The shacket is one of the best pieces in the line. A layering system of the fanatic hoody,shacket and the fanatic lite and fanatic will get you through whitetail season from sept to Jan
celcius jacket & Stratus pants. i'm working on the fanatic lite bibs (new this year) and the lite jacket
Why do people buy this stuff? Its insanely priced. Also, I am surprised they don't incorporate some type of scent control in their gear? Maybe somebody can elaborate and convince me to buy Sitka products..
IF you hunt religiously, and are constantly battling adverse weather conditions, it's 100 percent worth the price tag. Best hunting investment I have ever made!
I won't be the guy to convince you to buy Sitka products, only you can make up your own mind what is best for your needs and within your budget. But this is why I have Sitka gear. In my experience hunting whitetails (which is my passion), there are many things that I look for when picking out camo/hunting clothes. 1. I have to like the way it looks. I am mainly a lost camo guy and love the old pattern for lost. I have found good deals on gamehide.com. The pattern IMHO is really sweet looking. Now blending in with the forest in Northern Wisconsin I've realized that most the colors come November in the woods are a grey more than brown. Every tree I hunt has grey in it. That's where the elevated 2 pattern really excels. The pattern for Sitka is really neat and blends in well with the trees that I hunt. I want to blend in with the trees I'm in. 2. I need hunting gear that keeps me in the woods. September and October are a cake walk for me staying warm in the woods. With my Lost Camo gear (gridlock jacket and pants), I stay warm pretty decent for September and October. When November hits I can still stay in the stand but I don't like it much. I really endure a 30 degree day with the wind blowing at 15 mph. I am a stubborn guy with the cold (and most people are), however it shouldn't be like that. I should be able to sit in a tree and be able to not suffer in the cold. What if I have been enduring some crap for 6 hours and Mr. Big shows up and I can't pull my bow back or can't stay still and he picks me off? The Sitka gear is really warm stuff. My fanatic is kind of bulky but man it's warm. The price is extremely high no doubt, but what is staying in the woods while Mr. Big walks by worth to you? That is only a question you have to answer. I am passionate about Whitetails and bowhunting. It's what I love to do so my hard earned money is worth it. 3. I need gear that is quiet. With my gridlock jacket and pants it is super quiet! I love how quiet no matter how cold the stuff is. One of the main reasons I went with it. When Mr. Big walks by and you draw on him, only thing you want him to hear is his own footsteps. Sitka is the also very quiet. My fanatic isn't almost as quiet as my lost camo but it's because of the windstopper and insulation is a bit noisier . It's something you have to live with. You want warm, got sacrifice silence. Just the nature of materials. 4. I need gear that is functional. I love how my lost camo gear has features that is built for the bowhunter. The long arm sleeves make it ease to draw for me being a 30 inch draw length. I also love having pockets in the right place that make it very convenient. Sitka is really top notch with convenience. They have tranverse zippers that add the kangaroo pocket, (I have always used a muff otherwise), long sleeves for drawing your bow, a range finder pocket, a grunt tube pocket, along with other features I could take or leave. Overall, the only reason I went with Sitka was for one main reason. I want to stay in my tree stand no matter what. I don't want my camo to determine whether I hunt or not because I can't stay warm. I don't want to be picked off in the tree by Mr. Big. I want to be the best bowhunter that I can. I hope this helps a little when picking out a camouflage for you. With all my gear I educate myself the best I can and get the best what suits my needs.
Yeah I like the idea of the Kangaroo pocket. The camo pattern makes sense too. Thanks for the insight.
I won't convince you, but I'll explain my reasoning as well. I hunt a lot and don't like to be pushed out of the woods because of cold, dampness, etc. This is not just a Sitka thing. I'd rather spend a grand on very good quality clothing than a grand on a bow. The clothing will help keep me in the woods where the deer are, the bow won't. I came to Sitka because of the Fanatic jacket. Hands down, it is the best designed pure whitetail jacket you will find IMO. Warm, not bulky, perfectly placed pockets for the gear you need most often and the diagonal zipper and kangaroo style hand warmer are all awesome features. I bought the first peices from them, the Fanatic jacket and Stratos pants and loved them. I've since found that their gear is well made, and is a very good system if you buy into it and add additional pieces to your selection. Sure there are other companies that make outstanding clothing as well, for me, the Fanatic Jacket continues to be the selling point. Also, I had an issue with my original set. The fabric began pilling really bad after a year of use. For the price you pay, it should hold up and look far better after a year. I contacted them about this and they told me it was a warranty related issue. The replaced both the jacket and pants with the updated 2015 models, FREE of charge. I didn't even have to pay shipping. They stand behind their products and are outstanding to deal with as well.
