Vote for the Best High End Hunting Apparel

[Florida Bow Hunter]

First Lite, Kuiu, and Sitka are still about a decade behind Patagonia, Arc'teryx, and certain cottage manufacturers like Nunatak when it comes to overall build quality and full utilization of modern fabrics/insulation.

Been wearing Patagonia for dare I say decades ? Liberal scumbags against hunting but the heavy weight Capilene keeps me warm.


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[bruceleroy]

Is this a best in marketing survey. I dont think any of them own the title in any area but they each have solid single items.

 

[ridgefire]

I have always had good luck with Sitka so that is what I mainly buy. I really like my First Lite merino stuff as well. Never tried Kuiu besides some late season gloves and I'm really impressed with how waterproof they are. I use them for my duck hunting gloves now.

 

[Mahiman]

Sitka is overall the Best Buy for high performance gear!

 

[sndmn11]

I still prefer ASAT camo pattern over all others so I have a lot of First Lite from when they offered ASAT. First Lite makes good stuff but may not be the best in certain areas compared to other hunting lines, I know, ASAT has been around a long time and is not techy or fancy but it flat out works great for me. I too have been moving toward buying in non-camo natural colors from high quality non-hunting lines like Mammot, Arc'teryx, etc. The non-hunting lines do not build for quietness so you have to be careful what you get.

I think First Lite's success the first five years wouldn't have happened without ASAT.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Arc'teryx

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It’s same materials as sitka, they are pretty beholden to WL Gore also

 

[CrzyTrekker]

Arc'teryx and Patagonia.

 

[jfs82]

Overall I use more Kuiu (because it's hot as hell here when season opens and I love the Tiburons). But mlike many others, it's slot dependent. I've got Skre, kuiu, black ovis, Eddie Bauer, Kryptek and OR. Often times comes down to what's on sale. I do like the kuiu and kryptek patterns the best, but whatever.

 

[JoeG]

I own a several items from all 3. But when the weather gets bad I wear my king of the mountain wool

 

[Flipsyde21]

This is not a viable experiment. You really should take a best-in-slot approach because these brands shine in some places and falter in others. Anyone that has determined one brand to rule them all is purely fanboying.

Where they excel IMO:

First lite - merino, whitetail line
Kuiu - active insulation and synthetic base layers
Stone glacier - down products
Sitka - softshell and wind stopper, whitetail line

Everything else (pants, fleece/midlayers) are personal and fit preference.

I know it would be nice and simple if one brand was a consensus best but unfortunately you have to do your own research to first determine what you actually need (if you fail here it doesn’t matter who makes it) and then determine who makes the best version of that item considering performance, fit, durability, etc.

I'm just starting to put together a list of equipment to buy. I've seen posts similar to this in the past, but haven't been able to locate them again. Anyone else have opinions on "best in class" products? Still trying to figure out what all I may need to get. I'd like as condensed a set as possible, but have it be able to get from hot, early season bow hunts on the move, to sitting in a snowy tree stand in the late season.

 

[MtnMuley]

For me, FL has the best merino, Kuiu has the best pants, and Sitka has the best tops.

 

[Sadler]

For me, FL has the best merino, Kuiu has the best pants, and Sitka has the best tops.

I couldn’t agree more.

 

[Vids]

Honestly I voted Sitka because I can try them on at stores and know if it fits....and I've been happy with the performance so I don't see the need to search further.

 

[rj2]

I don't like paying as much as these companies ask for their gear but Kuiu really has some good ultralight gear, so I have a few kuiu pieces for backpacking

 

[Meridian90]

I'm just starting to put together a list of equipment to buy. I've seen posts similar to this in the past, but haven't been able to locate them again. Anyone else have opinions on "best in class" products? Still trying to figure out what all I may need to get. I'd like as condensed a set as possible, but have it be able to get from hot, early season bow hunts on the move, to sitting in a snowy tree stand in the late season.

I generally see people regard the Kuiu rain gear as best, although I've never owned any Kuiu. I would like to try it, but my two sets of FL have done the job for me so far. Every Kuiu rain jacket looks really nice though.

 

[akpredator]

Thumbs up for kuiu rain gear.


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[Winnie]

First an observation: It drives me nuts what some of these new hunting apparel lines are naming their products. I cannot even pronounce the names! No way will I remember that the Ahegxnzqtuu pants are what I was interested in! For that alone I like Sitka!

I have been very happy with Sitka and have found it on sale enough to be comfortable with the price.

 

[positivepete!]

I like what I can find on sale. I like kuiu just because they have more solid colors with more options. I am not a big camo guy so that's what influences me as much as price.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Put me in for FL base layers and puffy. Sitka for pretty much everything else. Although I’ve really been liking those Merino pants from FL Obsidians. If they reinforced the seat and knees and added knee pads they would be prefect.

 

[Brendan]

I like Sitka for the breadth of their line combined with quality gear if I had to pick one. None of the others can compete across Big Game, Whitetail, and Waterfowl.

With that said - where's Kryptek? The Altitude line and Schoeller fabric deserves mention as "Best".

My gear closet has some from everyone. Sitka, Kuiu, FL, Kryptek, Arc'Teryx, Patagonia, Mountain Hardware, OR, etc..