A Friends Promise - Jetstream Jacket
When I first started working with 1 Shot Gear, Rj (our store manager) swore that my first piece of Sitka Gear needed to be the new Jetstream Jacket.
Being a gear junkie, and knowing that I expect a lot of out my equipment, I couldn't wait to test the new Jetstream Jacket to see if it lived up to the buzz and, most importantly - see if it could handle a run-and-gun lifestyle.
Immediately upon putting on the Jetstream Jacket, I couldn't help but appreciate the fit and technology. It's wide enough in the shoulders, long enough up front, form-fitting in the arms to accommodate shooting a bow, and my personal favorite - it's quiet for the spot and stalk hunter.
But the main question still remained... How would it perform in unpredictable elements? My diaster of a spring turkey hunt would soon reveal the answer.
Two days after picking up the new Jetstream Jacket, my brother and I headed east to South Dakota to chase Merriam's with a friend, and as fate would have it... a spring blizzard rolled in the day after our arrival.
The storm started out with gusty winds that surprisingly didn't cut through the softshell jacket. Not that it was frigid out, but I was impressed that a softshell jacket, with minimum insulation, could (noticeably) keep out the wind.
Still a few miles from the truck, the storm continued to develop, producing a light sprinkle that quickly transitioned into a downpour that would undoubtedly soak through a softshell jacket. Knowing the rain wasn't about to stop, we hiked through it, arriving back at the truck completely drenched.
I uncinched my pack, unzipped my Jetstream Jacket, and to my surprise... I wasn't as wet as I'd expected. I figured my underlayers would be completely soaked as if I stepped into a shower fully clothed - and they weren't. There were only soaked-in spots here and there... Once again, this softshell jacket impressed me.
We spent the remainder of that day in a hotel, drying out our clothes and contemplating driving back to Wyoming to beat the Winter Storm Warning our phones kept reminding us of. But, being the degenerates that we are, we opted to try an early morning sit, hoping the turkeys would be feasting before the blizzard hit.
About 9am, the whiteout blizzard hit, and there were no turkeys to be found. The snow out of the gate was wet and heavy, and with a little over a mile back to the truck, I was curious to see if the snow would saturate my outer layer. Arriving back at the truck about 20 minutes later, I uncinched my pack and unzipped my Jetstream Jacket only to notice very minimal dampness.
Takeaways
The jacket performed better than I expected. It's hard to design a softshell jacket that's tough, quiet, 100% windproof and repels water. The materials required to combat each problem rarely compliment each other without introducing a new issue of noise, weight, packability, etc.
That being said, apart from being waterproof, this jacket excelled in every other element, and if I could only walk out the door with one jacket to chase big game in the west - this would be it...
... With maybe a rain poncho stuffed in the bottom of my pack in case of an emergency.