Sitka Dew Point Pant Verses Kuiu Northridge Pant

[longrange13]

Anyone have a comparison between the sitka dew point pants and the kuiu northridge pant? Weights are similar between the two. I have the sitka dew point jacket and it works well. Kuiu on sale is 1/3 of the price. I’d have to imagine being similar weight they would perform about the same.

 

[NorthernRed]

My buddy has a north ridge set and he said he tore it hiking with the dog pretty easy.

He also hiked for a few hours with it in some good Westcoast rain and said it felt like it was about to wet through (not sure what that mean?) it could have just felt like that as it’s thin.

He recommends running the kutana or Yukon in kuiu. I personally want to try a kutana pant and dewpoint jacket. The kutana could take a little bit more of a beating when walking through brush and the dewpoint is a light jacket but is still highly wanted proof and breathable. I assume the dew point will need the right layers under it to feel comfortable in colder conditions though.

I the type of guy that likes multiple lighter layers in my system. However, the outer layer need to bare the brunt of Canadian bush hiking so I’m holding the kutana will work.

Can you elaborate on you Dew Point gear a bit more? What rain has it kept out? Have to walked through much brush with it? Is it acceptably quite? IYO.

 

[NorthernRed]

Anther note.
Outer fabric-
I’m not sure what denier the northridge is. They use a Toray Polyester with FUJIX RESILON stretch thread. Maybe somebody could school us a little here but I’m at the understanding that polyester doesn’t stretch/grow when wet but is weaker than the same weight nylon. Also in my experience, waterproof fabrics claim they stretch tend to loose their waterproof attributes quicker. I little stretch Im sure is fine but too much could result in micro failures in the waterproof membrane. Areas like the knee seem most at risk. The kutana and Yukon is made from a slightly stretchy mater but in much heavier. I think a closer comparison to the dew point would be the chugach.

That being said, I wouldn’t personally use the northridge pant for my particular style of hunting. A heavier material would probably be my go to for a pant.

I do wish the dew point would be a hair heavier. I’m a little concerned with tears. 20D nylon is a strongish fabric which is used in tents a lot. But seems a bit risky, especially for a pant that will be used hiking bush. It absorbs water and will grow in size/stretch up to 3.5% when wet. Given the dew points gortex layer I’m assuming it maintains waterproofness well over time. You could hopefully speak to this more?

Another pain for me is that I need tall gear. Nothing worst than short rain gear and also like to avoid all the swoosh noise from overly baggy rain gear. Sitka dew point jacket is the only one the fits the bill. Light enough to pack for two week trips, comes in tall and sounds waterproof enough. Pants I have a few more options.