During our spring bear and August sheep / goat backpack hunts, you’ll find us wearing the Sitka Gear Ascent pant.  I’ts become our favorite warm weather, early season pant for many reasons.  Before Sitka Gear, we were forced to buy clothing designed for mountaineering and backpacking to get the fit and features we needed for the type of “athletic” style hunts that we do.  Sitka recognized the need for technical camo clothing for the mountain hunter, and has since changed the game completely when it comes to today’s hunting clothing market.

The Sitka Gear Ascent pant uses articulated knees and a gusseted crotch to offer full range of movement when hiking or climbing.  Combined with it’s highly breathable, stretchy polyester fabric, this pant will be one of  the most comfortable pants you will ever wear.  The zippers are durable and quiet, and the pockets close using a snap system that is silent and bomb proof.  The fabric is incredibly durable, especially considering how light weight it is, and has a brushed finish to keep it quiet.  Another unique feature is the rubbery lining  on the inside of the waist that keeps your shirt tucked in place while hiking hard.  The other features the mountain hunters will appreciate is the roll up pant leg system for stream crossings and the dual fly zippers, which makes it much easier to go the washroom with a loaded pack on, or a tree stand saftey harness. Sitka has since introduced the Mountain pant and the Timberline pant which I will be doing separate reviews on shortly.  Both have extra fabric built into the high wear parts and built in knee pad systems, as well as other cool features.  With these additional features comes extra weight, and  while they both have a place in our specific hunting applications,  I will still reach for the Ascent pant before all others when heading into the mountains in the early season.  www.sitkagear.com