Bow hunting jacket review - mid temp 30-60 degree

[Blearning13]

I've been using the Columbia Ascender for the last couple years and been pretty happy with it. I'd like to see how that jacket stacks up against these other ones. I've been really happy with them and they can be picked up very cheap lightly used online.

 

[98XJRC]

Honestly I thought the Kryptek Njord was one of their insulated jackets with the Dalibor being more of a mid season. I have the Njord and I refuse to hike around with the thing on. Even unzipped you can and will overheat in the thing. I've been in a tree for hours in sub freezing and have stayed warm with minimum additional layering.

I did just read through Kryptek's description and noticed they don't have insulation listed which seemed odd to me. That is my one big gripe with them in that it's hard to discern what garment is best suited for which temp and activity.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Agree, and thats why i figured this more “comprehensive” review would be helpful for many bow hunters and stand hunters alike.

Once i get them all, i will do a fit test with several people being the testers, noise level test, water resistance test, breathability test, and side by side comparisons so people have at least that much prior to hunting season. I will do temp testing, wind resistance testing, and hunt-ability testing this next season.

I will try my best to do some wind resistance testing prior to it getting cold, but i do not know how to functionally test wind resistance in warm weather since the feel of warm air might be difficult to detect. If anyone has some ideas there i am all ears….

 

[onlybrowning]

I sold my first lite catalyst stuff after trying the Midway stuff. Especially since they offer tall sizes and you can get it on clearance if you’re patient.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Down to one more jacket to go, got the headwall from stone glacier on friday. Need to get the proximity lt and will start setting up the testing.

I am curious how anyone has evaluated wind resistance other than just a subjective “this works” and “this doesnt cut wind well”.
I plan to do something to be able to quantify the actual wind speed so people will know where something fails. I think some sort of driving test with known speeds will be useful. On my ambient, i was able to quantify i felt wind coming thru around 12 mph with similar type testing.

And per his request @Zach Herold

 

[ledflight]

I usually just try to blow through fabric to test its wind resistance. It’s not quantifiable but it tells me something.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

OK, I have all the jackets and will start some testing soon. I will update with the first round of tests, which will include fit testing, form testing (pocket layout, design, etc), breathability, water resistance, wind resistance, and noise measurements to simulate bow hunting. I will plan to do the noise measurements before and after putting the jackets through a wash cycle (per directions on label of course) and maybe even an air tumble (if allowed by the label), just to try and simulate a little wear/use of the jackets. Will probably do a second fit test after the wash to see if there is any noticeable change.

This first round will also include what I paid to get the jackets to my door.

Do no expect this round to be done anytime soon. Just giving a preview of what is to come.

Jackets to be included in the above tests:
Kuiu Promixity LT
Stone Glacier Headwall
Sitka Stratus
First Lite Phase
Forloh All-Clima
Kryptek Njord
Huntworth Elkins
Redhead Windshear Elite
MidwayUSA Prairie Creek SoftShell

 

[Texasbuckeye]

To start the review, I will list the jacket and the price I paid for each one with retail price (not including S&H) shown as well:

Sitka Stratus jacket - have had this for many years and can not remember what I paid for it, but if I bought new today I could get for $209 + S&H in their outlet, and can be found cheaper on places like camofire and other retailers ($349).

Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell Jacket - $240 to my door ($449)

First Lite Phase - $256 to my door ($325)

Kuiu Promimity LT - $239 to my door ($259)

Stone Glacier Headwall - $302 to my door, but paid for black label which is higher than normal, could have gotten normal color for $200 to my door for non-black label ($229)

Kryptek Njord - $138 to my door ($229)

Huntworth Elkins - $85 to my door ($169-$199 depending on size and color)

Redhead Windshear Elite - $67 to my door ($69)

MidwayUSA Prairie Creek Softshell - $47 to my door ($79)

I will say I used a combination of several discounts and also found some of these items at retailers closing out inventory or running fabulous sales (Kryptek was bought on a third party retailer). Also, waiting for timing of the purchase makes a big difference vs needing to buy "right now". Finally, I did utilize the classifieds on at least one of these purchases. It isn't the simplest of things to find things on sale, especially good gear, but there are opportunities out there.

 

[SloppyJ]

Tagging along. Personally, that temp ranges arre two completely different setups for me. I consider 45 or so to be time to bust out something heavier.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

"Realtive/comparative" wind resistance test:

Method - wore a sitka equinox guard (very light synthetic close to skin base) long sleeve shirt and made the arm wet with water. Then put the jacket on my arm and with the cuff folded over and tightly held in that hand (to avoid wind leakage from this source), drove my car with the arm hanging out the window to see when I could feel some wind coming in on the wet spot on that arm, the digital speedometer was then referenced as a mph wind speed. For each jacket, I repeated multiple times for consistency. If I got a "weird result" I repeated more for consistency.

My results:

Sitka Stratus 55+mph
Forloh ACSS 55+Mph
Kuiu Proximity LT 55+mph
Stone Glacier Headwall 55+mph
Redhead Windshear Elite 55+mph
MidwayUSA Prairie Creek 45-50 mph
Huntworth Elkins 35-40 mph
Kryptek 35-40 mph but inconsistent and sometimes would be lower and sometimes higher
First Lite Phase - 35mph


One thing to note, my testing was not anything conclusive about the wind resistance of the jacket. Multiple factors will play a bigger role in wind resistance such as fit around cuffs/neck/waist, the use of pit/side zips and pockets, and other factors such as length of jacket (will touch on that in the fit section) and the overall warmth of the jacket and base layers will help to mitigate a small difference in wind resistance.

Also, please do not take these wind speeds as any sort of definitive wind speed resistance. The side view mirror was attempted to be avoided so the full blast of wind could hit my outstretched arm, but I did NOT attempt to measure the "actual" wind speed hitting my arm. This was a relativity test to compare jackets, not be a definitive piece to determine any sort of actual wind resistance.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I realize I am writing this kind of backwards but didn't have my notes with me yesterday when I started writing the other stuff first, so apologize. I will summarize all this in the end, but wanted to get the details out before giving the summary of these things.

Comfort/Fit test (All these jackets were size large)

Sitka Stratus: Jacket is comfortable with a grid fleece type lining. Arm length to just beyond wrist/palm junction, nicely designed flexible cuff for ease of taking on and off, does not get in the way but does not have a permanent adjustable cuff. Neck was comfortable when fully zipped, and did not bunch into my chin, easily fits a neck gaiter or similar under when zipped. There is a detachable hood that comes with this jacket, but I could not locate it as I never wore it with the hood. Length is to the top of the pants, can can leave a small opening when seated. The jacket is able to fit a base layer and a mid layer comfortably.

Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell: This jacket while comfortable, in the hand feels made more like a rain shell with a thin fleece/suede like liner. Arms are cut with good length to end at wrist/palm junction but the cut on the top of the hand extends to mid hand length, giving extra coverage that is neither bulky nor annoying. The cuffs have a hook and loop adjustment and the cuff is not bulky nor uncomfortable, even when adjusted. Necks is tight when fully zipped but comfortable, would be difficult to fit a neck gaiter under. Hood is easy to take up and down while jacket is fully zipped. Length is to mid cheek while sitting. This jacket is able to fit a base layer and a mid layer comfortably.

Kuiu Proximity LT: This jacket is comfortable with a thin grid like fleece lining. Arm length is good with cuffs ending at wrist/palm junction. Cuffs are a little thicker with a hook and loop adjustment. Neck is tight when zipped all the way and hood is down, but loosened to a normal comfortable range when hood was up. Would be difficult to fit a neck gaiter under neck when zipped. Length is longer in the back, almost sitting on the tail. This jacket is able to fit a base and mid layer comfortably.

First Lite Phase: This jacket is comfortable with a fleece type liner throughout. Arm length is a little longer, with cuff ending at mid palm, but cuffs are comfortable. There is a magnetic snap dual adjustment on the cuff which when tightened was still comfortable. Neck felt high and was tight when zipped all the way, but not uncomfortable, but wearing a neck gaiter would be tough. When hood was up the neck felt more relaxed, though still felt high. Length on the jacket was high cheek, but below pant line. This jacket was sized to fit a base layer comfortably.

Stone Glacier Headwall: This jacket was comfortable had a microgrid fleece lining. Arms are longer, with cuffs ending at mid hand. Cuffs were not thick, but the hook and loop adjustment left a flap of extra fabric when tightened that felt bunched. Neck is high when zipped but not uncomfortable, but wearing a neck gaiter would not be comfortable. Pulling the hood up was found to be near impossible when jacket is zipped up, I had to unzip some to pull hood up and down. Length of this jacket was long enough to almost be sitting on the tail. This jacket was sized to fit a base and mid layer comfortably.

Kryptek Njord: This jacket felt tight in the chest and pit area, but wasn't uncomfortably tight, it those areas it featured a thicker fur-like high pile fleece in the upper torso and arms that was replaced with a more traditional flat fleece liner in the lower torso. Arm length was decent with cuffs ending in the mid palm area, and cuffs were comfortably not thick, but the hook and loop adjustment left a bunched bit of fabric. Neck was comfortable, but tight, and would be difficult to wear a neck gaiter with this jacket fully zipped. Length was mid to high cheek but not above pant line. This jacket was sized to fit a base layer comfortably. This jacket had no hood

Huntworth Elkins: This jacket was the roomiest and most generous cut of all the jackets, with a grid fleece liner throughout. Arm length had cuffs stop at mid palm, due to the elastic cuff tensioner that was not adjustable. Cuff was comfortable but the elastic portion was a noticeably different material and a bit rough on the edge. Neck is comfortable and would allow a neck gaiter under while zipped up. Longest of the jackets reviewed as I was sitting on the tail. This jacket is sized to fit a base layer and potentially several extra layers like a mid and vest or a puffy. This jacket had no hood

Red Head WindShear Elite: this jacket was a comfortable fit and had a simple think fleece lining throughout with arms that fell at the wrist/palm junction. Cuffs are not adjustable but have little bulk and are comfortable. Neck is comfortable when zipped but slightly on the tighter side, one could find it constricting to wear a neck gaiter with this jacket. Length on the jacket is on the longer side as it ended up on the lower to bottom cheek. This jacket was sized to fit a base layer and a light mid layer. This jacket had no hood.

Midway USA Prairie Creek: this jacket was comfortable, with a fur-like high pile fleece (plush coral fleece) in the torso, but arms and lower torso were covered with a flat fleece liner, with arms landing at the mid palm length. Cuffs are not adjustable and have no significant bulk, and are comfortable. Neck line is comfortable but not loose, would be tight with a hoody or neck gaiter. Length on the tail was md cheek. This jacket was sized to fit a base layer, possibly a light mid layer. This jacket had no hood.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Function/Form Review:
Of note, every jacket reviewed had a waist adjustment in it, so I am not mentioning that in these reviews. Some find that useful for keeping drafts out, some do not. But wanted to mention it for completeness.

Sitka Stratus: This features a removable non-adjustable hood, a safety harness pass thru, but no pit zips or side vents. has four external pockets with the two chest pockets opening to midline and size and layout of the pockets is good. Zippers are quality, and no difficulty opening or closing zippers on jacket or pockets, with or without light gloves. This jacket has been a "go-to" jacket of mine for many years. The features on my jacket may not entirely line up with the features on the new stratus jackets.

Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell: non removable hood, with 3 way adjustment and a good brim designed to buck rain from your face. There are four external pockets, one upper chest (opens toward midline) is smallish but will fit a typical phone or other device of similar size, one on the left arm which is small and designed really to fit tags or something really low bulk and size, and two lower pockets with adequate size. This has pit zips with one way zipper. Has no safety harness pass thru. All zippers are sealed for waterproofing and are easy to pull with or without gloves. This jacket also has reinforced elbows.

Kuiu Proximty LT: this jacket has a removeable hood with one adjustment on the back, has four external pockets with the two chest pockets opening midline with 2 way zippers and internal loops for attaching rangefinder or other small devices, two hand pockets are generously sized. This jacket has a safety harness pass thru but does not have any pit or side vents. Zippers are good all around.

First Lite Phase: This jacket has a removeable non-adjustable hood and also has a safety harness pass thru. It does not feature any pit or side vents. The pocket layout is two on top and two hand pockets below. The zippers are good, with upper pockets opening from the pit side rather than midline. The wrists have a loop internally to attach a release if desired. The jacket also has a magnetic pass thru in the front to allow one to use the waist pockets on the matching bibs. While this idea works, I found the pockets on the bibs to be slightly too high and too narrow to be of much comfortable use, but would certainly be a way to keep hands more warm than just using the side pockets if weather dictates. The zippers on the jacket are easy to use and there is a two way zipper for the main front zip.

Stone Glacier Headwall: This jacket features a non-detachable hood with 3 way adjustment and a decent brim. The pocket layout is two upper, both midline opening with smallish size but enough room for a phone or similar device, and two hand pockets with generous size that are slightly elevated to allow use with a belted backpack. There is no safety pass thru on this jacket. However, the jacket does have pit vents with 2 way zippers. The zippers on this jacket are good. Of note, this jacket is designed for more active use than stand use, and the assumption is that there will be backpacks and bino harnesses used with this jacket. I am curious to see how it holds up as a stand hunting jacket.

Kryptek Njord: This jacket has no hood and I found the upper and lower pockets to be on the smallish side. The chest pockets both open from the midline and will fit a phone or similar device. The jacket does not have a safety harness pass thru, but it does have pit vents with 2 ways zippers. Zippers are good on this jacket.

Huntworth Elkins: This jacket has no hood, and features two upper pockets that open from the midline and two lower hand pockets. The hand pockets I found to be too low, due to the length of the jacket, but the pockets overall were generously sized. While most things in this jacket were slightly over-sized, the side vents with one way zipper were on the small size. But,they were present which is more than some of the jackets reviewed. There is a safety harness pass thru, and this jacket also had two large stash pockets internal on the lower half of the jacket, one on each side. Of note, the elastic band wrist tensioners (my name not theirs) could create a little extra noise out of this jacket due to the difference in material from the rest of the cuff. While this would be a very small noise difference, on a super calm morning, this could be a difference. On most normal days with a slight breeze, I do not see this being a problem.

Redhead Windshear Elite: This jacket has no hood but does have a safety harness pass thru. It features one midline opening upper pocket, on the smaller size but still large enough to fit my phone, and two hand pockets which I found to be a bit lower than I prefer when sitting. While low, the hand pockets were of adequate size for such a pocket. This jacket does not have any side or pit vents.

MidwayUSA Prairie Creek: This jacket had no hood and no side or pit vents, but did feature a safety harness pass thru and two large internal stash pockets, one on each lower side, to go along with its 3 pocket layout. The single chest pocket on the left is midline opening and generously sized, while the two lower hand pockets were also generously sized. The zippers on the pockets were good, but the main jacket had a two way zipper which was at best serviceable and sometimes down right frustrating. After some use, it did become easier to operate, but no where as easy as the first lite phase two way main zipper.


Preliminary temperature feelings on these jackets (warmest feeling to coolest) while sitting in my house:
Kryptek Njord
Kuiu Proximity LT
Redhead Windshear Elite = Midway USA prairie Creek = First Lite Phase
Huntworth Elkins = Stone Glacier Headwall = Sitka Stratus
Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell


This will likely be adjusted when I start using these jackets and hunt with them through different temps and really work to see how they can handle heat and cool.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Noise Testing:

Method: I measured noise directly next to the jacket using my phone and a decibel app to determine immediate noise, while simulating a bow draw while sitting in a chair. I also did the same test with my phone approx 10 feet away. This was repeated for each jacket at each distance multiple times and maximal consistent decibel rating was marked.
Baseline decibel level in my house was between 28-30db.

First Lite Phase: 43db @ near, 37db @ 10 ft
Sitka Stratus: 45db @ close, 39db @ 10ft
Huntworth Elkins: 46db @ near, 38db @ 10 ft
Kryptek Njord: 46db @ near, 40db @ 10 f
Kuiu Proximity LT: 50db @ close, 42db @ 10 ft
Stone Glacier Headwall: 50db @ near, 43db @ 10 ft
Redhead Windshear Elite: 50db @ near, 43db @ 10 ft
MidwayUSA Prairie Creek: 52db @ near, 45db @ 10 ft
Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell: 55db @ close, 47db @ 10ft


So what does this mean? In a perfectly calm crisp morning air with no wind and super quiet with no birds or bugs, there is a difference in these jackets, that diminishes the further away you are, but still enough that I think an animal would hear the noise on such a day.

However, on a normal day, with a light breeze and birds and bugs singing, I took the loudest jacket outside my house and put my phone on the ground. Ambient db reading was 43db with less than 10mph breeze and birds and bugs chirping. This was not a loud event, as 43 db is quite low from a noise standpoint.

The Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell was worn, and simulated draw backs and even rubbing the material together to try and make things noisy from 10 feet away did not even register on the noise meter. What this tells me is on a normal day, all of these jackets will likely be just fine for bow hunting. On the super quiet days, take the more quiet jackets out to the stand.

 

[Wheels]

Noise Testing:

Method: I measured noise directly next to the jacket using my phone and a decibel app to determine immediate noise, while simulating a bow draw while sitting in a chair. I also did the same test with my phone approx 10 feet away. This was repeated for each jacket at each distance multiple times and maximal consistent decibel rating was marked.
Baseline decibel level in my house was between 28-30db.

First Lite Phase: 43db @ near, 37db @ 10 ft
Sitka Stratus: 45db @ close, 39db @ 10ft
Huntworth Elkins: 46db @ near, 38db @ 10 ft
Kryptek Njord: 46db @ near, 40db @ 10 f
Kuiu Proximity LT: 50db @ close, 42db @ 10 ft
Stone Glacier Headwall: 50db @ near, 43db @ 10 ft
Redhead Windshear Elite: 50db @ near, 43db @ 10 ft
MidwayUSA Prairie Creek: 52db @ near, 45db @ 10 ft
Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell: 55db @ close, 47db @ 10ft


So what does this mean? In a perfectly calm crisp morning air with no wind and super quiet with no birds or bugs, there is a difference in these jackets, that diminishes the further away you are, but still enough that I think an animal would hear the noise on such a day.

However, on a normal day, with a light breeze and birds and bugs singing, I took the loudest jacket outside my house and put my phone on the ground. Ambient db reading was 43db with less than 10mph breeze and birds and bugs chirping. This was not a loud event, as 43 db is quite low from a noise standpoint.

The Forloh All-Clima Soft Shell was worn, and simulated draw backs and even rubbing the material together to try and make things noisy from 10 feet away did not even register on the noise meter. What this tells me is on a normal day, all of these jackets will likely be just fine for bow hunting. On the super quiet days, take the more quiet jackets out to the stand.

Have you washed all of these jackets? I’ve found that they get quieter once washed a few times.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Have you washed all of these jackets? I’ve found that they get quieter once washed a few times.

I have not washed them, but the sitka stratus and first lite phase have been used and the stone glacier went on a European trip with me where it was used sparingly. The rest are brand new.

So yes, i do expect the noise levels to get better with use. But the point of the noise testing was that none of them really create a noise issue UNLESS it is uber quiet and calm while hunting. I suspect the actual bow draw (i didn’t have a bow at home to draw) is just as loud as the loudest jacket. But even that jacket in ambient outside noise was not detectable 10 feet away. Not often people get to draw inside 3 yards. So the main take away was that all of these jackets should work for bow hunting situations in most normal bow hunting conditions.

I typically experience those uber quiet days forst thing in the AM when it is ultracold and i am bundled up a lot more than with these jackets provide. Of course range conditions will be different for everyone, so thats why i am doing this. I plan to do some water testing and will wash the jackets after some breathability testing and then repeat the noise measures, see if it changes any.

 

[ledflight]

I have been workingon quieting my bow and would agree that the low 40s db seems to be a regular ambient day with birds, bugs and a breeze. This is a useful reference,

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Couple of updates:
1 almost done with breathability and water resistance testing. Have one more jacket to test. Results have been interesting. Will post once done. My method only allows one jacket per day, and will explain when i post.

2. Saw some research/reviews of arrow noise and bow shot noise. Interestingly, arrow flying through the air was minimally (best) 47db and was as high as 56-57db for some combinations of broadheads, fletching combos.
The shot db noise ratings were between 69db all the way up to 75db. The minimal noise these jackets make while drawing is not likely a significant player in spooking an animal except for maybe the quietest of days. I feel a shot over 25 yards and the animal will be at worse alerted by the noise of the jacket on the draw back and then the shot noise will spook it. The jackets are not spooking any animals.

3. I will compile a “score sheet” for each jacket once i am done with this initial stage of the review for quick reference to show where each shined or didn’t. Emphasis for each category will be up to the buyer.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Ok breathability teat is done. Let me tell you i pushed the jackets to their max with this test.

Method: sitka equinox guard base layer tucked into athletic shorts (similar style and material of shorts for each test), jacket was zipped up to neck and all pockets were closed. If vents were present, they were opened. Turned a fan on the same speed for
Indirect breeze/air circulation. Ran a mile on treadmill at incline 2 and speed of 6mph. Total time was 10 minutes running. I then did a quick stretch of my calves and then used the same routine to take off jacket and base layer.

The test was the weight of the base layer(and bowl) at beginning, and then after the mile run. The test was used to determine the relative breathability between all these jackets. It by no means is any kind of df scientific test of breathability, it is simply a comparison between the jackets.

To weigh the base layer, i made sure it was as dry as possible and then used the same bowl and scale to measure before and after the run.

Of note, the base layer was left out one night and it was raining very high humidity. The weight of the base and bowl was 1880g. It was damp to the feel and obviously moist from the humidity. This was just an interesting side note to point out the weight of the base layer when damp to touch all over.

Results from best to worst (pre/post weight):

Stone glacier headwall 1806/1862
Sitka Stratus 1810/1912
Kryptek Njord 1820/1954
Forloh All-clima soft shell 1817/1954
First lite phase 1799/1947
Huntworth Elkins 1802/1996
Kuiu Proximity LT 1799/2011
Redhead windshear elite 1806/2067
MidwayUSA prairie creek 1806/2085

Pit vents on the stone glacier, kryptek, and Forloh make a big difference. The huntworth Elkins side vents were not as helpful i felt for this test.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Water resistance test.

Method was to wear the same base layeras breathability test, zip up the jacket with pockets and vents closed and sit under a hose spray for 15 minutes or until wet thru. The amount of water thrown at these jackets was equivalent of a down pour, several inches an hour type water. I sat in a mesh back chair with my back to the spray so the water didn’t go straight onto my face and down my front.

For jackets with hood, hood was put up. For jackets without a hood, this was found to be completely useless as a test since within minutes the whole torso was soaked from water rolling off my beanie. So i realized this wasn’t a test for the actual jacket and ended up retesting by using the detachable hood from the kuiu jacket. This gave a much better test of the jacket, but be aware, any of the non-hooded jackets (and i will comment for each) these all allowed a soaking wet every time. I ran these javkets for 10 minutes not the 15 i did for hooded jackets, mainly because there would be no way these jackets would last that ling anyway.

hooded jackets most water resistant to least:

Forloh All-clima soft shell: this jacket is billed as a waterproof jacket and it lived up to its billing. After 15 minutes the only area that got wet was the very bottom of the cuffs and a small amount of water that came around the hood down into the upper chest, but this was minimal. The cuffs had the least amount of wetness of all the jackets. Hood allowed great head movement with no effect on the water resistance.

Kuiu Proximity LT: around 6-7 minutes had a small amount of water in the lower torso where it was pooling up, as it ran down from the hood. The shoulders started wetting out at 12 minutes. The cuffs allowed a little bit of water at the wrists, but other than that this jacket had no other wet spots at 15 minutes. Hood worked well, allowed great visibility with no loss of function as it wet.

First lite phase: at 4 minutes there was a leak in the hood that was minor and stayed minor but eventually allowed one shoulder area to get wet. At 8 minutes the left arm wet through, and by the end there was a decent amount of wet at the cuffs. Hood was very functional but did sag just a little as it got more wet. By 15 minutes, the one shoulder, the one arm, and lower torso were wet but upper torso and other shoulder and arm were dry.

Stone glacier Headwall: early leakage at chest zipper by 1 minute. A small leak started in hood at 5 minutes which continued to get worse and by 6-7 minutes was a steady drip. By 11 minutes the shoulders wet out and by 15 minutes the entire torso and shoulders were wet, but arms never wet out. Cuffs allowed some water to the wrists but nothing terrible. Hood allowed great visibility and head movement as it got more wet and never sagged.

Sitka Stratus: i didn’t have the hood for this but since it does come with a hood i included it in the hooded jackets. However, this jacket did not make it the full 15 minutes as the mesh wrist area on one hand wet out within 1 minute and was quickly creeping up toward my elbow. By 3 minutes i had leakage at one of the chest pockets and after it started it quickly turned into water flowing down my chest. Shoulders wet out at 4 minutes and i stopped shortly after as by then the shoulders and entire torso were completely soaked through, and one arm was soaked to just above the elbow.

Non-hooded jackets (but with a hood for the test) in order of water resistance.

Redhead Windshear elite: by 8 minutes there was some leakage through one of the lower pockets but no other significant wet through at 10 minutes. Wrists were wet but the cuffs didnt create any significant pooling.

Huntworth Elkins: due to the length of this jacket i had several folds which collected water and i had some leakage through one of the lower zippers at 3 minutes, but i fixed the pooling issue and this stopped. However, to fix this issue i had to hold the jacket down and this allowed water to start pooling into my lower arms. By the end this water pooling had wet up to my elbows, but there was no other significant wet through in the shoulders or upper body.

Kryptek Njord: by 4 minutes there was wet in the shoulders and by 7-8 minutes i had water coming in on both sides of the upper chest. The cuffs and wrists collected a decent amount of water.

MidwayUSA prairie creek: within 1 minute i had leakage at the lower pocket zipper, by 4 minutes the shoulders were soaking through, by 7-8 minutes the arms were soaking through, and by 10 minutes there were plenty of spots on my chest and back soaking through to where i was totally soaked through by 10 minutes.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Final score cards for each jacket, of note these are just related to the rankings of each of these tests and where there was a tie, I took the higher score for all the tied jackets vs averaging them for the place setting, as performance should be rewarded. Also, realizing the different criteria each hunter looks for in each jacket is different, these are not intended to be any kind of definitive "this jacket is better" type situation, it was interesting to see the performance went down as the price went down.

1. Sitka Stratus: wind resistance 9, water resistance 5 (the addition of a hood moved it up to above all the non-hooded jackets, but without a hood this jacket would be 1 or 2 in this category), breathability 8, noise 8, price 1 total score 39

2. Stone Glacier headwall: wind resistance 9, water resistance 6, breathability 9, noise 4, price 5 total 33

3. Kuiu Proximity LT: wind resistance 9, water resistance 8, breathability 3, noise 5, price 4 total 29

4. Forloh All Clima Soft Shell: Wind resistance 9, water resistance 9, breathability 6, noise 1, price 3 total 28

5. Redhead Windshear Elite: wind resistance 9, water resistance 4, breathability 2, noise 3, price 8 total 26

6/7/8 (tie): Huntworth Elkins: wind resistance 3, water resistance 3, breathability 4, noise 7, price 7 total 24

Krystek Njord: wind resistance 2, water resistance 2, breathability 7, noise 6, price 6 total 24

First Lite Phase: wind resistance 1, water resistance 7, breathability 5, noise 9, price 2 total 24

9: MidwayUSA Prairie Creek: wind resistance 4, water resistance 1, breathability 1, noise 2, price 9 total 17


For someone looking at cost, the above ranjkings are valid. For someone not looking at cost and just looking at the performance of the jackets, the order would be rearranged slightly as follows

1. Sitka Stratus total 32
2. Stone glacier headwall total 28
3/4 (tie): Kuiu Proximity LT total 25
Forloh All Clima Soft Shell total 25
5. First lite phase total 22
6/7 (tie): Krysten Njord total 18
Redhead Windshear Elite total 18
8. Huntworth Elkins total 17
9. MidwayUSA Prairie Creek 8