Some things never go out of style.

In an era where new camouflage patterns seem to drop every season, few have stood the test of time like Sitka Gear’s Open Country. First launched in 2009 as Sitka’s flagship big game pattern, Open Country wasn’t just another camo—it was a revolution.

Built on a foundation of science, technology, and an entirely new way of thinking about concealment, it changed how hunters disappear in the mountains. And years later, it’s still doing exactly that.

Born From Science, Not Imitation

Before Open Country, camo design was simple: mimic your surroundings. Match the leaves, the bark, the rocks. But Sitka Gear and GORE™ didn’t want to blend hunters into the background—they wanted to erase them from perception entirely.

Working with animal vision scientists and military concealment experts, they created a pattern that wasn’t based on what humans see, but what animals don’t.

The breakthrough came through a deep understanding of how ungulates—deer, elk, and sheep—actually perceive the world.

• They are dichromatic, seeing blues and yellows but not reds or oranges.

• Their eyes are designed to detect movement and contrast, not fine color details.

• Their brains use these visual cues to form the outlines of predators.
  
  

So Sitka’s team asked a radical question:

“What if we could design a pattern that doesn’t just match the environment—but confuses the animal’s ability to recognize shape, distance, and form altogether?”

That’s where Open Country was born.

The Science of Nothing

Sitka called it The Science of Nothing — because in the eyes of the prey, that’s exactly what you become.

Using GORE™ OPTIFADE™ Concealment, the pattern relies on principles of disruptive coloration rather than mimicry. Instead of painting a picture of rocks and sagebrush, Open Country manipulates spatial frequency, contrast, and scale to trick animal vision.

Macro and Micro Disruption

At long range, macro patterns—large, high-contrast shapes—break up the human silhouette so animals can’t define it against the terrain.

At close range, micro patterns—smaller details and fine texturing—blur edges and remove solid “blobs” of color that would otherwise give you away.

Together, they create a multi-scale illusion that confuses perception across distances—making you appear like part of the landscape, but not identifiable within it.

Tuned for the High Country

Open Country was designed for hunters who live above the treeline—mule deer, elk, and sheep hunters chasing across the big, wide basins of the West.

Its neutral palette of grays, browns, and muted earth tones mirrors the tonal range of alpine and subalpine terrain. But unlike old-school camo, it doesn’t depend on a single landscape snapshot. Instead, it blends with the light and shadow patterns found across rocky terrain, sage flats, and broken ground.

That’s why Open Country performs just as well in Nevada’s basins as it does in Colorado’s high country or Montana’s breaks. It’s a system designed for the hunter who moves through elevation, who covers miles, who adapts.

Old, Not Outdated

In the decade-plus since its release, countless new patterns have entered the market. Yet Open Country remains a staple of serious Western hunters—a visual signature of those who’ve climbed higher, gone farther, and demanded more from their gear.

Why? Because real science doesn’t age.

The animal eye hasn’t evolved since 2009. The mountains haven’t changed their colors. The principles of perception-based concealment still hold true.

Open Country isn’t an “old” pattern—it’s a perfected one. A design so effective that it doesn’t need constant reinvention to remain relevant.

It’s the original blueprint of mountain concealment, and everything since has been measured against it.

The Pattern That Defined a Generation of Hunters

Sitka’s Open Country pattern did more than change how hunters look—it changed how they think.

It marked the moment Sitka became synonymous with technical performance and scientific innovation in hunting gear. It was the first time apparel design, materials engineering, and biological research all converged into one vision: to help hunters perform better by understanding their prey at a deeper level.

And to this day, Open Country is still the uniform of the mountain hunter. From early-season scouts to late-October ridges, it’s the pattern trusted when the tag in your pocket means everything.

Available Exclusively at 1 Shot Gear

Sitka Gear’s Open Country remains available exclusively through 1 Shot Gear and Sitka Gear themselves. That’s not by accident.

1 Shot Gear’s mission—to outfit serious hunters with the most advanced gear in the world—aligns perfectly with what Open Country represents: Precision. Performance. Purpose.

If you believe in the science behind your success—and if you know some things never go out of style—then Open Country isn’t just camo.
It’s confidence, engineered.

Shop the Sitka Gear Open Country Collection