Sitka Gear Men's Stormfront Lite Rain Jacket Review
Sitka Gear Men's Stormfront Lite Rain Jacket Feature
- Lightweight, packable rain jacket for men; camouflage pattern; ideal for hunting
- Two-way stretch Gore-Tex PacLite fabric with durable water repellent finish
- Articulated arms for freedom of movement
- Micro-taped seams; welded, watertight zippers; TPU cuff-tab wraps
- Weighs just over 1 pound; covered by limited warranty
Specifications:
- Technology: Micro-taped seams
- Fabric: Gore-Tex PacLite Shell with stretch, DWR finish
- Color: Optifade Open Country Concealment
- Weight: 1.10 pounds
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| The PacLite is durably waterproof and extremely breathable. |
About Gore-Tex PacLite Fabric
The Gore-Tex PacLite Shell is used in Sitka's lightest weight jackets and pants, the Stormfront Lite and Downpour series. It's highly waterproof and breathable, but it now boasts stretch, offering the lightest, most packable piece with full weather protection.
Benefits and Construction:
- A protective layer on the membrane makes a separate lining unnecessary.
- Durably waterproof and extremely breathable.
- Lightweight, packable, and versatile.
- Face fabric made of high-performance polyester or nylon.
- Membrane covered by a protective layer made of an oleophobic (oil-hating) substance and carbon.
- Special Gore-Seam tape technology ensures all seams are 100 percent waterproof.
Optifade Concealment System
Optifade camouflage from Gore is the first and only concealment system ever scientifically designed around the way a hunter's prey views the world. It's the only concealment system to combine a symmetry-disrupting macro-pattern with a fractal-geometry-based micro-pattern, designed to become nothing in the eyes of prey at engagement ranges of 20 meters and beyond.
Macro-Patterns and Micro-Patterns
The human body has what is known as a signature, made up of identifiable lines and obvious symmetry that is easily recognized by humans and particularly by their prey. By interrupting those lines and the body's symmetry with a macro-pattern of light and dark blobs and streaks, immediate identification is disrupted. But nature has more than the lights and darks that make up the positive and negative shapes in the world around us. Fine texture defines our world. Therefore, overlaid on the macro-pattern is a fractal-geometry-based micro-pattern.
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Product Care:
- Wash: Machine wash warm (104 degrees F). Powder or liquid detergent. No fabric softener. Follow manufacturer's instructions.
- Dry-clean: If professionally dry-cleaned, request clear, distilled solvent rinse and a spray repellent. Follow manufacturer's instructions.
- Iron: Steam-iron warm, placing a towel or cloth between the garment and the iron. There is no need to iron the garment until it is completely dry.
- Bleach: No chlorine bleach. It may damage your garment.
- Dry: Tumble-dry warm. The heat from the dryer will help reactivate the durable water repellent (DWR) treatment on your garment's outer fabric.
- Water-repellent treatment: Gore recommends applying a topical water repellency restorative (DWR treatment) for outdoor fabrics, available at your local outdoor retailer. Wash-in treatments are not recommended, as they can affect the garment's breathability.
- Stain removal: Use a pre-wash treatment such as Shout or Spray 'n Wash, following the manufacturer's instructions. Rinse well.
Manufacturer's Warranty
While Sitka's gear is built to be tough, it is not invincible. It will be put to the test, encountering limbs, barb wire, rocks, and other conditions that may harm or damage the gear. If your gear is damaged, and the damage is due to improper use or wear and tear, you will receive an estimate of the cost of repair. If the damage is due to a defect in material or workmanship, the product will either be repaired at Sitka's cost or replaced by Sitka.
Sitka Gear Product Design
Sitka had a simple goal: to introduce to the hunting industry a system of clothing that incorporates the latest high-performance fabrics with a mountaineering design philosophy. With Sitka's continued growth of experience and expertise, its focus becomes more defined as it develops specific solutions for specific uses. It doesn't cut corners, it doesn't appeal to the masses. Sitka sometimes gets it wrong, but you can't get it right without trying.
The Sitka System is based on a tried-and-true layering system. A system that revolves around base, insulation, and outerwear with a very simple goal: moisture management. At the highest level, the concept is straightforward. Base layers move moisture away from your skin, keeping you warm when it's cold, and cool and when it's hot. This is the foundation. Insulation and outerwear are your control pieces that are adjusted in response to weather and activity levels that continue the process of moisture management.These same principles apply to the elk hunter in Montana, the sheep hunter in Alaska, and the whitetail hunter in Missouri. The systems are more specific for each hunter and each trip, but the same principles always apply.
About Sitka Gear
Founded in 2005, Sitka Gear was an idea spawned by necessity. Like many stories, this one started out as an epic journey that culminated with a clear vision. After 3,000 vertical feet in the dark, with intermittent snow flurries and driving sleet, the morning climb ended behind a gnarled white bark pine to get some reprieve from the elements and a little food in the bellies. Cold and wet with sweat from that climb, it was more than obvious that discomfort like this was unnecessary.
So, on that September morning, at timberline, surrounded by bugling bulls, the vision that became Sitka was realized. Drawing on strong backgrounds in the climbing, mountaineering, and general headstrong assaults of the backcountry, the company founders focused on bridging the gaps that existed between these endeavors.
Sitka's driving goal is not only to bridge the technology gaps that existed from a fabric, construction, and product-form perspective but to be fully immersed in driving new technologies and solutions for the modern outdoorsman. Sitka's roots are in the mountains, but its solutions range widely. It could be said that Sitka simply makes the best high-performance system of hunting clothes on the market, but it's more than just quality. It's a philosophy: turning clothing into gear.
The first 2 way stretch GORE-TEX Packlite jacket, the Stormfront Lite is ultra-light and packable. Designed for the minimalist hunter who still mandates the need for guaranteed storm protection. A “Light & Fast” mentality including one chest pocket that turns into a zippered stuff sack that will keep you from leaving it in camp.
