I'm looking at light weight gear. mostly for use in Texas, but also a Sept elk hunt in Colorado. I bought both Sitka and kuiu to compare and would love to hear people's experience with the brands. Out of the package I prefer the Sitka traverse to the kuiu tiberon and kutana. I like the technical features of the Sitka core lightweight hoody, but much prefer the merino kuiu which isn't really available in Sitka. Right now I'd keep the kuiu stuff because I prefer merino and am trying to move everything over to that for base/summer layers, but am open to be convinced that the Sitka synthetic material is worthwhile.

I prefer merino base layers and have found the first lite wool is more comfortable than the kuiu stuff I got. Both are good, kuiu was just a little rougher.

I prefer first lite over the other two

I wear Sitka everything but mix in Firstlite Merino. I have owned Kuiu but liked the fit and finish of Sitka better. It is all personal preference. Each brand has their fanboys. You can't go wrong with any of the 3.

Does the Sitka base wear hot? It feels heavy. How does it do with odor after multiple days?

Kuiu

All that wool based fancy gear makes me itch.

I mix and match, fabric and features for the clothes I want are much more important to me than matching camo.

I have FL, Sitka, stone glacier, kuiu, rab, and Sierra Designs or swazi clothing for hunts and mix and match depending on conditions.

Kuiu and stone glacier hip vents are money.

Stone glacier waist adjustment is miles ahead of everyone else, IMO. Only pants I can wear for days that don't need a belt and don't sag or bunch under a packbelt. Lower legs have too much fabric and swish when walking for me.

Kuiu Tiburon pants are the best hot weather pants I've ever worn, but haven't tried Sitka ascent and wish the Tiburon fabric was combined with the stone glacier waist adjust.

There are several versions. I mainly wear the core lite hoody for summer time predator hunting and early season bow season. It's super light weight

Also like the First light merino top but the Sitka is better in the summer.

https://www.sitkagear.com/products/core-light-weight-hoody/optifade-subalpine?size=L&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlemWBhDUARIsAFp1rLVm8BSbw8CLl0uo-ciAL4FXOWlhX-KRM6lvIBsqluLuD5RSulUCH90aAruWEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

But I do wear all 3.

I have a Sitka kelvin lite and really like it

I have both and I like both. However, I pick up the Kuiu merino wool first every time. That stuff is awesome.

Anyone use or even heard of Skre Gear? It's great stuff and usually lower in price that the other popular brands mentioned above...

https://skregear.com

They both make high quality stuff.

Kuiu has the edge, in my opinion for hunt functionality. Sitka is good here too but I like some of the features of Kuiu better. Kuiu also runs smaller than Sitka and they only make sizes up to 2X, which is closer to XL.

Sitka makes a ton of stuff but they also make duck hunting stuff, something kuiu does not. Sitka also makes sizes for anyone over 2X and it fits better if you're not a built like a sheep hunter.

kuiu's sizes don't run true. sitka seems way more expensive. kuiu's merino layers are not soft and pretty rough. as far as light weight and ability to shed heat with zips, kuiu hands down over sitka. I have never used first lite.

You can fine Sitka on sale if you follow mountain archery, camofire, 1 shot gear, and many others. I've only paid full price on like 2 things for Sitka.

You can find stuff from the Kuiu outlet but everything I have bought from them was full price and not cheap.

I like Stone glacier myself but out of the 2 mentioned I usually go kuiu.

All my gear is Skre. It's held up well, good pattern, and had one warranty issue that was fixed without hesitation. Their size guarantee is nice as well. Favorite piece is the Ptarmigan jacket.

I do like my KUIU frame pack and their everyday tshirts. My brother runs all the KUIU gear, and while nice, the price point Skre is hard to look past.

Edit to add - KUIU peloton zip off bottoms are hard to beat. My favorite base layer. I wish Skre would come out with something similar.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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You can fine Sitka on sale if you follow mountain archery, camofire, 1 shot gear, and many others. I've only paid full price on like 2 things for Sitka.

You can find stuff from the Kuiu outlet but everything I have bought from them was full price and not cheap

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good to know. I'm more of a light weight, shed heat person. so will take kuiu all day over sitka. I do like my sitka stuff for extreme cold though.

I will never buy Sitka again but that is based on bad service and getting burned. I wear Kuiu mainly but I am starting to get more First Lite gear recently. I think Sitka is good in hot temps and Kuiu is better in cold temps. FL reached out to us and sent us a nice selection so I am anxious to try it this fall. Kuiu runs a size small so be sure to one up the size on clothing. Never tried thier boots but I really like the socks they offer. They sent us the rain gear 2 weeks ago which seems to be very nice upon inspection. The Kuiu zip off base layers are very hard to beat and i LOVE the pro pants and puffy jacket the most. 4th rifle was a cold mother this year at 11000ft and I never once got cold.

It's like anything else, based on personal preference. I can say after the last few years of guiding that the first timers arrive with Sitka and more seasoned folks are in FL and Kuiu based on MY observations.

I run Kuiu packs but am working with Kifaru on trying them.out. Will be hard to switch given I have a ton invested in a 6000, 2300 and 5000 from Kuiu.

If you are looking at boots I run Crispi Colorados or Lapponia. My cold weather boots are Danner Vital 400 and 800s.

BCO07 said:

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I'm looking at light weight gear. mostly for use in Texas, but also a Sept elk hunt in Colorado.

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Aside from a chill in Colorado, your local Walmart or Academy should be able to adequately outfit you.

SanAntoneAg said:

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BCO07 said:

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I'm looking at light weight gear. mostly for use in Texas, but also a Sept elk hunt in Colorado.

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Aside from a chill in Colorado, your local Walmart or Academy should be able to adequately outfit you.

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1) you'll look way cooler in Kuiu or Sitka
2) how are people supposed to know you're a legit hunter if you're only wearing real tree or Magellan
3) you don't need the propane heater for your box blind if wearing Sitka or kuiu



Seriously though, I splurged on a lot of stuff before my first trip to CO. It was my way of justifying the premium I was paying for the clothes… something I couldn't do for a long time to just go sweat my balls off in a tree stand or try and stay warm in a box blind. Sure as hell glad I did though. It's all good stuff

Basically Sitka is Gore. Uses all fabrics from Gore the makers of Goretex. Similar to Arcteryx.

The guy that started Kuiu was one of the guys that started Sitka. He branched off and started his own. He passed away a few years ago. He sought out other fabric manufacturers and has a good product.

First lite cut their teeth with merino and latched onto Steve Rinella which made them famous.

One is not better than the other. Don't let the fanboys fool you. All 3 are great brands. They all have great gear. Chose a pattern you like and go for it.

I do want to try other brands. I like to try new things. Stone glacier is my next purchase to try. They don't do camo but I like their stuff. I love my pack from them.

Speaking of which:
https://www.camofire.com/?trk_msg=K69SSGMO4174776F2LMEH960JG&trk_contact=0O198QLOVQTBHHQSKKHMIEE3IK&trk_sid=Q3NO1SIEF2C0MC4C794D6FSEAS&trk_link=3JQ1M9NVO7MKTCO2I1N12EJA30&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.camofire.com%2f&utm_campaign=Daily+Shooter&utm_content=Daily+Shooter+07232022
Decent deals on camofire right now

Bought a Sitka pack and Kuiu rain gear for my mountain goat hunt. An outfitter buddy had several different packs for me to try on, and the Sitka fit me best. But the Kuiu rain gear was better. Didn't use it on the goat hunt, but wear it every day hunting lions.

I really like my Kuiu Kutana jacket! Came strongly recommended by another gentlemen in CO and it has been great for outer layer protection against rain/snow.

I wear first lite merino base layers. One of my favorite pieces of clothing is my Prana Zion pants. Extremely comfortable, breathable and flexible. I pair them with a pair of zip off first lite base layer pants for chilly mornings, usually take the zip offs just a few minutes into walking. I have a pair of kuiu attack pants that I like too but so far through two elk hunts they've stayed in the truck the whole time.

Kuiu's sizing is terrible and their customer service is worse. I'll never buy from them again

My major complaint with the kuiu is that I have trouble getting my hands in the zippered pockets because the opening is so small. I'm only 5'9" with normal sized hands so I kind of wonder if this is a problem with the individual pants or if a common design flaw. I bought 2 different pairs of pants and kutana are definitely better than the tiburon, but both are pretty tight when it comes to using the pockets.

When it comes to fit, both brands fit me true so that's not really an issue. I really want to like the kuiu stuff better because I want to change all my backcountry stuff to merino, but I really the technical features of the Sitka hoody. If they made a true light weight merino shirt there'd be no question.

I recognize that I could just mix and match, but then again I couldn't mostly just use stuff I have for back country as it's all already brown or od green. I'm mostly just trying to stack odds in my favor while trying to bow hunt elk

BCO07 said:

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I recognize that I could just mix and match, but then again I couldn't mostly just use stuff I have for back country as it's all already brown or od green. I'm mostly just trying to stack odds in my favor while trying to bow hunt elk

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In my opinion camo and pattern does not matter in the elk woods. This guy stood in front of me forever, and I have had several bulls within 15 yards of me and I have never worn camo pants. Usually wear a long sleeve merino shirt.



IMO your gear on an elk hunt is more about regulating heat and comfort than anything. That's why I go wool.

Long front zip merino shirts that you can dump heat while hiking but are still warm when you get to the top and your soaked in sweat. Vents in your pants are great, but I just open my fly which makes a difference in crotchal moisture levels.

I have always stuck with prana zion pants because I like the cinch belt built into the pants and the stretch in the pants. I can't keep pants up after three days of wearing them and dropping 10 pounds on the hunt.

For rain gear marmot precip is the best value IMO.

And the most important item of clothing is your socks. I run darn tough merino socks. Have lots of extras, keep them dry, and change them often.

This thread got me thinking I should order some more Zions and just saw they are discontinued. Looks like the new model is trash. Big bummer, those were the best pants ever made. Now time to hunt down an alternative.

I spent last weekend at my buddy's place just east of Laredo. It was 112* on Saturday and I was wearing Kuiu gila hoodie shirt and tiburon pants and I was in good shape. Kuiu is my preference, but that's all it is, preference. You can't really go wrong with either.

Agreed. I have stuff in camo but I have since moved to solids and focused on the material. It was 90 degrees Last year in bow season. Thank goodness for the right clothes.

Another vote for First Lite here. Sitka and Kuiu both fit like crap for me. First Lite has always fit the best for me and been true to size except for two things I bought. I always read the customer reviews and everyone usually puts what size they are and what size they ordered.

I wear camo arm shields with short sleeve shirts for october 85 bow hunting. Might not be what you want for the mountains, but they are light, wicking/breatheable, and keep the sun off your skin. After a couple really hot octobers lately, i kept buying lighter weight gear and this is my current solution.

https://safishing.com/collections/arm-shields/products/arm-sleeve-forest-camo-dregs-l-xl