I am finally going to be in the mountains to do a bit of scouting this week. (No luck on the sheep draw - followed by a disappointed sigh).
I’ve compared the two pants side by side for the pre-use evaluation. Keep in mind that this is not a true comparison for sizing and weight. I have a pair of XL KUIU ultra down pants and a size L in the Sitka pants. I bought the KUIU in XL bc the pants from KUIU tend to be “athletically cut”. At 5’09” and 200lbs, I am not going to be called athletically built anytime soon. My waist is between a 34-36 depending on the manufacturer.
For my build the KUIU pants for too loose. To solve the dilemma of the pants falling off, extended strips of Velcro were sewn on by my loving (hunting) partner.
Neither pair of pants are equipped to be suspender compatible. This is a huge miss in my opinion. I have worn the KUIU pants in the field. The pants will begin to sag and droop, especially if one has anything in the front pockets. It is disappointing to have pockets one can’t put items of moderate weight, e.g., cell phone, without having to hitch up one’s pants when walking about.
A bit about the pockets:
The Sitka’s have no pockets and the KUIU has two zippered front pockets. At first blush one my think that pockets are useless bc this style of pant is designed to be an insulation layer worn underneath an outer layer. While that may be true in the designing/development life of the pant, in the practical application phase of the pant, I use the pants in the field under the protective layer and around camp as my primary outer layer. Having pockets to hold a lighter, phone, flashlight or other “camp essentials” is HUGE!!!
The Sitka Kelvin Lite is secured with a plastic button snap and an integrated belt.
I am concerned about the comfort of this system with having layered buckles. I am not looking forward to the buckle on the outer layer compounded with the buckle of a backpack/daypack waist strap pushing against the buckle on the Kelvin Lite. It just sounds like a recipe for discomfort.
Baffles:
Here the two are the same. Both are constructed with sewn through stitching. The big difference is that KUIU uses square paneling, which means there is a lot more sewn through stitching than the tubular panels of Sitka. I expect the KUIU to have more cold spots than the Sitka.
Let’s talk Loft:
The Sitka pants clearly win this:
It’s not a huge difference but it is a very visible difference even if the photos don’t convey it. One must keep in mind too that Sitka is a combination of Primaloft and down whereas KUIU is all down, which may mean the down has more insulating air pockets than the Sitka insulating combination.
Fit:
Let’s face it, all of the above don’t matter at all if the fit is horrible. So let’s take a look:
In the waist (even with the modifications made at home on the KUIU) the Sitka feel more secure. I am greatly disappointed with the gathers at the bottom of the Sitka. I have well-developed calves and my legs still look like bread sticks poking out of a 5 gallon bucket. Without wearing something over these pants one could expect the cold air blast up one’s legs like Marylin Monroe standing over a subway grate. To make these pants base camp worthy one would have to incorporate blousing rubbers into the pants.
The KUIU pants fit looser around the body but that maybe attributable to the fact that they are XL. They are also a bit too long for my build.
Zippers:
Both have a zippered fly with with pull tabs and a draft panel.
Side zips: The teeth on the KUIU are larger (not by much though), and this is a true full zip on both sides. The Sitka are a 9/10th zipper. While one does not need to worry about a zipper head gouging one’s hip from the waist belt of a backpack, having to completely take off muddy boots to avoid sullying the inside of the pants is more unappealing.
I would have to give KUIU the advantage on the side zip category.
I’ll let you know my assessment after I get some field use in both of these.
Scotty
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