Core Merino 120 Hoodie Reviews

Doesn’t fit to size. To

Doesn’t fit to size. To small. Website is very unfriendly. Not very useable.

Don't Hunt Without it

I love my merino hoodies, they work well in the elements . And a classy look around the fire.

Light layer

A great addition for a base layer in all circumstances where there is a chance to get sweaty.

Core merino hoody

This hoody is exactly what I wanted it to be. The fit isn’t as sporty as the core lightweight and merino is better for scent resistance. I’m a large in all of my Sitka and this fits perfectly. I’m 6’ and 210 lbs athletic build

Very comfortable and great design.

Very comfortable and great design. I love the built in face mask.

Very Warm Base Layer Hoody

I was very impressed with the warmth provided by this 120 Merino hoody. Wore it during Elk Hunt in 20 degree mountain weather as a base layer and it performed awesome. the Merino wool really helps to retain heat, despite it's light weight!

Best piece of gear since the headlamp

Blown away by how much I love this base layer. Get one. Period.

👍

Love this and favorite part is the built in facemask since I always forget or misplace mine. Going to get another!

November firearms season ran above

November firearms season ran above average here in the North East Missouri, temperature wise. Did not require much layers. The Merino 120 was a good base layer. Will be looking forward to using it in the Muzzleloader season coming up in late December-January

Good fabric, fit is a little hard to get right

I like the merino material, and the fabric is soft, breathable and doesn't stink. perfect for a range of conditions. I am between a M and L and cant get a perfect fit, large is baggy in the sleeves, so they catch on brush, but medium is a bit short through the torso

Love the feel of the

Love the feel of the Core Merino. It’s nice that the shirt is Camo. Runs true to size. Not a fan of the zipper. No need to have a zipper. It’s a base layer and you feel the zipper against your skin.

Thin material - washed correctly.

Thin material - washed correctly. And it still shrunk immediately.

Hoody

It's perfect

Couldn’t hunt without it.

Couldn’t hunt without it.

love it. fits great and

love it. fits great and the merino is awesome. i prefer the new blend as it's a little tougher.

Favorite Base Layer

This is my first merino wool piece of gear and will definitely not be the last. Odor control is unmatched by anything I've even worn. Also, breathes better than any material I've ever worn. I use for hunting, hiking, scouting, and general wear around. Well made.

Hoody

Good base layer with the mask built in. Fits snug but was expecting it to be more fitted for a second layer.

Merino

Xxl fits me great. Perfect layer under a good jacket on a 40 degree morning hunt in south Louisiana where it may be 70 by 11am.

Core merino is way better

Core merino is way better than synthetic. I wore other brands of synthetic this stuff's a game changer.

Another great product from Sitka

Amazing Hoody. Works great as a base layer, between this and the core light weight hoody it’s a piece you will wear all season.

Absolutely loved this piece this

Absolutely loved this piece this season. Wore it everyday on a 9 day hunt and I can attest to its odour control properties.

Awesome Garment

Very impressed with this hoody, and have a couple in multiple colors. Great outer layer during teal and dove hunts, and great base layer during mid and late season duck.

Top tier Baselayer

I bought this in evII in 2XL because i wanted it to fit a little more baggy with the idea of early season whitetail here in Oklahoma where it hasn't quite cooled off yet. I have worn it on 2 different hunts, the first being in the mid 70's and was at a great temp, the other hunt was in the low 70's and got down to the upper 50's by sunset but was still comfortable. This piece is soft and comfortable and full of good technology life thumbholes, perfect hood, zipper pocket and face mask. If you do size up, the face mask may run a little loose, which is what happened to me but there is give and take. Overall would recommend this piece to everyone!

Solid start

Wore this 10 days elk hunting this year instead of Core lightweight hoody I have (was slightly colder year). Like other reviewers said, it boils down to standard merino vs poly benefits. Merino resists stink like crazy (backpacking gold), better in slightly colder/breezier conditions (aka hike and stop in mid/cooler temps), better skin feel (but that's splitting hairs, poly isn't bad). Poly is cooler in truly hot weather (but can feel cold when stopping activity), dries extremely quick (wash in a creek behind your tent and dry in 45 mins fast), and more durable. Integrated hood/facemask on both is fantastic for close encounters (shot my elk at 5yds this year). This runs very slightly larger than core lightweight hoody version-- it naturally has more give than semi-rigid plastics, and will stretch ever so slightly after some use and wash. If on fence between M/L like me, made the M a no brainer, especially with effectively longer sleeves. Huge fan of thumbhole sleeve lengths... basically made it MT version that (dangit Sitka!) isn't available anymore. You don't/can't wear thumbhole with a wrist release for archery (the primary purpose/application for this weight)... you just put them on thumbholes when changing layers and pop them off after, makes layering easier. Overall great piece, and glad I have both to choose from, not getting rid of either for sure.

Perfect hoodie

Wore this hoodie during archery elk in CO (40-80). This hoodie worked great as a base in the am and on its own 90%. No pilling and no stink after 6 days in the backcountry. 5’10” 160 in between M & L. Went with the L for a looser fit.

Best base layer

Fantastic build quality and versatility

IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOU USE IT

As a natural photographer, I shoot in cold and hot weather--and everything in between. Less than a year ago, I finally discovered Sitka gear. And in that year I have spent more on Sitka gear than camera gear since I had struggled trying to manage colder environments. Beyond photography, I have worn Merino wool tops year round for years. For causal use during the warm/hot/humid days whether active or still, I had relied on the Icebreaker Cool-Lite, which is a combo of Merino wool and Tencel. While it did the job, the combo of materials was not durable. I was very excited when Sitka essentially replaced Tencel with polyester—both of which are highly breathable and wickable, while polyester is more durable. I like the Cool-Lite shirts over polyester tops when hot because I never really liked the feel of polyester shirts (Nike, UA) when I sweated a lot. But as I read the reviews on the Core Lightweight Hoody, I decided to give that a try too. We aren’t into the cool/cold season yet, so I “tested” the Core Merino 120 Hoody and the Core Lightweight Hoody in two main conditions: a workout in the gym and walking the dog (up to 90 degrees with a 110 heat index). The results were pretty much what would be predicted given the properties of Merino wool and polyester. The mainly polyester Core Lightweight Hoody was exceptional at wicking away sweat and keeping me as cool as possible—I will now wear this top wen I am active in warm/hot/humid conditions that lead to sweating. The Core Merino 120 Hoody was slower to wick during workouts and walks, but that wasn’t always a bad thing. While working out with a slightly moist shirt, a slight breeze from a fan felt really cool. But overall, I will be using the Core Lightweight Hoody when I know that I will be sweating a lot. While Sitka advertises that the 120 Series is “to keep you cool and dry through sweltering early season hunts,” I feel that the Core Lightweight Hoody is better for those conditions. But when the temp and humidity start to drop, I think the insulating properties (heat retention) from Merino wool in the Core Merino 120 Hoody make it better when you need to retain a little body heat when controlling sweat is not a major concern. And the longer sleeves with thumb holes on the Core Merino 120 Hoody allows you to wear the top further down on your hand for warmth when it starts getting colder. But when it gets really cold and sweating is minimal, I will always wear a 100% Merino wool base layer… Just a final comment. Merino wool clearly is the best way to minimize odor. I have never had arm odor problem with Icebreaker, SwartWool, and Meriwool products—and the same now applies to the Sitka Core Merino 120 Hoody. By contrast, after less than two days with the Core Lightweight Hoody with Polygiene, arm pit odor was noticeable—just ask my wife! It is a little hard to predict when the stink will occur, but I have to be more aware of when and how long I wear the Core Lightweight Hoody. The Polygene used with mainly polyester wear does help, but it clearly is not as effective as Merino wool at controlling odors (and the Sitka performance ratings reflect that).

Baggy

I was hopeful for this new piece. Just an overall baggy fit. If you want a base layer this is not the piece to get. Sitka has used thumb "holes" not loops on this top. A couple things this causes. When not using the thumbholes the sleeves are about three inches too long, so they bunch up at the wrist. When using the thumbholes you better were them under a glove because the 120 weight fabric will not hold up for long as an exterior layer. The sleeves, especially when wet, are very loose and sag. It takes much longer than the Core Lightweight "poly" hoodie to dry out. When tucked into your pants the body is not a snug fit either, once again baggy, so all your upper body sweat goes straight to your waist. You cannot size down because the sleeves would end up too short to use the thumbholes.

NO Flatlock Seam Construction

Wow, this is the first base layer from Sitka as well as any other merino company I've owned throughout the decades without flatlock seams. Cheap!!