Switching from Scentlok to Sitka

[HoneyBadger53]

I currently purchased the Scentlok saddle hunter suite. I am impressed with the features of the suite. I wore it through anrchery and into rifle season in PA. I don’t think you can go wrong for the price.

However, I had to go through some light brush after a deer in archery season and my suite was stuck on some jaggers. Unfortunately when I came out I had four new holes in my suite.

Which brought me to my next thought. My dad is a Sitka guy and his stuff seems to hold up well. I like the idea of carbon in the Scentlok and believe it works to some degree. But I have noticed the durability of the Sitka.

So I was thinking of purchasing some Scentlok base layer and purchasing Sitka for my outer layer even though I love my saddle suite features. I was looking at the Sitka that is made out of fleece and was curious if it would have the same durability problem as the Scentlok or if it’s made thicker?

Has anyone else went this route? If so how much bigger of a size in Sitka do you have to purchase for layering?

Thanks!

 

[Maverick1]

I avoid this issue all together and wear different clothes for hiking in and out. Nothing to do with scent control. More to do with spending control. Outer layers are very expensive, so I wear inexpensive clothes to and from the stand and put my expensive outerwear into a stuff sack and attach it to the outside of my backpack. Makes things a little bulky, but I’ve got way too much $ tied up in various outer layers to be walking through brush whole wearing any of it. If I shred my cheap nylon pants or poly shirt I don’t care. And, they are more resistant to burrs and stickers than the expensive stuff, too.

 

[HoneyBadger53]

I avoid this issue all together and wear different clothes for hiking in and out. Nothing to do with scent control. More to do with spending control. Outer layers are very expensive, so I wear inexpensive clothes to and from the stand and put my expensive outerwear into a stuff sack and attach it to the outside of my backpack. Makes things a little bulky, but I’ve got way too much $ tied up in various outer layers to be walking through brush whole wearing any of it. If I shred my cheap nylon pants or poly shirt I don’t care. And, they are more resistant to burrs and stickers than the expensive stuff, t

I avoid this issue all together and wear different clothes for hiking in and out. Nothing to do with scent control. More to do with spending control. Outer layers are very expensive, so I wear inexpensive clothes to and from the stand and put my expensive outerwear into a stuff sack and attach it to the outside of my backpack. Makes things a little bulky, but I’ve got way too much $ tied up in various outer layers to be walking through brush whole wearing any of it. If I shred my cheap nylon pants or poly shirt I don’t care. And, they are more resistant to burrs and stickers than the expensive stuff, too.

Not a bad idea. What stuff sack did you get?

 

[Maverick1]

@HoneyBadger53 An inexpensive 60L (14" x 24") stuff sack, 210D ripstop nylon. Can be purchased from REI or other sources for about $15. As an added bonus, I also use this on my canoe hunts, which helps to keep my outer gear dry and the paddle drip off my outer gear Only weighs about 4.6 oz, so the weight penalty is minimal, too.

Got tired of shredding my nice base layers and overheating in my outer layers (and shredding them) when hiking to and from my stands.

 

[Bowtie747]

I’ll second what has already been said. I don’t wear my good clothes in which happen to be Sitka. I actually wear a set of core light weights in that I good on a really good sale. But anything cheap works, preferably something that helps wick moisture.

 

[Tknapp]

I currently purchased the Scentlok saddle hunter suite. I am impressed with the features of the suite. I wore it through anrchery and into rifle season in PA. I don’t think you can go wrong for the price.

However, I had to go through some light brush after a deer in archery season and my suite was stuck on some jaggers. Unfortunately when I came out I had four new holes in my suite.

Which brought me to my next thought. My dad is a Sitka guy and his stuff seems to hold up well. I like the idea of carbon in the Scentlok and believe it works to some degree. But I have noticed the durability of the Sitka.

So I was thinking of purchasing some Scentlok base layer and purchasing Sitka for my outer layer even though I love my saddle suite features. I was looking at the Sitka that is made out of fleece and was curious if it would have the same durability problem as the Scentlok or if it’s made thicker?

Has anyone else went this route? If so how much bigger of a size in Sitka do you have to purchase for layering?

Thanks!

I also live in Pa. I got away from Sitka because it didn't fit well. I had scecntlok durability problems also. I ended up buying first lite base layers based on the incredible reviews and was super happy with it. This led me down the rabbit hole of eventually buying an entire wardrobe of First lite piece by piece and I couldn't be happier. The durability has been awesome. I busted brush and briars all archery season and not a pull or hole in sight.

 

[Lucky13]

I’ve owned a bunch of the top 3.
Kuiu doesn’t hold up like FL and Sitka. I’m at a place where I’ve sold most my FL and have more than I need of Sitka. You can’t go wrong with both FL and Sitka but to me Sitka is top dog. I’m hard on gear. All my Sitka has held up excellent and fits me perfectly. They make their outer layers roomy for layers. The windstopper Sitka offers is second to none. I feel like Sitka’s thought into design, pockets, cuts, sleeves, are a notch higher than FL.
Examples of pieces would be:
Mountain pants, Stratus pants, Jetstream / Stratus jacket don’t get shredded walking in and out.
Incinerator bibs and jacket have been bomb proof for me. The advantage I’ve found in those 2 pieces is depending on how cold it is you don’t have to bulk up with layers underneath.
To anyone starting to buy Sitka I’d suggest Stratus. It has windstopper. Buy the size you normally wear. If you’re in between sizes size up. I’m 6’1 215 pounds and 37x33 jeans fit me perfectly. I wear XL Sitka tops and size Large or 37 pants/ bibs. The XL jackets give me room for layers. Same for the outer shell pants in that size.

 

[Tknapp]

I’ve owned a bunch of the top 3.
Kuiu doesn’t hold up like FL and Sitka. I’m at a place where I’ve sold most my FL and have more than I need of Sitka. You can’t go wrong with both FL and Sitka but to me Sitka is top dog. I’m hard on gear. All my Sitka has held up excellent and fits me perfectly. They make their outer layers roomy for layers. The windstopper Sitka offers is second to none. I feel like Sitka’s thought into design, pockets, cuts, sleeves, are a notch higher than FL.
Examples of pieces would be:
Mountain pants, Stratus pants, Jetstream / Stratus jacket don’t get shredded walking in and out.
Incinerator bibs and jacket have been bomb proof for me. The advantage I’ve found in those 2 pieces is depending on how cold it is you don’t have to bulk up with layers underneath.
To anyone starting to buy Sitka I’d suggest Stratus. It has windstopper. Buy the size you normally wear. If you’re in between sizes size up. I’m 6’1 215 pounds and 37x33 jeans fit me perfectly. I wear XL Sitka tops and size Large or 37 pants/ bibs. The XL jackets give me room for layers. Same for the outer shell pants in that size.

I had the opposite sizing experience. maybe my body type but no matter what every piece of Sitka I bought felt made for a short fat person. I'm 6'3" and 250 lbs. every piece I swam in around the belly and the arms and legs were all way too short. I have seen this as a complaint from first lite but I really like how it fits.

 

[Lucky13]

It must be a body type thing.. The only piece of Sitka that has not fit correctly for me was the Jetstream vest. I have the jetstream jacket in XL and it’s perfect. Probably my most worn piece. The XL vest was to big in the belly area so I got a size large vest and it’s too tight. All my other pants, bibs, hoodies, shirts, and jackets fit like they were custom made for me.

 

[HoneyBadger53]

I’ve owned a bunch of the top 3.
Kuiu doesn’t hold up like FL and Sitka. I’m at a place where I’ve sold most my FL and have more than I need of Sitka. You can’t go wrong with both FL and Sitka but to me Sitka is top dog. I’m hard on gear. All my Sitka has held up excellent and fits me perfectly. They make their outer layers roomy for layers. The windstopper Sitka offers is second to none. I feel like Sitka’s thought into design, pockets, cuts, sleeves, are a notch higher than FL.
Examples of pieces would be:
Mountain pants, Stratus pants, Jetstream / Stratus jacket don’t get shredded walking in and out.
Incinerator bibs and jacket have been bomb proof for me. The advantage I’ve found in those 2 pieces is depending on how cold it is you don’t have to bulk up with layers underneath.
To anyone starting to buy Sitka I’d suggest Stratus. It has windstopper. Buy the size you normally wear. If you’re in between sizes size up. I’m 6’1 215 pounds and 37x33 jeans fit me perfectly. I wear XL Sitka tops and size Large or 37 pants/ bibs. The XL jackets give me room for layers. Same for the outer shell pants in that size.

I was looking at the stratus and finatic. I dunno if the incinerator would be overkill. Do you know if there is much of a difference? Also any idea if they make the bibs to go underneath the jackets or over?

 

[Lucky13]

Personal preference on bibs under or over. I’ve done both but usually I wear a jacket over if lock-on hunting, jacket under w saddle. I had the fanatic and the outer material is a plush built up material. The stratus and incinerator gets you through the woods better without picking up hitchhikers and briars. The incinerator is much warmer than the fanatic. The stratus can be as warm as the fanatic with a base layer and lightweight puffy underneath. I wear a down one.
If I’m hunting in the incinerator I just wear the bibs and a lightweight shirt walking in. I unzip the zipper along the bibs legs for ventilation and put the jacket on after I get up in the tree. Safety harness through the jacket. With a saddle I’ll drop the bibs/saddle down, put the jacket on, bibs over jacket, and saddle over everything. Jacket over or under is a moot point in my opinion.

 

[KYRanger]

Good comments above. I have more Sitka than I probably need as I just got the Stratus in Subapline. My opinion is that Sitka is built extremely well. I haven’t ripped a piece and I have had some for over 5 years. As for size, I find the fit to be great and I’m 6’2” 245. People may disagree, but the build quality and performance of the Sitka system speaks for itself.

If you buy off season or Black Friday, you can get Sitka fairly competitively priced.

 

[HoneyBadger53]

Personal preference on bibs under or over. I’ve done both but usually I wear a jacket over if lock-on hunting, jacket under w saddle. I had the fanatic and the outer material is a plush built up material. The stratus and incinerator gets you through the woods better without picking up hitchhikers and briars. The incinerator is much warmer than the fanatic. The stratus can be as warm as the fanatic with a base layer and lightweight puffy underneath. I wear a down one.
If I’m hunting in the incinerator I just wear the bibs and a lightweight shirt walking in. I unzip the zipper along the bibs legs for ventilation and put the jacket on after I get up in the tree. Safety harness through the jacket. With a saddle I’ll drop the bibs/saddle down, put the jacket on, bibs over jacket, and saddle over everything. Jacket over or under is a moot point in my opinion.

So would you recommend the status over the incinerator for the ability to layer?

 

[DE bow hunter]

As other have said I find the quality, fit and durability of Sitka to be unmatched. I have the mountain pant, jet stream jacket in subalpine for mid to late October thru about now. I also wear it for spring gobbler. If it get chilly I add the heavy weight hoodie (best piece of gear I’ve ever owned).
Also have the fanatic jacket and bibs but don’t need to put that on until the temps hit the low 30’s-20’s. When walking in I always just wear a light base layer and unzip bib front and down the legs and pack the jacket. Just wore this last weekend and walked a mile in without sweating. If it drops to single digits I add the fanatic hoodie, but it is warm enough to get me through a 4-5 hour sit with some hand and toe warmers in single digits. Not sure where you’re at, but here in the NE these days we don’t see temps much colder than that during the season. I have never worn the incinerator but I think it would be over kill for here. I would recommend going to a store or one of the outdoor shows coming up after the season and stopping by the Sitka booth to try the stuff on before dropping the coin.

*** big budget note*** Sitka gear offers a 40-50% for first responders. I think FL offers 30-40%.

 

[Plebe]

So would you recommend the status over the incinerator for the ability to layer?

For cold weather, no.

Layering is a pain. More items to pack, more to put on, more clothes binding up.

And room for layers could mean upsizing on the Stratus jacket, which isn’t ideal for archery. The Stratus isn’t a warm set, it’s at it’s best during archery or during active hunts (still hunting/tracking).

If I could only have one item of Sitka it would be the Incinerator bibs. I have had Stratus, Incinerator, and Fanatic since EVI.

I usually start off with Stratus bibs and coat (or Scentlok Taktix coat), and end up with Incinerator bibs and Fanatic jacket or Scentlok Revenant jacket. My only mid-layer is a Sitka puffy vest, optional based on temp.

 

[Lucky13]

Everyone reacts to cold differently. I hate being cold and probably break out the incinerator earlier than most but if I’m cold I move around more while hunting and will get out of the woods sooner cold over being warm/comfortable. The ability to put together a warm clothing system has helped me be a better hunter. It took me years to figure that out and all I’d suggest to someone going down the Sitka rabbit trail is you can save yourself a lot of buying and selling and extra pieces if you jump straight to the incinerator. Then eventually get the neck gaiter, hand muff, fanatic beanie or incinerator hat and cold will become a nonissue.
I basically use the mountain or stratus pants with several different tops and the Jetstream jacket if needed early season then go to incinerator bibs with jetstream to full incinerator. I’m also a huge fan of down pants and jacket that I incorporate under the outer shell.
Don’t get overwhelmed. It’s like eating an elephant.. just buy 1 piece at a time. It took me 10 years and lots of my gear was second hand.

 

[enkriss]

Scentlok baselayers suck. They fit terrible. The trek baselayers are nice material but the fit is awful. The tops are short almost a damn belly shirt and the bottoms might fit you well if your 400lbs and 4’-6” tall.

If you want merino I highly recommend minus33. If you want synthetic the Sitka heavyweight are good. I have the Thlete H1 baselayers. I use them as a mid layer and they are amazing.

The saddle suit has some issues. After some use the Windproof membrane separates and binds up in the arms or something. It also fits odd in the pelvic area.

Early season Sitka equinox guard set is my favorite.

Late season I think the scentlok fortress is just as warm if not warmer than the Sitka fanatic.

Mid season I am currently searching. I used the old forest stratus for years then switched to the EVII stratus and used that for years. I kinda regret selling those peices. The scentlok voyage is great until the wind starts blowing. Then you freeze. I have the paradigm but it seems pretty loud in the cold. It’s also thin and your really need to layer under it.

 

[NATHAN]

I think sitka and firstlite are the best quality, but its worth it to me to keep the carbon.

 

[enkriss]

I can’t wear first lite merino. Makes me itchy

 

[Plebe]

Scentlok baselayers suck. They fit terrible. The trek baselayers are nice material but the fit is awful. The tops are short almost a damn belly shirt and the bottoms might fit you well if your 400lbs and 4’-6” tall.

If you want merino I highly recommend minus33. If you want synthetic the Sitka heavyweight are good. I have the Thlete H1 baselayers. I use them as a mid layer and they are amazing.

The saddle suit has some issues. After some use the Windproof membrane separates and binds up in the arms or something. It also fits odd in the pelvic area.

Early season Sitka equinox guard set is my favorite.

Late season I think the scentlok fortress is just as warm if not warmer than the Sitka fanatic.

Mid season I am currently searching. I used the old forest stratus for years then switched to the EVII stratus and used that for years. I kinda regret selling those peices. The scentlok voyage is great until the wind starts blowing. Then you freeze. I have the paradigm but it seems pretty loud in the cold. It’s also thin and your really need to layer under it.

Yeah, if the Scentlok baselayers suck, and OP wants the scent control benefits of Scentlok, I guess that’s pretty limiting.

Scentlok used to make the green liner pants and top. They worked good, imo, but added another layer. I have some of their old base-slayers as well and they fit ok. Ran maybe slightly small.

I’ve been hiking in thin merino and T and swapping into Sitka Core HWT and that works best for me.

If Sitka still made the Stratus the same as the EV1 model, I’d be more glowing about that coat. I like the old fanatic jacket better as well. Too bad they changed the build. Both camos are too blue.