Sitka Gear Camo Choices

[4BTradArchery]

I am looking to buy some Sitka gear with my Christmas money.  I searched and figured out what items am I going to buy.  The question becomes what pattern to choose.  At my families ranch it is ground blind city because there is not a tree that is tall enough to conceal us or high enough to conceal a tripod in.  the bow blinds are painted deep black inside.  So I was thinking the darker of the two choices, I think the forest pattern.  However, in two years I have my first elk hunt scheduled and an antelope hunt next fall and I am worried about the Forest pattern being to dark out in the west.  If I go with the open country pattern, I am worried that it will be too light to hide me in a blacked out box blind.  Any suggestions?

[RUSTY1]

I wouldn't even worry about camo inside a blind. A black shirt, beanie and mask!!! Then you can get the camo that will suit you best outside the blind.

[Bowmania]

Rusty's got it.  All camo patterns in a blind are noticable when you move.  Black is best.  Don't get Sika wear for warmth.

Bowmania

[silvertip73]

Rust is right on, no camo needed in the blind!

[KumaSan]

Rusty is correct. As for the Sitka clothing, I find it runs a size small and it may vary from year to year. The open country will probably work best for you where you live. I found the  forest pattern is a wierd color of green, and I had figured it would go well in the East. The open country optifade works well for me.

Try Baker's Shoe Store in Oregon, and Cabela's. You can easily return any items to them for exchange or refund.

Good luck.

[FerretWYO]

You can not go wrong with the open country if you are going to hunt Pronghorn or elk in the high country.

[DXH]

BowMania, I thought sitka gear was warm? Looking at purchasing some myself

[Steve O]

Certain pieces of Sitka Gear are   EXTREMELY warm.  Some pieces of Sitka Gear are made NOT to be warm.  It is a LAYERING SYSTEM!  You will not find any hunting clothing warmer than the Kelvin pieces or the Incinerator pieces.

Period.

[swampthing]

Did you say "camo?" Here's 2, 1 is realtree APG, supposedly the more open type, 1 is Sleeping Indian grey wool. None warmer?? I don't want to fight about that.

[swampthing]

I'd go with the open country, far more versitile, when in a blind, just put on a huge black t-shirt.
I find dark camo is just that, even in the shadows.    

[jason1040]

I like that comparison of the two jackets, it really does tell the story from a distance.

[Steel]

I bought several pieces of the Stika clothing last fall on sale the mothwing camo.I mainly have the 90% and a heavier vest,beanie,fask mask,core shirts, which I use polar-tec underwear for cold weather layering.I used the Stika all fall I have become spoiled to it now. I like how well the system can be layered for different temps anywhere from 15 degrees to mid 70's here this fall. I can still shot my Trad Bow really well and don't feel over bulky thanks to the way the Stika gear fits to my body. One trick I love to do when its really cold is put two of the body warmer packs in the chest pockets of my 90% jacket and then add the vest over the top and I can feel the heat all over my chest for hours on end which really keeps me warm. The bad part to this is now that I am spoiled to the stika gear I want more and at full price ouch thats alot of $$$! Still I have mainly worn one pair of pants all fall and it still looks great so it is lasting really,really, well. If I buy some more it will be the open country camo the new forest camo is just crazy looking color wise stands out like a sore thumb here the open country blends better in our woods. I attached a pic from last fall it was around 20 degrees in the pic snow on the ground I spend many hours stalking and sitting using the Stika 90% pants/jacket/celsius vest/Traverse Shirt vest with polar-tec heavy fleece underwear and body warmers in the chest pockets. I never felt the cold and to be honest the 90% is really more mid weight stuff so I depended on the layers for warmth which works great without bulk. If I was looking for extreme cold weather gear where I sat hours on end I would look at something else or the heavy stika gear.


   

[swampthing]

Is it quiet though. Brushed poly will be, kinda, or is it "Shag-fleacy" quiet?

[ASD]

Heres my opinion on the stuff.  When it cam out a few years back I bought the 90% jacket and pants, vest, gloves, beanie, light thermals top and bottom, and heavy thermals top and bottom, traverse pants and traverse pullover.  Over $800 worth of stuff.  I absolutely love the system from 70 degrees down to 35 degrees.  When it got below freezing in TN you would freeze your tail off sitting in a deer stand with every piece of it on.  And I am not someone that really gets cold sitting on a stand.  If you were active it was a good system.  Some of the new "heavy" stuff that they have come out with may be better for cold weather than the original stuff.  It is not very tough.  My 90% stuff shows quite of bit of wear from just deer hunting (sitting in a stand) and the traverse outer layer is very worn from 3 turkey seasons.  Would probably last longer out in the western open country but a southern thicket will wear it out.  The "long john" layering stuff both light and heavy is excellent.  I usually find it on me when in the field.  The 90% stuff was advertised to have some water replellantcy.  It repels water about as good as a carhart jacket.  The 90% stuff does not cut the wind very well compared to other stuff I have.  I have no real complaints about it because it was advertised as a layering system, but in my honest opinion it was not all it was hyped up to be when it first came out.  I do not know about the new stuff.  The fit of the garments is excellent for shooting bows.  A far as the camo patterns mine was the original mothwing pattern that they used and I have killed many turkeys while wearing it.  Unless you are turkey hunting I wouldn't really worry to much about which pattern, i would get which ever one was priced less.  When bling hunting stop by walmart and by you a $5 black long sleeve t-shirt.  I haven't meant for this post to act like I was for or against Sitka Gear, I am just giving my review of it from the perspective of someone who hunts deer from a treestand at intervals from October to Christmas in Tennessee and the Midwest, runs hogs with dogs in Tn (wear the long johns) the outer layers wouldn't last a day doing this, and chasing spring gobblers about 25 days a spring.

[ASD]

forgot to mention.  Quietness.  Its not fleecy quite but it is plenty quite to hunt any critter.

[swampthing]

Big Black Longsleeve T-Shirt in the blind. Grey everywhere else.

[amar911]

I agree with the others who have posted here who have worn Sitka gear quite a bit. I have a lot of it and think it is great stuff. It has been on my body for moose hunting in the northern Yukon Territory of Canada (close to the arctic circle) to deer and hog hunting in south Texas. The clothing is very versatile if used as it is supposed to be. If you are very active the Celcius, 90%, and Ascent lines of clothing, along with the appropriate base layers (with the Core top used as the only layer in hot temperatures), are perfect for temperatures from 15 degrees to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When you start sitting down for long periods in cold weather or get into REALLY cold weather when active, you will need a real insulating layer like the Kelvin vest, jacket and pants. For extreme cold, like when hunting polar bear, forget Sitka gear or most other lines of clothing! That requires highly specialized clothes.

I have found the Sitka gear clothing to be very durable, but it will eventually wear if subjected to enough abuse, just like almost any other clothing. It is fairly quiet, but not nearly as quiet as unlined fleece or soft wool. The big advantages of Sitka gear are its light weight, slim fit (which is great for bowhunting), ability to breath and transport moisture (sweat) from your body to the outside, ability to shed water, ability to dry quickly, and ability to continue to provide warmth even when wet. Other materials and systems do some of these as well or better than Sitka gear, but nothing does the combination of all these things to the same extent as Sitka gear, at least that I know of.

Allan

[Steel]

I agree with most of what ASD says its not the best below freezing clothing system at least the 90% stuff I am using which seems better from 35 to 70 degrees and active style hunting maybe sitting a couple hours but not all day in a treestand with sub 32 temps.Its also not water proof by any means but does dry fast.I do not have any of the heavier Stika clothing which may be great in super cold weather but I didn't buy my Stika for extreme cold weather which we only have a few times a year.I use the 90% as the title states it works for the weather here about 90% of the time with layering if needed.I have a heavy wool outfit that gets the call for real cold bad weather about twice a year so when buying new camo I desided to put the most money in the camo I use the most. That just made since to me vs haveing $500 hanging in the closet 360 days a year waiting for a couple of extreme bad weather days. The only Stika item that I owned that shows alot of wear after 14 months of heavy use is the traverse zip shirt its still got life left in it but is starting to look alittle beaten down. Still its my favorite shirt so I wear it all the time.The jacket and vest still look new and so do my asscent pants and two of my 3 pair of 90% pants. One pair of the 90% pants is starting to show some wear but its the pair I wear the most and really hunted hard in the last few months from climbs/sliding down trees and crawling around on my knees a few times overall I think most any pants would show wear at this point or even be in the trash by now. The one thing I have noticed about Stika is my 2008 stuff is old news they are always upgradeing their product and makeing changes as driven by user feedback which is a good thing. There new line out seems to address some of the cold weather whitetail hunter concerns where you sit of hours vs hiking Mnts all day.Allan makes a good point in the fact that if you are planning to be in real cold weather a item such as the 90% alone is not a great choice you need the heavier parts of the whole system as it was designed to work.