Sitka setup - advice/input needed

[brightwhite]

Hi everyone,


New guy here, thanks for having me!


I live in Colorado now and am planning on getting back into big game hunting next year.  I grew up in Texas chasing whitetails, pigs, and birds of all sorts.  I have the typical clothing - cheaper cotton camo pants and shirts, and have pretty decent heavy coats, bibs, jackets, etc.  All of the stuff I own right now is great for sitting in a deer stand on a cold morning, or laying in a goose blind...none of it is probably ideal for a long day on the mountain chasing elk, mule deer, sheep, or antelope.


As far as big game hunting goes...Since I am only an hour to 1.5 hour drive to hunting units, I plan on putting in for all of the tags I can and hunting from early season to late season.  I am pretty confident I will draw deer and elk, but will start putting in now for points on sheep, bear, and some of the other stuff.


I will also be duck/goose hunting in my sitka gear, as well as heading out east for Pheasant/quail, etc.


Basically, I will need very versatile clothing from early to late season, and from mountain hunting to waterfowl and upland.


Here is what I am thinking of starting with to cover me from warm-cold-wet-cold & wet.  Let me know if you would add/delete anything from this list to cover my needs:


Merino Zip-T
Merino Bottoms
Mountain Pants
Jetstream Vest (planning on the regular jetstream, should I go with the Lite?)
90% jacket
Cloudburst Gore-Tex Jacket
Cloudburst Gore-Tex Pants


I also need some advice on sizing.  I tried on the Cloudburst at Cabelas, but they didn't have much of anything else other than the kelvin line (which I don't think I want...I am not a fan of that puffy stuff).  The XXL Cloudburst jacket and pants fit me with plenty of room to layer underneath.  I tried on a jet stream lite jacket in XXL and it fit, but was pretty tight fitting. 


I think the regular jetstream line is cut more traditionally (loose) than the lite? 
How about the merino top and bottom...go with and XL to fit tighter, or stick with XXL? 
How is the cut on the 90% jacket?
How about the mountain pants?  Measure my true waist and order that size?


I apologize for the length.  Any help is appreciated.  Looking forward to being here and will have a lot of other questions as I prepare for hunting in Colorado.

 

[cowboystl1]

brother im not a sitka guy but from what i gather your on a fair track some would recommend the 90% jacket and pants with base layers to warmth as needed with a rain outfit thats packable to cover wet wet weather. really your sets depend on the weather and terrain where your hunting but with good base layers the 90% covers 90%.

 

[brightwhite]

I hear ya loud and clear.  I think I am going to go ahead and order the stuff I laid out since sitka is having the 20% off sale.  Thats going to save me $300 or more!


I think I will go with the regular jet stream vest as well.  It seems to be cut with a little more room (so they say) to layer more comfortably underneath.

 

[cowboystl1]

before you do the sitka thing nothing against it have you looked at KUIU or first lite or core4elements or kryptek just saying you can save good money that way too.  just a thought

oh and welcome to the site brother!

 

[brightwhite]

before you do the sitka thing nothing against it have you looked at KUIU or first lite or core4elements or kryptek just saying you can save good money that way too.  just a thought

oh and welcome to the site brother!

I am certainly not 100% stuck to the sitka brand...I have looked at Kuiu and Kryptek, but not first lite or core4.


Kryptek has seemed to have gotten mixed reviews from what I have read (never seen the stuff in person).  A lot of folks claim that its slimmer fitting than the sitka as well.  I am a bigger guy @ 6' 250, so I can't do anything starts slimmer fitting than what sitka seems to be.


I didn't go any further with Kuiu because I read that a lot of folks like 1 or 2 pieces, but the whole system is not as good.  I hear a lot of good things on their attack pants, but then mixed reviews on everything else.  Plus, with the 20% off of sitka, the price is about the same.


I don't know, maybe I should research this a little more.  Does anyone know when the 20% off sitka sales are going to stop?

 

[cowboystl1]

i already deleted the email but if you email the site they will respond pretty quickly with in a 24 hours usually

 

[brightwhite]

[font=calibri, sans-serif]I ordered a bunch of sitka gear:[/font]

[font=calibri, sans-serif]Mountain Pants[/font]
[font=calibri, sans-serif]Merino zip top and bottoms[/font]
[font=calibri, sans-serif]Jetstream regular and Jetstream lite vest[/font]
[font=calibri, sans-serif]Cloudburst Jacket and Pants[/font]

[font=calibri, sans-serif]If you are a bigger guy like me and have any questions on fit and sizing, let me know and I will give you all the advice I can.  I am happy with how everything fits me.  I was very concerned because of the perception that is out there that a 250lb guy isn't who sitka is building clothing for, but I am absolutely pleased with what I have purchased thus far for my body/frame.[/font]

 

[Big Country]

I have a ton of Sitka gear and would really consider the traverse shirt and 90% jacket.  Also, I prefer the timberline pants due to their versatility although I am looking into the mountain pants for bow season.  I never thought I'd use the knee pads while hunting but they really are great.  Cloudburst setup is a must have for me and I wear them probably 80% of the time.  If your in a lot of brush, I would recommend a good set of gaiters to maintain the integrity of the pants (basically a gore tex shell).  I've gone through 3 seasons so far and they're starting to show signs of wear in the shins, so that is my quick fix.  Other than that, no major complaints.  Hope this helps.