SITKA ’ S JOHN BARKLOW DESIGNS A NEW CAMO PATTERN FOR THE NORTHWEST
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SITKA ’ S JOHN BARKLOW DESIGNS A NEW CAMO PATTERN FOR THE NORTHWEST
INTERVIEW BY CUTTER STREEBY
Photo by Sitka Gear
Post 9 / 11 he was reassigned to Kodiak , Alaska , where he trained special operations forces to live and fight , unsupported , in remote mountain ranges .
During the first year following 9 / 11 , the U . S . military lacked suitable gear for modern day mountain warfare — their gear had not been updated since the Cold War ended . This meant that Barklow and other members of the military turned to high-end mountaineering and outdoor companies to provide the technical solutions the military needed to fight a global war on terrorism .
In the months following initial military action in Afghanistan , Barklow worked with Sitka , Patagonia , Mystery Ranch , and others to develop this gear . Barklow would spend the next 15 years in the military training and equipping soldiers for combat in mountain and subalpine environments .
After he retired from the military , Barklow started talks with Sitka . The vetting process lasted almost a year as Sitka was basically creating a “ Big Game Product Manager ” position . When Sitka hired Barklow — the Subalpine Pattern was one of his first priorities .
WHO IS JOHN BARKLOW ?
John Barklow is the Big Game Product Manager at Sitka . Before coming to Sitka , Barklow served in the United States Navy for 26 years . As a Navy diver , he worked all over the world and eventually began teaching diving to Navy SEALs . In his spare time , Barklow pursued his mountain guiding credentials and began teaching these skills to the military as well .
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Photo by Sitka Gear
WHAT IS SITKA ? GEAR SPECIFIC TO NICHE / NOT AN “ ALL PURPOSE ” SOLUTION .
Most of the advancements in technical clothing over the last few decades have come from mountaineering . To make a great ice climbing jacket , you must understand individual movements , the sequences in which they happen , the tools and the dangers of climbing ice .
Sitka borrowed heavily from the technical advancements in mountaineering apparel , but it would be pretty useless for them to just slap a camo pattern on climbing gear . Hunting requires completely different movements , different sequences , far more variation in