I moved to Alaska nearly 10 years ago from Missouri. When I moved up I didn't have a single piece of quality outdoor gear to my name and didn't even know what true quality outdoor gear was. Over the years my pay has increased, along with my knowledge of gear. I started out with cheap gear and have upgraded slowly each year. It took me a good 7-8 years to really get where I wanted to be equipment wise. I still have room for a couple gear improvements but even when I was using junk I was still in the field. My number one rule is NEVER pay retail. If you plan ahead and give yourself some time you can always find an item on sale before your big hunt.
When it come to Kuiu, I feel that I've spent plenty of money with the company to be critical from time to time. I have Kuiu gear that I absolutely love and other pieces that were failures in my book. For Kuiu to price their sleeping bags at or above other bags with nearly identical specs and still claim customer direct pricing should no doubt leave them open to alot of questions. Coated down has been on the market a couple years now, is Kuiu's process superior to other in some way? DWR coating or finish have been on the market for years, Is Kuiu's DWR superior to others in the same field? Kuiu boast a slight stretch in the outer shell fabric which most others don't offer. Maybe this is means great things for some guys but isn't a selling point for me. Kuiu has a couple ounce advantage on it's competitors, you just need to make sure fill rating and fill weight are same when comparing.
If another manufacturer had their name on this bag no one would be talking about it. Marmot, Mt. Hardware, and Sea to Summit are just a few that have all released coated down bags with with nearly identical specs for less money. I don't think anyone is arguing that the Kuiu isn't a good looking bag and high quality bag. But, when Kuiu sells itself on customer direct pricing and transparency then they need to be prepared to answer questions when their pricing exceeds competitor's full retail pricing.
When it come to Kuiu, I feel that I've spent plenty of money with the company to be critical from time to time. I have Kuiu gear that I absolutely love and other pieces that were failures in my book. For Kuiu to price their sleeping bags at or above other bags with nearly identical specs and still claim customer direct pricing should no doubt leave them open to alot of questions. Coated down has been on the market a couple years now, is Kuiu's process superior to other in some way? DWR coating or finish have been on the market for years, Is Kuiu's DWR superior to others in the same field? Kuiu boast a slight stretch in the outer shell fabric which most others don't offer. Maybe this is means great things for some guys but isn't a selling point for me. Kuiu has a couple ounce advantage on it's competitors, you just need to make sure fill rating and fill weight are same when comparing.
If another manufacturer had their name on this bag no one would be talking about it. Marmot, Mt. Hardware, and Sea to Summit are just a few that have all released coated down bags with with nearly identical specs for less money. I don't think anyone is arguing that the Kuiu isn't a good looking bag and high quality bag. But, when Kuiu sells itself on customer direct pricing and transparency then they need to be prepared to answer questions when their pricing exceeds competitor's full retail pricing.
