Camo pattern aside, I used Kuiu last season almost exclusively in an effort to get my clothing dialed in for more active hunting. I figured if it worked well for static “stand/blind” hunting I knew I could make the layering system work for the active-static hunting style for elk.
Bottoms: Early season was attacks with/out zip off under. As it got colder I switched over to axis with/out zip offs and occasionally another medium weight long underwear layer under the zip offs. Honestly the attacks with zip off under were so similar in warmth to axis I would end up wearing attacks by themselves down to about 55 and then axis down to 45, add zip offs down to 30, and add another layer down to 20’s. I never hunted below that, but had a down layer to go over all it if I needed.
Tops: early season is warm, so I used a sitka lightweight hoody for mainly breathability with a layer over top if needed for slightly cooler morning weather. At end of season I bought a mountain vest for this application to help cut wind (mainly for that morning chill). As it got cooler I would vary a number of pieces, Kuiu pro-merino 200, strong fleece 260 hoody, jetstrean jacket. I would add a simple t shirt under sometimes for a layer and then add subtract as needed. All the above could get me from 90’s down to 40’s pretty well. Into the 30’s and down into the 20’s I added a north face thermoball jacket under the jetstream, and I found the warmest combo was t shirt or promerino, strong fleece, thermoball, and jetstream. This could easily take me into the 20’s stationary. I picked up a kelvin WS puffy to help if it gets colder.
All of these layers were used in tree stand and blind hunting. I found them all reasonably quiet, though the down outer wear would not have been quiet enough for tree stand bow hunting I don’t think. Rifle would be a different ballgame since ranges are usually much further than bow. The quietest upper layer that had any substance was the strong fleece. Almost silent. I would wear this as an outer layer down into the mid 50’s pretty regularly and it did real well with a layer or two sometimes underneath.
Again, this was all stand or blind hunting. I would walk into the stand and the nice thing about these pieces is I could vent zippers or keep a jacket off to dump heat and put on when I got to my location. I could not have walked around in all that even in 20’s as I would have sweated too quickly.
One thing to consider is the hand pocket location/function for pieces if you are stand hunting. My bigger gloves I used in a blind would not be the best for stand hunting as they would require some noise and movement to get off to use a weapon. If bow hunting it would be impossible (I use a cross bow but my son uses a bow) so something like the fanatic jacket is great because he can just keep his hands in the warm front pocket until he is ready to go and then with the adrenaline pumping you don’t feel the cold on your fingers as much. Kuiu does not have a comparable jacket to the fanatic, and that piece is designed specifically for later season bow hunting.
So consider what you are looking for, your functional needs, and buy accordingly. Sorry that was long winded, but I feel it was kind of what you were asking about. And yes, I do grimace every time I walk out looking like a freaking ad for Kuiu. There’s something about having some different brands mixed in to just say I am not a brand whore
There's a facebook discussion about this piece right now going on and there's guys saying it sounds like tin foil, and one guy said customer service said it wouldn't be good for stand hunting (even though the product description literally says 'great for stand hunting'
