Investing in New Camo Line; Thinking ASIO or Sitka. Opinions Needed.

[ephul]

After years of getting by with cheap hunting clothing. I'm going to start investing in new camo. I currently have Realtree edge items, but I'm good with moving away from that.

I'm in Southern Indiana. Mainly deer hunt and coyote hunt, but also do some turkey, squirrel, and others. Our winters have sometimes been pretty mild, but it can get down to 0-10 degrees some days. Typical winters are 20-40 degrees.

I'm looking for the following pieces (I'm 6'0, 190lbs, typically 34-36 waist):

Late Season Coat
Late Season Bibs
Light/Medium Jacket
Mid Layer Pants
Accessories such as Neck Gaiter, Vest, etc.

I may not buy all at once. The first item I'm looking for is a soft shell, mid layer type pant. I've got some I've been wearing for a decade or more, and they've been awesome. I wore them everywhere, but the zippers are starting to break, pilling, etc. I really like the ASIO Raptor camo and their "Sherpa" lined pant. In the Sitka side, I like the idea of the Equinox Midi, and the tighter, more athletic cut. Seems easy enough to get on under bibs.

I'm open to other brands, but some of the other brands I was looking at don't have the "whole" package. Some don't have bibs, heavy coat, etc.

I'm not against getting bibs and a coat from one company/camo pattern, and others from another. But keeping the same pattern is a bonus.

What are your all's thoughts? Anyone use any Asio gear? Any recommendations?

 

[Bump79]

You're not quite in the right place. Rokslide is for more backpacking/western style hunting. I've never really heard of anyone using Asio gear outside of the whitetail world. Sitka has tons of peices and you can fit whatever you need.

Are you an active style hunter? More run and gun or presets?

I'm from MT and now live in Kentucky. So my gear is setup for both but I'm really active. I can give advice for that style and that's really what you'll get here. In my experience the clothes don't transfer over great. Western stuff I love doesn't hold up to the brush here or is way too loud. Most whitetail targeted stuff is atrocious at breathability and weight. I mix and match from different brands and shop clearance.

 

[Bump79]

Here's what works for me:

Top:
120-150 wt merino half or quarter zip merino baselayer. Blackovis is great for the money. SKRE is good but a little more itchy.
Kuiu Peloton 200 fleece
Sitka Active Hoody
Pnuma 3L rain jacket (waterproof breathable but still quiet enough for whitetail)
Heavy sherpa fleece or synthetic down if it's cold enough.

Bottom:
120-150 wt merino bottoms
Kuiu Peloton 97 zip off
FL Corrugate Guide or Foundry
UA Down Pant

 

[Bump79]

I like my money to go as far as possible. So I check outlets and get coupons. You probably could completely set yourself up between these two and Camofire. SKRE has a 20% off coupon too

Pnuma Outlet

The outlet is your place for the best deals on Pnuma gear. All items listed in the outlet are not eligible for any other promotion or discount.

pnumaoutdoors.com

Outlet

Looking for deals on gear doesn't mean you have to sacrifice quality products. SKRE has high quality hunting clothes on sale now for great prices. Check out our clearance hunting gear today!

skregear.com

 

[JoeB]

What part of Indiana are you in? I'm in Spencer county East of Evansville 35 minutes and have quite a bit of Sitka gear.

 

[ephul]

We are close.

What pieces do you have? How do you like them?

 

[Wheels]

Late season go with the Sitka Fanatic line, mid season you can wear about anything. I like Midway USA’s prairie creek line, it’s Sherpa lined and wind proof. Catch it on sale and it’s a good deal.

 

[dreamingbig]

Check out Kuiu’s whitetail line.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Honyock]

For a good do it all jacket look at the 2021 Sitka Jetstream Jacket on Europtics for $159. For turkey and whitetail this is usually my go to piece unless it's early season bow. It's not insulated but it is windproof and works well with layers in the cold.

 

[2531usmc]

By far, my favorite piece is the stratus bibs. anywhere from 50 to 20 below. If you buy this as your foundation system you can layer as needed

 

[Desk Jockey]

I did the bib search thing a while back When I started doing more stand hunting in PA and NY.


Came down to FL and Sitka fanatic. Both are great. I went FL solitude set thinking it was slightly better for multi use. Apart from a couple of duck hunts mine have been solely whitetail gear. They are $$$ but I am super comfy in a stand down to well below freezing.

 

[Hydro557]

There are guys around with 40 percent off coupons for Sitka right now.

I managed to catch one on Ar15.com and ordered the Fanatic bibs I had been wanting for like 280 vs 469.

Still not cheap, but cheapest way I've found. Every piece of Sitka I own I bought on some type of sale and I'm very pleased with them all.

 

[ephul]

If I go with Sitka, I'm thinking about doing the Fanatic set or Incinerator over the Stratus. Typically, when it's around 35 degrees or warmer, I don't bother with bibs. I can get by with my base layers and soft shell pants.

When it gets colder, I want the warmest, and I'm assuming the Fanatic Line would serve me better?

I'm still intrigued by ASIO gear. Gonna try some on at a show they'll be at in two weeks. Looking forward to checking it out. Will probably head over to cabelas to try on some Sitka right after.

 

[sbaker0029]

You doing mostly stand hunting?

I live in western KY so fairly similar weather.
Most of our rifle season I can usually get by with the sitka heavyweight hoody or firstlite kiln with a synthetic t-shirt on underneath and the sitka Jetstream. I might wear a vest as well.
For bottoms I usually wear a polartec heavyweight baselayer and under armour or eddie bauer pants. It rarely gets cold enough for me to wear bibs anymore. The fanatic bibs seem really nice, I don't own them but have tried them on several times, hard for me to drop that kind of dough for something I might wear once or twice a season.

 

[Long Cut]

Fanatic vest
Stratus bibs

Probably my two favorite pieces of clothing for those colder weather hunts.

“Cold” for me is 10-40 degrees with 60-70% humidity IMO it’s the humidity that makes it harsh.

 

[rarmitage915]

Just can across this post now (1 year later). What did you end up going with? How did you like the Asio gear you checked out at the show?

 

[ephul]

So I did stop by the show and checked out a few pieces. Seemed like good quality stuff. However, I've been switching over to Sitka.

I originally got a pair of very thick Nomad camo pants and a coat (at a stupid price too cheap to pass up). However, I wanted a pair of pants to wear under those Nomad pants (they are essentially bibs). I bought the Sitka Equinox Midi's to do that.... BEST pair of pants I've ever worn. They feel comfortable like sweat pants, stay pretty close to the body which helps for layering, and I can't get over how warm they are. I actually wore them coyote hunting on the evening of one of our coldest, windiest nights. 10 degrees and probably 20MPH winds. I wore my base layers and those Midi's only, thinking we won't be outside long. We stood outside for a good 20 minutes on top of a hill and my legs NEVER got cold. Not one bit. That sold me on Sitka.

I do like the Asio camo. Seems like a pretty cross functional pattern. Seems like good quality as well and they seem to have all the pieces I'd have wanted. But one thing I like about the Sitka over the Asio is the slightly "athletic/tapered" fit on their pants. When I wore the Asio pants, they just seemed kind of "big" in the legs; a lot of extra space. I prefer more "close to the body" clothing. I'm about 5'11" 190 lbs.

I thought about KUIU and a few other brands, but those Midi's sold me.

It's also nice that Sitka stuff is for sale pretty often around here, unlike Asio. Can get some good pieces pretty cheap.

I can't attest to the durability of Sitka, as I haven't worn any piece long enough to judge. But their pieces seem very well thought out and their fit is more of my style.

 

[SmellinElkyFresh]

You're not quite in the right place. Rokslide is for more backpacking/western style hunting. I've never really heard of anyone using Asio gear outside of the whitetail world. Sitka has tons of peices and you can fit whatever you need.

Are you an active style hunter? More run and gun or presets?

I'm from MT and now live in Kentucky. So my gear is setup for both but I'm really active. I can give advice for that style and that's really what you'll get here. In my experience the clothes don't transfer over great. Western stuff I love doesn't hold up to the brush here or is way too loud. Most whitetail targeted stuff is atrocious at breathability and weight. I mix and match from different brands and shop clearance.

This. Mix and match because different brands make better pieces than others so find what suits you best from multiple sources and DEFINITELY shop the sales/outlets otherwise it will get really expensive really quick. People on Rokslide are awesome about posting when certain brands or websites are having sales so keep an eye out for that too.

 

[ForlohFamily]

This. Mix and match because different brands make better pieces than others so find what suits you best from multiple sources and DEFINITELY shop the sales/outlets otherwise it will get really expensive really quick. People on Rokslide are awesome about posting when certain brands or websites are having sales so keep an eye out for that too.

FORLOH - 100% sourced and made in America, and on sale now. 'Buy more Save more' up to 30% off.

FORLOH

Premium American Made Hunting Gear. Shop FORLOH for quality hunting clothes, fishing, hiking, and outdoor gear for any pursuit. 100% Made in the USA.

forloh.com

 

[AnyMinuteNow]

When it comes to starting from scratch, Sitka is a good bet simply because they're on sale every other week. I don't wear sitka, but it's good quality for the most part. that being said, all brands go on sale before and after hunting season - good time to invest.