Kuiu vs Sitka

[bojangles808]

for really hot weather kuiu is the only ones that puts hip zips in their pants and i love that feature. not sure why the other guys cant do that but that puts them at the top of the list for me. theyre more affordable too than FL and sitka and the verde pattern works well for the environment around here.

 

[cuerro viejo]

I've worked for MH before, my point was that every company out there is going to have something different in their philosophy than your own world view. If your after quality gear, just get the price that fits your needs. Politics has even found it's way into hunting these days. Virtually any mountaineering equipment company is not going to support hunting. So you're going to end up buying something from a company somewhere who doesn't support your views.

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If you worked for mountain hardware then you would know your statement was false.

 

[sneaky]

this is good gear. i have the jacket. i do wish it rolled up smaller, but given the durable material i guess we sacrifice some bulk savings.

now that i got that out of the way..

when did a KUIU subsidiary start fracking? i dont know how to google how Kuiu is not land friendly.

Get out from under your rock. It's been discussed before. Kuiu is a big SFW supporter. SFW could care less about public lands, or the average hunter. Not hard to find that info. I've worn FL and Sitka rain gear. Both serve their purpose. This s the time of year when Sitka is on sale in case you are looking at their gear.

 

[sneaky]

Don't think THAT is the issue - Hairston hangs with, close friends with the guy who started "big game forever. org" - do quick study and find out what HE is driving at the federal level - not good for us "blue collar folks" - OK, ENOUGH politics for ONE day FGS !

BGF and SFW are practically one and the same.

 

[sneaky]

I've got a pair of Cabelas gore tex pac lite pants. My buddy told me they were noisy. Coming from him, who wears Kings. I told him at least my clothing doesnt look like a mirror in sunlight lol.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

I've worn some clothes from both Kuiu and Sitka.

Pants: Attacks, Alpines, Ascents, Timberline, Mountain
Base layer Top: Kuiu Merino 125 LS, Kuiu Merino 145 zip t, Sitka Merino zip t, Sitka Core LS
Base layer Bottom: Kuiu Merino 145 Zip
Mid Layer: Guide Vest, Tiburon Zip T, Jetstream Vest, Traverse T, Mountain Vest
Insulation: Superdown Zip T, Kelvin Lite Jacket
Outer Layer: Guide Jacket, Jetstream Jacket, Jetstream Lite Jacket
Rain Gear: Chugach
Gloves: Guide, Yukon Pro, Tiburon, Shooter, Jetstream
Beanies: Guide, Merino from both
Misc: Yukon Gaiters

If you have any ?'s let me know.

 

[boom]

Get out from under your rock. It's been discussed before. Kuiu is a big SFW supporter. SFW could care less about public lands, or the average hunter. Not hard to find that info. I've worn FL and Sitka rain gear. Both serve their purpose. This s the time of year when Sitka is on sale in case you are looking at their gear.

educate me..find me the info.

hell we all buy gasoline..there is no way the fuel industry cares about public land and hunting. you cant draw that dark of a line in the sand..

 

[Mmcan]

For this discussion, let's assume, I'm only interested in the best performing gear in the items I asked about.

I have zero complaints about my Kuiu Yukon rain gear. I love it. It has performed flawlessly in major downpours, it's durable and fairly quiet (no, it is not silent like a soft shell). I would replace it immediately if I lost it for some reason.

I have no Sitka rain gear.

 

[Mmcan]

CamoFire.com has Sitka on sale on a regular basis.

 

[Akicita]

I used a lot of their gear during my time in the army and it simply holds up to regular abuse. It's pricy stuff but without a doubt in my mind it's worth it. Lots of choices and it's very lightweight. I use their rain jackets for daily wear and while hunting.

^^^ I concur^^^ I grew up in a miserable pre-Gortex era but since it's introduction I will always reach for my Arcteryx gear when my comfort, well being and life depend on the gear I kit out with.

I received some non rain gear Kuiu items last Fall as a gift and it did not meet my expectations for durability.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

I been using Sitka and Kuiu gear for 12 years or so. I prefer the single layer rain gear better for mountain hunting as it dries faster, is lighter, and packs better.

This is a really good practice. The double layer and heavier rain gear can be difficult to dry.

Rain pants: Sitka dewpoint. I have some other sitka and KUIU pieces as well. I could care less about name brand, I want a good price and I want it to perform. I don't find a puffy and rain gear to be as important for camo.

I purchased a used pair of sitka rain pants and used them for two years, They ripped in two places but my fault so I repaired. Then all of a sudden the seam tape cracked and started peeling off. I called sitka and they said send them to us and we will send you a brand new pair of our latest rain pants. Great customer service and I had the dewpoints a couple weeks later. I have been happy with them.

Sitka is pricey though and even with the great CS I can't afford that stuff brand new.

Sitka has really been in sale lately. I have saved about $800 in the last 3 weeks. The Sitka Customer Service is what sold me, having read a lot of positive reviews like yours on Rokslide. Thank you for sharing.

As for a packable rain gear you can't beat the Sitka dew point set. Jacket breathes the best because of pocket and zipper configuration.

I went with the Sitka Dew Point pants and they are just amazing. They are super lightweight but with a set of gaiters, they should hold up well in my areas of hunting, mostly sage brush. I like that you can put them on over your boots, so no need to change out of your existing pants, the Dewpoints pants just go right over.

However, I went with the Cloudburst jacket. My philosophy is that a heavier jacket is better for when it is raining since the Jacket suffers more rain that the pants. Unless of course, if you are sitting a lot.

If you care about hunting, you should care about public lands. I used to be a KUIU fanboy but replaced every piece with Sitka or First Lite purely on principle.

I agree with this statement and thank you for bringing this up. Without the lands, we can only hunt online, and that just isn't the same I imagine.

I have used Arcteryx for my mountaineering and Search and Rescue days. This stuff is simply the best, but wow, is it pricey. My Alpha SV jacket was $600 retail and the Alpha SV pants were $500 retail (I get them pro pricing). I have used their stuff for body searches, where you are underneath all kinds of bushes and branches, things that love to poke and pull to rip things open. I have also been in avalanche searches and no matter what the conditions, the DWR remains intact, amazing stuff. The Arcteryx does sell things from their LEAF line but it is hard to get because you need to be Law Enforcement Armed Forces ("LEAF").

I would recommend Sitka based on fit and quality. I have read quite a few complaints about the poor quality of KUIU but rarely have I read anything bad about Sitka, but I could be wrong and let the flaming begin if it must be. As Jonathan Hart came from mountaineering roots, his equipment really speaks to me and compared to mountaineering clothing, Sitka is cheaper by quite a bit.

Hope this post helps the OP out.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

CamoFire.com has Sitka on sale on a regular basis.

Thank you for sharing this website. It is an interesting concept, in that every 12-14 hours, they load up new deals. Right now, they have the Cloudburst pants on sale 36% off: Camofire.com - Discount Hunting Gear, Camo, and Clothing But this deal ends in about 13 hours. The only problem I see is that you cannot search and it appears you can only see 40-50 deals at a time.

Right now, I see that blackovis.com has almost all of their Sitka Gear on sale!! http://www.blackovis.com/brands/sit...ebar&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=sitkasale

 

[Gutpile]

Positives and negatives with both companies. Sitka is just too expensive in my opinion although you can find a lot of their gear on sale these days. I actually like the kuiu stuff better but back when I was buying it it seemed like it was never in stock I don't know if they've remedied that or not. It was a huge pain waiting for them to restock. Anyways, I have used both companies extensively and I eventually sold or am selling all of my Sitka stuff and sticking with kuiu. Not to hi-jack but I do use a lot of first light and I love their gear. I'm a big believer in wool and use the kanabs in elk season where the weather is so nasty. I do wonder about the durability of the kanabs but i only use them during elk season and for that they are perfect. FL wool base layers are the best. Kuiu gets a thumbd down in that dept. Another up and comer is Pnuma, I bought some of there gear on an impulse and the tenacity pants are awesome for early season warmer weather hunts. To answer your original post I prefer KUIU. I don't have time, nor do I care enough to dig through all of the internet garbage to find out if I agree with them on every political stance they take. All I want is some decent gear.

 

[elkduds]

I have some Core4 from CamoFire, I perceive it to be a Sitka knockoff w similar designs & materials. Their Torrent rain jacket is light, durable, quiet, breathes and packs small. Hands down the best rain jacket I ever used. Core4 is out of business, a company called Sylo is making essentially the same thing. Sylo's version of the Torrent is the Revel, yesterday on sale @ Camofire for $99.

 

[FURMAN]

Both are great and I think both have pieces that are better than the other depending on the piece. Overall I like the Kuiu line better because it is more complete. If you are ok with mixing and matching camos or solids then just get the one that has the features you want. With rain gear I think the biggest trade offs are weight vs durability. Choose the one that is more important to your use.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I've had almost no failure in either Sitka or KUIU I've purchased. I did watch the interior seam tape fail over time on my Sitka rain pants years ago, and I had a spontaneous seam failure in the arm of a Kelvin jacket once. I'm trying to recall any failures with KUIU and actually don't think I've experienced any in the years I've been wearing it. I haven't universally liked either company's complete product line as some stuff they both put out is a bit....less than useful to me. I think that's normal too. In the end you could outfit me with either and I would know I had good stuff and unlikely to fail.

Fit: I've had good and bad results from both companies. I don't give the edge to either, and I usually count on having to do some exchanging when trying a new product. I picked up some Sitka Fanatic Light Bibs in the same size as my regular (heavier) Fanatic bibs and the Lights were enormously oversized in comparison. I exchanged. I have different KUIU pants and can wear a 34 in most but not all. I do like that KUIU and Sitka both size their pants in numbers (inches) and not s/m/l/xl. I have never liked what I term 'bracketed sizing'.

Because I consider both companies to have excellent clothing which fits me very well (once correct size is established) purchasing often comes down to a preferred camo pattern, certain features and definitely price. The price gap between the 2 companies is very significant when you look at buying multiple pieces of their pricier stuff. Sales aside, KUIU Guide jacket & pants = $380, while Sitka 90% jacket & pants = $558. I have owned both and consider them very close in design and performance. Advantage KUIU on price. I hunt whitetails in Ohio and KUIU has very little I care to use for that. Sitka makes a TON of great stuff and has the Elevated II pattern I think is superb...so...advantage Sitka Gear.

Both companies' products are made in China and shipped here. There certainly are 100% USA-made options out there but you'll look hard to find them and it's debatable whether you'll like them as well.

 

[Kilboars]

I own a lot of both brands but must say Sitka is bulletproof.


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[wymtnpounder]

Surprised by all the durability comments for Sitka has not been my experience, kuiu seems to do better imho, but not bulletproof by any means. Just got the Badlands Intake jacket which has an unconditional warranty and as hard as I am on gear might be a good choice. Haven't herd of any one else using badlands though.

 

[Boman]

I just did my research on Big Game Forever and I was bummed to see that they are "Proudly" supported by Sitka. I did not see Kuiu listed.

For what it's worth I have used Sitka and was ready to upgrade to the sub alpine stuff but not now.

I wonder what Randy Newberg thinks of Sitka sponsoring them?

 

[MattB]

I personally prefer Kuiu due to weight, but do have a sense that Sitka may be more durable.

This may come as a surprise, but trying to gauge allegiances based on hearsay gleaned from the internet is a fool's folly.