why is a windshirt missing from almost all the lineups?

[oenanthe]

The closest I've come to sporting a wind shirt is the U.S. Army ECWS gen III windjacket and I love that thing. It's tough enough to low crawl in or use while on the dirtbike over armor. The chest slash pockets with mesh liner allows for great ventilation and reveals what a joke pit zips are. The pockets are also functional for storing all sorts of different sized items and accessing those items while wearing a pack. I tried the kuiu 240 as a replacement, but I immediately discovered the pockets are inaccessible for those who wear a pack with a hip belt during the hunt.

I have one of those too (ACU ECWCS Level 4). I like it a lot, but: it's actually not that great of a windshirt. The long pocket zippers let in a lot of cold air, and so does the front zip. When I'm wearing it, I figure on wearing my rain jacket over it if things get windy.

But it's a great piece of gear. You can get them dirt-cheap on fleabay, too if you're willing to wait for the right one to come along.

 

[FreeRange]

Just wanted to post the results of a little experiment I subjected myself to this past Saturday. Here in Southern CA we were having unbelievably strong winds for a few days called the "Santana" winds which rip across the coastal mountains and cities out to sea. There was a high wind advisory in effect for a few days so my buddy and I decided to summit the highest peak in the coastal mountains Saturday, Mt San Antonio or "Mt Baldy" at 10000'. This hike goes past a ski resort with a weather station at about the 2/3 point in the hike. The temp at 5am at the truck was 30 deg and was still below freezing when we summited 3 hours later 4000' higher, cold enough that drops of water froze near instantly on my hydration hose mouthpiece. As a testament to what a wind shell will get you I started off with a Sitka lightweight core, Capilene 4 hoody and OR Ferrosi. After about 400 yards I cut out the Cap4 and finished the hike with just those two layers. The weather station had sustained winds over 50MPH all morning with gusts to 65 and the last 1/2 mile on the summit ridge felt twice as windy as when we were next to the weather station. We actually had to crawl the last 700' to the summit because we were literally getting blown over trying to stand up to the wind. My buddy wore a light capilene, R1 and houdini and was running too hot but figured he would certainly be too cold without the R1.

We knew the conditions would be this horrible and were intent on giving it a go to see how our gear would perform in such intense wind, I was beyond impressed with how warm we were able to stay. Hiking down we both put on synthetic insulation layers til we got out of the wind after a few miles, without the output of jamming uphill we got pretty cold on the decent.

Overall it was an awesome hike, good conditioning and a great test of our gear. I don't know what other setup would have worked so well in cutting the wind and keeping us from overheating. I know the Ferrosi is deemed a "soft shell" but at its miniscule weight I really see it as a heavy wind shirt. Just thinking about doing that hike in something like a a Kuiu Guide jacket makes me sweat. For anything where temps dip below freezing I'll continue to use the Ferrosi and anything else I'll use the BD Alpine start which is similar but much lighter.

This was also my first time using the Kahtool Micro spikes in place of actual crampons, for this type of icy packed snow trail hiking they were fine and did good on steep ascents of packed snowdrifts where front pointing wasn't necessary. The thing I really liked was how unnoticeable they were when walking over dirt and rocks, a huge advantage over real crampons. As the last few miles were still about 50% dirt with lots of icy sections with dangerous exposure on the ridge.

 

[mtwarden]

good deal I used mine all hunting season- most mornings before daylight saw 20-30 temps, typically just a light base layer (Sitka lwt Core hoodie) and a windshirt- little chilly to start out, but climbing warmed things nicely. On particularly cold days added a mid layer while moving, keeping the windshirt on the outside. Glassing if I got cold I'd add an insulating jacket (if it was going to be short just over the top of everything).

getting a good windshirt isn't quite as easy as one might think, it has to have the right balance of breathability, wind resistance and moisture protection - one factor usually influences another

 

[chuckeglenn]

This isn't exactly what everyone is talking about, but Sitka does make this......
Sitka Gear | Turning Clothing Into Gear

 

[sr80]

sitka timberline jacket ring a bell to anyone??

 

[mtwarden]

^&^^ both nice pieces, but I'm talking more along the lines of the old Contrail

 

[conhawa]

Packable Unlined Wind Jacket

 

[Piscatory_4]

I have a Cabelas fleece with Windstopper lining that works great with a light base layer under.

 

[Mtnboy]

Keep your eye on the 2017 Sitka stuff, might like what you find if your looking for a wind shirt...

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[mtwarden]

Keep your eye on the 2017 Sitka stuff, might like what you find if your looking for a wind shirt...

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that's a rumor I've been hearing hope it's true

 

[wind gypsy]

New Sitka windshirt is called the Flash. Pullover and no hood.

 

[mtwarden]

damn- why no hood?

I use the hood pretty frequently on all my wind shirts- it adds just a fraction more weight, but when needed it's the best extra ounce you'll ever carry

 

[castandblast]

damn- why no hood?

I use the hood pretty frequently on all my wind shirts- it adds just a fraction more weight, but when needed it's the best extra ounce you'll ever carry

Agree!

 

[FreeRange]

damn- why no hood?

I use the hood pretty frequently on all my wind shirts- it adds just a fraction more weight, but when needed it's the best extra ounce you'll ever carry

Really disappointing, I was fully planning to pick one of these up but no way do I want my only wind shirt on a trip to be hood-less. I definitely get that some people don't want a hood but the added weight and bulk are so minimal for the added warmth, protection and concealment they offer. Or just sell two different jackets. I also think that full zips on layering pieces like this are nice to give you the option to quickly and easily vent. Again, the small bit of added weight of a zipper adds valuable versatility.

 

[mdog]

Add me to the Sitka Contrail fan club. I have two and they are my go-to for Sept archery. Sheds wind, light rains, and adds warmth over merino layers. A small bundle on the outside of the pack when hiking in or carrying heavy loads. Easy to slip on when stopped.

 

[PantherCity]

Any one tried a "Arktis A192 Windshirt"

Available on ebay in many camo patterns or solids:

Access Denied

 

[mtwarden]

Never heard of that one- if the description is accurate, encapsulated nylon is usually Epic which is good stuff for wind shirts (Epic is pretty water resistant and stys that way). The zipper doesn't look nearly long enough though- I want a full zip or a very long zip in a pullover for venting

 

[doverpack12]

Anyone tried the TREW Up Jacket?

 

[wind gypsy]

Just to clarify, the only indication I had that the new windshirt was a pullover without hood is the limited info on Mountain archery Flash Pullover Optifade Subalpine- Sitka Gear

Still, it was enough for me to pick up a contrail on ebay.

 

[FreeRange]

Very interesting, it's not even on Sitka's site yet. The only hope I have that it maybe does have a hood is that the picture associated with the jacket is generic and the same for every item on that page, meaning that picture is probably not of the Flash Pullover. Goodness gracious though, $229!!!