Quick impressions of some Kuiu pieces...

[LongCut]

Hunted 4 days in N/W Colorado during first rilfe. Temps ranged from 20s-70s. Some light rain, light snow, plenty of wind.

-Attack pants were awesome. Extremly comfortable. I own 10-12 different brands of pants, and these are the most comfortable. (Never busted out the Talus pants, unfortunately)

-Peleton 97 zip off underoos were a great addition under the attack pants. Warm enough in the 20s, and came off super easy as temps warmed. One of my new favorite pieces of gear.

-Peleton 97 Quarter-zip top. Very comfortable and surprisingly warm, yet fine in the warmer temps. Seemed to block sun pretty well. Didn't smell great by day 3..... but the itch complaints of merino scared me. I have super sensitive skin.

-Strongfleece 280. Super comfortable, super warm, and very capable of blocking most of the wind. Zipper seemed to be the worst spot for letting the wind through. I read complaints on the pocket(s) and hood of the other versions. This was the selling point for the 280 from me. Hood works great over hats, and pockets are perfect. Great piece. (adding pit zips might be the only change I would make?)

-Axis Hybrid Jacket. Only wore it the second morning when it was 20 and WINDY. Layered very well over the 97 and 280. Was perfectly comfortable for a couple of hours in the cold/wind. A tad noisy and looks a little shiny to me, but overall very happy so far. Again, the hood works/fits well over hats and other hoods.

-Kenai Beanie. Very light and packable, yet seemed to block all wind and is very comfortable. New favorite hat for cold weather.

-Air mesh cap. Logo is cheesy. Glued on block lettering..... Hat is extremely comfortable. Will by another in camo for sure.

-Axis gloves are nice. Comfortable, fit very well, and pretty good with moisture. Not great for the cold/wind, but not what they are designed for.

I managed to stay dry (thanks to good base layers) and protected from the wind, without the bulk of my older hunting attire. This made the drastic weather changes easy to deal with and kept me comfortable during a couple of long days. Had I experienced a 50 degree temp change in my old Whitetail/stand hunting clothes, I would have been miserable!!!!!

 

[Brightwhite]

I was out there with you that Sunday morning when the wind and snow came in. I was not dressed for that after how warm Saturday was!

I am thinking about trying the talus pants or maybe the axis pants for late season hunts. The only kuiu I own are gloves and gaiters, so I’m not that familiar. I know you didn’t wear the Talus, but what’s your take on them for Nov and Dec hunts in Colorado?

 

[greenomics]

Attack pants are legit.

 

[LongCut]

I originally bought the guide pants, but actually thought they would be too warm for anything but stand hunting?? I returned them, and got the Talus mainly for the waterproof lower legs and rear end. Similar to the Sitka Timberline's I was going to buy....

Very comfortable. They will definitely be a bit warmer the attack pants, and I think the placement of the waterproof areas will be exactly what is needed for trudging through snow/wet grass, and keeping your butt dry if you sit on something wet... The knee pads should be very nice, assuming they soften up like I have read they will. They are soft to kneel on, but stiff right now and sit weird on my legs. But you don't notice them much really.

 

[coyotecreek]

I'll keep this going after I get back from 2nd rifle season next week. I'll be trying out the Axis pants for the first time and it looks like I'll need them as it's going to turn cold and snowy. I have lots of Kuiu pieces and a few from Sitka, but it's hard to find good reviews like this. Good post!

 

[LongCut]

I am far from an expert, but I too found it hard to find real-world reviews on the stuff before buying. Tough to buy expensive stuff without being able to try it on or at least handle it in person. I plan on using the snot out of this stuff as the year progresses and will keep giving my opinion.

One item I forgot was the Super Down Ultra Vest. It is: expensive, super light, very compactable, very easy to layer due to its "thinness", yetidiculously warm with all that being said. I wore it several times in my basement (my basement, not my mom's) and even with the AC cranked it was almost immediately too warm. I didnt need it on my recent hunt, but will likely be busting it out for OH and PA gun/late season.

FHFgear bino harness is awesome. Waited months to get the size I needed in Multi-Cam (Im a sucker for Multi-Cam), but could not be happier. After using a Cabelas' Bungie system, and watching others fumble with ill-fitting harnesses, I really appreciate the rigidity of the FHF. No slop, no bouncing, and my binos were right where I needed them and accessible RIGHT NOW. Quietly too.... Couple guys had Badlands harnesses which seemed nice, and I liked the fold down/magnetic opening feature, but they seemed HUGE and bulky. Maybe others' opinions differ????

My Haix Scout boots continued to be awesome. Been wearing them for months now to get them ready, and they did not disappoint. They are not popular amongst the hunting crowd, but I love them so far. I will probably still buy a pair of Kennetreks for later season hunt and am interested in Crispi, but this is what I have for now. (Along wth many other boots not really suited for out west)

 

[coyotecreek]

Just got back from a 2nd season Elk hunt in SW Colorado. Snow and cold temps made hunting hard. We found all kinds of sign but were too noisy moving around in the snow. Never saw an elk but had a great time. Here's a little review of the KUIU pieces that I used.

Axis pants - these pants were amazing. Temps ranged from -4 to 35 degrees and these pants were perfect. We moved a lot and hiked about 30 miles over 5 days. I was able to vent heat from these pants when I warmed up, but paired with the 145 merino zip off bottoms I stayed very comfortable in the extreme cold. I loved that I could sit or kneel in the snow without worrying about getting wet.

145 Merino botoms - as said above I always wore the 145 bottoms and they were perfect for being active with the Axis pants. Had it been in the 40's I would have taken them off and if it was in the 50's I would have went to the Attack pants.

118 Peleton quarter zip top - This piece doesn't provide anything by the way of warmth but it does a great job of wicking sweat and dries extremely fast. It started to smell after only two days and that was with temperatures of 35 and below. Very comfortable and did what I needed it to do.

200 Pro Merino hoodie - I just picked this up this past spring and hadn't had a chance to wear it hunting yet. I was extremely impressed. I loved having the hood to wear under my orange hat. When I was hiking this was my outer layer. I did get a few snags from busting through brush, but that's to be expected. It's quiet, comfortable, and fairly warm when moving. It was never wet from sweat and didn't smell like the 118 did.

110 Strongfleece - I did wear this a few times when hiking but it was too warm. I mostly used it when sitting and glassing or sitting on a meadow in the shade. Much more durable face and decent warmth while sitting, but too hot for hiking with the other layers underneath.

Kenai Ultra Vest - On the really cold mornings I would wear the Kenai Ultra Vest when hiking rather than the Strongfleece. It was perfect. Provided extra warmth but also better breathability and my arms weren't hot like they were in the Strongfleece.

Peleton 97 neck gaiter - This thing was awesome. I was surprised at how warm it was for how thin it is. I had a 97 hoodie that just didn't fit that I sold so I knew about the material. The gaiter would get wet from breathing through it, but would dry out quickly.

Yukon gaiters - I wore these all day, every day (except when sleeping!) We had 10" of snow and the gaiters kept my pants dry and the bottoms of my legs warm. They didn't seem heavy and I didn't sweat under them. I felt like I could go through anything with these like it was nothing.

Other brands pieces I used were the Sitka Timberline Jacket. I know that this is discontinued, but I love this thing. It kept me dry in heavy snow and blocked the wind. It's too warm to hike in, but great when I stopped for any duration. I also used the Eddie Bauer Cirrus Lite down jacket. When I added this to my other layers this kept me plenty warm even when the temperature was in the teens and the wind was blowing 20 mph.

For boots I wore Crispi Nevadas uninsulated. These are great boots, but my feet froze! We had frost nip (look it up) on several toes by the end of the hunt. I really needed insulated boots for hiking in the cold and snow. Typically my feet sweat so I thought I'd be fine, but my feet just froze.

For my pack I used the Stone Glacier Sky 5900 and X-Curve frame. I didn't haul a lot of weight, just food, water, clothes, kill kit, etc., but it was amazing. I got so used to having it on that most times I didn't realize I had it on. The SG rifle sling worked great, but I never had to get the rifle off quickly. It is a pain to put it back in the sling with the pack on. It's one of those deals where you either have it on or off, not switch it in and out a bunch.

We truck camped and our tent was the Alaskan Guide 4 person. It was great for just two of us. We slept on an Aerobed which was great and used 0 degree bags. I use a Mountain Harwear Lamina and my son used a Klymit 0 degree down bag. With a buddy heater it was very comfy.

Hope this helps someone!

 

[LongCut]

That 97 neck gaiter is awesome, isnt it? I have spent $20 on way worse things in my life.