Adding hip vents and mesh to Sitka pants

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I want to add hip vents and mesh to my Sitka timberline and Apex pants. Has anyone done this or have any tips on where to get the correct zippers and mesh? I have Kuiu Tiburons and want basically the exact same setup. I plan on taking them to a seamstress for install. Any info is appreciated.
 
I was thinking about doing this to my First Lite Corrugate pants. I took it to 2 seamstresses and they said it could be done but it might be weird feeling when you sit because of where the seams are in relation to the zips. Kuiu has their seams in a slightly different position so they work better. I just googled ykk zippers and sport mesh fabric and I found several places where it is pretty cheap. Just match the mesh from the Tibs to what you see.


I believe this is where I found the mesh too but I might be wrong. If you go through with this, I’d really like to hear how it turns out so please post an update


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I wore them as my Scouting pants on a recent waterfowl trip. The daytime temps were in the 40s and 50s so I did not get warm enough to need to use the vents, but I did unzip them as a test and noticed a considerable cooling effect. I did not bother to install mesh but would probably do so next time as the vents open pretty wide...especially when sitting. Also, I did not feel or notice the zippers on the inside of the pants at all. I think they open/close and vent as well as the KUIU vents (I have Attack and Tiburon pants to compare to).

How do you like them so far? Do they work as good as a Kuiu pant?


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I have a pair I wear snowboarding that I added ankle zippers and a snow skirt behind the zippers to so that I could more easily access my boots to switch them back and forth between walking and riding mode. I spent $80 to have that professionally sewn and works as well as any similarly designed ski pants.
 
Why not just buy Kuiu pants?🤷‍♂️
That is an relevant question...
I thought hard about the Talus Pants, but for me it came down to liking the zip front pockets and the color matching on the solid pants better on the Timberlines. I did not like the contrasting two-tone upper and lower look on the Talus pants...the Lead color Timberlines have a more subtle contrast.
 
Sounds logical if they don’t fit you. Kuiu fabrics are superior to Sitka & FL imo & they fit me like a glove so I wear nothing else now. Good luck with the modifications to make the others what they should be to begin with.👍🏻😎
 
Sounds logical if they don’t fit you. Kuiu fabrics are superior to Sitka & FL imo & they fit me like a glove so I wear nothing else now. Good luck with the modifications to make the others what they should be to begin with.

Same could be said about your KUIUs and their lack of sizing


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Never really studied Kuiu’s sizing or lack there of. I am of average size & their inseam fits me perfect. Just pointing out that for Sitka’s price tag you shouldn’t have to add hip vents & endure more cost. But then again if you know the Gore corporation vs Jason Hairston story, one side was about profit & the other constant product innovation. My guess would be their stuff is already at the very top of the market price wise & adding features either pushes price point up or profitability down & they & their merchants are not interested in either of those things .
 
I am not sure why garment price is part of this discussion. The original question was adding vents and mesh to already acquired Sitka Pants.
Having said that, many of us rarely pay full price for gear....there are plenty of Sales, Facebook resale groups and Discount Programs to take advantage of if you look and are flexible on timing. I was able to purchase and add hip-vents to my Timberlines for less than buying KUIU Talus pants...even with the 20% birthday discount...but as stated earlier in this thread, price was not the primary driver.
I have purchased gear from all 3 of the major brands as each have pieces with unique advantages. I have more First Lite than anything else, but lately have found my Sitka collection growing faster than the others. I do agree that KUIU has an advantage with their zip-off base layers and hip vents.
 
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Just pointing out that the most expensive line in the market lacks certain features that obviously many people want & having that added after the fact is a sizable add on in cost. I have quite a bit of first lite gear as well but I still prefer most of my Kuiu stuff over FL. Not telling people what to like or buy it’s just a shame your choice is unwilling to give you what you want.🤷‍♂️
 
Just pointing out that the most expensive line in the market lacks certain features that obviously many people want & having that added after the fact is a sizable add on in cost. I have quite a bit of first lite gear as well but I still prefer most of my Kuiu stuff over FL. Not telling people what to like or buy it’s just a shame your choice is unwilling to give you what you want.

We'll now that this thread has been officially hijacked (sorry OP).

My point in bringing up Kuiu's sizing was that there are pros and cons to every option. Like adding hip vents to the timberline adds cost, so does tailoring the Kuius. There also not different in price either, so not sure where that's coming up. Plus, there is some advantage to having items in retail locations so people can try them on and walk away with some on-hand in a pinch. There's a cost to that...


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I added hip vents to a pair of Timberline pants. More info in this thread:
https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/adding-hip-vents-to-pants.120318/#post-1337477

Thanks for the response and link. I was eyeing this seam before I posted but thought it may be too high up and not long enough to actually be effective for cooling? Have you noticed this being the case or is it actually worth it to have it altered there? The vent on my Tiburons is much lower down the thigh as well as a longer zipper and works great.
 
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