SITKA Mountain EVO jacket, Review **Updated 9/20/23**

[Tony Trietch]

Just got home from AZ otc deer and NM Barbary sheep. It is windy as hell right now in southern NM and the Evo was perfect for 35-50 degrees and 25-35 winds.

 

[mtwarden]

^ good deal!

 

[Pramo]

That's a great deal, it really is a good jacket. I sweat a ton and get cold from the wind so it was a perfect piece for active hunting. Most of my elk season was a base layer t-shirt and evo when hiking in the dark, it was perfect to get the cold wind off me and still breath. Then when I'm not running around throw on a puffy type layer and I'm good

 

[Colinfarre5]

6’2” wing span! I’m 6’3” tall and have a 6’10” wingspan. O how I wish I had your wings. Just ordered a Large tall. Hope it fits me.

What size did you end up with?

 

[Swamppirate]

Big Sitka fan here and have a ton of their stuff, but a great jacket for blocking the wind is the Marmot Infinium ROM. Just a Sitka alternative.

 

[veganhunter]

I wore mine every day on a 12 day Dall hunt last year and loved it. Highly versatile and I rarely took it off. Only thing I noticed after so much constant wear is that it developed a very slight plastic smell when it got super wet

 

[Blandry]

I just picked one of these up on the season-end deals (which I typically do at 50% off for sitka stuff), which is still in effect btw if anyone is interested. Regarding sizing.. it is a super athletic fit, so I sized up to the XXL at 6' 220, but typically lose about 20 lbs in the summer. I'm still glad I got the XXL. It's perfect imo. It's going to be great paired with the ambient jacket underneath.

 

[recam1024]

Thanks for the review! All of the comments have been super helpful. Going to grab an Evo!

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

Any idea why Sitka has discontinued the mountain evo after it just being released?

 

[mtwarden]

^ I'll see what I can find out. I thought they had discontinued (of what I thought was a success) the Ambient, but they just refined it a bit—hopefully the same thing w the Evo

 

[Desk Jockey]

I wonder how the feedback was on the ventilation panels. I really liked mine the first few outings and it really shined on a 25 mile ruck march challenge earlier in the year with low temps and a bit of mist. It seemed like that piece was designed for that day.

Flash forward a couple more outings and I still like mine but have been blasted by strong winds in the back when not wearing a pack. That great back ventilation with a pack comes at a cost of sorts. It’s led me to grab some of my other shells for certain outings over the Evo.

 

[mtwarden]

^ I can definitely see that; if it's breathable on the back (which it is) w/ no pack it's going to be a lot more breathable and too breathable w/ the right (wrong) weather

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

I love mine for a primary outer layer but yes, after a long hike to a spot when you stop to glass I get cold pretty dang quick from that back panel

 

[Ditt44]

Sitka discontinues a lot of models only to reissue a tweaked version the next year. Granted some do go away at times but I'd expect the Evo to be around another year or two before a major update or replacement

 

[Swamppirate]

I bet the new Evo will have pit zips with windstopper all the way around.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I would buy another, if it did.

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

I bet the new Evo will have pit zips with windstopper all the way around.

That would be a win.

 

[fngTony]

I bet the new Evo will have pit zips with windstopper all the way around.

I don’t know about that, seems too close to a rain jacket.

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

I don’t know about that, seems too close to a rain jacket.

True, I’m definitely not a product designer so I’m honestly not sure what the best options would be. I really do like the DWR and durability of the evo as primary layer. But the massive back panel can be a deal breakers in some cold windy situations as I don’t like to glass with my pack on.

 

[mtwarden]

I spoke to Sitka, they are waiting on inventory for the Evo