Sitka Stratus

[jcsmitty21]

Thinking of buying the stratus set soon. Was wondering how cold this will get me to with FL kiln baselayers, Fantatic hoody, equinox midi pants, stratus vest, and the stratus set. Also, should size up?

I’ve seen other threads, but haven’t been able to get an answer with my potential setup.

Thanks!

 

[deltadukman]

A "warm/sunny" and warming Mid/High 30's. If it's a "wet cold" mid 30's they won't cut it. I live in the southeast, and they are very versatile for about 75% of what we do. However, if it get's to that bone chilling wet/cloudy mid-low 40's or colder, its not going to cut it. I have some stratus bibs, and they have their place. I have switched to the Kuiu Proximity and for what we do, it's perfect. Granted all of our hunts are treestand and not a ton of long walks.

 

[SloppyJ]

It's the set I use the most. Probably about 80% of the season and I have that same setup almost to the tee.

I get a little colder than the guy above but he's not far off.

The one piece of advice I will give you is to buy the bibs. Being able to vent the legs is crucial.

 

[Maverick1]

Thinking of buying the stratus set soon. Was wondering how cold this will get me to with FL kiln baselayers, Fantatic hoody, equinox midi pants, stratus vest, and the stratus set. Also, should size up?

I’ve seen other threads, but haven’t been able to get an answer with my potential setup.

Thanks!

Sitting stationary? For how long? And under what wind conditions? Using the status bibs or pants?

Stationary, for one to two hours?

Assuming you are completely stationary, wearing the bibs, for two hours - maybe 40 degrees or so.

Would be better off to ditch the vest and add an insulating layer to your upper torso instead. That would get you down to 35-40 degrees for the same time period. (The stratus layer is a great wind blocker with very little insulation. The stratus vest under the stratus jacket is just redundant wind protection, which is unnecessary.)

One thing to note: the sleeves on the stratus jacket, especially near the wrists, taper down quite a bit. This can compress insulating layers a little. A base layer and one insulating layer is fine, more than that and you are going to sacrifice some of the warmth from your insulating layers. Probably not a big deal, but something to consider.

 

[Nyhunt79]

I just sold mine and will be buying the FL phase just because I want to try it and I like the pattern better. otherwise would definitely have kept the stratus. With a very thin base, the furnace set, and a puffy I was good til about 40-45

 

[jcsmitty21]

Should have added I’m in NE Oklahoma. Mainly tree stand hunt with a half mile walk in/out.

 

[jcsmitty21]

Would I be better off buying the equinox midi, fanatic hoodie, and buying the fanatic set? Would this cover most temperature ranges? That is paired with the firstite and stratus vest as needed. Sorry for the dumb questions. I’m not as familiar with Sitka gear.

 

[PredatoronthePrairie]

Have the stratus and fanatic set.

The stratus with proper layering is good for me to around 25 maybe a bit lower depending on wind.

Fanatic it has to be below 25 before I will consider taking it out. Alot of bulk there. But dam nice when u need it.

SD Temps and winds.

 

[SloppyJ]

Would I be better off buying the equinox midi, fanatic hoodie, and buying the fanatic set? Would this cover most temperature ranges? That is paired with the firstite and stratus vest as needed. Sorry for the dumb questions. I’m not as familiar with Sitka gear.

I only bust out the Fanatic when it's in the 30s. I don't even walk that far in and I still pack it in. That set aint playing around. I've been known to take a good nap in my climber with that setup on. It's super comfy.

I think your best bet is to get the midi pants, some sort of insulating upper piece, maybe the ambient which is also a solid jacket, and the stratus bibs and jacket. With good base layers this will take you very far into the winter. I tree stand hunt in the south too and I could probably wear that 95% of the year.

Don't get me wrong, I love my fanatic set and I really like that all I need to wear under it is base layers and some light pants but it's overkill for most of the year unless you just like sitting in frigid temps. By that time I'm normally tagged out anyway or have so much meat to process I'm not thinking about taking another one.

 

[Beagle1]

Stratus down to 30 - 35 with the bibs. Below that the Fanatic.

 

[Watrdawg]

I tend to run cold. So for me if the temps are going to be in the 30's I'm using the Fanatic set. I walk in with the jacket and bibs strapped to my back pack. I'll be wearing a lightweight base layer top and bottom, Equinox Midi Pants and Fanatic Hoodie. Once I'm in my stand and have cooled down a bit I'll throw on the bibs and then the jacket a bit later. From there I'm fine for the day. If it's supposed to get colder I'll layer up for that but I always walk in with the jacket and bibs strapped to my daypack. Way too hot to do so wearing them.

 

[Ditt44]

Ugh... get a drink.... TLDR: Buy the Stratus set in YOUR size, no need to up-size. Get one or two top/bottom layering pieces, from anywhere that fits the 'job' for that layer.

I have too many Sitka pieces. But, I have something for everything x4 when you mix and match. I really like my Stratus set and highly recommend it to anyone who asks. I am 6'2 195 ish, athletic build, south central PA but hunt around the state at times. I bought the jacket in an XL before I realized the cut of the L was actually what I needed. I would trade down a size if I came across the right guy to take my XL.

For bibs, love them. I have a L and they fit perfectly with multiple layers. Overall, I hate layers, which is one reason I went all in on Sitka. I try to get by with only three layers, including base. I am usually wearing an Under Armour tech compression top (don't count this layer), short or long sleeve pending temps.... As I get older I tend to run colder... but I prefer/love hunting in the frigid temps, go figure!

I tree stand hunt almost exclusively and my longest walk is maybe 500 yards from the house, shortest 100 and dressed 'heavy', I need to unzip until settled in. I hunt well over 400 hours a year, Oct thru mid-January for deer and chase squirrels though the end of February in this same gear.

Gloves: I use the early season glove pretty much regardless of temps. If it's freezing, then I'm in my Fanatic jacket and that hand warmer is beyond description Always take some mid-weight glove in my pack but seldom use them.

How I layer/temps:
Warm 70+
+ UA short-sleeve
+ Sitka lightweight hoodie
+ a lightweight pant, usually Equinox (2020) but they can be really warm sometimes; trying a pair of Kuhl pants a friend gave me for this year.

Mild 60-70
+ UA short-sleeve
+ Sitka Fanatic Light jacket (long ago discontinued but sub a Stratus here)
or... Sitka Fanatic hoodie if it's not breezy/late evening hunt where it might get chilly
+ light weight pant, add a lightweight base bottom if toward 60 and breezy

Cool 50-60
+ UA short-sleeve
+ Fanatic hoodie
+ Lightweight Fanatic jacket or Stratus
+ Lightweight base bottom
+ Equinox pant

Chilly 40-50
+ UA long-sleeve
+ Fanatic hoodie
+ Stratus jacket
+ Heavyweight Merino base bottom
+ Equinox pant or lower temp, then Timberline pant (love them if chilly air)

Cold 30-40
+UA long-sleeve
+ Heavy Merino base top
+ Fanatic hoodie
+Stratus jacket
+ Heavyweight Merino base bottom
+ maybe Equinox midi pant toward 30 degrees, they fit under the Large Timberlines just fine
+ Timberline pant, Stratus bibs if any wind instead of Timberlines

Cold-Cold 0-30
+UA long-sleeve
+ Heavy Merino base top
+ Cold Weather Hoodie (discontinued, now "Traverse" line)
+Fanatic heavy jacket
+ Heavyweight Merino base bottom
+Equinox midi pants (do not under-estimate their value)
+ Stratus bibs
+ Incinerator hat

 

[fatlander]

I’ve had everything whitetail from Sitka except for the incinerator.

What I finally settled on was this for colder temps:

Stratus bibs
Fanatic vest
Traverse hoody (think the whitetail line is equinox)
Heavy base layers.

That gets me down into the low 20s just fine. It’s not ever that cold in the mid Atlantic during deer season to justify the fanatic set; I never used it.

Fanatic vest is my absolute favorite piece of hunting clothing. It’s warm, quiet, windproof, great zipper and pocket layout but leaves my arms completely unrestricted for bow hunting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dreamingWest]

Fanatic vest is my absolute favorite piece of hunting clothing. It’s warm, quiet, windproof, great zipper and pocket layout but leaves my arms completely unrestricted for bow hunting.

This.

I hunt SE Kansas from a tree. So probably not far from OP. If you can only own one Sitka piece for bowhunting, buy the Fanatic vest. I would wait until the Sept. 9th for the new gear drop. You may be able to get EVII on-sale or buy the new pattern.

I do own the Stratus jacket. It's not comfortable or quiet enough (IMO) to be a 90% style piece. I only wear the Stratus jacket when it's really windy. It's money on those days.

But for bluebird bowhunting days, I prefer a softer, quieter, more standard fleece underneath the Fanatic vest. From Sitka, this may be the Traverse hoody (I don't own one). Or just an inexpensive polar tech fleece. Or sometimes I'll take my Ororo heated jacket. (This will brings hunting camp sneers and possible feelings of guilt when sitting in luxury during a crisp morning.)

 

[dreamingWest]

For pants I use Kuiu. Attacks or Guides earlier in the season. Proximity when it gets cold. I love the new Proximity pants.

 

[jcsmitty21]

Thank y’all for the input! I’m new to Sitka and wanted some help on how y’all layer.

For this season, I think I’ll go with FL kiln baselayers, fanatic hoodie, fanatic vest, equinox midi pants, and stratus set.

For the colder days, I’ll use that same setup, but swap the stratus for my FL solitude set.

 

[jhoff04]

I would not size up.

They fit great, block wind 100% I run the jacket pretty much all season and bust out the bibs when the temp drops below 40. They'll shed some light moisture if you keep DWR on the material. I have the old style hood which is damn near useless. I think they've improved this?

I'm in the upper midwest where it can get damn windy and cold. I'd recommend to get some insulated puffy pants and a puffy jacket/ vest to run under the set and you'll be good down to zero degrees with 20 mph winds for a couple of hours being stationary. I'd say the stratus vest is a waste of money. I run the grindstone work vest under it and I cook with that thing walking 100 yards to my stand.

As @Maverick1 mentioned above, the sleeves do taper and compress your insulating layer so your forearms might actually get a little chilly.

There is some room for improvement on the jacket, but overall, I really like the set.

 

[jcsmitty21]

Sorry for all the questions, im just not familiar with Sitka and want to buy the right setup.

How low do y’all think the FL kiln base layers, fanatic hoodie, fanatic vest, and equinox midi pants would get me?

 

[dreamingWest]

Mid 40s without wind.

I'd add a warmer top under the Fanatic vest and a warmer pair of pants for most mornings in November.

 

[Ditt44]

Sorry for all the questions, im just not familiar with Sitka and want to buy the right setup.

How low do y’all think the FL kiln base layers, fanatic hoodie, fanatic vest, and equinox midi pants would get me?

The Sitka stuff you list will work with any base layers but you need more than the fanatic vest with just the fanatic hoodie. You need a jacket layer. The hoodie is a heavy weight mid layer. No wind protection. I love mine but you need a Stratus or similar outer jacket.

Midi pants are a mid layer. They are cut like sweat pants and cuffed ankles. You can wear them as an outer but they are meant to have another pant or bib over them. They will not survive tangling with briars.