Edge
FNG
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2015
- Messages
- 56
First Lite & Other Gear Report - Part 3 (PA & AL)
This is the third installment of my First Lite apparel report, I've also added some comments on other gear I used. And to be clear, I am not affiliated in any way with First Lite or any other manufacturer for that matter. I also used and commented on some other gear I used at the end of the post.
Pennsylvania general firearms season (Nov 30 Nov - 5 Dec)' hunted National Forest along the Kinzua reservoir in NE PA. Alabama deer rifle season, 12 days in the field and counting.
Hunting style: PA - Hike and post along transition areas, still hunting and posting around thickets. Hiked into remote areas on days 1, 3 and 4, distance to stand areas was 2.5 miles. Was also able to do one afternoon of still hunting and hunted the other days around some thickets that required only short walks. AL- 99% stand hunting hardwood bottoms, planted pines and green fields.
Weather conditions: PA: Lower 20's into the 50's with winds from 5 - 35+ and most days it was very wet with some snow one morning that turned to slush bombs and giant rain drops and drips falling out of the trees as the morning progressed. AL: low 20's- mid-70's with some good ole' southern downpours to test out the rain gear!
First Lite products used: Sanctuary parka and bibs in ASAT, North Branch jacket and pants in ASAT, Kanab 2.0 ASAT, Llano and Chama long sleeve zip in ASAT, allegheny bottoms, allegheny exp, red desert boxers, balaclava in ASAT and merino gloves. The Stormtight jacket and pants were used extensively on days 2, 3, and 4 in PA and was also able to test the gear out during some heavy rains in Alabama.
Sanctuary jacket and bibs: Great product, if it's cool to cold out these go on! The material is silent and is perfect for bowhunting. The jacket hood is cut open enough on the sides so you can just pan your eyes instead of having to turn your entire head. Adjustable with cords inside the jacket for the perfect fit. Great stretchy material on the cuffs of the jacket and the mesh inner chest pockets are a great feature. The pants/bibs with the continuous side through the seat zippers are great for keeping cool while walking into the stand (at the most 300-400 yards). I had no discomfort from the zippers while sitting. I wore the sanctuary when it was way too warm but had nothing else as silent as this outerwear, I kept the legs partially unzipped, and the front of the jacket open as needed. I'm sold on the 37.5 cocona materials for regulating core temps and moving moisture away from the body, it works. It appears First Lite is coming out with a lighter weight jacket for 2016, perfect! FL, don't forget the corresponding lighter fill pants! The coldest temps I ran into this year was the lower 20's, no problem for the Sanctuary line and a Llano and Chama underneath.
North Branch Jacket and Bibs: For close encounters with spooky whitetail deer, don't wear the North Branch jacket. It is way too noisy even rubbing against itself and will spook the quarry, trust me on that one. For ridge hopping and stalking the open forested hills of PA they work fine, although twigs slapping against the fabric is pretty loud. The material is tough as I've busted through some thickets and briars and they have come through unscathed. The North Branch line is NOT wind proof, probably why it breathes so well.
Uncompahgre puffy was used off and on most days in PA. It's warm and comfortable alone and as a layer, and I do like the soft wrist cuffs. I wore the puffy alone with only a Llano QZ underneath while stalking and it moves moisture away from your core, did not feel clammy at all. I've also used the FL puffy while box stand hunting in Alabama, with a 2x black Terramar long john top over it for two reasons, to keep the "swish" to a minimum and to black out my body outline in box stands that have painted dark walls. Don't have any complaints and still figuring out how to make my big woods hunting gear work together, even in southern AL.
Boundary Stormtight rain gear: Superb! Wore the tops and bottoms through 3 days of fog, rain and wet snow in PA and 2 days of downpours while sitting in an open stand in Alabama, no leaks! I spent an afternoon hiking with the bottoms and a single merino layer underneath and did not overheat, impressive. For backpacking into the PA mountains, I'm going to wear the Stormtight shell instead of the North Branch garments as they are lighter, not much noisier as well as being water and wind proof! Looks like the 2015 version of the Stormtight jacket will no longer be available, FL is coming out with a light and heavy versions of rain gear for 2016.
FL Merino layers: all layers worked great and no complaints. This is my first season using Merino base layers (I've used wool socks for years) and they go on every day now. I did use a heavier pair of black merino gloves from REI and used the FL merino gloves over them on the coldest mornings. The Balaclava held its shape well, on the coldest days I would put a Mountain Hardware merino head cover on underneath the FL. Looks like FL is coming out with a heavier Balaclava for 2016.
Exo mountain gear 5500: huge upgrade over the cheap packs I used in the past. I put around 20 miles with the pack on over a couple of days. Need to get a rain cover for it, it tended to gain some weight in the all day rain showers in PA.
Kuhl Renegade pants: Used the Kuhl's as a light outer layer as we slogged up the mountain in the morning and evening as the trail is always wet and muddy. They did a great job warding off the 20 degree temps and mud. The 4-way stretch and DWR finish made hiking in them a pleasure.
Columbia Soft Shell jacket, single layer with Omni-shield. Very light weight jacket, used in a similar fashion as the Renegades. Would wear a very light top and the Columbia shell at the beginning of the day. Once at the intended hunting area after a 2.5 mile trek uphill, would strip and replace all undergarments with dry FL Merino layers and place the lightweight Renegade pants and Columbia shell in my pack. The North Branch line, Stormtight layers and Puffy would then go on for a sun-up to sun-down sit. After freezing the first day due to the higher than anticipated winds and lower temps than forecasted, switched to the Boundary Stormtight as my outer layer and was much better off.
The First Light clothing system is sized appropriately and all pieces fit together using the same size. So if you wear and XL, buy all pieces in XL. The Boundary Stormtight will even fit over the Sanctuary jacket and not be too tight. I hope to make it out west this Fall or next and should be ready with the clothing!
FWIW,
Edge
This is the third installment of my First Lite apparel report, I've also added some comments on other gear I used. And to be clear, I am not affiliated in any way with First Lite or any other manufacturer for that matter. I also used and commented on some other gear I used at the end of the post.
Pennsylvania general firearms season (Nov 30 Nov - 5 Dec)' hunted National Forest along the Kinzua reservoir in NE PA. Alabama deer rifle season, 12 days in the field and counting.
Hunting style: PA - Hike and post along transition areas, still hunting and posting around thickets. Hiked into remote areas on days 1, 3 and 4, distance to stand areas was 2.5 miles. Was also able to do one afternoon of still hunting and hunted the other days around some thickets that required only short walks. AL- 99% stand hunting hardwood bottoms, planted pines and green fields.
Weather conditions: PA: Lower 20's into the 50's with winds from 5 - 35+ and most days it was very wet with some snow one morning that turned to slush bombs and giant rain drops and drips falling out of the trees as the morning progressed. AL: low 20's- mid-70's with some good ole' southern downpours to test out the rain gear!
First Lite products used: Sanctuary parka and bibs in ASAT, North Branch jacket and pants in ASAT, Kanab 2.0 ASAT, Llano and Chama long sleeve zip in ASAT, allegheny bottoms, allegheny exp, red desert boxers, balaclava in ASAT and merino gloves. The Stormtight jacket and pants were used extensively on days 2, 3, and 4 in PA and was also able to test the gear out during some heavy rains in Alabama.
Sanctuary jacket and bibs: Great product, if it's cool to cold out these go on! The material is silent and is perfect for bowhunting. The jacket hood is cut open enough on the sides so you can just pan your eyes instead of having to turn your entire head. Adjustable with cords inside the jacket for the perfect fit. Great stretchy material on the cuffs of the jacket and the mesh inner chest pockets are a great feature. The pants/bibs with the continuous side through the seat zippers are great for keeping cool while walking into the stand (at the most 300-400 yards). I had no discomfort from the zippers while sitting. I wore the sanctuary when it was way too warm but had nothing else as silent as this outerwear, I kept the legs partially unzipped, and the front of the jacket open as needed. I'm sold on the 37.5 cocona materials for regulating core temps and moving moisture away from the body, it works. It appears First Lite is coming out with a lighter weight jacket for 2016, perfect! FL, don't forget the corresponding lighter fill pants! The coldest temps I ran into this year was the lower 20's, no problem for the Sanctuary line and a Llano and Chama underneath.
North Branch Jacket and Bibs: For close encounters with spooky whitetail deer, don't wear the North Branch jacket. It is way too noisy even rubbing against itself and will spook the quarry, trust me on that one. For ridge hopping and stalking the open forested hills of PA they work fine, although twigs slapping against the fabric is pretty loud. The material is tough as I've busted through some thickets and briars and they have come through unscathed. The North Branch line is NOT wind proof, probably why it breathes so well.
Uncompahgre puffy was used off and on most days in PA. It's warm and comfortable alone and as a layer, and I do like the soft wrist cuffs. I wore the puffy alone with only a Llano QZ underneath while stalking and it moves moisture away from your core, did not feel clammy at all. I've also used the FL puffy while box stand hunting in Alabama, with a 2x black Terramar long john top over it for two reasons, to keep the "swish" to a minimum and to black out my body outline in box stands that have painted dark walls. Don't have any complaints and still figuring out how to make my big woods hunting gear work together, even in southern AL.
Boundary Stormtight rain gear: Superb! Wore the tops and bottoms through 3 days of fog, rain and wet snow in PA and 2 days of downpours while sitting in an open stand in Alabama, no leaks! I spent an afternoon hiking with the bottoms and a single merino layer underneath and did not overheat, impressive. For backpacking into the PA mountains, I'm going to wear the Stormtight shell instead of the North Branch garments as they are lighter, not much noisier as well as being water and wind proof! Looks like the 2015 version of the Stormtight jacket will no longer be available, FL is coming out with a light and heavy versions of rain gear for 2016.
FL Merino layers: all layers worked great and no complaints. This is my first season using Merino base layers (I've used wool socks for years) and they go on every day now. I did use a heavier pair of black merino gloves from REI and used the FL merino gloves over them on the coldest mornings. The Balaclava held its shape well, on the coldest days I would put a Mountain Hardware merino head cover on underneath the FL. Looks like FL is coming out with a heavier Balaclava for 2016.
Exo mountain gear 5500: huge upgrade over the cheap packs I used in the past. I put around 20 miles with the pack on over a couple of days. Need to get a rain cover for it, it tended to gain some weight in the all day rain showers in PA.
Kuhl Renegade pants: Used the Kuhl's as a light outer layer as we slogged up the mountain in the morning and evening as the trail is always wet and muddy. They did a great job warding off the 20 degree temps and mud. The 4-way stretch and DWR finish made hiking in them a pleasure.
Columbia Soft Shell jacket, single layer with Omni-shield. Very light weight jacket, used in a similar fashion as the Renegades. Would wear a very light top and the Columbia shell at the beginning of the day. Once at the intended hunting area after a 2.5 mile trek uphill, would strip and replace all undergarments with dry FL Merino layers and place the lightweight Renegade pants and Columbia shell in my pack. The North Branch line, Stormtight layers and Puffy would then go on for a sun-up to sun-down sit. After freezing the first day due to the higher than anticipated winds and lower temps than forecasted, switched to the Boundary Stormtight as my outer layer and was much better off.
The First Light clothing system is sized appropriately and all pieces fit together using the same size. So if you wear and XL, buy all pieces in XL. The Boundary Stormtight will even fit over the Sanctuary jacket and not be too tight. I hope to make it out west this Fall or next and should be ready with the clothing!
FWIW,
Edge
