Anyone have the First Lite North Branch Pant?

[hflier]

Anyone have the First Lite North Branch Pant? If you have a pair, what do you think? How heavy are they etc. Are they true to size. Any info would be helpful. Damned expensive to just take a flyer on a pair.

Ron

 

[bbrown]

I checked out a set in my local archery shop and they seemed to be thicker and heavier (both warmth and weight) than my sitka celcius bibs. The material felt tough but also like it might make some noise as you walked. I did not spend a whole lot of time checking these out because i already have the bibs and they do not get used much but I really don't see a use for them for my hunting style.
I also checked out the puffy and their rain top and was not real impressed with either. Rain top seemed like it was noisier than other rain gear and the material just did not feel all that robust. The puffy felt like it would work and do the job but just seemed bulky to me. Then again they obviously were not trying to compete with the ultra light - ultra packable gear.

Keep in mind this was only a few mins with each piece and no field use. FL is the only merino wool I will buy (after trying most of the others) but I am not sure how their outer wear is going fair amongst some pretty good competition from Sitka, Kuiu and Kryptek.

 

[First Lite]

I Just want to make sure that everybody is comparing like products. Unlike fragile ultralight rain gear that is made to spend its life in a pack and only come out when its raining our hard shell jacket is designed to be worn while hunting. The Storm Tight shell is durable enough to spend days in the Alders without shredding yet remain as light and breathable as possible. Regarding the hard shells noise, the Storm Tight is the quietest hard shell we have found. If you are comparing it to a brushed fabric it is louder but brushed fabrics get soaked far more easily and take a long long time to dry once wet. Weight wise it is as light if not lighter than any comparable product. I also see people comparing our puffy to various down and coated down sweater type layers. The Uncompahgre Puffy is a windproof, very warm jacket with reinforced forearms/elbows and shoulders that comes in weighing at 19.1 oz for a large. We chose synthetic insulation for a few reasons: firstly, its breathability (Our Cocona treated synthetic is far more breathable than other synthetic insulation which itself is far more breathable than any down products. At the same time it has extremely high CLO or "R" value). Secondly, synthetic insulation will keep you warm when wet where as down loses all its ability to keep you warm when wet and gets wet quite easily whether from rain or perspiration. Coated down takes longer to get soaked but the results are the same. Also down takes a long time to dry even if you have a fire and will not dry in a tent. Coated down dries significantly faster than uncoated down, like in two days instead of five. For these reasons we chose synthetic over down for our outerwear. We design our stuff to be worn for off trail hunting. It is designed for the worst situation one could find themselves in and we try to avoid materials that could get somebody into trouble for the sake of cutting a few ounces. I encourage any interested in these pieces to do a search on Rokslide or ask someone that has used them their opinion.Thanks for reading my rant.

 

[edg1967]

I just got a pair to the North Branch Pants along with the new puffy and Stormtight Jacket and am very impressed by the quality of all the garments. Of course the real test will come mid to late season which is the reason I bought these items. I would agree that they are of similar weight to Sitka's Celsius line...maybe a little heavier, which is good IMO. My first impression of the pants is that they were very well thought out...sewn in gaiters, full length zippers, high waist & suspenders. I think the fabric will do an excellent job in repelling water and snow although it may not be the quietest. Again, the true test will come with colder temps and I'm interested to see how this Cocona fabric performs. As for sizing, I normally wear Large bottoms and XL tops with all my Sitka, Kuiu, etc. I actually had to exchange the XL tops I ordered for Large...the sizing is very generous and I would say is designed for layering without having to size up. I also ordered a new pair of Kanabs in size L and could have probably gotten by with mediums. I normally wear 34-36 waist and I have plenty of room under these too.

 

[bbrown]

I Just want to make sure that everybody is comparing like products. Unlike fragile ultralight rain gear that is made to spend its life in a pack and only come out when its raining our hard shell jacket is designed to be worn while hunting. The Storm Tight shell is durable enough to spend days in the Alders without shredding yet remain as light and breathable as possible. Regarding the hard shells noise, the Storm Tight is the quietest hard shell we have found. If you are comparing it to a brushed fabric it is louder but brushed fabrics get soaked far more easily and take a long long time to dry once wet. Weight wise it is as light if not lighter than any comparable product. I also see people comparing our puffy to various down and coated down sweater type layers. The Uncompahgre Puffy is a windproof, very warm jacket with reinforced forearms/elbows and shoulders that comes in weighing at 19.1 oz for a large. We chose synthetic insulation for a few reasons: firstly, its breathability (Our Cocona treated synthetic is far more breathable than other synthetic insulation which itself is far more breathable than any down products. At the same time it has extremely high CLO or "R" value). Secondly, synthetic insulation will keep you warm when wet where as down loses all its ability to keep you warm when wet and gets wet quite easily whether from rain or perspiration. Coated down takes longer to get soaked but the results are the same. Also down takes a long time to dry even if you have a fire and will not dry in a tent. Coated down dries significantly faster than uncoated down, like in two days instead of five. For these reasons we chose synthetic over down for our outerwear. We design our stuff to be worn for off trail hunting. It is designed for the worst situation one could find themselves in and we try to avoid materials that could get somebody into trouble for the sake of cutting a few ounces. I encourage any interested in these pieces to do a search on Rokslide or ask someone that has used them their opinion.Thanks for reading my rant.

Fair enough...
My post above was not trying to knock or discount the FL. I was very curious about the new FL gear and once I finally got my hands on it those were my initial thoughts. Like I said above I have no personal field experience with the gear but I have used enough similar/competitors gear to have a pretty good idea of what is going to work for me.

I was comparing the FL rain gear to my current set which is Sitka Cloudburst but I have had/used Cabela's MT050, space rain, Sitka Stormfront, Sitka Downpour and some cheap crap I can't remember the name of - I was a broke college kid. I would say the FL rain gear is closest to the Cloudburst and the noise is not unbearable (it is hard shell rain gear after all).

As far as the puffy I was comparing it to the Sitka Kelvin, Kelvin Lite and Kuiu Spindrift. I have also used the Kuiu Superdown and an older Eddie Bauer down but like mentioned above those are down and are not really a fair comparison. The biggest difference it the weight and thickness or "bulk" for a lack of a better word. I have no doubt the FL Puffy will keep you warm but just does not fit my needs.

To the OP - of the 3 pieces I checked out the I liked the North Branch pants the most. They seem like great later season pants or maybe even tree stand pants but may be warm for active hunts in September or early October.

 

[robby denning]

I just got a pair to the North Branch Pants along with the new puffy and Stormtight Jacket and am very impressed by the quality of all the garments. Of course the real test will come mid to late season which is the reason I bought these items. I would agree that they are of similar weight to Sitka's Celsius line...maybe a little heavier, which is good IMO. My first impression of the pants is that they were very well thought out...sewn in gaiters, full length zippers, high waist & suspenders. I think the fabric will do an excellent job in repelling water and snow although it may not be the quietest. Again, the true test will come with colder temps and I'm interested to see how this Cocona fabric performs. As for sizing, I normally wear Large bottoms and XL tops with all my Sitka, Kuiu, etc. I actually had to exchange the XL tops I ordered for Large...the sizing is very generous and I would say is designed for layering without having to size up. I also ordered a new pair of Kanabs in size L and could have probably gotten by with mediums. I normally wear 34-36 waist and I have plenty of room under these too.

X2, I'm glad I read edg's post, as I would have typed almost exactly what he said.

I'll add that the North Branch is very warm! I got mine in early April and tried to use them on the shed hunt. In temps of 25 degrees, they were too warm if I hiked at all! They are very functional and were easy to zip out of without removing boots. I'm looking forward to using them when the snow flies, temps in the teens, and riding horses.

Love my puffy. Just wore it this morning for a scout in cool and humid 50 degree weather. Hiked in 1.5 miles, sweating moderately and a breeze came up that chilled me. Threw the puffy on to glass and warmed right up. By the time I took it off 20 minutes later, my FL Llano merino top was dry.

 

[Mark at EXO]

I tested the North Branch pants this spring, during a surprisingly cool turkey season. The temps weren't nowhere near sub-freezing, but they were a good test of the North Branch's breathability in moderate weather, and water-resistance during plenty of soaking rain. The pants performed well on both accounts.

Here's a quick overview video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhKZHfTuuZI

 

[Nick Muche]

I basically own every piece of First Lite gear there is, except the Northbranch pants... I actually wear mine, a lot, put it through serious abuse in most cases because I do not baby my gear (after all, it's gear, not my Sunday Best...) at all... I also own serveral other brands of high end clothing and I can tell you this... The First Lite is 9/10 times the stuff I grab when I am heading out. In fact, in the last 3 -4 years I cannot think of a single hunt/hike/backpack trip I have been on where the FL gear wasn't incorporated somehow... The stuff just flat out performs better than most of the other stuff out there and I have yet to run across someone who knows gear that will tell you otherwise.

If you are on the fence about buying some, I'd tell you from experience that you have nothing to fear...

Nick

 

[DWarcher]

If you are on the fence about buying some, I'd tell you from experience that you have nothing to fear...

Nick

Other than the Kanabs you are spot on Nick. If you plan to hunt at all in any kind of brush you will tear them up...I just got back from a three day sheep/goat hunt on the big island and my seamstress had to stitch four tears and a blown out crotch when I got back...unfortunately not the first time she has had to do so. These pants are super comfortable but just not durable enough for what I do.

 

[hflier]

I too own a bunch of FL. Some awesome clothing. I really like the new puffy and stormtight jacket. Just bought a another new set of Kanabs. Hope that crotch blowout thing has been resolve. I love the Kanabs, but this problem really bums me out. I think I am going to get a set of the Nortbranch Pants.