The industry leader in technical clothing, Sitka Gear, is always putting out new and exciting products to make the extreme hunter and outdoorsman’s life better. We are usually putting these new products to the test for these videos.
However, this is a revisit to a product that came out nearly a decade ago. It’s the Jetstream jacket and has been a dependable and long-time favorite of the Sportsman’s News team, since its inception. Mine has been around the globe on numerous occasions and continually delivers protection, comfort, and dependability. After using a product this long, you truly have a well-formed opinion and mine is that this jacket is a must have for the serious outdoorsman.
It is a polyester knit softshell-face fabric jacket and an integral part of the Sitka layering system. It employs windstopper technology, which means that it does a really good job of cutting the wind. A cold blowing wind will pierce through your bones and rob you of valuable body heat, but that won’t happen with this jacket. The outer face is treated with DWR or durable water repellant which is very helpful with those light afternoon showers. It will prevent the fabric from absorbing water but isn’t designed to replace rain gear. When it is “Go Time”, you will appreciate the full-length pit zips, which do a great job of allowing excess heat to escape. The hood is well-designed and cut to allow you good peripheral vision. When not in use, it can be tucked out of the way. The overall fit of this jacket is what makes it my absolutely favorite jacket in the line. Since it is part of the layering system, it has its function and isn’t trying to be too many different things. This allows you to wear a pack, and a heavy one at that, without having any problems with bulking of material around where the straps will ride. The sleeves allow good movement, but don’t have excess fabric, which allows me to shoot my bow without interfering with the string. It is available in both Optifade Open Country pattern as well as the SubAlpine pattern. Since I don’t always wear camo, it is nice to have the solid patterns available as well. Those are Sitka Black, Dirt, and Moss colors. Regardless of what pattern suits your needs, this is guaranteed to quickly become your favorite jacket for all seasons.
