Rain gear

[KineKilla]

I have the Badlands Exo set. The first time I used it everything was great. This spring, use number 2 and the pants held fine but every seam and even the area where the logo is stitched on the jacket was wet inside.

They are making people ship every warranty claim in at a cost of $12 and they quarantine the item for at least a week. I'd have to pay $12 to ship my jacket the few blocms from my home.

Coronavirus precautions.

Either way, back on topic...I can't recommend their rain gear at this point due to the seam leakage after only two uses.

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[Laelkhunter]

I've used and abuse my Sitka raingear for years. Super light, breathes well, and has taken lots of punishment. For the price it's tough to beat $50 Marmot Precip. I use them all the time when I want breathable non-camo raingear in Alaska and elsewhere. If on a boat in downpours I grab Helly Henson with pitzips. Pitzips are a necessity if you don't want to get wet from the inside out! I've also used HH pants for hiking through dense devils club thickets! If you've hiked through devil's club you know exactly what I'm talking about!

Which Sitka are you using: Thunderhead, Downpour, or Cloudburst ? I love my Cloudburst jacket and pants, but it only gets limited use since I hunt New Mexico in October. Rarely get any rain. I don't know how durable it would be if I wore it daily for several days.

 

[Brendan]

I think Kryptek Takur with the Schoeller Fabric is pretty interesting based on feedback.

I have a bombproof Arc'Teryx Alpha SV with 3-Layer Gore Tex Pro SHell, about as durable as you're going to get, but loud and won't breathe as well as some.

 

[Jimss]

I have the Downpour.

 

[Runningwater]

I have kuiu chugach pants, and a sitka cloud burst top and bottom. All work well. That said, imo, my Arcteryx beta AR jacket is on a different level. Never tried their pants but their jackets are at the top of the heap to me.

 

[Avalanche123]

Pretty much all of my mountain/outdoor clothing is Arcteryx....but this year I went with the FL Seak pants and jacket for the upcoming guiding season. I simply wanted to support a company that supports hunting. I also wanted to try something different than Kuiu. At first glance, the FL SEAK looks bomber....time will tell.

 

[vthokee]

I use some Air Force issued multicam rain gear. It’s not the lightest but I didn’t have to pay for it either.

 

[1shotgear]

Sitka's Cloudburst rain gear is our favorite rain gear for all around use. It is super pack-able, breathable, and is durable enough for most hunting conditions. If you constantly bushwhacking in your rain gear than Sitka's Stormfront rain gear is the way to go.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Gone through rain gear from Sitka, First Lite, and Kuiu. I also own a number of pieces for skiing from Arc'teryx and have used a lot of the other major players.

For backpack hunting, the Chugach has been hands down my favorite. Packable, light, quiet for rain gear, just enough toughness for brush busting, cut well, no extras, just the basics. I hunt September/October in the 48.

Yukon if you plan to live in it, Katana if you really want a DURABLE piece, I'd probably use it in the winter, it's a storm jacket (as stated in the title) you can take shelter in with big snow and gusts. It doesn't pack down like the Chugach. The Northridge is too dainty... see below on the Vapor from FL, felt like the same piece though better designed and thought out.

Hated the vapor from FL, designed for a passing shower and a stick will poke a hole in it, I'd rather just stand under a tree. The boundary pants were actually not bad. I may not have moved away from the FL stuff if they also still made a jacket with the same material. The Seak stuff is just ridiculous unless you plan to live in it.

Sitka, the noise was actually my biggest problem with it and it didn't pack down as well compared to the Chugach. Had both the Stormfront and Cloudburst.

 

[Researcher]

In your guys opinions.
Hands down best rain gear set for backpack hunting.

thinking about getting an Arc’teryx setup.

where and when are you hunting? That would determine what you should be buying. You can get away with different things in different areas.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

In your guys opinions.
Hands down best rain gear set for backpack hunting.

thinking about getting an Arc’teryx setup.

Best is relative to where, when and how you hunt. What's right for the AZ monsoon season is sorely lacking in AK in Fall. There are super lightweight sets like Sitka Dewpoint and the weights just keep going up from there. If you are bow hunting then a hard shell isn't for you...too loud. You need to be more forthcoming if you don't want a bunch of fanboy answers.

 

[wind gypsy]

I've had a bunch of different ones. Kuiu chugach, sitka dewpoint, Arcteryx Alpha AR and FL, FL boundary stormtight, etc. There wasn't huge differences between their waterproofness besides the FL boundary jacket being complete trash. Arcteryx gore pro are going to be crinkly loud, my dewpoint a little less so, and chugach less yet. My take is make sure you get a 3L with the weight/feature/burliness you want and go forward. None of them "breathe" worth a shit through the shell. If you want them to breathe at all you want pit zips. All of the breathable liners will eventually wet out and let moisture through with enough exposure to rain and pressure from wind, pack, or something else against the shell.

Even if a shell let zero moisture through, you WILL get wet through the holes for your head and your hands if you are up and active and not just sitting with your back to the wind/rain with your hands at your sides. I used to try to buy dryness but in reality you just have to know the limits of your gear in different conditions.

 

[Frontier Mulie]

Trying to decide between Kuiu Chugach or Kutana. Will be using mostly for back pack type hunting. Wondering if anyone has used either as an outer layer jacket when it is not raining?

 

[Poser]

Trying to decide between Kuiu Chugach or Kutana. Will be using mostly for back pack type hunting. Wondering if anyone has used either as an outer layer jacket when it is not raining?

I have a Chucagh. Very seldom do I wear it when it’s not raining, or looking like it’s about to rain.

 

[LightFoot]

I used the Chugach in AK and it performed very well. Held up and is resistant to tearing. I am happy with mine and no thoughts toward replacing it.

If the temperatures were going to be colder, the Yukon would be a my choice.



>>>----JAKE----->

 

[Dcoleman1608]

Hunting in Western Washington gets really wet, I have had my eye on either Kuiu or Sitka. The price tag makes it hard to pull the trigger.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Trying to decide between Kuiu Chugach or Kutana. Will be using mostly for back pack type hunting. Wondering if anyone has used either as an outer layer jacket when it is not raining?

Kutana is beefy, only get it if you want a storm jacket. It takes a lot of room up in the pack vs the Chugach. Chugach is the most versatile I've found for backpack hunting.

Not a fanboy... have Sitka, FL, and Kuiu, I wear what pieces work the best for me.

 

[Smithnate2506]

Does anyone use kryptek jupiter? I find it hard to justify $500+ on kuiu raingear

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[K_pem]

Have the Kutana jacket and it is certainly tough compared to lighter weight/packable options, but that comes with the added bulk.

I’m curious, those of you saying Chugach pants over the Kutana pants, are you still hunting in the pants while wearing them or riding out the storm? I tend to actively hunt even while in the rain and it seems the added durability of the Kutana would be worth the bulk/weight? Maybe it’s not significant enough to say.

M5 pants look interesting as

 

[grappling_hook]

Have the Kutana jacket and it is certainly tough compared to lighter weight/packable options, but that comes with the added bulk.

I’m curious, those of you saying Chugach pants over the Kutana pants, are you still hunting in the pants while wearing them or riding out the storm? I tend to actively hunt even while in the rain and it seems the added durability of the Kutana would be worth the bulk/weight? Maybe it’s not significant enough to say.

M5 pants look interesting as

I don't have Chugach or Kutana pants, but I don't think the weight/packability is the intended difference. They weigh almost the same (within 2oz). So it shouldn't be a matter of "sacrifice packability for durability" by going with Kutana over Chugach.

The sacrifice, based just on the stated capabilities, is breathability vs durability. The Kutana may be a bit tougher, but doesn't breathe as well. Chugach breathability is listed at 20,000mm/40,000g/m2/24hr while Kutana breathability is listed at (A1 test) 10,000g/m2/24hrs and (B1 test) 13,000g/m2/24hrs. So that is a really substantial difference in breathability.

Due to the above, the Chugach is supposedly for the active hunter (climbing, backpacking, stalking while in rain gear) who needs some durability and a lot of breathability while in motion, and the Kutana is supposedly for the less active hunter or still hunter (moving slowly then stopping and waiting, repeat) who needs something that can still breathe a bit when sitting still but has a bit more durability.