2011 Sitka Contrail Windshirt

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wonderin the bet way to get my new sitka gear ready for bow hunting......

Tammy Jo Posted At 9/19/2012 12:14 AM

Joe - You are right in how you described the fabric. The Contrail is meant to be an ultralight windshirt for hiking in open terrain and glassing situations when you need wind protection. It is not meant to be a brush buster. It will make a little noise, but that is a tradeoff for what it is. Feel free to give me a call at the Sitka office if you want to talk more about it. 877-748-5247

Andrew Posted At 6/16/2011 11:38 AM

I just received the contrail shirt and I am a little concerned about the integrity of the fabric. It is super lightweight and seems like it will be a great addition to have in the pack... but the fabric seems like it would need to be guarded in the woods. My other concern is how noisy it is. I guess we will see how it performs this fall.

Joe Posted At 6/15/2011 03:25 PM

Kurt- Definitely a good question. And the answer could be better delivered through conversation (so don't hesitate to give us a shout if this one ain't cuttn' it). Sitka "basically" offers two layering solutions: 1 for the needs of the western/spot & stalk folks, and 2) for the needs of tree-stand/ambush style hunters. For the most part; western hunters can best perform with lighter more packable pieces. Wherein tree-stand (whitetail) hunters, have expressed their interest towards gearing the line for quiet and (in general) more insulative pieces. The camo patterns (Open Country Vs. Forest) respectively support the same needs from a visual concealment perspective. When Contrail was designed, it was positioned as a quiver piece for an ounce-counting mountain freak (for lack of better words :). With that, we feel the highest and best use for Contrail; is on the shoulders of aggressive Spot & Stalkers. If folks think it truly would compliment another scenario?... Please do speak up!. Yalls' feedback is clutch!.

Chris Awe Posted At 5/24/2011 07:47 AM

Why is this not available in optifade forest?

Kurt Sarkela Posted At 5/23/2011 02:38 PM

Ryan- The Contrail is designed to perform like a shell. It was designed to protect the user from external conditions, while also supporting the roles of underlying garments (worn under the Contrail). Sooooooo; from a "view point".. The Contrail will have little (if any at all) effect on scent control. ...Merino you say?.. Yes; we (Sitka Gear) are offering Merino Wool base layers in addition to Silver treated Poly base layers. It's all about layering. We can all skin the cat about a 100 different ways; but to answer your comment, Yes. A Contrail & Merino combo would be dynamite. -Good eye!!

Chris Awe Posted At 5/23/2011 12:12 PM

What kind of material is made out of, I see your coments on wicking, but what about your body odor over extened expeditions. I'm hoping you say there is some merino wool in it PLEASE!!
Thanks Ryan K hunter extraordinaire glacierboy@comcast.net

Ryan Kolodejchuk Posted At 5/21/2011 07:04 PM

Yea Chris man you hit the money dot! That was exactly what I was wanting to know. I was just wondering how much water it could potentially handle, but Im lovin' the windbreaker aspect. Yea I could see how it would be a great addition to the 90%. Thanks a bunch!

JZ Savage Posted At 3/29/2011 09:35 PM

JZ- First and foremost... The Contrail is absolutely positively NOT Rain Gear. It's highly wind resistant, and water resistant (to a degree).
Its highest and best use is that of a wind-breaker. Should it start to "very gently" sprinkle.. Yea; you should be okay. However, if the frequency of droplets starts to increase to even a drizzle; it'll be time to employ the rain gear.
I've been wearing this layer quite a bit this spring in MT (skate-skiing, hiking, running, etc.).
A typical scenario:
The sun is just coming up, temperature is hovering around 17-25 degrees, with occasional wind gusts. -I have to be to work in 1.5 hours, leaving me 45 minutes for a high intensity suffer-fest.
On my upper torso; all I wear is Core and Contrail. -Typically, it'd be Core and Traverse... But running at "redline" for 45 minutes; I can't handle the extra insulation.. With the Core all by itself; I would be frost bit. The Contrail is critical. It breaks the wind, but still allows my Core to wick moisture out of the system, and breathe.
This fall, I'm stoked to mix it into my system with the 90%.
Sorry for the long-winded response. Does this help?..

Chris Awe Posted At 3/29/2011 08:51 AM

Hey how does the Contrail do with water? Will it buck the light storms but eventually soak through in a heavy?

JZ Savage Posted At 3/28/2011 10:26 PM

I've found that more time you spend in the backcountry the more you appreciate hoods. This piece looks great.

SCC Posted At 3/26/2011 05:10 AM

The Contrail Shirt will be available for purchase as of June through any of our authorized dealers or on sitkagear.com. It is a great shirt, you'll love it!

David Posted At 3/02/2011 08:35 AM

when is it for sale

Cody Canale Posted At 2/28/2011 09:34 PM

I like a good hood in extream weather (like my Stormfront Jacket) but 90% of the time a hat or beenie is all I need and gives me better peripheral vision without the neck-bulk against a pack.

Jon Posted At 1/31/2011 08:48 AM

Jon~ Neither the Contrail or the Traverse Hoody have an actual fixture to roll up the hood... I just fold them into themselves a couple times to fix them in place... that being said, I probably do that 1% of the time... I absolutely love hooded pieces of gear.

Mark Seacat Posted At 1/30/2011 11:29 AM

Mark, you say the hood can be rolled up, does it have a fixture to keep it up?
Thanks,

Jon Posted At 1/29/2011 01:00 PM

dovetailing on what Mark said.... Indeed; the hood is fixed. The mantra of this piece is to offer a burly shield against cold wind... But light enough to allow your body to remain cool during spirts of high energy output. As Mark also pointed out; there really are about 101 different ways we could skin the cat here. I (personally) have been quite pleased w/ the Contrail's performance on super early morning missions. -wherein all i have underneath is a Merino Zip (similar weight to Core Zip). This allows me to rev near redline without overheating (or over cooling). For those super-performance driven, ounce shaving, western focused hunters... I highly recommend a closer look at the Contrail Windshirt.

Chris Awe Posted At 1/27/2011 11:30 AM

Jon~ The Contrail Jacket does have a hood... its not removable, but you can roll it up if you're not using it. I layer using the Traverse Hoody and Jetstream all the time... I have a much different layering system than most... guess that's why these guys are making so many different products...

When it's hot, I'll just wear the Traverse Hoody up top, when the wind blows or in a light storm, I'll throw over the Contrail.

When it's cold, I'll layer The Traverse Hoody, with another Traverse shirt over it... when the wind or elements come up I'll have the Jetstream Jacket as my outer... In crazy conditions, I wear both hoods... I also always have a Stormfront Jacket with me... if heavy rain/snow comes down, I'll be ready. If I know I'm going to be sitting for a long time somewhere in the cold, I'll bring the Kelvin...

It's a little different, but it's my recipe for spot and stalk hunting...

Mark Seacat Posted At 1/27/2011 09:36 AM

Does this jacket have a hood? If so can it be removed? It's hard to layer when all of your wind-proof products have hoods.

Jon Posted At 1/27/2011 09:04 AM

That pattern on the Contrail Jacket is BADASS, and would definately work in urban/ desert/ Fall/ Winter settings. SWEET!

Jason Posted At 1/26/2011 07:41 AM

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