Kuiu VS Sitka for Nothern/Midwest Whitetails

[Bowhunter'07]

So I'm planning to slowly upgrade my hunting clothing to a high end brand like Sitka or kuiu, and wondering which one is better for Whitetails. I know Sitka is more popular, but I've kind of been leaning towards Kuiu because of their camo options.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Beagle1]

For whitetail hunting I think Sitka has more and better clothing options. It is hard to beat Sitka’s Stratus and Fanatic lines.

 

[JRS3]

I have both and prefer the Sitka for cold weather WT hunts. That’s mainly due to the fact my Sitka gear is a bit older and thicker/heavier than the Kuiu gear. I have not tried Kuiu’s proximity sets yet but they look promising. Kuiu fits me much better than Sitka, as Sitka can vary much in size and hangs off me while Kuiu feels more tailored. Kuiu does fine layering but the Sitka with a good base, a down vest, and heavy, waterproof/resistant fleece as served me well in 20F weather. If starting over, I would try the Kuiu proximity first. I have returned far more Sitka gear than Kuiu due to the size variances.

 

[Bowtechassassin]

Sitka gonna be more tailored towards whitetail clothing then kuiu although they have been getting pieces for whitetail within the last year. First lite also has really good whitetail specific clothing if yoy don't mind mismatching clothing.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Are you talking archery or rifle hunting?

Let me break this down for you in simple terms….sitka white tail is their bread and butter. Kuiu western gear is their bread and butter.

I have expereicne with sitka stratus and fanatic lines and have handled the proximity line but no direct experience with it.

My takeaways from the proximity were it is very similar (but less quiet) to the stratus line, which i already had and love.. Nothing in kuiu gets close to the level of quietness and warmth the fanatic line has.

If you are hanging in a trestand and want quiet, warmth, and some mild weather protection, i would go sitka all day. But if you are actively hunting, walking through woods or spot and stalk for WT deer, i wouldn’t recommend either of the whitetail lines. Theres better stuff out there for active hunting. If you are in a blind, it doesn’t matter at all what you wear as ling as it is comfortable and warm.

 

[ForlohFamily]

So I'm planning to slowly upgrade my hunting clothing to a high end brand like Sitka or kuiu, and wondering which one is better for Whitetails. I know Sitka is more popular, but I've kind of been leaning towards Kuiu because of their camo options.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

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[Honyock]

I have not used Kuiu's whitetail stuff so I can't comment on it. Kuiu is geared more for active hunts and is going to be more lightweight/backpack hunt than Sitka.. If it's cold weather tree stand hunting, I'm more likely to use Sitka. If it's chasing elk, I'm more likely to use Kuiu. Scout the classifieds and find some used Sitka and Kuiu and try it out and find what works for you.

 

[TheHammer]

I rock my sitka gear all year from early September elk hunting high country co to January here in Wi. With no complaints, other than the zipper strings disappearing on their own. Windy days are not an issue. Opening day of rifle season here in Wisconsin last year was pretty windy, snow/sleet and windchills were -9*F. I was warm and dry. Got setup for the morning 2 sticks high. Layered up after my 4 mile hike in, put my saddle on, no issues until my feet were too cold at 1130. The problem I had with the one piece of forloh gear I bought is it was advertised as x and had this super great marketing paragraph that didn’t actually tell you what it is you are buying other then how great it was… opened the box realized it wasn’t what I wanted, chalked it up to what it was tossed it on the shelf and simply don’t recommend forloh…. the company might make really great gear, could be the best gear available, but it clearly isn’t getting the nods or recommendations for being fantastic like the other 3-4 brands constantly being recommended, nor do we see it in the gear reviews. I don’t see John barklow on here asking for considerations….. so with that I highly recommend sitka gear.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

The stratus line from sitka covers a lot of ground for me, but just saw the encounter line from kuiu and that may be a good option for early season before it is too cold for the stratus. I dont know as i have not had hands on that line, only the proximity line from kuiu.


Again, treestand archery hunting is very different from rifle hunting and the noise levels are very different animals. Ymmv

 

[Super tag]

I have a mixture of both brands, most of my base and mid layers are Sitka, but find the kuiu outer layer and insulating pieces to fit much better than Sitka, I’m average size and in good shape, the Sitka outer layers just don’t fit as well, tight sleeves etc, not sure why.
my favorite piece is the ambient, love it so much I bought another to wear daily, very warm and super lightweight.
the only exception to the outer layer is the Sitka Dewpoint, very lightweight and it fits nicely, they resized the line not too long ago, it is absolutely comfortable and 100 percent waterproof, I’ve worn the Dewpoint in rain , all day long sitting and glassing and stayed bone dry. I like it much better than my kuiu chugach.
I suppose a lot of it for most people is how the clothing fits you personally. I couldn’t ever have and wear just one brand due to the fit.

 

[FLHunter87]

Sitka has several peices on sale. I am upgrading also. I ordered the ambient jacket, mountain Evo jacket, ascent shirt. I ordered a couple more peices but they were canceled and I guess other people best me to it which is unfortunate. I peice that was canceled was the Fanatic Hoody. While trying things on in a local store, the Fanatic Hoody, instantly became my favorite peice other than the ambient jacket. I got all subalpine colors. I'm tempted to get some open country patterns but feel it would look stupid if I mix and match camo... I wish they did have more solid colors though. Kuiu has a lot of solids compared to sitka.

 

[SloppyJ]

This is easy. Sitka for whitetail all day. I pair mine with FL wool. I've been most impressed with my stratus set. Get the bibs for venting.

 

[krob2299]

I've switched to a lot of Kuiu but there's some pieces from Sitka and First lite that I've substituted in for some of the layering system. Iowa resident here