Sitka Traverse Shirts

Original Mountain Shirt

The pocket de-laminated so I gave Sitka a call.   No questions were asked, just an apology and the new design was headed my way.   The replacement shirt was the Sitka Traverse.  I have been running that Traverse shirt for the last 3-4 years, and it has become a vital piece of my hunting kit.   Its warm, blocks wind well, and the fit is just plain old comfortable.

Traverse Shirt in Action

I liked my Optifade Traverse so much I picked one up in Lead, Sitka’s solid gray, and one of the Traverse Hoodys in black.    I wore the lead color one off an on to work for a few months.  After a dozen washes or so the face of the fabric had some slight pilling that removed the Traverse from the list of acceptable business casual shirts.   Performance is in no way affected, the shirt just looks like an outdoor / weekend shirt rather than clean and sharp for the office, like it originally did.

I reached out to Sitka and was informed that that the Traverse line just might be going through a bit of a overhaul for 2015.  Excited to see what that entails.  I’m sure it will demand that I add another Traverse shirt to my ever increasing kit.

The Traverse Hoody:  At first I was not a big fan of the hood and zipper design.  The hood, was well, odd.  It was not until I actually begin using the Tarverse Hoody that I recognized the genius behind the design.  Unzipped it looks like it would just flap around a bit, but the soft texture of the Traverse allows it to simply fold back out of the way.  Fully zipped up (aka Ninja mode) is when the Traverse Hoody shines.   The zipper slides off to the side of your face leaving a comfortable, soft, even breathable, fabric across your mouth and chin.   Its like wearing a Balaclava.   I’ll update this post with a picture when I can get one.  Its something you pretty much have to try to fully get, but its worth doing if you like hoods.

Proud of my new-found discovery I bragged it up to my wife.   An avid runner, who even braves Alaska’s winters, she snagged it out of the closet for her next run.  While she was there she also noticed my Sitka 90% pants in Woodsmoke.  So thus outfitted she took on 10 degree weather and icy streets. (she does utilize studded running shoes by Icebug)  We still argue over the 90% pants now and then, but I did have to buy the lovely woman her very own Traverse Hoody.  It is her favorite piece of winter running gear.

I am doing a more detailed review on soft shells at a later date so I won’t go into the 90% pant much today.  Please check back around spring time as I’ll be covering a broad spectrum of soft shells when I complete that review.

To summarize, I like the Traverse shirts…  Whenever I can find one on sale I’ll be picking up another in Lead.   I wear them all the time, I just wish they had more options in the solid color line.