Sitka 2022 Rumors

[Texasbuckeye]

@Colinfarre5 soery to keep bugging you but you seem to have some experience with the ambient hoody at least.

Last question from me, how does the outside material stand up as far as weather resistance, wind resistance, and noise level? I assume the jacket and the hoody are similar outside material (but different from a zipper and pocket standpoint).

 

[Colinfarre5]

No worries, I'm glad to help out. So the shell is a 20d nylon, so out of personal experience with similar weight/thickness shells you'd be just fine going through most brush. But thorns, etc would tear it up and pull fibers. It will definitely be more weather resistant than most any fleece layer, but it does breathe well so it would only stand up to light wind. I presume heavy winds would blow through it pretty easily and if you were stationary you'd get chilled.

Noise wise, its very quiet. It's definitely bow hunting quiet.

 

[sneaky]

Evolve looks like Primalofts version of Alpha direct. Until Sitka figures out how to make a layering jacket with a hood I won't even consider the jacket, and the hoody isn't going to take the place of my Rab Alpha Freak pullover that I've had for a couple of years already. Hoody looks like a nice piece, just redundant to what I already have. At least they figured out how to put full length sleeves on it lol.

 

[H80Hunter]

Looks like they combined the equinox, gradient and traverse into the traverse line. Hoody and jacket.

Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Hoodie Gore Optifade Waterfowl Marsh 2XL

Comfort and versatility was at the top of mind when the Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Hoodie was designed, giving it a high-loft Berber fleece interior for...

www.midwayusa.com

Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Jacket Gore Optifade Subalpine XL

Comfort and versatility were at the top of mind when the Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Jacket was designed, giving it a high-loft Berber fleece interior for...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[H80Hunter]

Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Bibs Gore Optifade Subalpine XL

Combining comfort, performance characteristics, and warmth, the fleece-lined Sitka Gear Men's Traverse Bib adds versatility to your SITKA system....

www.midwayusa.com

 

[H80Hunter]

Bibs too.

 

[Stingray]

Did Sitka discontinue the Jetstream jacket?

 

[H80Hunter]

I heard there’s a new version out eventually this summer.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Evolve looks like Primalofts version of Alpha direct. Until Sitka figures out how to make a layering jacket with a hood I won't even consider the jacket, and the hoody isn't going to take the place of my Rab Alpha Freak pullover that I've had for a couple of years already. Hoody looks like a nice piece, just redundant to what I already have. At least they figured out how to put full length sleeves on it lol.

They have a hooded jacket with pockets in their (apparently now defunct) arrowhead line. It is 30d fabric and polar tech alpha insulation and looks like a hooded version of the ambient jacket. There is a nice review by @mtwarden here. I am going to try it instead of the ambient.

I have a kelvin active and the lack of a hood was probably one of the key reasons I never loved it.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

In defense of the mid layer having a hood, it is a very personal feeling. Some like the hood for rhe neck protection, some dont like the hood for the extra bulk, eap if the outer has a hood.

I forsee myself always wearing either a beanie of some sort or an outer with a hood. If i am working hard enough to where i want the ambient on its own with no outer, i probably don’t want the hood or beanie to continue to dump heat as head heat loss is vital. Very personal on how you feel about the mid layer without a hood

 

[H80Hunter]

I’m the only one who cares BUT…

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I have seen the move to recycled textiles in many technical clothing manufacturers. Is this something that is happening due to the green push, or is this just now how textiles are being made? I guess i dont even understand where the recycled part comes from…is this a plastic thread component from recycled plastics?

Ok so i did a little google search, they take the old clothes and pull them apart into fibers that are then spun into yarn and then spooled for use. Synthetics are essentially made into chips of polyester which are then melted down and made into fibers of polyester. Anything not able to be spooled into yarn or fiber is used for insulation or filling (think mattress filling).

I had no idea…

 

[Desk Jockey]

Traverse stuff looks cool. That hoody is my favorite piece for short trips in cold weather.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

I’m the only one who cares BUT…

The last vesion traverse hoody was probably the subalpine piece that translated most to whitetail. Warm and quiet, without a lot of bulk. It always felt like more of a whitetail piece than big game. Nice to see more patterns. Cant watch the video, did they make any changes to the hoody or is it just a refresh?

 

[ChrisAU]

I'll prob grab a Traverse Jacket, I liked the original traverse but hated the hood.

 

[H80Hunter]

Agreed. Looks like the Traverse Bibs and Jacket replace the gradient, equinox, traverse cold weather hoody and fanatic lite.

 

[jd1006]

I am skeptical of the move to these ”recycled” fabrics. Prana certainly took a step back with their revamp and focus on this. I think the Traverse Cold Weather Hoody is great the way it is.

 

[H80Hunter]

I’ve seen them. At first glance they don’t seem much if any different in terms of feel.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Not to derail, but eurooptic still has the old traverse hoodies for $100-130. In addition to my subalpine, I have a black that has been my go to around town jacket for the last two years. It is showing the first signs of wear so I went an pad bought another.

 

[2531usmc]

Sitka has a new Traverse line and a new Ambient line. And last year they came out with the Aerolite. To the great detriment of my checking account, I’ve been a Sitka user for many years and own a fair amount of their clothing. But for the life of me, I don’t understand what the difference is between all of these clothing lines.

if I was looking for a new jacket to hunt geese or whitetail, it was pretty easy to go to the Sitka web page and decide what I need. But if I was looking for a new big game jacket, what really is the real world difference between the product lines.

I initially thought it might be a good, better, best product line but that does not seem to be the case either. Or it could just be slick marketing.

maybe somebody has a clear understanding they could share.