Sitka or kuiu?

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I much prefer all of my Kuiu clothing pieces to my Sitka stuff. I own plenty of both. The Kuiu attack pants and guide vest are my favorites. I took both to Alaska, along with my REI Kimtah eVent jacket, and all performed admirably.

The Kuiu rain gear is made of an air-permeable membrane fabric, much like eVent, and should breath notably better than anything GoreTex. Several people I trust report great performance from Kuiu raingear. Goretex does not breath, in my experience, and I have tried a bunch of it.

As for comfort, I am curious as to what Kuiu pieces Edelweiss has because comfort is off the charts on the ones I have.



I do really like my Sitka guide gloves and Ascent pants (I have three pairs of those), but the Kuiu Attack is superior in every way to Ascent.

[slim jim]

Man you must be well off BB. You have all the best optics, clothing, gear, etc. and not just one of everything but multiple pieces. Haha Im just envious. I think that I'll just start asking you for advise whenever I get ready to purchase anything. Actually I plan on buying the new vortex razor 65mm spotting scope when it comes out. I'll start a new thread and see what you think when they come out.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Man you must be well off BB. You have all the best optics, clothing, gear, etc.

SJ,

You bet I am rich! Rich in life, love, and happiness that is. Wish I could say the same for the bank account!

No, a lot of horse trading led to my current gear list, and I was lucky to find a bunch if good deals too. I look forward to hearing about the Razor 65. I hope to get my hands on one too.

[BOHNTR]

I have both and I'd have to agree with BB......Kuiu is what I wear more often than my Sitka stuff. Good quality stuff.

[Edelweiss]

I am a fat kid, 6 feet tall and 240-260 pounds depending on what time of year it is. Saying that I have a couple things I don't like about it.

1. Made in China, and still expensive.

2. I don't like the sizing, but like I said I am a fatty.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Edelweiss,

What pieces from Sitka and Kuiu do you have?

How did the raingear fail for you in AK?

What and when were you hunting in AK? I can't wait to go back myself!

[Edelweiss]

BB,

I did a couple aircraft salvage trips to Adak in 2004-2008. I haven't actually used the Kuiu pants I have in Alaska, I have used the Sitka. I only have pants and hats.

I lived in Barrow, Alaska until 2000 and then Sitka, Alaska for about 5 months going to the State Trooper Academy. (I was a NSB Officer) I wasn't a resident until I had a year there, so I never paid out of state money to hunt. Went on hunts with cops I worked with but nor for myself, and at the time I used North Face gore-tex stuff and Northern Outfitters cold weather gear.

Should have stayed long enough to hunt polar bears with the one native cop that worked for the department, I think that would have been fantastic.

I have used the Kuiu pants in Victoria and didn't feel they were any better/worse than the Schoeller fabric stuff I have that is made in America, or the mountain of Gore-Tex that I have gathered through the years. Alaska rain is different.

The Kuiu's I bought second hand on ebay Australia from someone that had used them in New Zealand.

In Victoria I got wet in the Kuiu's hunting sambar. Victoria has SE Alaska/Alaska Penninsula type weather, I changed clothes 3 times in 8 hours, got back in the truck and drove home. Some times you can have enough rain.

The Penninsula and SE Alaska have rain that makes Washington and Oregon look rather like the deserts of Wyoming. Nothing but actual marine grade rain gear works. A lot of guys wear a Helly Hanson or Grunden rain coat and chest waders it's so bad. We didn't have that option, we got wet and stayed wet for several weeks. We had some crappy commercial rubber rain gear that we used to wash aircraft and we all wore that over wool and polar fleece. It kind of worked. The Sitka was overwealmed in an hour.

Move to Alaska, lots of good oppertunity for folks in your line of work. Send me a PM if you want my experience with a badge up there. Different than being a cop on the res in Wyoming or Montana.

[DryFlyGuy]

I have a pretty substantial catalog of Sitka gear and I love it. I've had a few issues with a seam unraveling, a buckle breaking on a pack, and a strap stitch starting to tear away. All of those issues were handled in a manner that left me very satisfied with customer service. I love the athletic fit, the flexibility, and the technical features that are tailor made for our western back country hunts. Sitka was definitely pioneering this market for several years.

Now the market is filling up with competitors and I think that is great! KUIU is right at the top of those competitors. As they are starting to mature, they are dealing with a lot of the same issues that Sitka has been through. They have had serious productions problems that have caused long delays. They are no longer made in North America and they are experiencing those same quality issues that Sitka has dealt with over in China. I won't be surprised if their price point moves closer & closer to the Sitka stuff.

Either company puts out really good stuff. I like the products from Gore that Sitka incorporates into their garments and the broader catalog of products.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Edelweiss,

I am not looking for work right now, thanks. While I do love Alaska, I love my wife more, and she doesn't love Alaska.

Which model of Kuiu pant do you have? I am pretty sure Alaska-weather performance was one of the design goals.

The OP was asking about Sitka and Kuiu. I prefer Kuiu, and have used them both. I would never recommend rain gear that doesn't breath well to an active backcountry hunter. Waterproof clothing does no good if you are still generating your own rain on the inside.

Helly Hanson "marine grade" rainwear is too heavy and doesn't breath.

I like some other rainwear, and especially eVent fabric rainwear because it breathes remarkably well.

[Drhorsepower]

I own or have owned both, they are very similar besides price tag. I originally bought all kuiu hoping to support a striving company. I ended up selling most of my kuiu gear to fund my sitka addiction. The only reason I decided to make the switch was i originally pre-ordered all of my KUIU items last May. They told me over the phone that my attack pants would be in by my first hunt (August). I did not have them by that time. My second hunt came around,(october) still in communication with KUIU and having them tell me 3 weeks to next month. The emails and phone calls got more frequent as I was getting impatient on my pants. The answers varied by phone call with less and less hope each time that my pants would be here by my buddies late december hunt and my January hunt. When I cancelled my preorder, they told me my pants were were looking to be shipped sometime in December. I looked at their site today and they are still backordered. The whole situation rubbed me the wrong way. Preordering items and still not having it in 7-8 months just isn't acceptable. I also had to pay separate shipping on all preordered items from a 20$ item to 100$ item and all that adds up on multiple pieces. I will say I thought the KUIU items I own were very nice and would recommend to people. for me It boiled down to having my items and KUIU couldn't provide that for me.

As far as SITKA goes, quality gear with a wide range of selection for different needs. I am always prowling their site looking for my next item.