Help Build My First Camo System / Kit - Sitka vs First Lite

[Mojave]

I am still a working professional, and because of what I do I spend a lot of time outside.

I have been wearing Kuiu solid colored pants for a few months now (though they are twice as much as Tru-Spec), but they look good and are more comfortable.

I prefer Kuiu to First Lite or Sitka. But I have a ton of First Lite wool long underwear.

Browning is also a consideration if you like their patterns.

I am retired military most I want what ends up being the best deal for me. Though other companies (do your own research) have better percentages off.

Kryptek is great but man is it expensive in their top ends, just like Sitka.

 

[cobbc03]

I like First Lite baselayers, but their outerwear is a no go for me. The lack of windblocker in most of their outerwear is terrible. I love the Sitka Stratus set for midseason outerwear and with the midis or extra baselayers, it could go down into the teens. If you have the cash, get the stratus and fanatic outerwear.

 

[ddd-shooter]

I like First Lite baselayers, but their outerwear is a no go for me. The lack of windblocker in most of their outerwear is terrible. I love the Sitka Stratus set for midseason outerwear and with the midis or extra baselayers, it could go down into the teens. If you have the cash, get the stratus and fanatic outerwear.

Agree 100%.

First lite merino, corrugate pants, Sitka stratus and fanatic outer layers. Wind stopper really helped me reduce insulating layers in the tree stand.
Black ovis has good merino. For baselayers, I think you’re crazy to ever pay full price. Old ski base layers on sale is great. I have some smart wool pieces that were on sale for nothing. Great quality.
I usually have a mix of fusion, evii, and solids. Critters don’t seem to mind.

 

[Brewski]

I like First Lite baselayers, but their outerwear is a no go for me. The lack of windblocker in most of their outerwear is terrible. I love the Sitka Stratus set for midseason outerwear and with the midis or extra baselayers, it could go down into the teens. If you have the cash, get the stratus and fanatic outerwear.

I also agree 100%. I much prefer firstlite camo patterns but I bought the stratus pants and there is a huge difference in warmth added by the windblocker. The firstlite windblocker is a joke compared to the stratus.

 

[elliotsil]

buying a whole "system" is definitely a marketing thing but Sitka definitely designs their stuff to work together well.
That said, I have 2 sets of cheap merino from Amazon, a lighter one and super warm thicker one. I really like the built in face mask most of the hoodies have so I run the lightweight core hoody every hunt.
For early whitetail and turkey I like apex pant and hoody then fanatic hoody, stratus bib and jacket once it cools down.
I would try to make a plan and decide which pieces you want cuz once you get started it's a real slippery slope

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome. Cant go wrong with any of those choices.

sitka is great. Pricey. Some of their best and quietest whitetail gear is only had in EV2 and it may not be the greatest for western hunts.

I run FL solitude fear when things get cold here in PA. I find the design of the jackets more versatile and mine have been used for a variety of hunting situations.

 

[IaTrent]

Camofire has some good items available today.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

Saving up for a complete camo clothing system/kit. I mainly hunt Whitetail in the Upper Midwest, but also do some hunting out west for Mule Deer, Elk, and Antelope. Temperature ranges from 10 degrees to 85-90 degrees and plenty of rain, wind, and snow.

I’m looking for full kit/system suggestions (jacket, bibs, pants, base layers, coat, lighter wear, gloves, hat, mask, rain gear, etc) - a sentence about why you’d pick each piece would be greatly appreciated! I am planning on spending around $1500-$2000.

Trying to stick with one camo pattern, but with pieces for all purposes. The patterns I’m currently considering are First Lite Fushion, First Lite Cipher, Sitka SubAlpine, or Sitka EVII.

I’ve done a lot of research, but I’m mostly able to find reviews on individual pieces as opposed to how the pieces work with the kit overall. Thanks for your help!

I chose Sitka and never looked back. I started years ago with Open Country Optifade and was amazed at how well it worked with bow hunting. I got really close to a lot of big game. Then my friend started hunting last year and he purchased everything in SubAlpine. What I liked about that pattern was how well it blended not only to the game's eye but also humans. I swear, my friend was only 100 yards away and I had no clue where he was, even with him swinging his arms in the air. We eventually started using flashlights to locate each other and finally, HAM radios. That stuff is just amazing. It also works with predator hunting as well.

In regards to a system, there is one. Every few years the companies will change their line up and then the sales some on Camofire (BlackOvis), Mountain Archery, etc. The problem is that years will get mixed and matched and many times the pieces will clash functionally. Like having too many hoods, or the collars don't interact well with each other, or even how well they tuck into the pants. The only reason why I know this is because of my recent and huge switch from Open Country to SubAlpine and learned how keeping with one company and one year, confirmed how well designed the individual pieces go together. They really do.

Don't listen to everyone telling how to spend your money with comments like "solids" and "mix and match". Get the pattern YOU like the most and stick with one brand/year/model.

If you have questions, please PM me and we can chat over the phone. There is too much information to just type here about the Sitka system.

edit: I wanted to add that 1ShotGear is also a great place to get a ton of good deals. Sorry about totally forgetting about them.

 

[sahunter06]

Don't listen to everyone telling how to spend your money with comments like "solids" and "mix and match". Get the pattern YOU like the most and stick with one brand/year/model.

If you have questions, please PM me and we can chat over the phone. There is too much information to just type here about the Sitka system.

edit: I wanted to add that 1ShotGear is also a great place to get a ton of good deals. Sorry about totally forgetting about them.

Agree. I chose FL because of the pattern and because of the merino wool which does a great job maintaining body temperature whether I’m stalking elk in September or in the deer stand in December. If wind blocker is that big of a deal then look for the clothing that has that feature. The only piece I haven’t liked is the FL Catalyst jacket. My FL fusion set up with FL base layer suits my hunting environment and temperature ranges. Good luck. Many opinions, so make your decision based on your hunting style, environment and temperature range.

 

[jnawalaniec]

Check out Badlands, i’ve had good experiences with there clothing, they usually run a few sales a year where you can pick stuff up pretty cheap.

 

[Bearwhisky]

You will not be able to find a “perfect” kit for hunting in a treestand and hunting out west without being willing to mix match some patterns in my opinion. You will likely be sacrificing either quietness, weight, or durability at some point. If you are willing to mix match patterns, you can diversify enough to have most pieces that can pull double or triple duty, with a couple of specialized pieces. I use a mix of Sitka solids, subalpine, and ev2, with some First Lite merino base layers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sherman]

I wear Kuiu....always hated feeling like a damn Eskimo when it was really cold, which is why I wanted something extremely lightweight with no bulk. It works great for me and I’ve been pleased with with the quality of everything I’ve worn so far, extremely durable which is also a huge plus for me!

I know that’s not Sitka or FL, buts it’s my few sentences on what I wear and why.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One of the founding fathers of Sitka parted ways and started Kuiu. Same quality, cut out the middle man.

 

[Bearwhisky]

My ideal total starter package system would be as follows:

Base Layers
Sitka Core Lightweight Hoodie
FL Fuse henley
FL Furnace
FL zip off LJs

Tops
Sitka Heavyweight Hoody
Sitka Gradient (or traverse hoodie, or equinox hoody-all the same just dif pattern)
Jetstream vest
Kelvin Lite
Stratus Jacket
Dew point rain jacket

Bottoms
Sitka Traverse Pants
Timberline Pants
Gradient Pants
Stratus Pants or Bibs
Dew point rain pants


IMO, you can hunt in damn near any scenario with the above system by layering up and down, except the most extreme cold excursions. The only real specific pieces are the Stratus set, which is a very quiet windproof layer. You can wear this as your outer for whitetail hunting and it will quiet down some louder, western style puffies and pants if need be. Prob too heavy and bulky for western hunting


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sherman]

Go to Costco and get a solid color puffy jacket for under $100.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

I would second what every one has already said. Mix and match camo or solids however you prefer to make a "system", I personally prefer Kuiu and Firstlite but it is up to you.

 

[Windrunner17]

1. Just do whatever makes you happy. People are going to give you a million different answers as you can see here. Thing is, camo is extremely overrated. Pattern doesn't matter. You can kill a lot of deer just wearing plaid or plain brown or grey. Just pick what you are comfortable in and feels good.

2. I'm in the mix and match camp. Why spend the extra money just so my base layers that no one sees match my outer layers? I go by whatever pieces I like best, not sticking to one company out of brand loyalty.

Here is my set up:

Base layer - Meriwool Merino baselayer bottoms and tops, smartwool socks. All cheaper than what you'll get from Sitka or First Lite.

Mid layer - Duck Camp Merino wool hoodie and jogger pants.

Wildcard Layer - This layer depends on what I need. Windy? My Carhartt Windblocker fleece. Rainy but not freezing? Duck Camp Rain Jacket. Just need extra warmth layer? My Day One fleece pullover, or Duck Camp Dry Down jacket if I *really* need warmth. Too warm for bibs? My Huntworth brush pants or Kuhl Khakis.

Outer layer - Fleece Duck Camp Bibs or Cowboy Seude Insulated bibs from Day One Camo for bottoms, Timber Ghost Plaid Asbell Wool Mackinaw Pullover for top. Or if it dips down far enough below freezing I throw on my Johnson Woolen Mills insulated hunting jacket instead.

3. They are absolutely right, the whole idea of a "system" is clever marketing designed to part you from your money. That said, if you know that and you want to buy a "system" go ahead, it's your money.

 

[SMOKYMTN]

1. Just do whatever makes you happy. People are going to give you a million different answers as you can see here. Thing is, camo is extremely overrated. Pattern doesn't matter. You can kill a lot of deer just wearing plaid or plain brown or grey. Just pick what you are comfortable in and feels good.

2. I'm in the mix and match camp. Why spend the extra money just so my base layers that no one sees match my outer layers? I go by whatever pieces I like best, not sticking to one company out of brand loyalty.

Here is my set up:

Base layer - Meriwool Merino baselayer bottoms and tops, smartwool socks. All cheaper than what you'll get from Sitka or First Lite.

Mid layer - Duck Camp Merino wool hoodie and jogger pants.

Wildcard Layer - This layer depends on what I need. Windy? My Carhartt Windblocker fleece. Rainy but not freezing? Duck Camp Rain Jacket. Just need extra warmth layer? My Day One fleece pullover, or Duck Camp Dry Down jacket if I *really* need warmth. Too warm for bibs? My Huntworth brush pants or Kuhl Khakis.

Outer layer - Fleece Duck Camp Bibs or Cowboy Seude Insulated bibs from Day One Camo for bottoms, Timber Ghost Plaid Asbell Wool Mackinaw Pullover for top. Or if it dips down far enough below freezing I throw on my Johnson Woolen Mills insulated hunting jacket instead.

3. They are absolutely right, the whole idea of a "system" is clever marketing designed to part you from your money. That said, if you know that and you want to buy a "system" go ahead, it's your money.

The Duck Camp Barnburner Merino Hoody is by far the best heavyweight merino piece around. Much better than the FL Furnace and I say that as big First Lite guy whose kit is majority FL.

Incredible piece, incredible quality.

 

[Centralcoastca]

I personally use a number of different brands for hunting clothes since different brands have different things about them that I like. I typically don’t care about the camo pattern and certainly don’t care if it matches and as long as it’s mostly brownish and greenish etc and not shiny, though I am of the thinking that the hunter is the only one that cares what pattern you’re wearing or if it matches, I really don’t believe the animals care. A guy I know that constantly kills big bucks every year wears various colors of tshirts or tank tops and blue Levi’s. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen him wear camo now that I think about it, so there’s that. I’ve actually been getting more solid colors lately so I can wear my expensive stuff outside of the hunting seasons without looking too goofy since it’s nice stuff that works good for other outdoor activities and I’d like to get more use for the money. I’ve been using firstlite, Sitka, kuiu, and most recently outdoor research which I have been very happy with.

 

[Windrunner17]

The Duck Camp Barnburner Merino Hoody is by far the best heavyweight merino piece around. Much better than the FL Furnace and I say that as big First Lite guy whose kit is majority FL.

Incredible piece, incredible quality.

I love it, wear it just about every time I go in the woods.

 

[JjamesIII]

Saving up for a complete camo clothing system/kit. I mainly hunt Whitetail in the Upper Midwest, but also do some hunting out west for Mule Deer, Elk, and Antelope. Temperature ranges from 10 degrees to 85-90 degrees and plenty of rain, wind, and snow.

I’m looking for full kit/system suggestions (jacket, bibs, pants, base layers, coat, lighter wear, gloves, hat, mask, rain gear, etc) - a sentence about why you’d pick each piece would be greatly appreciated! I am planning on spending around $1500-$2000.

Trying to stick with one camo pattern, but with pieces for all purposes. The patterns I’m currently considering are First Lite Fushion, First Lite Cipher, Sitka SubAlpine, or Sitka EVII.

I’ve done a lot of research, but I’m mostly able to find reviews on individual pieces as opposed to how the pieces work with the kit overall. Thanks for your help!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sitka- no comparison. First lite is a bunch of merino and then some puffy pieces basically. Most every piece is not up to the task of lasting very long from a durability stand point. Aside from their “brush pants” (which aren’t), I hsve not been impressed. I like the base layers, just got anti microbial odor resistant properties. But I’d buy non hunting merino and save a lot of money rather than paying for first lite merino.
Sitka is better in most every way in my opinion. I’ve been very impressed with the way the “system” works when layered correctly. You learn to take care of your investment. I think twice about barbed wire and multi flora rose patches. But none of these light and fast tech clothing pieces are as durable as I’d like them to be.