Swag Opinions

[bcbower]

Hello Legends,

Im looking to buy my first set of hunting clothes. It looks like Sitka and Kuiu are the leaders in western hunting wear. I plan on using it for everything. From Coyotes to Elk. Im just wondering what the best bang for your buck actually is. what other options besides Sitka And Kuiu do you guys prefer? and are they as good? is there a cheaper brand that does the job?

Appreciate the help.

 

[Perrin713]

Sitka.
Can’t speak for Kuiu but have had plenty of First Lite. Just finished selling all my First Lite and will be transitioning to all Sitka for whitetail. First Lite just never seemed to hold up. Even my whitetail tree stand jacket the zippers failed. Customer service with Sitka is excellent. Guy I sold a old 8yr old Hudson jacket to with a broken zipper sent the jacket to Sitka. He was hoping they’d fix the zipper. Well they just gave him a brand new jacket instead..... guess I should of sent it in haha.

 

[Napperm4]

It’s a pretty broad spectrum with the big name brands. Sitka is pretty diverse with western, waterfowl and white tail pieces, Firstlite targets the active mountain hunting crowd and the white tail crowd, Kuiu targets the lightweight backpacking crowd.

I live in the Canada Rockies and have played in them my entire life. I also hunt deer and fish in the plains.

When I started backpack hunting I would use my regular hiking / backpacking clothes. Went through a few brands but as I focussed on performance (could count your life on the stuff, compact and light but functional) I ended up with a lot of smartwool, Patagonia, Arc’teryx & North Face Guide clothes making up my layers.

I was an early adopter of Sitka (The old Mothwing days) because they were the first I heard of technical fabrics I knew worked for me available in camo.

I moved from Sitka to Firstlite for a lot of pieces. When Fusion came out, I really liked the pattern and went in deep. To this day, best merino base layers I’ve used. I have a few of the kiln hoodies, kiln hoodless and a few of the wick / original aerowool shirts still.

I dabbled back and forth between Sitka, Kuiu and Firstlite for insulation and outer layers for a while.

I have Kuiu left for everything but base layers. I like the fit, function and performance of there stuff the best. Having that decision made and settled, I sold off the outerwear and insulation of the other two. I recouped a lot of the money I’d spent, picked up a lot of great deals in the classifieds and went in with enough pieces that I’m covered from winter coyote hunting to fall elk, late fall sheep and anything else I have encountered in between.

The caveat on the Kuiu system is that it’s expensive because while I can stand hunt white tail or ice fish on a lake without a shelter, it’s taken a lot of pieces to get me there.

The same was true with firstlite. While I didn’t have the best experience with durability for rough mountain terrain and extreme weather, I had enough layers and pieces to keep me pretty comfortable and I think with the down additions to the line, they could compete if they manage to get a wind stopper.

Being Canadian, Kuiu was the most costly to get into along with Firstlite. Sitka was the cheapest because it was available in retail locations and could be found on sale quite often.

As much as I am a fan of Kuiu, a lot of that has to do with really active hunting compared to coyotes where you’re still and exposed where here, it’s mid winter, cold and miserable. I think the Sitka white tail set would be my choice there. The Kuiu Gale Force is awesome and seemed warmer to me but more breathable (I’m not a fan of GoreTex) to let moisture out, it’s priced pretty damn high and isn’t really a multi use piece for my style. Bang for your buck on that type of clothing is Sitka, especially on sale.

If you’re elk hunting the hills for 5+ days at a time, I’d look at Firstlite base layers. I like having a lightweight t shirt (wick) along with one fuse hooded and one non. You can mix and match just those 3 for incredible performance. If you like synthetic base layers, I haven’t found much difference between the Sitka and Kuiu. Get yourself a pair of light weight zip off bottoms. Again merino for long hunts, synthetic for short trips.

Synthetic will dry quicker, is more durable but doesn’t perform for temp range and wicking as well as merino does for me. Especially for more than a weekend where the synthetics definitely hold my smell.

Lower outer layers. I prefer the fit and feel of the Kuiu. If I only bought one style, it would be the kutana. With my zip on leggings and moving constantly, they keep me super warm. They’re also slightly DWR coated and I loved them in 30” snow this fall with gaiters over my boots. For sitting I have a pair of puffy pants that I can zip over and offer a ton of warmth. Particularly if I get them on as soon as I stop to retain as much heat as I can. For protecting my puffy pants or in case of weather - rain pants. Best I’ve used for weight / size is either the E vent rain pant from MEC ( who is now anti hunting and they have only super bright colours so I don’t support them anymore) or the Kuiu Kutana stormshell. I have had some arcteryx that keeps right up with the Kuiu and the MEC is a clone of a Patagonia.

Now of them - Arc’teryx, Patagonia and Kuiu all use fabrics, membranes and factories from Toray. E-Vent is also a widely incorporated material that I’ve had luck in, especially boots.

Upper Layers - for insulation - the Kuiu stongfeece or the Kenai ultra get my vote if I’m wearing it while hiking. The strongfleece 260 is bodymapped for wearing a pack and kept me dry in a 3 hour rain shower. I have a few of the peloton 240 pieces I love for an extra layer with this stuff if I need to cut wind to stay warm.

While I’m stopped. - puffy jacket. Mountain hardware or super down ultra early season, super down pro from late September onward.

Axis soft sell or kutana storm shell as an outer layer depending on weather.

Socks - icebreaker merino liners, a few different weights of Darntough socks as a boot sock. (I wear unlined boots year round)

Gloves and beanies - I layer these also. Sometimes with a neck gaiter. I have first lite base layer gloves and beanie, tag cuff beanie if it’s really cold. Kuiu axis gloves for warm but breezy weather, Yukon Pro for colder and winter weather.

If I mix and match a heavy merino base with a thicker fleece mid, puffy insulation and the rain shells over top, I stay pretty damn toasty but that’s a big investment in my clothing system.

I have a mix of camo (mostly the early season gear because of bow seasons) and solids. This allows me to use my layering system year round without it being camo. A lot of the more expensive and late season ( super down pro for example) gear I bought in solids along with pants and wear them daily to get the best bang for my buck out of them.

 

[bcbower]

It’s a pretty broad spectrum with the big name brands. Sitka is pretty diverse with western, waterfowl and white tail pieces, Firstlite targets the active mountain hunting crowd and the white tail crowd, Kuiu targets the lightweight backpacking crowd.

I live in the Canada Rockies and have played in them my entire life. I also hunt deer and fish in the plains.

When I started backpack hunting I would use my regular hiking / backpacking clothes. Went through a few brands but as I focussed on performance (could count your life on the stuff, compact and light but functional) I ended up with a lot of smartwool, Patagonia, Arc’teryx & North Face Guide clothes making up my layers.

I was an early adopter of Sitka (The old Mothwing days) because they were the first I heard of technical fabrics I knew worked for me available in camo.

I moved from Sitka to Firstlite for a lot of pieces. When Fusion came out, I really liked the pattern and went in deep. To this day, best merino base layers I’ve used. I have a few of the kiln hoodies, kiln hoodless and a few of the wick / original aerowool shirts still.

I dabbled back and forth between Sitka, Kuiu and Firstlite for insulation and outer layers for a while.

I have Kuiu left for everything but base layers. I like the fit, function and performance of there stuff the best. Having that decision made and settled, I sold off the outerwear and insulation of the other two. I recouped a lot of the money I’d spent, picked up a lot of great deals in the classifieds and went in with enough pieces that I’m covered from winter coyote hunting to fall elk, late fall sheep and anything else I have encountered in between.

The caveat on the Kuiu system is that it’s expensive because while I can stand hunt white tail or ice fish on a lake without a shelter, it’s taken a lot of pieces to get me there.

The same was true with firstlite. While I didn’t have the best experience with durability for rough mountain terrain and extreme weather, I had enough layers and pieces to keep me pretty comfortable and I think with the down additions to the line, they could compete if they manage to get a wind stopper.

Being Canadian, Kuiu was the most costly to get into along with Firstlite. Sitka was the cheapest because it was available in retail locations and could be found on sale quite often.

As much as I am a fan of Kuiu, a lot of that has to do with really active hunting compared to coyotes where you’re still and exposed where here, it’s mid winter, cold and miserable. I think the Sitka white tail set would be my choice there. The Kuiu Gale Force is awesome and seemed warmer to me but more breathable (I’m not a fan of GoreTex) to let moisture out, it’s priced pretty damn high and isn’t really a multi use piece for my style. Bang for your buck on that type of clothing is Sitka, especially on sale.

If you’re elk hunting the hills for 5+ days at a time, I’d look at Firstlite base layers. I like having a lightweight t shirt (wick) along with one fuse hooded and one non. You can mix and match just those 3 for incredible performance. If you like synthetic base layers, I haven’t found much difference between the Sitka and Kuiu. Get yourself a pair of light weight zip off bottoms. Again merino for long hunts, synthetic for short trips.

Synthetic will dry quicker, is more durable but doesn’t perform for temp range and wicking as well as merino does for me. Especially for more than a weekend where the synthetics definitely hold my smell.

Lower outer layers. I prefer the fit and feel of the Kuiu. If I only bought one style, it would be the kutana. With my zip on leggings and moving constantly, they keep me super warm. They’re also slightly DWR coated and I loved them in 30” snow this fall with gaiters over my boots. For sitting I have a pair of puffy pants that I can zip over and offer a ton of warmth. Particularly if I get them on as soon as I stop to retain as much heat as I can. For protecting my puffy pants or in case of weather - rain pants. Best I’ve used for weight / size is either the E vent rain pant from MEC ( who is now anti hunting and they have only super bright colours so I don’t support them anymore) or the Kuiu Kutana stormshell. I have had some arcteryx that keeps right up with the Kuiu and the MEC is a clone of a Patagonia.

Now of them - Arc’teryx, Patagonia and Kuiu all use fabrics, membranes and factories from Toray. E-Vent is also a widely incorporated material that I’ve had luck in, especially boots.

Upper Layers - for insulation - the Kuiu stongfeece or the Kenai ultra get my vote if I’m wearing it while hiking. The strongfleece 260 is bodymapped for wearing a pack and kept me dry in a 3 hour rain shower. I have a few of the peloton 240 pieces I love for an extra layer with this stuff if I need to cut wind to stay warm.

While I’m stopped. - puffy jacket. Mountain hardware or super down ultra early season, super down pro from late September onward.

Axis soft sell or kutana storm shell as an outer layer depending on weather.

Socks - icebreaker merino liners, a few different weights of Darntough socks as a boot sock. (I wear unlined boots year round)

Gloves and beanies - I layer these also. Sometimes with a neck gaiter. I have first lite base layer gloves and beanie, tag cuff beanie if it’s really cold. Kuiu axis gloves for warm but breezy weather, Yukon Pro for colder and winter weather.

If I mix and match a heavy merino base with a thicker fleece mid, puffy insulation and the rain shells over top, I stay pretty damn toasty but that’s a big investment in my clothing system.

I have a mix of camo (mostly the early season gear because of bow seasons) and solids. This allows me to use my layering system year round without it being camo. A lot of the more expensive and late season ( super down pro for example) gear I bought in solids along with pants and wear them daily to get the best bang for my buck out of them.

Super good insight. Really appreciate you taking the time to write all that out. That helped immensely.

Thanks!!

 

[Catahoula]

I have a mix of First Lite and Sitka.... I am slightly more weighted to First Lite clothing however.

 

[Beendare]

Best Bang isn't Kuiu, Sitka or FL- and I'm a fan of those brands.

Best value is going to be a mix of off brand stuff.

Now the Kuiu and Sitka can be found on sales...the ONLY way to buy it if thats your choice.

_______

 

[MSmiley]

I have favorite pieces from each company. My hunting buddies have different pieces that are their favorites from each company. Mix and match with the best deals you can find. you will eventually narrow down exactly what you like and all the offerings become less complicated.

 

[camelcluch]

Skre and pnuma make some good stuff too.

 

[805Bowhunter]

Before buying anything, I would listen to a couple of podcasts with John Barklow from Sitka. He did a couple of outstanding podcasts with Snyder (Kifarucast) as well as with Randy Newberg (cannot remember if it was Hunt Talk or Elk Talk) and was even a couple of NockOn podcasts. Anyhow, even though he works for Sitka, the information about "building a system" is universal to whatever clothing you buy. A lot of people are "Sitka guys" or "First Lite" guys etc...I would recommend building a system that is custom tailored to what it is you are doing and how you will be applying it and dont care about the brand and/or mixing things up. FL, Kuiu and Sitka all have pieces that work better than others at times depending on application. Think about wool vs. synthetic, brush busting vs sitting in a treestand etc and how you will be utilizing your clothing. I have a hodgepodge of Sitka, KUIU, and Firstlite that I wear and feel 100% confident in the application and know how it will work when I go out into the field. In my opinion, you CANNOT go wrong with either of these three. I have had all in miserable conditions and I honestly dont have one bad thing to say about any of them. Ive been lucky and never really had any gear fail. Any type of failure/rip/tear has been a result of a situation that any hunting apparel would have failed (ie. miles of AZ catclaw that only thick carharts would have survived).

An important note is that I feel like I have missed out over the years because I get excited and simply buy something that looks freaking awesome, but after a couple years looking back, I have only used the piece a couple of times because it just didnt really fit into the layering "system" that I run. Start with what will be touching your skin and then move out from there. It is all personal too. I run first lite baselayers from the waist down (boxers/leggings...a variety of thicknesses based off of where i will be going/what I will be doing) but run Sitka Ascent or Apex pants, a Sitka Core lightweight hoody, sitka mid-weight fleece as a second layer and then a uncompaghre jacket from FL that I love more than anything. I have a KUIU rain jacket and some Stone Glacier rain pants (havent really used yet). I also have a flash pullover from Sitka in case of a downpour/intermittent weather in september that I carry with me at all times.

Sorry for the long post, I just feel partial to people sticking with a specific company just for the sake of being a fill in the blank "guy" who has all matching camo. So much good clothing right now, especially with the brands you are likely you are looking at, and if you can build something specific for you, it is even better. Hope that helps

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Sitka is nicer. I’m phasing our all
My kuiu stuff. One though the kuiu attack pants are excellent.

 

[5 shot group]

FL just never held up for me. Always seemed like it would snag on everything, stretch out, or just never fit like I hoped. It did a great job at keeping me warm/cool when needed however.

I have been moving more to non-hunting brands because of the price point and I feel some are better designed (kuhl renegade pants come to mind). With that though, I will be supplementing with pieces from both Sitka and kuiu and maybe even some military surplus stuff.

Don't get stuck on brands, get stuck on building a system.

 

[Milestone522]

Beyond Clothing base layers 1 & 2 and fleece
Arcteryx Leaf pullover for really cold temps
Beyond Clothing and Patagonia (PCU) for soft shell and/or rain gear.


look up the articles and videos about the PCU system. It really works with numerous brands but if you follow the guidelines for layering you can really enjoy being outdoors even in really poor weather.

 

[bcbower]

Before buying anything, I would listen to a couple of podcasts with John Barklow from Sitka. He did a couple of outstanding podcasts with Snyder (Kifarucast) as well as with Randy Newberg (cannot remember if it was Hunt Talk or Elk Talk) and was even a couple of NockOn podcasts. Anyhow, even though he works for Sitka, the information about "building a system" is universal to whatever clothing you buy. A lot of people are "Sitka guys" or "First Lite" guys etc...I would recommend building a system that is custom tailored to what it is you are doing and how you will be applying it and dont care about the brand and/or mixing things up. FL, Kuiu and Sitka all have pieces that work better than others at times depending on application. Think about wool vs. synthetic, brush busting vs sitting in a treestand etc and how you will be utilizing your clothing. I have a hodgepodge of Sitka, KUIU, and Firstlite that I wear and feel 100% confident in the application and know how it will work when I go out into the field. In my opinion, you CANNOT go wrong with either of these three. I have had all in miserable conditions and I honestly dont have one bad thing to say about any of them. Ive been lucky and never really had any gear fail. Any type of failure/rip/tear has been a result of a situation that any hunting apparel would have failed (ie. miles of AZ catclaw that only thick carharts would have survived).

An important note is that I feel like I have missed out over the years because I get excited and simply buy something that looks freaking awesome, but after a couple years looking back, I have only used the piece a couple of times because it just didnt really fit into the layering "system" that I run. Start with what will be touching your skin and then move out from there. It is all personal too. I run first lite baselayers from the waist down (boxers/leggings...a variety of thicknesses based off of where i will be going/what I will be doing) but run Sitka Ascent or Apex pants, a Sitka Core lightweight hoody, sitka mid-weight fleece as a second layer and then a uncompaghre jacket from FL that I love more than anything. I have a KUIU rain jacket and some Stone Glacier rain pants (havent really used yet). I also have a flash pullover from Sitka in case of a downpour/intermittent weather in september that I carry with me at all times.

Sorry for the long post, I just feel partial to people sticking with a specific company just for the sake of being a fill in the blank "guy" who has all matching camo. So much good clothing right now, especially with the brands you are likely you are looking at, and if you can build something specific for you, it is even better. Hope that helps

reaally appreciate the input! thanks for taking the time to write that out.

 

[Oldpuck]

Where you hunt makes a difference. The Oregon Coast Range is wet in the morning Salmonberry, blackberry, and devils club play havoc with your clothes and sometime your skin as you hunt through the day, and archery elk opens the third weekend in August making for sweaty afternoons and evenings. Eastern Oregon is hot, dry and cold. So look for layers and best fit. I like Sitka, son likes First Lite. Each has worked well and held up well.