Sitka traverse, dakota jacket and jetstream

[Erussell01]

In case anybody is like I was a week or two ago and looking at Sitka options for this coming fall and trying to compare each piece...

I recently purchased a Sitka Traverse cold weather hoody, a Dakota and a jetstream jacket off europtic for a really good price.

Here's what I learned.

If you can only get one and you are a goose hunter and a deer hunter, get the Dakota hoodie or Dakota Jacket. The Dakota is quieter than I expected, and feels so good to wear. I got it in marsh, and I'd wear it deer hunting all day and twce on Sunday to layer under. I love it. I wish it was colder so I could wear it everywhere. I can't wait to wear it so much in the blind this fall that my buddies think I'm a sitka snob. (OH wait, I might be now...that's like 6 or 7 pieces. Zoinks! )

Traverse cold weather hoody.
This Is an amazing layer for cold weather. So warm. So so warm. As warm as the Dakota, just not windstopper. If you are a vest guy, this might the ticket for archery hunting well into the cold weather. You can not be active in this. You will sweat to death. It's incredibly comfy and my wife is going to steal it to wear like a bath robe I'm sure. The cut of the sleeves is great for layering, and for shooting a bow. Love the double pockets on the front and the chest pocket is big enough for my phone or range finder. I can't wait to wear this every day of late September and all of October in the deer stand. This will not replace my heavy hoody for elk or active hunts, but it might be my favorite piece of sitka that I have tried.

Jetstream jacket-
I have wanted one of these forever and it did not disappoint. I got it in dirt color. To be honest I had hopes of archery deer hunting in it, but I'm surprised at how loud it is. For archery deer, I think there are better options. In the wind, no problem. You could hunt deer in it on a windy day and it would be perfect. If you are a rifle hunter, perfect. It might break in with time and be quieter. We shall see. It's lighter than expected both in warmth and in weight. Ideally for me, this will be a pheasant, deer scouting, windy day, early season geese in a field (lighter than the dakota), throw it on and go do stuff jacket. Is it as warm as I had expected? Nope. But it's surprising how waterproof it is. I wore it fishing in the rain and wind and was dry and comfortable. Could you skip this one? Yes. Am I happy with it? Yes. Will I take it backpack elk hunting? Nope. Will it be awesome for pheasants when it's cold and nasty windy? I think so. Time will tell. Could I see myself layering under it for early ice fishing when I need to pull a sled and dont want to sweat to death? Yep. Can it do anything the Dakota cant? Not when it comes to cold weather. But I certainly could not imagine the Dakota being a good choice for higher activity hunts. I know a lot of people are not fans of soft shell jackets, but I kinda am... I think it's a great piece and if I don't use it a lot for hunting, I can wear it daily.

Of these three if you can only get two on sale, grab the Dakota jacket and the traverse hoody and don't look back. Layered up together those two will keep you toasty toasty and I was impressed how well they fit together with minimal bulk.

If you can only get one, and you need a piece to hunt cold weather turkeys, ducks geese and deer and you don't need to be active in it, go Dakota hoody or jacket. If you want the most versatile piece, you want windstopper and are OK with marsh or timber... get the Dakota hoody or jacket. After feeling these out, you could do a ton with that one piece and save the extra money for gas or shells. If I had to do it all again and was really being budget conscious that's what I'd get.

Hope this helps.

 

[hunterjmj]

Thanks. Haven't heard of the Dakota. I have the traverse and love that jacket. It's perfect for our late season Montana hunts.

 

[Brian Fahs]

I had the Dakota hoody and sold it. I liked the timber pattern for treestand hunting. Warm yes, windproof yes, but rather noisy and did not like the shine of the outer fabric. Picked up the gradient hoody and really Iike it, even though it had little wind resistance. Also I sized up one size in the Dakota and gradient as I felt they were a little snug fit in the shoulders for layering under.

I will give a huge shout out to euro optics for sitka gear. Good prices and fast shipping time.

 

[Erussell01]

I had the Dakota hoody and sold it. I liked the timber pattern for treestand hunting. Warm yes, windproof yes, but rather noisy and did not like the shine of the outer fabric. Picked up the gradient hoody and really Iike it, even though it had little wind resistance. Also I sized up one size in the Dakota and gradient as I felt they were a little snug fit in the shoulders for layering under.

I will give a huge shout out to euro optics for sitka gear. Good prices and fast shipping time.

I wonder if the Dakota hoody is different than the jacket in terms of outer fabric?

The one I got is In marsh and its quieter than the jetstream by a long shot. Maybe I got a good copy or my ears are getting worse, which could very well be the case. I tried on the gradient and could not agree more. Great piece too! Just a little snug so I sized up as well.

I needed a replacement waterfowl jacket. After training dogs outside this morrning in a flash downpour I'm happy to report the jacket is more waterproof than I'd expect.

 

[Bwatson]

Great info! I’m in the market for a windstopper. I grabbed the traverse cold weather hoody from EO about when you got yours. Have used it on a 1/2 dozen or so bowhunts this fall and it’s been great until yesterday. Great fit for archery (size Large: I’m 5’-9” and 175#). I’ve been able to wear it with just a merino base layer down to about 40degs but then layer enough under it down to 20degs without feeling confined. Yesterday morning was 15degs and 20mph wind at times. I threw an extra wool sweater on under it, still fit fine, and when the wind stopped I was fine but dang when the wind blew it did very little to stop the wind and I was chilled to the bone.
Started looking into the jetstream but keep hearing its loud. I’m 99% bow hunter so noise is huge. Your post has me thinking about the Dakota.
Being a waterfowl jacket, is the cut/fit conducive to archery? Is it comparable to the traverse CWH? Or is it looser cut (especially in the arms)?
Because it’s in the waterfowl lineup I don’t see any info out there about bow hunting in it.
Unfortunately I don’t know any local shops that have these to try out myself so stuck to online reviews & shopping. Appreciate your input.
Don’t know if it’s worth picking up the Dakota jacket or just finding a windstopper sweater or light jacket to layer under the Traverse CWH. Thoughts?
Thanks.

 

[Trevor96]

About the Jetstream being loud, I've got one solid color and one in camo and the solid is a lot louder than the camo one

 

[Bwatson]

That’s interesting. I wouldn’t think they’d use different materials between camo and solids.
Well europtic has a pretty good sale going so I went ahead and picked up the Dakota jacket. Fingers crossed it works out.

 

[Trevor96]

According to the tags, the solid is nylon shell and the camo is polyester, if I remember correctly

 

[Erussell01]

Great info! I’m in the market for a windstopper. I grabbed the traverse cold weather hoody from EO about when you got yours. Have used it on a 1/2 dozen or so bowhunts this fall and it’s been great until yesterday. Great fit for archery (size Large: I’m 5’-9” and 175#). I’ve been able to wear it with just a merino base layer down to about 40degs but then layer enough under it down to 20degs without feeling confined. Yesterday morning was 15degs and 20mph wind at times. I threw an extra wool sweater on under it, still fit fine, and when the wind stopped I was fine but dang when the wind blew it did very little to stop the wind and I was chilled to the bone.
Started looking into the jetstream but keep hearing its loud. I’m 99% bow hunter so noise is huge. Your post has me thinking about the Dakota.
Being a waterfowl jacket, is the cut/fit conducive to archery? Is it comparable to the traverse CWH? Or is it looser cut (especially in the arms)?
Because it’s in the waterfowl lineup I don’t see any info out there about bow hunting in it.
Unfortunately I don’t know any local shops that have these to try out myself so stuck to online reviews & shopping. Appreciate your input.
Don’t know if it’s worth picking up the Dakota jacket or just finding a windstopper sweater or light jacket to layer under the Traverse CWH. Thoughts?
Thanks.

If I could only have one I'd get a jetstream hands down. I wear that thing all the time. My solid dirt color is louder than my buddies sub alpine, so I'd get it in camo. The deer I shot this year in my jetstream sure didn't mind the noise. It's not silent by any means, but it's not loud at all.

All that said- I do love my dakota. Its actuallt my favorite piece of sitka other than my core heavy. Mine fits me better than my jetstream, through the shoulders especially. It's not that the jetstream is too tight, it just will feel snug when I'm reaching overhead or something along those lines. The lining of the Dakota makes it incredibly comfortable and warm and over the traverse cold weather hoodie and a baselayer I was comfortable hunting ducks on big water in 20 mph north winds. And deer hunting with it during rifle season.

It's form fitting enough in the sleeves to shoot my bow easily and I actually like that it has no hood. I wore the Dakota over my traverse cold weather and the double berber lining did some magic I was not expecting with heat retention.

I'm a freeze baby and that combo took good care of me at 20 degrees deer hunting
If only I could figure out what bibs to work that well, I'd be set.

You won't regret that jacket. I wear the jetstream when my activity level will be high or the Temps are warmer and I wear the Dakota when I'm going to be sitting or the temp is colder. I kinda wish I'd have grabbed another one just to have for whe my brother or father in law come hunting and steal mine

 

[Bwatson]

Thanks again for the info and don't mean to highjack your thread but here I go... I received my Dakota today and have mixed thoughts. First thing I noticed when I unpacked it was wow, this is huge. I had to doublecheck I didn't accidently get an XL but it does say L on the tag. It definitely fits much looser than the traverse cold weather hoody. I laid the new dakota and the traverse flat on the ground and measured side to side across the chest. The Traverse is 22.5" wide while the dakota is 25". Both size L.
I put it on and grabbed my bow for about 20 shots in various positions. When sitting it bunches up pretty bad in the chest area. Enough that the string does touch the fabric at full draw (this was actually the case both sitting and standing but worse sitting) but was not enough to impact accuracy, just noting that it was touching. Have not had this issue with the traverse. The arms taper down but there's still enough fabric in the forearm area that twice out of those shots the string slapped the fabric on the inside of my arm. Again, not enough to impact accuracy but that definitely made a sound. Also has never happened with the traverse.
I was easily able to put the Dakota on over the traverse with plenty of room to spare. I did not really expect to be able to layer these as they are both L so I was shocked, but it did make for a comfortable layered system that I bet is super warm.
One thing I'm definitely not a fan of with the Dakota is the collar. Maybe it's due to the overall larger size of the jacket but when zipped up, the collar is too tall for me and digs into my chin and is uncomfortable. If I leave the last couple inches unzipped to allow it to flare open a bit so it doesn't poke into my chin, the collar rides up my jaw and interferes with the anchor of my release. So I would either need to zip it all the way and deal with the poking or unzip it more and fold the collar back. I don't have that issue with the traverse where at any point of zipping up I can shoot comfortably without interference with my anchor.
As far as the noise of the jacket itself, it is noticeably louder than the traverse but definitely not concerning. I mean the traverse is virtually silent so for a weather-resistant shell, the Dakota is perfectly acceptable.
I also ran out into the woods behind my house and placed the traverse in subalpine and the dakota in marsh in and around various cover. On the ground in the leaves, off the ground about chest high in brush, wrapped around a tree. Both in and out of the sun. Not that I put that much stake into camo patterns and I know the marsh isn't intended to be a "woods" camo but while still good enough, I'd say the subalpine generally blended in better than the marsh. Could be the coating on the dakota (since they are both polyester) but in the sun, the Dakota had more shine to it. Definitely better to stay in the shadows with either, but overall the traverse in subalpine definitely fits SW Ohio woods better.
I'm thinking I should see if I can exchange the Dakota for a size Medium which I believe would fit me much better, or maybe exchange the dakota for the Jetstream as that one likely is more suited towards archery.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Try a Shacket over your Traverse hoody for archery and perhaps a Timberline jacket for wind.

 

[Erussell01]

Thanks again for the info and don't mean to highjack your thread but here I go... I received my Dakota today and have mixed thoughts. First thing I noticed when I unpacked it was wow, this is huge. I had to doublecheck I didn't accidently get an XL but it does say L on the tag. It definitely fits much looser than the traverse cold weather hoody. I laid the new dakota and the traverse flat on the ground and measured side to side across the chest. The Traverse is 22.5" wide while the dakota is 25". Both size L.
I put it on and grabbed my bow for about 20 shots in various positions. When sitting it bunches up pretty bad in the chest area. Enough that the string does touch the fabric at full draw (this was actually the case both sitting and standing but worse sitting) but was not enough to impact accuracy, just noting that it was touching. Have not had this issue with the traverse. The arms taper down but there's still enough fabric in the forearm area that twice out of those shots the string slapped the fabric on the inside of my arm. Again, not enough to impact accuracy but that definitely made a sound. Also has never happened with the traverse.
I was easily able to put the Dakota on over the traverse with plenty of room to spare. I did not really expect to be able to layer these as they are both L so I was shocked, but it did make for a comfortable layered system that I bet is super warm.
One thing I'm definitely not a fan of with the Dakota is the collar. Maybe it's due to the overall larger size of the jacket but when zipped up, the collar is too tall for me and digs into my chin and is uncomfortable. If I leave the last couple inches unzipped to allow it to flare open a bit so it doesn't poke into my chin, the collar rides up my jaw and interferes with the anchor of my release. So I would either need to zip it all the way and deal with the poking or unzip it more and fold the collar back. I don't have that issue with the traverse where at any point of zipping up I can shoot comfortably without interference with my anchor.
As far as the noise of the jacket itself, it is noticeably louder than the traverse but definitely not concerning. I mean the traverse is virtually silent so for a weather-resistant shell, the Dakota is perfectly acceptable.
I also ran out into the woods behind my house and placed the traverse in subalpine and the dakota in marsh in and around various cover. On the ground in the leaves, off the ground about chest high in brush, wrapped around a tree. Both in and out of the sun. Not that I put that much stake into camo patterns and I know the marsh isn't intended to be a "woods" camo but while still good enough, I'd say the subalpine generally blended in better than the marsh. Could be the coating on the dakota (since they are both polyester) but in the sun, the Dakota had more shine to it. Definitely better to stay in the shadows with either, but overall the traverse in subalpine definitely fits SW Ohio woods better.
I'm thinking I should see if I can exchange the Dakota for a size Medium which I believe would fit me much better, or maybe exchange the dakota for the Jetstream as that one likely is more suited towards archery.

Remember- the Dakota is designed as an outer layer so it's cut to fit as an outer layer. The traverse is a mid layer so it's cut to be layered over. The jet stream of old is more athletic cut. The new 2022 model is more generous so depending on your needs order accordingly. I'm 6'2 215, so for me the room to layer is awesome and I haven't had any issues with bunching up.

The jet stream is super slick and you can't go wrong there if that's what you choose to do.
I believe the shine on the Dakota comes from the heavy dwr finish. My solid color jetstream shines a bit too, but the deer ducks and geese haven't noticed at all.

Some pieces just don't fit the persons expectations because the cut doesn't quite match up. If you think the jetstream will be better for you, it just might be! I hope you find exactly the pieces you need for your personalized system.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

I just got a Dirt Jet Stream from Camofire. The older one with two front chest pockets. I agree it’s louder than what I was expecting but not awful.

I hunted in it yesterday morning for the first time. It was 26 degrees with a windchill in the upper teens. I layered under it a short sleeve base layer followed by a UA fleece hoody then a Carhart Berber Fleece lined vest. Then the Jetstream and over it I put my Kuiu Peloton 240. By adding the peloton it quieted it down significantly. I sat on stand for over 3 hours and was comfortable. I think I am going to swap my down vest for the Carhart the next time because it was a little bulky.

Overall I am happy with my purchase but I also think the normal price is way more than what it should be for the jacket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bwatson]

I called EuroOptic this morning and was able to exchange the Dakota for a Jetstream (getting it in Large). They are great to work with if you call directly. I never got a response when I emailed their "issues" email a couple days ago and their chat option wasn't working for me. But a quick call resolved it quickly and the guy I talked to (Luke) was super nice and helpful.
BTW - they have the Jetstream on sale right now for $170 if anyone is looking. It is the old model, not the 2022 version.