Gear Update: Sitka's New Whitetail System

Ten years ago, Sitka Gear took the hunting world by storm. The introduction of their first big game hunting line in 2005 spawned a revolution in hunting clothing.

Personally, it changed the way I approach hunting clothing. Before Sitka, I hunted in Arcteryx, Mountain Hardwear and other technical clothing brands. The hunting world was so far behind that it wasn’t even in my sight picture. Looking back now, it’s amazing to think that technical clothing for hunters hardly existed. Dozens of companies have since followed suit.

Now, Sitka Gear boasts unique hunting systems for western big game, whitetail and waterfowl. Sitka has totally revamped its whitetail system for 2015. After introducing the first whitetail hunting system in 2009, Sitka continues to dial it in.

The biggest change to the Sitka whitetail lineup for 2015 is the new Elevated II camouflage pattern. Like the original Open Country pattern from Optifade, the first Elevated pattern was developed using animal vision research from Dr. Jay Neitz and the camouflage expertise of West Point professor, Lieutenant Colonel Tim O'Neill.

The new Elevated II pattern is an upgrade in several respects. The first thing most hunters will notice is a different color focus. With less foliage elements and more sky elements, the new pattern seeks to be more versatile throughout the change of seasons from fall to winter.

But the most important difference in the new pattern, which may not be as noticeable, is a sharper contrast in the macro pattern.

"In each Optifade pattern, we employ macro and micro patterns," Corey Piersol of Sitka told Guidefitter. "Macro patterns are the large shapes that break up the human outline at a distance. Micro patterns are the small shapes that add texture, concealing hunters at close distances."

"By sharpening the contrast on the Macro pattern, we have minimized the blobbing effect to extend the range of the pattern," Corey continued. "Meanwhile, we have maintained the integrity of the micro pattern for effectiveness at close distances."

All in all, the new Elevated II should be a more versatile pattern than its predecessor.

Other changes to Sitka’s 2015 whitetail system include several new or re-designed pieces. Most notably, Sitka has added more versatility to its Core base layer. Sitka now offers the Core series in lightweight, midweight and heavyweight versions. This will give hunters more versatility from the early season to freezing winter temps.