Impressions of various pants....

bates

WKR
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Messages
554
Location
Florida
I don't know if maybe it's just me but pants are that single biggest item that I struggle with the most. Now most of my search for a better pant was based up my hunt up in the Brooks range. Again I live out East and get a couple of weeks of hunting in each year, typically one big adventure up north each year and just want all my gear to be dialed in and right. It takes me years to get the time in the field that some get here in a single season.

I have gathered quite the collection of pants and wanted to share my thoughts:


Kuiu Attacks -- great all around pant for me. my gold standard to which I measure everything against.
They are a good all around weight, comfortable - brushed inside face and have hip vents – nearly a must for me. Also very quiet.
What has lead me in search of other options I was never crazy about fit, needed a larger waist to fit in legs, leg to a baggy waist. The material will pull out with brush or lots of use. So trading some comfort for durability and no kneepad option *I wasn’t a kneepad fan at first but more and more wanting that option. And gravitate to the option where you can add or remove them depending on the hunt or situation.


Kuiu Pro
Very similar to the attacks, not as soft but more durable
They fixed the fit and I see a big improvement in these. Just more refined to me.
I have around a 30inch inseam and for once I can wear a kuiu pant and the knee pads don’t sit on me like shin guards. Great all around pant and solved my issues with the attacks.
Overall still what I would call a medium weight pant in the spectrum of thickness. Louder than the attacks but durable and to me an improvement on an already great pant.


Kuiu Talus
I really like these in cold weather. It was nice not to wear gaiters or sit down in damp ground.
Same fit as the Pro pant, but warmer with the waterproof butt and lower leg area.
I felt the breathed fine and worked in a variety of temperatures. They are also a louder pant, I think the perfect later season rifle hunting pant.


Sitka timberlines

I don’t have a ton of time in these, but a good pant. I run hot and it really had to be around freezing for me to be able to pull these out. I found the butt area to get wet. Loved the fit and cut, wasn’t a fan of the cargo pocket I cant seem to get them to stay closed. I feel a lot of guys just love these pants, but I will take the Talus over them, just better fit, true water proof and hip vents


Kryptek Altitude Tora

So I bought these looking for the perfect pant for sheep hunting up north. This is more of an impression at this point. Scholler fabric so should be super durable. I love the removable knee pad option. The included pair is super thin and lightweight but you have the ability to take our or use different ones. They fit great, I wish the didn’t have the zipper up the bottom of the pant though, I get it but would be simpler without. Really wish they had hip vents and get rid of the zipper and taper the bottom leg. Still an amazing pant but with the price of admission not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. I have thought about cutting out the material in the cargo pocket area and just making it more of a true vent. Also on these i am wearing a size smaller than what i am wearing in other brands.


Beyond Clothing Rig Light
Probably the lightest or coolest pant of the ones mentioned so far. Again more of an impression at this point. But seem well made, durable and have stretch. Option to add a knee pad. And I find the pockets on the thigh very useful probably much more so than cargo pockets.
Really at this point my only negative is the lack of a hip vent, but because of the material it might not be that big of a deal.
It’s a true nylon pant, I am sure they should quiet down a but they are not super quiet. At this point water just beads off and should dry extremely fast. American Made as well.

Should be the quickest drying and from these pants I have water beads off and runs off these the best.


Stone Glacier De Haviland
So a true the muffler is still hott off the ups truck impression. But overall I like these. I’ve seen the comments about the bellbottom I would rather call it more of a boot cut bottom.
Weight wise these are definitely heavier material than the beyond or altitude pant, maybe on par with the kuiu pro. I can check later.
The fit is just perfect for me, the waist seems like a great feature, unfortunately my weight does vary and I gain then loose weight before a hunt so I do like this feature as it seems to solve the problem of a baggy or too much material bunching up.
Great useful cargo pocket placement.
Even though the material is probably thicker than what I would envision as the perfect pant the super large leg zip should solve that issue.
Overall a killer design and a pant I am very happy with.

Now please understand that I don’t have any actual field time with 3 of these pants, but I did want to share my thoughts and comparisons to other pants.

My favorites right now… no particular order
Beyond Rig Light
Stone Glacier
Kuiu Talus
As far as bowhunting my favorites are the Sitka apex right now.



if you have questions let me know, i still have all the pants except the timberline.
 
Last edited:

Kotaman

WKR
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Messages
3,105
Location
North Dakota
I don't know if maybe it's just me but pants are that single biggest item that I struggle with the most. Now most of my search for a better pant was based up my hunt up in the Brooks range. Again I live out East and get a couple of weeks of hunting in each year, typically one big adventure up north each year and just want all my gear to be dialed in and right. It takes me years to get the time in the field that some get here in a single season.

I have gathered quite the collection of pants and wanted to share my thoughts:


Kuiu Attacks -- great all around pant for me. my gold standard to which I measure everything against.
They are a good all around weight, comfortable - brushed inside face and have hip vents – nearly a must for me. Also very quiet.
What has lead me in search of other options I was never crazy about fit, needed a larger waist to fit in legs, leg to a baggy waist. The material will pull out with brush or lots of use. So trading some comfort for durability and no kneepad option *I wasn’t a kneepad fan at first but more and more wanting that option. And gravitate to the option where you can add or remove them depending on the hunt or situation.


Kuiu Pro
Very similar to the attacks, not as soft but more durable
They fixed the fit and I see a big improvement in these. Just more refined to me.
I have around a 30inch inseam and for once I can wear a kuiu pant and the knee pads don’t sit on me like shin guards. Great all around pant and solved my issues with the attacks.
Overall still what I would call a medium weight pant in the spectrum of thickness. Louder than the attacks but durable and to me an improvement on an already great pant.


Kuiu Talus
I really like these in cold weather. It was nice not to wear gaiters or sit down in damp ground.
Same fit as the Pro pant, but warmer with the waterproof butt and lower leg area.
I felt the breathed fine and worked in a variety of temperatures. They are also a louder pant, I think the perfect later season rifle hunting pant.


Sitka timberlines

I don’t have a ton of time in these, but a good pant. I run hot and it really had to be around freezing for me to be able to pull these out. I found the butt area to get wet. Loved the fit and cut, wasn’t a fan of the cargo pocket I cant seem to get them to stay closed. I feel a lot of guys just love these pants, but I will take the Talus over them, just better fit, true water proof and hip vents


Kryptek Altitude Tora

So I bought these looking for the perfect pant for sheep hunting up north. This is more of an impression at this point. Scholler fabric so should be super durable. I love the removable knee pad option. The included pair is super thin and lightweight but you have the ability to take our or use different ones. They fit great, I wish the didn’t have the zipper up the bottom of the pant though, I get it but would be simpler without. Really wish they had hip vents and get rid of the zipper and taper the bottom leg. Still an amazing pant but with the price of admission not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze. I have thought about cutting out the material in the cargo pocket area and just making it more of a true vent. Also on these i am wearing a size smaller than what i am wearing in other brands.


Beyond Clothing Rig Light
Probably the lightest or coolest pant of the ones mentioned so far. Again more of an impression at this point. But seem well made, durable and have stretch. Option to add a knee pad. And I find the pockets on the thigh very useful probably much more so than cargo pockets.
Really at this point my only negative is the lack of a hip vent, but because of the material it might not be that big of a deal.
It’s a true nylon pant, I am sure they should quiet down a but they are not super quiet. At this point water just beads off and should dry extremely fast. American Made as well.


Stone Glacier De Haviland
So a true the muffler is still hott off the ups truck impression. But overall I like these. I’ve seen the comments about the bellbottom I would rather call it more of a boot cut bottom.
Weight wise these are definitely heavier material than the beyond or altitude pant, maybe on par with the kuiu pro. I can check later.
The fit is just perfect for me, the waist seems like a great feature, unfortunately my weight does vary and I gain then loose weight before a hunt so I do like this feature as it seems to solve the problem of a baggy or too much material bunching up.
Great useful cargo pocket placement.
Even though the material is probably thicker than what I would envision as the perfect pant the super large leg zip should solve that issue.
Overall a killer design and a pant I am very happy with.

Now please understand that I don’t have any actual field time with 3 of these pants, but I did want to share my thoughts and comparisons to other pants.

My favorites right now…
Beyond Rig Light
Stone Glacier
Kuiu Talus
As far as bowhunting my favorites are the Sitka apex right now.

if you have questions let me know, i still have all the pants except the timberline.

I pretty much agree with everything you said. My favorites are the Timberlines though. (Apex in warmer temps) I really wish the SG's were a little lighter weight as well. I agree, they are not "bell bottoms", but feel like it after wearing Sitka pants. :) Jury is still out for me on the SG pants until I get a hunt in them. I would like KUIU pants a whole lot better if they fit me right. (I'm not what you'd call "tall and thin") I've debated trying the Kryptek Tora but I don't like the idea of the zipper either. I ALMOST pulled the trigger when they were on sale though.

I'm one of the few that does not demand vents in my pants. Could care less if my pants have vents or not.

Great synopsis Bates...
 

AZ Ron

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Messages
128
Location
Chandler, AZ
Good summary! Figured I'd throw in what I've seen lately.

I don't typically struggle with pants, but lately have been scratching my head some. I typically wear a size 33/34 in pants. In KUHL pants that I wear to work, I like the 33 'full' fit. Other fits I wear a 34 so that my hips have enough room. I'm 5'8", and fluctuate between 163-170 lbs throughout the year.

I typically wear KUIU Attacks in size 34. Most of mine are older (pre-hip vents). I have one older pair with hip vents, but with the old front pocket style. I think the ones I have with hip vents are from the first year they released them with the vents.

Anyways, those have all fit great and I've almost wore a couple of pair out, and really like and utilize the hip vents, so I purchased a couple of new pair of attack pants (size 34) this year and they seemed slightly slimmer in the legs. With the stretch, no issues. I'd say they have a slightly more athletic fit than the originals.

After a late season elk hunt in the wind and snow, I purchased a pair of the Talus pants thinking they'd be perfect for that use. I got to wear the Talus pants for a couple of days a couple of weeks ago in 15-35 degree weather. They were great in the snow and wind. However, I got a 34 in those also, but they seem snugger. Wasn't sure if it was due to the waterproof paneling (mainly in the seat) not providing as much stretch, or what. When I was wearing long johns underneath I felt constricted in the crotch area. They were better with the hip vents opened up. The waist fits great on these for me. I feel like a size 34 is the right size and a 36 would be all bunched up in the waist, but the snugness in the crotch is noticeable throughout the day and compared to Attack pants.

I compared the Talus pants to my new KUIU attack pants and noticed the diamond shaped gusset crotch piece of fabric is a good inch narrower, front to back on the Talus pants. I believe this is causing the tighter fit. Not sure if my pants are a one off or not. I'm suspecting they were probably designed this way to keep the amount of rubbing between the legs to a minimal amount. That is just conjecture though as I haven't contacted KUIU about it (yet).

I also wear the KUIU Tiburon pants early season here in AZ. Those fit great, very similar to older style Attacks. My Tiburons are gen1.

I have older pair of Sitka pants (pre 2010), all size 34 waist. Those are good to go. I'd like to try some First Lite pants and the KUIU pro pants, but I'm set for a few more years on pants...
 

bozeman

WKR
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
2,639
Location
Alabama
Great review. My 2 favorite:
REI Screeline (vents behind knee crease)
Wrangler Pro Mountain Pants
 
Joined
Jul 26, 2015
Messages
93
Prana Zion (can be found on sale for $60 several times a year), layer as needed, and I am good for 99% of fall hunting conditions. Has to be consistently below 10 degrees for me to think about a heavier Softshell.
 
Top