Video Product Review: Sitka Gear Thunderhead Rain Gear
It’s not a small miracle that I can’t picture or embody the torture of the cold and drenched “get me off this mountain” feeling while sitting here in my office. The AC is on and it’s a hot 97 degrees outside and my Thunderhead Rain Gear is folded kind-of neatly on my desk. But, I will say that last week, sitting on a mountain in Colorado on an early season velvet elk scouting trip with the rain pouring down, in that moment being totally warm and dry, that was a small miracle. That’s why I wear Sitka. That’s why the brushed silent fabric of the Thunderhead rain system is for me.
The desire for evolution seems to drive Sitka to the top, to the brainstorm field sessions, to the mercy of Mother Nature and then to victory. It has been fun to be along for the ride, from the inception of the idea of Sitka Gear to conversations with Jonathan Hart after field testing some of the first raingear, to now this, Thunderhead Sub Alpine Series.
Experience told me just this last week that I should head for the quad and beat feet back to camp before being engulfed with literally a thunderhead, clouds full of electricity and thunder echoing through the ponderosas. I was smiling, tucked just under a bank, watching it all happen in surround sound HD from my front row, VIP Thunderhead seat. I wonder if there is anything better than the patter of rain on a fully waterproof drawstring hoodie (That doesn’t impede peripheral vision!) and to top it off, a meadow packed full of fuzzy antlers.
Stay Longer and Stay Quiet is the theme. GORE-TEX 3L laminate provides 100% waterproof protection and brushed polyester knit fabric sandwiches the laminate so it’s not only waterproof, but deadly silent as well. The wet mistakes I have made over my outdoor history are mostly caused by not wanting to pack heavy rain gear on a clear day. A rookie move of course and I have a few of them in my resume, but the highly packable, fitted design of the Thunderhead allows for minimal space requirements in the pack of your choosing and basically eliminates the not so convenient, “I don’t need my rain gear today”.
Simply due to the jacket weighing 25.5 oz. and the pants weighing 22.45 oz.,you will forget it is even in your pack until you need it. The jacket is lined with easy-to-use and practical pockets that actually fit modern-day tools, such as a cell phone. And the pants zip all the way up the leg for fast “leave the boots on application” and completely eliminate the one-legged rain gear dance.
You owe it to yourself to schedule front row seats to a thunderhead while wearing Thunderhead Rain Gear by Sitka Gear, totally warm and dry. Or you could just sit at your desk and imagine it.
Dan Kidder
My name is Dan Kidder, I am Managing Editor of Sportsman's News Magazine. I am a former Marine who served with the Fleet Anti Terrorism Security Team Company during Operation Desert Storm. Prior to moving to Utah, I served as communications director for Georgia Congressman Mac Collins in his Washington, DC office. I am the President and CEO of On Target Defensive Training, offering firearms and unarmed combat courses to civilians and law enforcement. My students have included federal agents of the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Border Patrol, ICE, local and state law enforcement, national celebrities, and the general public. My beat at Sportsman's News includes tactical firearms, personal protection, survival, first aid, camping, and hiking.
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