I have a friend on a local forum who informed me veterans get 30% off FirstLite and 40% off Vortex. So I submitted my DD214 and now get the discounts.
With that said I am a KUIU man. I am already a part of their vet program and am a platinum inner circle member. When I found out about the FL discount I thought sweet, I can save some money. So I googled firstlite vs kuiu vs sitka and came upon this thread. I created an account here for the sole purpose of this reply.
I am in no way sponsored by KUIU nor do I have any other garments to compare. This is also my first year hunting. Now that is out of the way, I'll schpeel upon my thoughts.
KUIU is the best I could afford and when I found out JASON Hairston started SITKA I thought KUIU couldnt be much different. I now own all layers besides rain gear and insulation type pieces. I seriously love their ULTRA light pieces and how warm they are vs weight. I am 6'4 215#s, broad shoulders and athletic build. I find layering with XL works for me. If you ask my wife she thinks my tops are too short. I think they are perfect. I have Attack pants and the Guide jacket and both work flawlessly for me. The hood is very well fitted and works very well with their merino beanie and ultra light 1/2 zip merino hoodie hood. I also have their bomber hat for the upcoming winter. I know when I have it on I start sweating very quick. Like everything else, it fits perfectly.
I went bowhunting (I live in the west) and as I made my way to my first glassing position waiting for day light, i had on a peloton base, ultra light 1/2 zip merino hoodie, merino beanie, zip off bottoms, knee high merino socks, guide jacket and attack pants. As it began to snow I wasnt at all cold besides my hands. I put on the axis gloves and they immediately cut the wind off my skin. I'm not going to say my hands were toasty and to be honest neither were my toes but I wasnt stuffed and definitely wasnt bogged down so much it threw off my draw on the bow.
I'm nervous to venture into other brands. But now with this thread and a big discount I'll try out some FirstLite. But I gotta tell you, for the price of KUIU vs Sitka and Firstlite, it's going to be tough to beat.
I also have had some experience with KUIU customer service. The sitching on the Axis gloves popped on first try pulling them on. I took a photo, emailed them, and they immediately (same hour) emailed me a postage paid return slip.
One thing I definitely dont like about KUIU is this. If you buy something, ANYTHING, be SURE you want ExaCTLy what you order before submitting the order. I have ordered and saw what I ordered was wrong, called them right away to have the size changed and they couldnt do it. Seriously? Once the order is placed it MUST be shipped then returned for REFUND then reordered. I guess the orders go to their warehouse which is separate from customer service or something? What a hassle.
Lastly, I put in some 100$s of dollars order right before a sale. I was on instagram and noticed they began the sale right after my order. I mentioned it on instagram to a random person on the KUIU sale posting. KUIU figured out who I was, found my phone number to call me and refunded the difference of the sale on my order! That my friends is customer service and a huge part of why I want to stick to KUIU. I havent even heard of such a thing with ANY company.
Again, I am in no way affiliated with KUIU besides my inner circle membership. I just wanted to share my experience with them.
Sitka however is calling my name. Firstlite ONLY with the discount is looking decent. It's just hard to float that much cash past KUIU when I have been taken care of so well.