Why are hunt clothing web sites so bad?

[AdamLewis]

Beat up the jacket I use most and was looking for a replacement. I tend to buy all my clothing at about the same time, picking pieces I like best from different manufacturers, then use til I starts wearing out. So I haven't bought in a while.

Both First Lite and Sitka have gone to some absurd menu system where you have to choose what game you are chasing to see stuff they think is good for that. Like "Whitetails".....yeah I hunt those and most all the other stuff and have never needed special clothing for each animal. So dig through two or three menu choices and see some jackets, then go back to the beginning and do the same to see different ones. To buy a ball cap from Stika you have to click "The Gear", then "Everyday", then "Logo Gear" to get to them. This is dumb.

Whoever Kuiu hired to do their site doesn't appear to be infected with this disease but most of the other high end guys are.

 

[dariian]

I was thinking the same thing the other day. Not to mention the First LIte site just doesn't work for me. I had to contact support to buy a hat.

 

[snakelk]

I agree with you you guys. Sure would be nice if they could keep it simple, rather than requiring one to wade through multiple drop-downs and categories.

 

[tttoadman]

I think they put that there to target new people that really don't know what they are looking for. If they can steer someone quickly to one place, and say "this is everything you need to be successful", they will sell them the world. If they leave it up to the buyer, they may lose them. Why do you think we see the "entire" Sitka OC wardrobe in the classifieds for sale that a guys says "paid $1200, going a different route with my system." I guess according to that, they are going with a loin cloth.

 

[Smash]

I agree. I would much rather click on categories. Have a section for jackets and anything I can put on and zip up is there. If they want to identify it as a preferred white tail item like the sanctuary jacket just put a little animal icon next to the name in the description.

It would also be nice to sort through options based on materials. Sometimes I want a wool item and sometimes I want a synthetic piece. The constantly changing names gets confusing even for a guy like me who is a gear junkie.


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[baz77]

I agree Sitka website is atrocious ...I’m very familiar with all thier gear but I’d hate be a guy who wasn’t. First lite isn’t as bad though.

 

[Trial153]

We found something we can agree on, for the most part they suck.

 

[mtnrunner260]

They dont want us to buy a la carte but instead push a whole new "system" everytime you purchase.
Plus what kinda jerk would wear non matching camo patterns let alone brands?

 

[BluMtn]

Sitka is by far the worst. Kuiu is pretty good, I like SKRE's website and the rest of them are OK. It seems like you almost have to live with their website for a couple weeks to learn how to find stuff. I don't remember what one I was on the other day but I never found what I was looking for because I could not get past their first page.

 

[mtnkid85]

Yep, the Sitka website is horrible. I try all I can to find info Im after elsewhere.

 

[bluetick78]

Sitka's site is terrible, but I can go out and find their merchandise in stores and on tons of other sites that can offer more info and better reviews. First Lite is the one that suprises me most. They don't sell their stuff anywhere besides on their website, and it's a PITA. If you only have one way to get product to your customer, it had better be dialed in dead on.

 

[Beendare]

No comment on other sites....but I was surprised how good that Fit guide/program on the KUIU site was- it was dead on in my experience...a great feature.

Other companies should take a page from the KUIU playbook.

 

[Gumbo]

Sitka needs to fire the designer of that website and anyone who bought into the layout. Absolutely terrible. I wonder how much they have lost in sales because of it. I mean how hard is it to at least come up with a reasonable layout concept? I don't have the skills to build the website but I sure as hell could come up with a better layout.

 

[Dzel777]

Well, I normally don’t chime it when all I’m doing is reiterating what has been said 20x already.
Maybe someone from Sitka will stumble on this so I’ll go ahead and echo what everyone has said so far.
Being a Sitka pro and a supporter for many years, I know there product line very well.
When I need something I litterally search for it in the search bar instead of clicking a thousand times and usually not getting to where I need to go. I can’t imagine looking at thay page for the first time, I would probably give up and go to Kuiu.

 

[Diesel]

I hate Sitka's web pages too and even wrote to them about it a year ago. They said they were fixing it. I'd fire the folks that built the site and the ones fixing it for taking so long.

 

[cnelk]

Sitka wants people to stay on their site as long as they can, so they make 'rabbit trails' to follow.

This is in hopes you see something else you may want to buy.

My bet it wont change at all

 

[Ucsdryder]

I’ve given up on first lite. When they fix their website I’ll start considering them again. Yes, I hate it that much.

 

[camping1601]

Glad I'm not the only one who hates this latest Sitka sight.
Edit: FL is just as bad. No wonder I seem to buy mostly Kuiu now.

 

[ChrisA]

I like my First Lite clothing but their website stinks, and that whole Black Friday fiasco made me turn elsewhere and not purchase the Sanctuary bibs and coat.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

Sitkas website is terrible, part of the problem is that their product line has ballooned over the last couple of years. I guess they need to offer more options to keep selling to people that already have it all. First lites is only marginally better. Both offer great products but terrible websites.


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