Coldfront Pants and Jacket
Field Time:
I have used the Coldfront jacket and pants for about four months. I have primarily used them out wolf hunting, snow shoeing, and ice fishing. I have worn the Coldfront pants and jacket in rain, sleet, snow, and 40+ mph winds. They were also worn for a weekend of snowmobiling (not by me but by a friend who forgot his snow pants)
Best Use:
-Canada/Alaska hunts were the weather is wet and cold most of the time.
-Any cold late season hunts.
-Emergency rain gear for early seasons.
-Casual rain gear (Available in Olive color)
Favorite Features:
- Pit zippers in jacket allow for great ventilation when on the move.
- Full length leg zippers in pants allow you to easily slip them over your boots and other garments in the field. Also do a great job at venting.
- Draw strings on the bottom of the pant legs do a decent job of sealing the bottom of the pants if you don’t have gaiters. (I would still recommend gators if you are in snow past your knees, otherwise there is potential for the pant legs to slide up past the top of the boot letting snow into the tops of them.)
-I thought the suspenders were a bit cheesy until I used them. Not having to wear a leather belt makes it much more comfortable when buckling up your backpack.
- Hood. It is always nice having a hood on a jacket
-The fleece lining makes the Coldfronts relatively quiet for being Gore waterproof.
Worst Features:
-The buckle on the belt of the pants is cheap plastic. I haven’t broken mine yet, but I think it is just a matter of time before it will break.
- The jacket and the pants don’t pack as well as some of Sitka’s other lines (Stormfronts, Stormfront Lites).
- Still a little noisy. In a perfect world all of your clothes/packs would be quiet and waterproof but technology hasn’t gotten us there yet. The Coldfronts probably are as quiet as you will get for being waterproof though.
- Small belt loops. When I am not wearing my backpack, I like to carry my pistol on my hip. While there is a small belt that comes with the pants (too small to comfortably support a firearm), Sitka designed the belt loops to be too small so that you couldn’t swap their belt with a larger leather belt.
- Expensive. There is no point in denying that the Coldfronts price is a bit steep. These pants should last you a couple years of HARD use (40+ field days a year) or longer, especially if you use them solely as emergency rain and snow gear.
Summary:
The Coldfront combo is a late season or Alaskan/Canada hunting clothes set. Ideally the temperatures would be below 45 F for them to be comfortable while hiking. If you are looking for a lighter, strictly early season rain suite, you should look into Stormfront, Stormfront Lite, or the new Dew Point or Cloudburst (coming late May/June 2012).
I wouldn’t use the Coldfront gear for deep backpack trips were weight and size are of the utmost importance. It’s not that the Coldfronts are big or heavy by any means, but there are smaller and lighter options (Stormfronts, Stormfront Lites, etc.)
If you are a late season western muzzle loader or archery hunter the Coldfronts should be part of your winter arsenal. You probably won’t wear them all of the time, but when you wake up and open the wall tent to see a foot of fresh snow you will be glad you had them.
The Coldfront pants and jacket are great articles of clothing. The cheap buckle and the small belt loops are a bit frustrating but these negatives are shadowed by the quiet, warm, and waterproof attributes that the Coldfronts possess. The Coldfronts are expensive but should be thought of as an investment that will make your cold weather hunting experiences much more enjoyable.
Disclaimers: I work for High Mountain Outfitters and I do have an interest in selling our products. I don’t intend to lie, exaggerate, or otherwise make things up to try and sell a product during a review though. I will try and keep the reviews informative and as unbiased as possible.
Written/reviewed by B. Oldemeyer
