How do you wash your Sitka gear?
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: LUNG$HOT
11-Sep-17
I finally bit the bullet and ordered some Sitka gear off of Camofire a few months back. I (believe) I have the traverse pants and 1/4 zip traverse shirt? Do you guys use "nikwax" on all your stuff or just plain old unscented laundry detergent and why? Thanks in advance.
From: Orion
11-Sep-17
Plain old unscented, never had an issue with it from what I can tell. The main reason I use it, is that's what I have always used on all of my hunting clothing. I've used it with my base layers all the way up to cold weather gear.
From: Charlie Rehor
11-Sep-17
No need to baby the Sitka Gear. Usually I turn it inside out for washing and drying but it holds up very well.
From: LINK
11-Sep-17
A lot of the drying instructions say to dry on low heat or air dry, especially if it has merino in it. I turn mine inside out an dry on low heat for 20 minutes and pull it out and let it finish on a plastic hanger.
From: md5252
11-Sep-17
Yup,wash normally and dry on low or air dry
Great apparel
From: Ermine
11-Sep-17
I usually just hang dry is that bad?
From: WapitiBob
11-Sep-17
Throw it in the washer with everything else. I'm afraid to shrink my hunting cloths so I hang them.
From: rgwaldron
11-Sep-17
be careful drying. I didn't and the zippers on the pockets fell apart on my timberline pants. However, my wife called them and apparently they have this awesome warranty. They replaced them even though they were 3 years old. They even sent me a fedex label to cover shipping. They said if they couldn't fix them they would replace them and about a week later I had a new pair of pants show up in the mail.
From: LUNG$HOT
11-Sep-17
Ok sounds good. Unscented detergent and a hang dry makes sense to me. Thanks guys.
From: smarba
11-Sep-17
I wash mine with unscented "hunting" soap with no UV brighteners. I hang mine to dry. No need to add wear & tear + heat of dryer. Sitka will drip dry in a matter of hours and easily dry over night when hung.
From: wyobullshooter
11-Sep-17
Sitka, First Lite, KUIU, doesn't matter...I wash mine on Delicate, in cold water, with baking soda and line dry. In camp, I let everything soak in the creek, and again, line dry. As others have posted, my hunting clothes will never see the inside of a dryer. Been doing this ever since the only choices in material was cotton, cotton, or cotton. ;-)
From: TheTone
11-Sep-17
I typically wash mine in cold water with no soap and then either hang dry or lay it out on the back deck in the sun. Mines held up great for years that way
From: sitO
11-Sep-17
Chick's wash mine
From: Teeton
12-Sep-17
Nikwax for me.. DWR and soap don't work well together.. I wash anything with DWR in Nikwax's Tech Wash.. On the forth wash I wash in Tech wash and then one of Nikwax's products for what ever is for that fabric to re straighten the DWR .. Really keeps the DWR working well for me. You can also use Nikwax to add DWR to fabric that doesn't have DWR. Ed
From: no cam ninja
05-Sep-20
Sito, cracks me up
From: Highlife
06-Sep-20
Woolite great for the delicates
From: huntabsarokee
06-Sep-20
Same here no scent wash with 2 rinses. I hang outside to dry. I also wash dry bags in a tote with the same scent free wash and hang to dry and then put clothes in them.
From: Mule Power
06-Sep-20
Nikwax? Boot waterproofer!
From: APauls
06-Sep-20
It’s just laundry. Just make sure have no UV brighteners. If they smell the Downey, they’d already have a whiff of the fart I let loose that’s been hanging on the inside of my pants.
From: Matt
06-Sep-20
Regulator unscented detergent and line dry.
From: Teeton
06-Sep-20
Mule, Nikwax makes many different types of products. Go to their wed site and look up what they have. Ed
From: Ambush
06-Sep-20
If your clothing has DWR, then it should be treated differently IF you want to maintain that water repellency. It’s wet enough where I live that I do.
From: Heat
06-Sep-20
I don't have Sitka but I wash my synthetics, wool, and anything else hunting related in Atsko Sport Wash. Good stuff, rinses clean, no brighteners, scents, fabric softeners, etc. It costs a bit more than some others but it really works well. Used straight on stains it will remove almost anything.
From: Zim
06-Sep-20
I air dry. Don’t believe in scent control so I just use unscented soap if available. Hunt the wind
From: TEmbry
08-Sep-20
I wash my Sitka gear in petroleum based products sourced from the North Slope of Alaska....
