KUIU gaiters or wait for SG?

[AK Troutbum]

I like SG stuff dont get me wrong, but I dont understand all the hype for their new gaiters that are coming out. With so many companies offering good gaiters how can these new ones be that much better??

Agree, kind of like reinventing the wheel IMO. However, if the OP is trying to decide between the SG gaters that haven’t come out yet and Yukon gaters, it might just be a moot point because Kuiu is out of stock on the large Yukon ‘s.


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[Jethro]

I like SG stuff dont get me wrong, but I dont understand all the hype for their new gaiters that are coming out. With so many companies offering good gaiters how can these new ones be that much better??

Really only 1 way to answer that.

I have 6 year old Yukons and love them. Wear them Sept - June, and they look it. I'd like to get a new pair but solids are out of stock. If SG releases their gaiter before Kuiu restocks, I'll most likely try the SG.

 

[Timeless61]

Get whichever is in stock with color and size first. I like my Yukons, quite a bit better than ORs I tried on - louder and stiffer.

 

[NABG Hunter]

I have recently drank the Kuiu-aid...and I really like it. That being said...I bought a pair of Cabela’s gaiters for an Alaskan Sitka Blacktail Deer hunt on Kodiak Island. It was a wet hunt and they worked GREAT! I don’t think you could do wrong with either of your suggestions. Good luck!

 

[Stroke250]

Yukon’s here as well.

 

[jacknifejc]

I have both the Yukons and OR. The Yukons are much quieter, but the OR are more waterproof.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I just got a pair of the Kutana gaters, (after a fair amount of bickering with Kuiu, they sent me a pair to replace a faulty pair of Yukon gaters, but that’s another story), and tried them out for the first time today.

I think they’re going to work out well, if the durability is there, but we’ll see. I really like how lightweight they are compared to the Yukon ‘s, and I like the shoestring clip, and the way they tighten around the calf.

They also have a strip of rubber that goes around both the bottom and top, which I assume is to keep water out. The verdict’s still out whether or not that will work very well, as I think we have a while before we see any liquid water around here to test them.

The one thing that I don’t like about them is that they don’t fit way down low on my boots like the Yukon‘s do, so there’s a bit less boot coverage. Even when the bottom heel strap is as loose as it will go, it’s still very difficult to wrap them around my boot so that the Velcro lines up. This is never a problem with the Yukon ‘s. Just for reference, I wear a size 10 boot and all my gaters are large.

Large Kutana fit

Large Yukon fit

There’s not a huge difference, so not a huge deal, but just something that I noticed. And as stated above, it takes a significant amount of effort to get the Kutana gaters around the boot.
They’ve also moved the snap from the bottom, like on the Yukon, to the top on the new Kutana.


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[mtwarden]

always wondered what the differences were- now I know, thanks

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

My Kutana’s lasted exactly one sheep season. The outer fabric around the lowers ripped in multiple places and started to de laminate. The snap button at the top failed on one of them. The fit on them is great and they’re light, but they are also expendable.


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[AK Troutbum]

My Kutana’s lasted exactly one sheep season. The outer fabric around the lowers ripped in multiple places and started to de laminate. The snap button at the top failed on one of them. The fit on them is great and they’re light, but they are also expendable.


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Well that doesn’t surprise me. Did Kuiu make it good?


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

Well that doesn’t surprise me. Did Kuiu make it good?


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Yeah they did, which is good on them. I still prefer to have my gear last a bit longer than what I got out of them.


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[thinhorn_AK]

My Yukons have been pretty good, I'm not a KUIU fanboy (used to be) but the yukons have worked well for me, I've had mine for ~3 years.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Kind of getting off the subject, and I apologize to the OP in advance, but the whole reason for me getting the Kutana’s was because I inquired about warranty work and getting a broken snap fixed on a pair of Yukon’s. I have a ton of Kuiu apparel, literally thousands of dollars worth, and I have never asked for warranty work. Then just recently, over the course of about two weeks, I had the snap pull off on the Yukon ‘s, and also a zipper break on a fairly new merino shirt. They denied me warranty work on both items stating that they could not find where I had bought the gaters (I did purchase them directly from Kuiu), and that the shirt was just normal wear and tear. Anyway, it ended up turning into a bit of a pissing match with me explaining to the guy that I had been a loyal customer of theirs for the last decade (since they started their business), and I had an entire closet full of just their apparel, including five sets of rain gear, yada yada. In the end, he sent me the Kutana gaters, because they didn’t have the Yukon‘s in stock,, and a gift certificate for the shirt.
I would’ve happily sent them the items for repair, and I understand that it’s probably much easier and cheaper for them to just do what they did, but I really didn’t expect them to give me the runaround like they did. And this was all over a couple very minor issues. Anyway, the whole thing didn’t set too well with me, even though they took care of me in the end.
Again, sorry for the rant, carry on.


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[mtwarden]

Interesting. This is off topic as well, but does involve gaiters

I had a pair of Sitka shorty gaiters (can’t recall what they’re called) that I really liked, but the strap underneath wore through (it’s woven wire coated with plastic, so definitely not going to last forever). Easily replaceable, as they attach via a little metal clip. They had me take a pic and send it, three days later a new pair of gaiters arrived (didn’t really need new gaiters, just the straps).

Anyways, was very impressed with their customer service.

 

[Stroke250]

Kind of getting off the subject, and I apologize to the OP in advance, but the whole reason for me getting the Kutana’s was because I inquired about warranty work and getting a broken snap fixed on a pair of Yukon’s. I have a ton of Kuiu apparel, literally thousands of dollars worth, and I have never asked for warranty work. Then just recently, over the course of about two weeks, I had the snap pull off on the Yukon ‘s, and also a zipper break on a fairly new merino shirt. They denied me warranty work on both items stating that they could not find where I had bought the gaters (I did purchase them directly from Kuiu), and that the shirt was just normal wear and tear. Anyway, it ended up turning into a bit of a pissing match with me explaining to the guy that I had been a loyal customer of theirs for the last decade (since they started their business), and I had an entire closet full of just their apparel, including five sets of rain gear, yada yada. In the end, he sent me the Kutana gaters, because they didn’t have the Yukon‘s in stock,, and a gift certificate for the shirt.
I would’ve happily sent them the items for repair, and I understand that it’s probably much easier and cheaper for them to just do what they did, but I really didn’t expect them to give me the runaround like they did. And this was all over a couple very minor issues. Anyway, the whole thing didn’t set too well with me, even though they took care of me in the end.
Again, sorry for the rant, carry on.


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That’s unfortunate, but it seems like this happens a lot if you get someone there that has poor customer service experience. I could be wrong, but it happens with other places as well.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Interesting. This is off topic as well, but does involve gaiters

I had a pair of Sitka shorty gaiters (can’t recall what they’re called) that I really liked, but the strap underneath wore through (it’s woven wire coated with plastic, so definitely not going to last forever). Easily replaceable, as they attach via a little metal clip. They had me take a pic and send it, three days later a new pair of gaiters arrived (didn’t really need new gaiters, just the straps).

Anyways, was very impressed with their customer service.

That’s funny you say that. When I told my experience to a buddy of mine, he described the exact same thing as you when he had to deal with Sitka CS on the exact same issue that I had with my gaters. He just took a picture of the broken snap, and had a new pair a week later, simple as that.


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[Jimbob]

That’s funny you say that. When I told my experience to a buddy of mine, he described the exact same thing as you when he had to deal with Sitka CS on the exact same issue that I had with my gaters. He just took a picture of the broken snap, and had a new pair a week later, simple as that.


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I love my Yukons and will probably buy another pair (mine have been abused for many years). two years My top clip broke and I called Kuiu asking to buy one. The guy said he would ship one to me for free but it never arrived. I found a different clip and sewed it on. Both snaps on the bottom of the gaiters have eventually failed as well but it doesn't affect performance and I have been using them for 6 or 7 years.

On a different note, I bought a used pair of Sitka rain pants, before they used goretex. Wore them for a few years and the seam tape started peeling. Called Sitka to ask how I could repair them and the guy cut me off and said "that is old tech we have much better new stuff" and then sent me a brand new pair of dew point pants. Sitka customer service is the best I have ever received.

Customer service is not at the top of my list when purchasing though. I need a great product at a competitive price first. Sometimes I will pay a bit more knowing the company has better service but not a lot more.

 

[Shayman]

Has anyone had a chance to try out the new Stone Glacier gaiters yet? Hoping to get an updated opinion to make my purchase between these in next week or two.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Has anyone had a chance to try out the new Stone Glacier gaiters yet? Hoping to get an updated opinion to make my purchase between these in next week or two.

I’d like to try them, I really like SG but I can’t bring myself to buy a 2nd pair when my Yukon’s are still going strong.

 

[AroaniaPass]

I have a Kuiu Icon Pro 5200. What would you like to know about it? I am very happy with it. I have been putting it through it's paces for a few years now. Seems like eventually people settle on the packs they love that they will then proceed to tell everyone is the best product going. I'm not going to tell you it's "the best" because there are so many happy people with the well known packs. A lot of it comes down to personal preference and what you can pay for an item. I had no access to any of the major pack brands, but I had a good price line on the KUIU packs. I bought and am very very happy. I can't really imagine getting much more from them.