So, I just returned from a 5 day ride/walk-in in the Talkeetna Mountains. While out there, I tested out some new of my new Kuiu gear for the first go on a real Alaska hunting trip. I had picked up a set of the Yukon outerwear earlier this spring, but had limited opportunity to really test it out in some genuinely crappy weather. It was the same story with my new pack, an Ultra 6000 that I purchased earlier this summer. Here is my unbiased review:
The Kuiu merino base layer(s) are great; no issues (They’re long johns – what can go wrong?).
The Kuiu Yukon outerwear did not perform as expected and I would not recommend to a friend. The fit, quality, material, and design seemed good; I was digging everything about this jacket and especially the pants for the first couple days. It was tough as nails, comfortable, fairly quiet, and breathes as advertised. Then it started to rain. From mild sprinkles to a light drizzle (for non-extended periods), I think the Yukon would suffice perfectly; however, on that day we got a little more than a light drizzle. It rained fairly hard for Alaska – nothing like the rainstorms down south, but a heavy consistent drizzle (I’d say a 7 out of 10 on the AK rain scale). I’m being very generous when I say it took 4 hours for the Yukon jacket to completely soak through. After less than two hours in the rain, I could feel wet through my shoulders and hood. That’s when I had a look at the jacket’s lining and could see the water slowly soaking into and saturating the entire jacket. Less than 2 hours after that the entire jacket was completely saturated, with zero remnants of water repellence left on the exterior surface of the material. You could watch rain drops hit the jacket then absorb right into it, all the way into my base layer. The pants fared a little better, but I think that’s mostly because I was standing and the jacket was taking the brunt of the weather. Short story: If you’re going to be out in occasional light rain, then Yukon stuff is great- but, DO NOT depend on this stuff to keep you dry. My hunting partner was sporting a brand new set of Kuiu Chugach NX raingear; it performed no better than the Yukon, and he also was very displeased. This stuff will be going back.
The Kuiu Ultra 6000 pack – imported junk. My first impressions were that it fit good, carried nice, and is lighter than a popcorn fart. The design is good, but the quality apparently sucks. I’d put a few miles on around the house this summer wearing this pack with 20-30 lbs. in it, but never any hard travel. This was the first real trip into the backcountry with my new pack, and I had it loaded with about 50 lbs of gear and food. It was around a 15 mile wheeler ride to where we started hiking, and once we got to the end of the wheeler trail we got everything situated in and prepared to head up the mountain. The first time I put my loaded pack on, the hip belt buckle snapped in two the instant I buckled the belt together. I had to jury rig my hip belt with paracord and buckles stolen off of different kit to even begin the hunt. By the end of that day’s hike the stitching on the bag had blown out in two places (where straps / appurtenances are sewn to the bag), the clip that retains a water bladder had busted it’s seams and fallen off, and the buckle which holds the pack cover in place at the back of your neck had fallen off as well, all due to what I’ve deemed poor assembly/workmanship and just plain poor quality. What a bummer, as I still like the design of the pack, and it carried extremely well for me; however, the poor (or lack of) quality on this unit was enough to seriously outweigh any of the pack’s high-points. This one’ll be going back to Kuiu as well.
On a side note, I also had a new FirstLite Uncomphagre puffy jacket, which I brought to the backcountry for the first time; this is my new favourite jacket, and I am seriously considering replacing my shitty Kuiu Outerwear with some of the Boundary Stormtight stuff from FirstLite. Anyone have any experience with this gear?
The Kuiu merino base layer(s) are great; no issues (They’re long johns – what can go wrong?).
The Kuiu Yukon outerwear did not perform as expected and I would not recommend to a friend. The fit, quality, material, and design seemed good; I was digging everything about this jacket and especially the pants for the first couple days. It was tough as nails, comfortable, fairly quiet, and breathes as advertised. Then it started to rain. From mild sprinkles to a light drizzle (for non-extended periods), I think the Yukon would suffice perfectly; however, on that day we got a little more than a light drizzle. It rained fairly hard for Alaska – nothing like the rainstorms down south, but a heavy consistent drizzle (I’d say a 7 out of 10 on the AK rain scale). I’m being very generous when I say it took 4 hours for the Yukon jacket to completely soak through. After less than two hours in the rain, I could feel wet through my shoulders and hood. That’s when I had a look at the jacket’s lining and could see the water slowly soaking into and saturating the entire jacket. Less than 2 hours after that the entire jacket was completely saturated, with zero remnants of water repellence left on the exterior surface of the material. You could watch rain drops hit the jacket then absorb right into it, all the way into my base layer. The pants fared a little better, but I think that’s mostly because I was standing and the jacket was taking the brunt of the weather. Short story: If you’re going to be out in occasional light rain, then Yukon stuff is great- but, DO NOT depend on this stuff to keep you dry. My hunting partner was sporting a brand new set of Kuiu Chugach NX raingear; it performed no better than the Yukon, and he also was very displeased. This stuff will be going back.
The Kuiu Ultra 6000 pack – imported junk. My first impressions were that it fit good, carried nice, and is lighter than a popcorn fart. The design is good, but the quality apparently sucks. I’d put a few miles on around the house this summer wearing this pack with 20-30 lbs. in it, but never any hard travel. This was the first real trip into the backcountry with my new pack, and I had it loaded with about 50 lbs of gear and food. It was around a 15 mile wheeler ride to where we started hiking, and once we got to the end of the wheeler trail we got everything situated in and prepared to head up the mountain. The first time I put my loaded pack on, the hip belt buckle snapped in two the instant I buckled the belt together. I had to jury rig my hip belt with paracord and buckles stolen off of different kit to even begin the hunt. By the end of that day’s hike the stitching on the bag had blown out in two places (where straps / appurtenances are sewn to the bag), the clip that retains a water bladder had busted it’s seams and fallen off, and the buckle which holds the pack cover in place at the back of your neck had fallen off as well, all due to what I’ve deemed poor assembly/workmanship and just plain poor quality. What a bummer, as I still like the design of the pack, and it carried extremely well for me; however, the poor (or lack of) quality on this unit was enough to seriously outweigh any of the pack’s high-points. This one’ll be going back to Kuiu as well.
On a side note, I also had a new FirstLite Uncomphagre puffy jacket, which I brought to the backcountry for the first time; this is my new favourite jacket, and I am seriously considering replacing my shitty Kuiu Outerwear with some of the Boundary Stormtight stuff from FirstLite. Anyone have any experience with this gear?
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