Fill the Gap

[passinggas33]

Fellow Roksliders-
I am looking at finalizing my sheep gear and the last thing I have to figure out is my rain gear situation. Here’s what I have:
Super lightweight browning rain gear
Helly Hanson Impertech II
So I’m trying to find the “in between” set/fill the gap that I will take to Alaska with me. By in between, I am looking for more breathable than the HH and more durable than the lightweight Browning. I am not brand loyal, but have been thinking either KUIU or Sitka. So, my question is, which version from KUIU would fill the gap between my lightweight stuff and my thick stuff? Yukon, Katana, or Chugach? And in the Sitka line would you recommend the cloudburst or stormfront set? Anyone with real world experience that wants to weigh in? Thanks for thoughts and opinions. And before people ask, yes I’ve read most threads on gear. Just more curious on which line/sets are guys taking on their sheep hunt.

 

[mtnclimber]

In my experience, i like the kuiu chugach over the sitka stormfront. I prefer arcteryx over the kuiu though.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I don't have any experience with the Sitka rain gear, but have all the lines of Kuiu, and the Chugach is by far the most used.

 

[DRUSS]

I have the Chugach set. Fairly light and breathes good for rain gear. I have the Stormfront pants and they work well but if was putting a lot of miles in I would prefer the Chugach. I dont have the coat to compare though.

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[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Kuiu Chugach or Kutana.

 

[ColeyG]

I went with the Cloudburst jacket and Stormfront pants and have been quite happy with that combo. My reasoning was that I wanted the pants to be on the more durable side as opposed to lighter weight. In my experience, pants take more of beating from bushwacking, scrambling around and crawling around on the ground, etc. and so durability is of more concern on the bottom layers. As was mentioned, above, they are a bit heavier and stiffer than some of the other options, but they pack well enough for me. The fit is pretty slim so if you plan to wear them over your action pants as opposed to long johns or nothing underneath, size them a little larger than "normal."

The Cloudburst has been an awesome coat is is quite durable for it's light weight. No complaints on either piece.

 

[Blockcaver]

I use the HH Impertech for quading, skinning bears, etc in BC. All backpack hunting, dayhunts with rain gear in the pack, etc is with KUIU Chugach. I am on my second set as the pants were really getting worn on my 2011 set made in Vancouver at the Arcterx factory. And I was really surprised at how well the Chugach did this fall in Nunavut on a 1.5 hr quad drive in heavy rain at about 60km/hr. I was dry except where rain hit my face and went down my neck, jacket etc and wet out my crotch. No fault of the rain gear! Good luck.

 

[Bambistew]

Where about in AK will you be hunting? Reason I ask, is if there isn't much brush, your superlight stuff may be more than sufficient, unless you don't have any confidence in it? Not a lot of brush encountered in some areas, ask your outfitter. Some of the areas I hunt have basically zero brush.

I would talk to your outfitter and ask about his past experiences and how they will hunt. You may not be far from shelter on a given day. IMO its a big difference between moving camp daily and having a base camp, and or having a base camp with a stove.

I have been wearing OR gear for a long time, been plenty happy with it. I'm not sure there is any rain gear that will keep you 100% dry, nor do I plan on being 100% dry, so I plan accordingly. Its part of the hunt. If you're stuck in a tent for days, the moisture in the tent will not let your saturated rain gear dry out...

My arms tend to get wet from water running down my arm, while using hiking sticks. Also with a pack on the pack will force the moisture through the rain gear on your shoulders. Or that's been my experience with about 8 different types of breathable rain gear.

I'd love to see how well the best rain gear works when walking for miles of tall wet grass like you can encounter in the Chugach. I don't think you'd stay dry in waders. I dumped water out of my boots... haha