips to help with ventilation making it the perfect western hunting jacket in my opinion. For your mid l would have gone with a core Light weight hoody instead of any of those pieces you have listed above. It has a built in face mask, a fitted hood, and is the piece I wear 100% of the time on any hunt. I usually do run a LT LS or SS underneath, but that's my personal preference. The traverse pant is going to be a best seller for mountain hunting for 2019. Not only is the price killer, but its the badass little brother to the mountain pants. I highly recommend the traverse pants.

 

[ddavis_1313]

So I bought a chit ton of Sitka gear last year and put it to the test for 25 days in Colorado during archery. And here is how I layered and what I found worked.

For base layers I went with first lite merino wool lite weight bottoms and long sleeve top. IMO, they have the softest and most comfortable base layer I’ve tried. Very comfy. Over that I ran accent pants and a core mid weight zip t. For socks I had darn tough wool. For rain gear I used cloudburst and by far the best train gear I’ve ever owned. For the most part, that’s all I ever wore and shed the mid weight top after 8:30 or 9 am and put it back on about 3 hours before dark if I wasn’t actively hiking.

In my pack was a jet stream jacket which I think I wore once on part of my trip, and the kelvin lite hoody. The hoody and mid weight zip are two of my favorite pieces. The hoody is really nice insulation when layering to sit and glass on a ridge and to roll up as a pillow. My advice it to buy one size up on this piece as it fits snug but has room to move. Just can’t layer much under it. I had with me a jet stream vest, mountain pants, traverse, light weight hoody, and I think another piece. I tried these during part of my trip and can say that they didn’t get much use Bc they were either too warm or just not that practical for me. The lite weight hoody is not much on warmth and is more of hot weather hunting. Also, the mountain pants didn’t fit me as well as I liked and sagged some in the crotch and were slightly baggy after long hikes. They also don’t dry very fast if they get wet from moisture like due. The accent pants are by far my favorite pant and dry really quickly and very very durable. And they flex and stretch if you squat or kneel down.

I was camped at 10k and hiked up to 13,300 every day the first 7 days. Temps wet between low 40’s in the morning and 75 mid day. I was more than comfy in the primary gear listed. The rain gear is amazing if the wind picks up on a ridge to use as a shell. With layers under you will stay comfy. My main thing to comfort was to never layer until I’m warm then hike. I hike and layer up if I need to. This keeps me from sweating as much and saturating my gear. Most of the time I wore just the thin base when hiking Bc it was straight up with a pack on my back.

Hope this helps.


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[Mygoaliselk]

For me it all seems to run just a bit on the small size

 

[Hockley]

I like the looks of the apex hoody. It is more like a heavier shirt than a mid layer. It has a bit of grid dot fleece in the shoulder yoke but I don’t think it would come close to the warmth of a midlayer IMO. The heavy weight core and traverse zip tee are very similar. The traverse has a more durable, less breathable and slightly water resistant face. Under a soft shell I would go core but as a stand alone the traverse. BTW the traverse hoody is a different beast altogether. Same face fabric but a heavier Berber insulation.

I think I've convinced myself to go with the Jetsream jacket and the Traverse Zip T. I think the Jetsream would be more useful day in day out at home and I have the option of using it on the mountain. If I don't take the Jetsream on the mountain I can wear the Traverse as an outer layer and have the Cloudburst when it gets really cold.

Still deciding on pants.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I don't think you can go wrong with the apex pants or the ascents. I prefer the apex, but both are great pants.

 

[Trial153]

Grinder pants

 

[TCUHunter34]

Apex are a little more slim fitting. If you have thicker thighs like I do, the ascent pants will be great. I love the Apex but they were too tight for me. Either way, they will be great. Mountain pants are a little overkill, especially if you're taking in the Cloudburst pants as well.

Take a look at the Kelvin Active. Pair that with the Apex/Heavyweight Hoody and you're golden! The Kelvin Active and a base layer have gotten me down to some pretty cool temps, active or not. I've taken the Jetstream as well and don't anymore after seeing how little I wore it.
Baselayer- Apex/Heavyweight Hoody - Kelvin Active - Cloudburst. Should get you through September in CO pretty well.

 

[Hockley]

I don't have the cloudburst pants. For now I'm still packing a cheap light pair of realtree goretex pants (that are surprisingly light weight). What I didn't already say is that I already have a pair of Ascent and Timberline pants in Open Country so I want to add something that is between them in Subalpine. That is why I was considering the Traverse, Mountain and Apex. So hopefully that will help clear things up.

 

[TCUHunter34]

I've had all but the traverse. The Mountain pants just didn't fit anywhere in my system and weren't getting worn. The Timberline are great, ascent are great and the apex would be amazing except for the fit on my thighs. I am going to try a size up and see if they work for me.

 

[Trial153]

I would pick up and try the traverse pants if they came in a solid color... they missed the boat with that.

 

[Gumbo]

For early archery in MT the Jestream is awesome, I've had mine for years. I prefer the Dewpoint to the cloudburst, but that is because I don't really hunt in super wet conditions and will take my Yukon (or stay home) if significant rain is forecast. I REALLY like the LW Core Hoody. Ascent pants were too light for me, I like the mountain pants (or Cableas Microtex).

 

[sr80]

I think you made the right choice on the jetstream. I had the mountain jacket and just couldn't make it work into my kit. If it was cold enough to warrant a jacket, the mountain jacket didn't seem warm enough, specially without a hood. Jetstream and core light weight hoody and a base layer T brought me right into the end of oct here in BC ( if i was on the move )

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I would pick up and try the traverse pants if they came in a solid color... they missed the boat with that.

Agreed!

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

What I didn't already say is that I already have a pair of Ascent and Timberline pants in Open Country so I want to add something that is between them in Subalpine. That is why I was considering the Traverse, Mountain and Apex. So hopefully that will help clear things up.

Then get the apex. The mountains are very similar to the timberlines, just without the waterproof knees and butt. I have no experience with the traverse.

 

[307pursuit]

I run the Sitka System and the mountain pants would be too heavy for Sept. I'd recommend either the ascent pants (first choice), or the new apex pants if you want to save money. The ascent pants are nylon, more durable, much more water resistant, and dry super fast. The apex pants are polyester, cheaper, will dry fast, but will absorb more water initially.

My upper body system starts with the lightweight core hoody - it's an amazing piece, but order up a size from normal. I'm a medium in most stuff, but wear large for this. 2nd upper body layer is a core heavyweight hoody (hoodie eliminates the need for a beanie in the mornings and while sleeping).

I also bring a super lightweight down puffy - specitically an arcteryx cerium LT Hoodie... but any super lightweight hoody will do. It doesn't need to be water proof, or synthetic .... you'll only wear it early in the am and sometimes in the backpack. LL Bean, patagonia, Outdoor Research all have great, lightweight down hoodies which are all on sale now and compress super small.

I don't recommend any type of softshell jacket or windproof only jacket ... they are not as warm as synthetic, not water proof, and heavy. My final layer is a Outdoor Research Helium II Jacket ... waterproof, light (7 oz), and packs to a baseball.

When it's super warm I'll leave my down jacket at the truck!