Wind is an ever-present X factor. It can quickly turn a fine day in the field into an exhausting and debilitating experience, sapping your core heat and composure if you’re unprepared.
GORE® WINDSTOPPER® technology blocks the chilling effect of wind and can be incorporated in a range of fabrics that balance breathability, water resistance, warmth, comfort and lightweight packability to give hunters exactly what they need to combat the wind based on environment and activity.
The demands of a spring training run are very different from a late fall backcountry hunt, and a waterfowl hunter’s priorities are different than those of a whitetail hunter. Our design team carefully chooses WINDSTOPPER® fabrics to balance the dynamics of the end use to create specialized solutions for the hunter.
Scot Tims, a Fabrics Application Engineer at GORE™, describes these opposing factors as “performance vectors.”
We maximize on performance vectors that work in opposite directions,” Tims explains. “Waterproofness versus breathability or comfort versus durability, for example.
Generally speaking, the more waterproof something is, the less it will breathe. Likewise, a fabric may achieve a high level of durability but end up being uncomfortable or too heavy. To achieve these balances, WINDSTOPPER® fabrics come in 2-Layer and 3-Layer options with a wide variety of additional fabric features to add insulation or durability as desired.
An unlined 2-Layer WINDSTOPPER® product like the Nimbus Jacket is designed to be ultralight and packable. On the other hand, the Jetstream Jacket uses a 3-layer WINDSTOPPER® membrane with a microcheck fleece interior and a polyester knit face that add warmth and comfort.
When choosing a WINDSTOPPER® product, Tims’ advice is simple: “Think about what you’re going to be doing and what environment you’ll be in. From there, choose a product that balances what’s most important based on those two factors.”
Every WINDSTOPPER® fabric undergoes extensive testing to ensure quality and optimal end benefits for the user. Windproofness, water resistance, flexibility, thermal resistance, breathability and abrasion resistance are all rigorously tested, and every WINDSTOPPER® product receives a final Durable Water Repellent treatment to help shed water and prevent the face fabric from saturating.
Wind can be a hunter’s best friend or worst enemy. SITKA Gear products with WINDSTOPPER® offer versatile solutions to keep the hunter warm, comfortable and focused on the task at hand in stiff breezes, violent gales and everything in between.
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