Clothing advice. Kuiu vs Sitka vs kryptek vs first lite

[jerm8352]

Just looking for some advice on upgrading my hunting clothes. For a heads up I hunt antelope, mule deer and elk in western Wyoming from September until January. I currently use mostly Scentlok pants base layers and tops. My biggest complaint with them is I sweat too much. Even running the “lightweight” base layer I sweat a ton and this creates a bad situation with rashes, jock itch, etc for me. Looking for something to help with that and just make hunting more comfortable as I get older. I have no preference for any brand and am willing to mix and match. Just want durable good stuff that will make me more comfortable and keep me on the mountain and be worth the extra money. I am sure all these are good but anyone that has advice for my specific situation would be sure appreciated. Thanks for any help.

 

[cobbc03]

I cant speak to western hunting, yet... but I recommend first lite base layers and sitka outers. First lites merino wool is fantastic, and they make zipoff bottoms that would likely fit your western hunting well.

 

[TSAMP]

Ok ill try

Sitka beats kryptek, first lite beats kuiu. Kuiu beats sitka except if they also have firstlite on. Then transitive property sitka is now better than kuiu unless they also have kryptek, then they drop down a level and are now losers.


For real man, its likely all better stuff than you have.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

They are all pretty good, in my experience generally:
Sitka- good mid/outer layers, pants, best speciality pieces (whitetail/duck/etc)
Kuiu- best pants, synthetic base layers and rain gear, good mid layers
First lite- best wool base layers and socks
Kryptek- favorite puffy (ghar), altitude line is top shelf stuff

 

[TreeStandAthlete]

As a fellow sweaty man the Sitka synthetic base layers have been money for me. Merino wool is nice but I just get too sweaty with it. I run sitka base layer, a Kuiu peleton 97 and 260 for midlayers, Sitka puffy, and cheapo marmot precip wind blocker/rain gear. I have a hard time imagining myself not going mostly Kuiu going forward, mainly because of the price (Sitka stopped offering their discount to teachers this year pricing me out of the market).

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[gelton]

I'll play.

First lite merino wool baselayer
Prana Zion Pants
Sitka Traverse Zip Sweater or one of their microfleece hoodies
Darn Tough Socks
Marmot Puffy
Kuiu Guide Vest
Kuiu rain gear
Sitka ball cap

FL outerwear has a reputation for not being able to hold up to abuse.
Sitka raingear has a reputation for being too expensive to comparable offerings from Kuiu.
Kryptek Altitude is the cat's meow but I don't like their sizing especially in the arms and it's very pricey unless you find it on sale.

 

[PVHunter]

Echo what others have said about the FL base layers. Also dig the quilted fleece hoodie due to its versatility.
I've picked up merino layers on sale from Icebreaker, Smartwool, etc (i.e. you don't have to buy hunting brands - we have an embarrassment of riches from a clothing brand pov).
Love the Kuiu pants (attacks, etc.) & shorts (tiburon). Puffy vest has been "eh" and I don't like the synthetic base layers (but that's not restricted to kuiu).

 

[KHNC]

The list is no where near complete until you add Pnuma Gear. Great clothing and a great company! 2nd in line is Kryptek in my opinion.

 

[Brian Fahs]

First lite merino wool base
Sitka outerwear and pants
Kuiu raingear

 

[jerm8352]

As a fellow sweaty man the Sitka synthetic base layers have been money for me. Merino wool is nice but I just get too sweaty with it. I run sitka base layer, a Kuiu peleton 97 and 260 for midlayers, Sitka puffy, and cheapo marmot precip wind blocker/rain gear. I have a hard time imagining myself not going mostly Kuiu going forward, mainly because of the price (Sitka stopped offering their discount to teachers this year pricing me out of the market).

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I hear you on the teacher thing. Just found out about it as they phased it out. Sent them a nasty email about it and haven’t heard back.

 

[jerm8352]

Thanks for all the replies. Kryptek does have the teacher discount from leoadventures it seems but you can’t even see the deals or anything until you pay the membership.

 

[Venom One]

One thing to pay attention to is inseam lengths - especially if you're a shorter person. Many of our premium brands have generic inseam lengths (Sitka is the only one bucking that trend that I know of). This may seem like no big deal because you can hem them to the correct length. HOWEVER, if the pants have articulated knees, hemming them will fix the length, but it won't change the articulation spot which will be too low for shorter folks. When the articulation is too low, it rubs and pulls on your leg so just beware that it'll be annoying.

Generic inseam lengths are also a problem if the pants have a zipper. If it's a full length zipper, you can't hem them at all. If it's a shorty zipper at the bottom I guess you could move the zipper up and hem them, but at that point you might as well find a company that makes pants with the right inseam length.

 

[DCT1983]

I’ve become a big fan of all my kryptek stuff super comfy and good for walking around here in the Midwest.

 

[jerm8352]

One thing to pay attention to is inseam lengths - especially if you're a shorter person. Many of our premium brands have generic inseam lengths (Sitka is the only one bucking that trend that I know of). This may seem like no big deal because you can hem them to the correct length. HOWEVER, if the pants have articulated knees, hemming them will fix the length, but it won't change the articulation spot which will be too low for shorter folks. When the articulation is too low, it rubs and pulls on your leg so just beware that it'll be annoying.

Generic inseam lengths are also a problem if the pants have a zipper. If it's a full length zipper, you can't hem them at all. If it's a shorty zipper at the bottom I guess you could move the zipper up and hem them, but at that point you might as well find a company that makes pants with the right inseam length.

Thanks for that. I am tall but most of my height is in my torso.

 

[sneaky]

I hear you on the teacher thing. Just found out about it as they phased it out. Sent them a nasty email about it and haven’t heard back.

I'm sure sending them a nasty email is really going to make them reconsider the move.

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