How do you like your Sitka? The light ones seem too light and the heavy ones too warm just trying them on.
The majority of the season I only had the wading jacket and I like it a lot. Blocks wind and water 100%. Sat in a hour long rain pour - it kept me 100% dry and I was able to take a nap for 30 minutes.
later in the season I received the Duck Oven as a gift. If you have to walk in any significant distance, your going to want to strip that thing off quick! Once you get to your spot and set up, though, the Duck Oven is an awesome insulation layer.
The long sleeve shirt is the Traverse. I bought it a few weeks before season was over. I like it a lot. It is a lot warmer than you might expect. If it gets too warm, you can zip it down quite a ways to release heat.
If I was only going to buy one piece, it would certainly be the Delta wading jacket; the pockets are really well thought out, has pit zips, the hood is fantastic, etc. As for insulation, chances are most of us already have some sort of insulation layer that we could put under the wading jacket. But, the two big pluses about the Duck Oven are (1)100% wind proof and (2) provides a lot of warmth without very much bulk at all. Now that I have the Duck Oven, I'd be happy to buy it again in retrospect. The traverse T is going to be great for things like early teal or as a single layer when you don;t need any insulation under the wading jacket. It has thumb holes which are helpful to keep it from bunching up.
{I also have the decoy gloves; they are extremely dry, but not all that warm. I also have some Core liner gloves from Sitka; they are inexpensive and help a LOT with warmth.)
I bought everything on sale in one way or another, and pretty significant sales at that. It's clearly the case that the price of Sitka stuff is its biggest hurdle. I'm really glad I did buy them, though, and I would do the same again. Plus, I really like the pattern.
