Kuiu Chugach NX first impressions

[Outwest]

Just got my new Chugach NX in the mail today. Out of the package, it was thinner material than I thought it would be but it seems well built. I put it on and to find out that there is a lot of room to spare in a medium, I am 6' 155 lbs so my skinny frame doesn't fill very many jackets up well. The hood fits very well for me.
Just two complaints; 1.The sleeves are hard to get off if you are wearing a release. It will go over, its just not very easy. 2: The sleeves are baggy and so it becomes an issue when you are shooting a bow. This was fixed when I was wearing a pack and it pulled the sleeve back or you could possibly wear some sort of sleeve over it to keep it down.

Thankfully, we had a good rain come through this afternoon and I was able to test it out. I threw on the jacket over a tshirt and went for a walk down the road. I walked about a mile in the rain and it started to really pour about halfway though. I got back and checked out the inside of the jacket. Totally dry except for right around the cuff of the neck where the rain dripped off of my hat brim and into the neck. I checked my tshirt and there was only one wet spot on the back of the neck where I think water dropped off when I took the hood off.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with the jacket. I was debating between the Chugach and the sitka rain gear and I am not sure the sitka was going to be worth the extra $120. I wish it was a little more form fitting but I can deal with it. This was only one storm but it lived up to my expectations and I hope it can stand up to a few seasons of hard use.

 

[Outwest]

Update: Used the rain jacket again, this time in even more of a down pour. I came inside to check it out and it had leaked around the back of the neck. Pretty disappointing. Talked to kuiu about it and they said that they would get back to me in a few days. Hope they can get this worked out soon. Its making me a little nervous this close to hunting season.

 

[Shrek]

So , their response to your brand new rain gear that leaks is we will get back to you in a couple days !? Not , we're sending a call tag in the package with a new jacket ? What do they need to decide ? Are you a customer who is important enough to warranty our products to ?

 

[Outwest]

Update #2: I called Kuiu back, slightly frustrated, and asked how long this process would take as I had hunts coming up within the next two weeks. I was still told that they would get back to me by email as soon as they could. Now I was even more frustrated because I knew I wouldn't have the jacket in the next two weeks.

Well, I got an email the next day apologizing for the leaking jacket and with an attached pre-paid shipping label. They told me as soon as I provided them with tracking info they would send a replacement jacket. I just received an email that my new jacket is on the way.
Kudos to Kuiu on the customer service front. I figured that I wouldn't have my jacket until sometime in mid september. Hopefully this one performs much better than the first.

 

[Shrek]

Or maybe they connected you to this public thread about your experience. If they had been on the ball the first contact would have ended with this resolution not the third. I wonder how you would have been treated if there had been no public airing of the issues? The real test of integrity is not what you do when others are watching but what you do when nobody is watching. They did not take care of you at first and left you hanging. You paid good money for a waterproof jacket that wasn't and they took days to decide if they would stand behind their product. I personally wouldn't feel thankful that they did the right thing but PO'ed that they had to even consider for days if they would do the right thing.

 

[Ceby7]

Give it up Shrek, the WHOLE world knows you hate Kuiu.

 

[GibsonKuenzi]

Update #2: I called Kuiu back, slightly frustrated, and asked how long this process would take as I had hunts coming up within the next two weeks. I was still told that they would get back to me by email as soon as they could. Now I was even more frustrated because I knew I wouldn't have the jacket in the next two weeks.

Well, I got an email the next day apologizing for the leaking jacket and with an attached pre-paid shipping label. They told me as soon as I provided them with tracking info they would send a replacement jacket. I just received an email that my new jacket is on the way.
Kudos to Kuiu on the customer service front. I figured that I wouldn't have my jacket until sometime in mid september. Hopefully this one performs much better than the first.

Glad you got it taken care of. I'm no kuiu advocate and only have a few of their things, but sometimes it takes a few days for any company to process your return order/emails. This is normal with most companies, including ones that Shrek uses. They said they would have an answer for you in a few days and you got it in a few days. Seems pretty fair to me. Besides I really doubt Jason would pay someone to monitor Rokslide for these kinds of threads. Hopefully the next one works better for you.

 

[adirondak5]

Glad they are doing the right thing for ya Outwest , good stuff to know .

 

[carlc]

Yep, good to know they will actually return emails. I have had multiple Sitka items that leaked and were not warrantied. And that was after waiting 3 weeks.

Just got the Chugach nx pants, sounds like I might need to try the shower test to test them out!

 

[Outwest]

Or maybe they connected you to this public thread about your experience. If they had been on the ball the first contact would have ended with this resolution not the third. I wonder how you would have been treated if there had been no public airing of the issues? The real test of integrity is not what you do when others are watching but what you do when nobody is watching. They did not take care of you at first and left you hanging. You paid good money for a waterproof jacket that wasn't and they took days to decide if they would stand behind their product. I personally wouldn't feel thankful that they did the right thing but PO'ed that they had to even consider for days if they would do the right thing.

As said before, I doubt they are watching rokslide to monitor threads about their products. But if they are, Thanks Kuiu dudes!!

I was expected a product review period for them to actually find out for themselves that the jacket was faulty, but they shipped the replacement before they received the original. With a company that has had as much success as Kuiu has, it will sometimes experience overload. 1 day and a half to respond to an email really isn't that bad in hindsight. To me, it tells me that they are doing something right with so much business coming in. I will stick by them for now.

 

[TEmbry]

Or maybe they connected you to this public thread about your experience.

It's one thing to hate Kuiu... I get that. It's another to question the integrity of another poster by essentially calling him a liar on a public forum because he uses a product you don't like. Poor form.


As per the OP, I pay full price and have zero affiliations with the company but have had similar encounters. The few times an item wasn't up to snuff in my eyes they made it right promptly. The wait times are annoying but I like the gear enough to plan ahead for that.

 

[SethH]

Yep, good to know they will actually return emails. I have had multiple Sitka items that leaked and were not warrantied. And that was after waiting 3 weeks.

Just got the Chugach nx pants, sounds like I might need to try the shower test to test them out!

I'm thinking the same thing