Kuiu Proximity Review

Joined
Aug 12, 2022
Messages
25
Location
WY
So I received my Kuiu in the mail and have been looking it over. Here are my initial thoughts on things. I am 5 11” and 170 for reference. I hope some of the photos show in a little better detail some of the features. Here is a photo of the whole setup.
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The hat is their Wind Pro Beanie, Wind Pro Neck Gaiter, the Proximity Jacket, the Proximity Pants, Axis Gloves.

Lets start with the beanie. I have a fat head and their XL is a nice going to stay on my head but not give me a headache fit. Including when I’ve got a bit longer hair. This reminds me of the Under Armor fleece beanies. It doesn’t let wind come through, we had some 40mph winds earlier today and I couldn’t feel it on my head. It is also thin enough that my hearing did not seem overly impaired. I think once it actually gets cold out, the trade off in warmth to my ears versus hearing will be worth it.

Working our way down, I love the neck gaiter. I think that the holes cut out to breathe through are awesome. I don’t have glasses but I imagine this might help with some of the lense fogging that occurs once the mercury dives. The cinch in the back is a little hard to loosen one handed but it seems like it’ll be set and forget, especially with the wire in the nose that you can form to the bridge of your nose. The gaiter fits nicely into the jacket and seems like it’ll go down over the neck if I want to wear paint instead. It is the same thickness as the beanie.
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Moving down to the jacket, there is a lot to like. First and foremost, it doesn’t feel cheap like the Cabelas fleece that used to be a thing. It is thick and it really feels like there’s some heft to it. I think it is plenty quiet to pull a bow back and the sleeves are slim enough that there’s not a lot of excess. The jacket fits very very well. Not too baggy, I don’t feel there’s a need to size up unless I wanted to maybe double up on a sweatshirt and down.

I tend to get very cold quickly. A light sweatshirt outside below 60 can sometimes not be enough. I was able to fit s Super Down Ultra in the same size underneath which really turned this thing into a furnace. I will note that doing this made the jacket substantially louder than without it. The jacket is so quiet that I can hear the crinkling of the down jacket over whatever sound the proximity jacket is making. It’s about 50 and rainy out and I was getting quite warm in it. I think this piece will really come into play when things drop below 45 degrees.

Here are some of the features I like
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Gear loop in both front chest pockets. These will get used quite a bit for a grunt call and a rangefinder. I can see using it in turkey season too for similar reasons.
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The drop pockets are awesome, there is one on each side. I love to throw thinner gloves or handwarmers into these
The so I am happy to see it on this jacket.
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The cuffs are pretty tight on this. Wearing a big watch might be difficult, but I was able to get the gloves slid between the fleece and the elastic sleeve. Itll really be nice once the snow flies for keeping melting snow out and off my arm.
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It is a double zipper and I’m actually not a fan in this case. With the piece of cloth that folds over the bottom zipper it can be a real pain. I know it’s just nit picking at this point but perhaps I will learn to love it.

On the gloves, I have the Axis and they fit nicely with the rest of the stuff. I don’t really have much to say about them until I’m freezing in a tree with them. They might be a little bit too neoprene like to be my preferred gloves with the bow.

As others have stated, the Proximity pants are more like bibs. I love them. They are true to fit, very very warm and they sit a bit higher than my other pants and even cover up my back a little bit. The suspenders can be removed easily if needed but I don’t see myself doing that. If you wear a layer under the jacket, you will probably want to tuck it into the pants with the suspender of wear them over the straps. The real awesome part of these I think are the pockets. I no longer have to fight my regular pants pockets and hope my phone doesnt take a header off the ground below.39F19D75-434D-4E06-B1EE-1984AB3886C6.jpeg
The pockets also expand via magnet. Note that the vertical and horizontal pockets are two separate pockets, not two ways to get into the same compartment. These might be dangerous since I’ll just end up loading them up, I can also see handwarmers going into these.
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The pants have a zipper up top and a zipper on the bottom where you can snap a flap over it. They advertise them as able to be worn over rubber boots. I can confirm that Muck Wetlands fit under these but I’m not sure how much girthier you would want of a boot to put the pants over. Also not sure I will do that because I think I would fall out of the tree in bulky boots, Ground blind though? No problem.

So all in all, I think this will be a pretty awesome setup. I will likely update this as I use them in an actual hunting scenario here. My plans for the year include hunting my home state here in WY once things cool down a bit, and I have some hunting planned in the Upper Peninsula in November where I really (don’t) hope to put them to the test in the wind and possibly a good amount of snow.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I’ll take a look at my stuff and see if I can answer. I know I wish there was a little bit more info out on them but at this point I’m just happy to have them for the fall.
 

STL

FNG
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
47
Nice review! Thanks for posting that.

What size did you get in the jacket and bibs. Do they seem windproof? If you hold it over your mouth and blow, can you feel air get through?
 
Last edited:
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connordude27
Joined
Aug 12, 2022
Messages
25
Location
WY
Nice review! Thanks for posting that.

What size did you get in the jacket and bibs. Do they seem windproof? If you hold it over your mouth and blow, can you feel air get through?
I got the Jacket in M and the bibs in 34. They were windproof in this evenings 20 gusting 55mph winds.

For doing the blow test, the jacket seems like it’ll pop my ears before I get any air through. The bibs let a tiny bit in but I’d say it’s 96% solid.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2022
Messages
38
Thanks for the review. Considering picking up the jacket for white tail hunting in the south. (Of course it’ll also get used for hunting out west)
 
OP
connordude27
Joined
Aug 12, 2022
Messages
25
Location
WY
Your 9/25 review from the stand. About 45° this morning, it might be up to 50° now, I’m not sure. It’s been blowing 8-10 gusting 20mph all morning. It’s proving it’s windproof abilities

Walking into the stand I was able to use the pit and leg zips and not cook myself to death walking in. It didn’t pick up as many burrs as I thought walking through knee high weeds. The zips are pretty quiet. The jacket and pants are quiet and even the hood up is very quiet and doesn’t crinkle. The pockets are awesome and I’ve got most of my stuff in the chest pockets.

I’ve got it layered with a pro merino 200 underneath and a long sleeve wool shit as well. It’s perfect for this temp range without needing hand warmers, and I turn into a popsicle fast.

For the safety restraint hole in the back, it’s working great, I’ve got a step through and over the shoulders harness that came with on of my tree stands and I’ve got it clipped to a safety rope on a fixed stand. I walked in with it clipped over my shoulder and it was quiet rubbing along.

Downsides? This is a SLOW sit. No signs of life yet. Probably my last whitetail sit until after the WY two week break. We will see how mule deer goes next weekend.
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
902
Appreciate the review and real life field report.

Question on the pants, how much room is there to layer underneath? Your dimensions are similar to mine but i tend to wear a 36 in kuiu pants. I dont want to buy a 34 if they would be tight and unable to wear a heavier mid layer underneath for teen temps in late season. I would suspect a base layer goes under just fine, but what pant do you normally buy in kuiu and how much soace do you have in the proximity pants?

I like my hunting bibs a little on the baggier side as i hate feeling like my belly is being pinched while sitting but also for versatility in temp use. Currently using stratus bibs with as many as three layers under for temps down into the teens. Wouldnt mind something that could cut some layers if it works well. Kind of between this pant and the fanatic bibs…
 
OP
connordude27
Joined
Aug 12, 2022
Messages
25
Location
WY
Appreciate the review and real life field report.

Question on the pants, how much room is there to layer underneath? Your dimensions are similar to mine but i tend to wear a 36 in kuiu pants. I dont want to buy a 34 if they would be tight and unable to wear a heavier mid layer underneath for teen temps in late season. I would suspect a base layer goes under just fine, but what pant do you normally buy in kuiu and how much soace do you have in the proximity pants?

I like my hunting bibs a little on the baggier side as i hate feeling like my belly is being pinched while sitting but also for versatility in temp use. Currently using stratus bibs with as many as three layers under for temps down into the teens. Wouldnt mind something that could cut some layers if it works well. Kind of between this pant and the fanatic bibs…
Thank you!

if you wear 36, I would get the proximity in 36. I wear 34 and I wore Kutana pants (also 34) underneath. I believe you could probably fit a pair of down pants underneath if it’s the same thickness as the Ultra Down. I know I will have no problem layering thermals, then sweatpants (like the athletic jogger ones) underneath this once things get colder. They definitely built these to go over whatever else you might have in the same size from Kuiu. There was no belly pinching as it sits up a little bit higher than normal pants, I guess that’s where it’s more big like. The jacket is the same way. I was very skeptical of getting all my stuff in the same size but I did and it layers like the nesting dolls. If you really want a lot of extra space I suppose the size up would be good but I think I would swim if I went up the 2”. I hope this answers your question

A side note that this brings up is that the side zipper on the bibs are in the perfect place to reach into my pockets in the pants underneath.
 

V-TRAIN

WKR
Joined
Mar 13, 2014
Messages
475
Location
N. CAKALACKY
I got my proximity pants today and I really like them.
I have the fanatic bibs also, and to me they seem practically identical thickness and warmth wise.
I was kind of surprised, but in a good way.
Considering that the fanatic is $469 and these are $259, if there is some difference there, it certainly isn't $210 worth of difference. I think they have hit a home run with these.

I am planning on getting the Wind Pro full zip when they release it.
I think it will be more versatile than the proximity jacket.
If I need more warmth will jut put the kenai jacket under it, and it will be practically the same thing I think.
 

Ho5tile1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
165
Appreciate the review and real life field report.

Question on the pants, how much room is there to layer underneath? Your dimensions are similar to mine but i tend to wear a 36 in kuiu pants. I dont want to buy a 34 if they would be tight and unable to wear a heavier mid layer underneath for teen temps in late season. I would suspect a base layer goes under just fine, but what pant do you normally buy in kuiu and how much soace do you have in the proximity pants?

I like my hunting bibs a little on the baggier side as i hate feeling like my belly is being pinched while sitting but also for versatility in temp use. Currently using stratus bibs with as many as three layers under for temps down into the teens. Wouldnt mind something that could cut some layers if it works well. Kind of between this pant and the fanatic bibs…

I would get the 36 all my pants from kuiu are 36 and the 36 in the proximity fits great with room for layers as well… I’m still waiting on the jacket says sometime this month. My season has not started Yet not till October 22nd here in northwest FL.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ho5tile1

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Messages
165
My jacket finally came in and I love it. I will say it’s bigger then there other jackets in the same size I got the XL. Can’t say for sure how warm it will be but I can tell ya it can’t touch the fanatic and might be a little warmer then the stratus imo. That’s just from trying it out in the house 68 degrees. The hood is pretty good as well I like I can remove it as I’m not a big hood person seems very quite as well.


As far as Hiking goes depending how cold it is I’m sure your wife could, if she starts getting to hot zip those legs up or down..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2013
Messages
1,115
Location
515->406->515
Really interested in this setup.

I need something that can be standalone in milder temps, or go underneath my Fanatic setup when it gets cold here in Iowa.

Would this fit the bill or too hot you think?
 
OP
connordude27
Joined
Aug 12, 2022
Messages
25
Location
WY
Are these to warm to hike in? Need some colder weather pants for the wife, she’s always cold, not sure what to get!
I think they are warm to hike in but the zips definitely allow for lots of airflow if needed. I too get very cold very quickly but these were great.
Really interested in this setup.

I need something that can be standalone in milder temps, or go underneath my Fanatic setup when it gets cold here in Iowa.

Would this fit the bill or too hot you think?
I would say that it definitely could do standalone in milder temps but will also take you well into cooler temps. Their other jacket hasn’t dropped yet but I’m guessing that one will be a bit less bulky and may be more of a mid/mild outer layer fit. Just a guess. I cannot speak to how they’d layer with the fanatic but the proximity jacket is definitely an outer layer.

I have not abandoned testing these. Just been busy at work and had to take a couple days mule deer hunting. I will have a few more sits, plus a couple weeks in some much colder weather coming up. Also have a saddle setup I will be running for part of it so we will see how well it goes with a saddle system. With the tree stand safety harness underneath the jacket, it was great.
 

GAHunterJim

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 20, 2022
Messages
254
I got the pants for Kansas hunt at the end of November, hoping I can get buy with my other KUIU gear up top.
 

go4thegusto

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
May 16, 2012
Messages
3,029
Location
Fargo ND
Really interested in this setup.

I need something that can be standalone in milder temps, or go underneath my Fanatic setup when it gets cold here in Iowa.

Would this fit the bill or too hot you think?
I have Fanatic and Proximity both. You won't like either under either as the inner sleeves are a grabbier microfiber. I prefer a slippery puffy under either if required for mobility. Climbing, drawing a bow etc.
 
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