MDWi Jacket/Hoody vs Ambient Jacket/Hoody

[V2Pnutrition]

How has the durability been with these pieces? I’m not worried so much about brush, but piling under a pack or Bino harness. I had really bad luck with the l Kuiu Kenai in this regard. Thanks

Snapped pictures of this a while ago for a review article I’m writing. Image on the left is piling where the underside of my arm rubs the shoulder harness of the pack. The right is after I took a fabric shaver to it.

This was after a day of use.

 

[mtwarden]

Definitely pilling.

Haven’t seen much with the Sitka piece-a little, but not a concern (yet anyways).

Sitka just came out with a new Ambient; half the insulation (60 gram) - couldn’t resist and have one on the way

 

[ChrisAU]

Packed a bull Sunday night a couple miles in super steep terrain, below freezing temps, and 2-8” of snow the whole way. Wore the MDWi over a Sitka 120 merino t-shirt and was very comfortable the whole time. Never got cold and never overheated. Very impressed with it.

 

[mtwarden]

Good deal!

 

[Erussell01]

Packed a bull Sunday night a couple miles in super steep terrain, below freezing temps, and 2-8” of snow the whole way. Wore the MDWi over a Sitka 120 merino t-shirt and was very comfortable the whole time. Never got cold and never overheated. Very impressed with it.

View attachment 615766

I'm jealous

 

[sr80]

Packed a bull Sunday night a couple miles in super steep terrain, below freezing temps, and 2-8” of snow the whole way. Wore the MDWi over a Sitka 120 merino t-shirt and was very comfortable the whole time. Never got cold and never overheated. Very impressed with it.

View attachment 615766

congrats on the bull....how are you liking the sitka merino? Do you find it keeps shape like advertised?

 

[ChrisAU]

congrats on the bull....how are you liking the sitka merino? Do you find it keeps shape like advertised?

The new ultra lightweight t-shirt is the only piece I used, wore it for 5 days straight and it looks like it’s brand new. Very comfortable blend and no issues with stink at all.

 

[jbwright]

I’ll throw in a brief bit here about the MDWi jacket. I bought it in Feb ‘22 at the recommendation of @mtwarden. I don’t love the price tag but I gotta give credit where it’s due. It’s been a fantastic active wear piece. I wore it yesterday here in AL scouting a large piece of public. Temps in the am were at freezing, and it warmed up to about 60. I had it on over the SG Helio. I probably covered 6-7 miles throughout the morning, but the full zip jacket gave me the ability to dump heat when I was moving along the main roads briskly to scout the next area. Pretty clutch to have that full zip. I was also running a bino harness so that limited how much I could zip it but you get the point. I didn’t take it off til after noon when it was into the 60’s. More so just because I wanted to get as much scouting in as possible but I frankly never ran hot. Even over that light fleece Helio. I was also running my Kifaru pack with light gear for the half day scouting mission, which I’ve done probably a dozen times since I bought it. I’ll say light pilling is starting on the shoulders from the straps, but the 30D fabric has held up well. I don’t brush bust but I also ain’t trying to baby it or really any of my gear. Even yesterday I was walking through privet and other small brush (not briars) and I don’t see any pulls. Take that for what it’s worth. I imagine over time - and doing what I do with my gear - that’ll just continue to wear out. But overall I’m pretty dang satisfied with this piece.

Looking hard at the Ambient pullover. More than anything just to get that solid green color because most of my wearable gear these days is Coyote!! Ha.

Appreciate y’all’s reviews, too.

 

[Desk Jockey]

These guys have some good pricing on close out arrow head gear.

Sitka Arrowhead - Mile High Shooting

Founded upon SITKA Gear, Arrowhead Equipment is purpose-built technical gear that leverages expertise of Gore® to provide purpose-built solutions for the Global Special Operations Forces end-user.

www.milehighshooting.com

 

[ZD91]

Definitely pilling.

Haven’t seen much with the Sitka piece-a little, but not a concern (yet anyways).

Sitka just came out with a new Ambient; half the insulation (60 gram) - couldn’t resist and have one on the way

Are you saying the 20D ambient will be more resistant to pilling, or do you think it has more to do with how much you’ve used one vs the other?

 

[mtwarden]

Are you saying the 20D ambient will be more resistant to pilling, or do you think it has more to do with how much you’ve used one vs the other?

I was just commenting on @V2Pnutrition post, I'm not even certain which piece he posted a picture of. My MDWi shows very little pilling with quite a bit of use

A little pilling on the outer fabric isn't going to concern me much if it does start. It's the inner the inner insulation that is the workhorse for these garments.

 

[ZD91]

I was just commenting on @V2Pnutrition post, I'm not even certain which piece he posted a picture of. My MDWi shows very little pilling with quite a bit of use

A little pilling on the outer fabric isn't going to concern me much if it does start. It's the inner the inner insulation that is the workhorse for these garments.

For dedicated hunting gear I agree, however I know for the price of Sitka a lot of people (myself included) look to use these items for everyday use, skiing, etc. as well. I think that’s probably where some of the durability complaints come from in regards to the ambient, and why a lot of people have opted for the 30D MDWi imo.

 

[mtwarden]

For dedicated hunting gear I agree, however I know for the price of Sitka a lot of people (myself included) look to use these items for everyday use, skiing, etc. as well. I think that’s probably where some of the durability complaints come from in regards to the ambient, and why a lot of people have opted for the 30D MDWi imo.

Yeah- if a person is using it for skiing, going into town, etc- I get it, piling wouldn't be overly welcomed.

On an interesting note, Sitka's new Ambient UL (half the insulation) uses 30d fabric.

 

[ZD91]

Yeah- if a person is using it for skiing, going into town, etc- I get it, piling wouldn't be overly welcomed.

On an interesting note, Sitka's new Ambient UL (half the insulation) uses 30d fabric.

How’s the fit of the Ambient UL? Looks much more fitted in the website pictures. Also, what would you compare it to in regards to warmth? Maybe the Atom LT, which has a similar 60g fill?

 

[mtwarden]

I'd say it's pretty close to the "original" Ambient hoody, a little more fitted than the MDWi- that's in part I think because it's a pullover. I'm not a huge fan of pullovers- pain to put/take off and I like the option of fulling unzipping a on the move piece.

As regards to warmth- not nearly as warm as the Atom LT. The LT is much more a static insulation vs a on the move insulation.

Comparing the insulating weight of primaloft/coreloft/etc to Evolve/Direct is very apples to oranges.

 

[V2Pnutrition]

How’s the fit of the Ambient UL? Looks much more fitted in the website pictures. Also, what would you compare it to in regards to warmth? Maybe the Atom LT, which has a similar 60g fill?

@mtwarden on my post were on the Ambient Hoodie. In Stika's defense: they say this is NOT normal and are sending me another piece to test. In fact, of the dozens of folks I know who own the Ambient Hoody- no-one has this issue. Definitely don't take my experience as the norm as of yet.

I do have the MDWi with 30D face-fabric too. No issues, but also haven't had it out like I have the hoody. I too use it for multiple outdoor activities, so I hear you when you say you want durable.

I intentionally drug that same Ambient through things I shouldn't have to test it for a review I'm writing and had zero issue- no tears, no piling on those spots even.

If you were apt to compare it to something from Arc'Teryx, I would suggest the Proton Lightweight Hoodie (former Proton FL). Their insulation (they call "Octaloft") is almost identical though much more on par with the MDWi as far as thickness vs the Ambient Hoody (much thicker). The face fabric on the Proton definitely seems less paper thin and has some reviewers rubbing it on rocks in an effort to rip it. They were unsuccessful....which is quite impressive.

Edit: correcting Proton LT to the correct model (Proton FL).

 

[ZD91]

@mtwarden on my post were on the Ambient Hoodie. In Stika's defense: they say this is NOT normal and are sending me another piece to test. In fact, of the dozens of folks I know who own the Ambient Hoody- no-one has this issue. Definitely don't take my experience as the norm as of yet.

I do have the MDWi with 30D face-fabric too. No issues, but also haven't had it out like I have the hoody. I too use it for multiple outdoor activities, so I hear you when you say you want durable.

I intentionally drug that same Ambient through things I shouldn't have to test it for a review I'm writing and had zero issue- no tears, no piling on those spots even.

If you were apt to compare it to something from Arc'Teryx, I would suggest the Proton Hybrid Hoodie (former Proton LT). Their insulation (they call "Octaloft") is almost identical though much more on par with the MDWi as far as thickness vs the Ambient Hoody (much thicker). The face fabric on the Proton definitely seems less paper thin and has some reviewers rubbing it on rocks in an effort to rip it. They were unsuccessful....which is quite impressive.

Thanks for the input. In your experience, is the face fabric durability negligible in multi-use? The more I think about it the more the heavier weight ambient suits my needs, if the outer face isn’t that much more delicate.

 

[V2Pnutrition]

I had a bizarre wear (seen in the image that Mike quoted me in). That was under the pits where my arms rub against the pack harness. I've talked to alot of folks with multiple seasons in the Ambient with next-to-no piling. So, take that experience (mine with wear under the pack/near harness) with a grain of salt. I have a late season archery hunt and will then write a review on it. Still TBD, but I have a feeling it was an anomaly.

I drug myself (and the Ambient) through a wall of thick buckbrush to test its durability and had no rips, piling, etc. in that location. While I wouldn't recommend that, I would say that it's probably tougher overall than my pictures indicate.

I have both the Proton Lightweight and Sitka MDWi. The face fabric on the MDWi looks the same as my ambient in spite of it having another 10D. The Proton, on the other hand, certain seems to be a great balance of breathability/durability. I have not put it through the paces....and the colorwheel sucks (haha!).

FWIW: I have tested more mid layers- grid fleece, Ambient, etc...- than anything else (next to synthetic/down jackets) and have to say the Ambient is easily in my top 3- if not #1.

Based on that, I'll let you decide if you want to pull the trigger ;-)

 

[ChrisAU]

Got the Ambient 100 hoody in today. To me it feels and looks a bit loftier than the MDWi. With how well the MDWi performed out west I’m actually thinking it may be a bit warm for me but the difference is likely negligible. My large in mud is 13.9 oz, 1.6 oz heavier than the MDWi hoody. I am going to keep this one and use it this winter to test against the MDWi. I’ll probably sell my backup MDWi though now that I have this.

Here is a pic of the coyote MDWi (top) vs mud Ambient 100 (bottom) to visually compare the insulation:

 

[ChrisAU]

As for face fabrics, here’s an MDWi hoody left, MDWi hoody center, and Ambient 100 right. I can tell absolutely no difference.