Brands?

[JT1992]

Not wanting to leave any doubt about the gear I buy I just like to know my options. Being that I mainly hunt whitetails I am not completely familiar with all the ?western? gear brands. So I?ll just list what I know and if there are any others feel free to add them.

Like I said I just want to know all my options. Kind of different from most people who ask what to get I just want to know the options.

Thanks, and God bless!


Sitka (I like their stuff but that price tag is offensive)
Kuiu
Pnuma
Skre
First lite (close 2nd)
Badlands (my favorite so far with decent price and seems to be good quality)
Browning
Under Armour (they seem to be backing out and refocusing their efforts on whitetail hunters)
Kryptek
Kings

 

[ScottR]

I think you have most of them listed.


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[JT1992]

I think you have most of them listed.


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I guess my research is more thorough than I thought!

Thanks

 

[ScottR]

In the 13th issue we covered a bunch. I will get a link.


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[buckbull]

Core 4 element.

 

[JT1992]

Core 4 element.

They’re out of business ��
http://www.blackovis.com/brands/core4element

 

[ScottR]

https://joom.ag/l1jL

The above is the link to the 13th issue. Clothing reviews inside!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

You do have them all listed.

Sitka price point is high due to you get what you pay for.

There are some other high priced brands in your list also. SKRE is a new company at a lower price point. A buddy has a puffy from their line and it worked very well on a elk hunt last year.

 

[JT1992]

You do have them all listed.

Sitka price point is high due to you get what you pay for.

There are some other high priced brands in your list also. SKRE is a new company at a lower price point. A buddy has a puffy from their line and it worked very well on a elk hunt last year.

no doubt about sitka, I wanted to get some of their whitetail stuff but I aready had a lot of UA gear, and its just easier when you stick with one brand because I know my size, and usually everything will work together as far as layers.

And I figured I had most of them but I just didnt know if there was anything else worth looking at.



Im not saying i have loads of expendable cash, but price isn't my deciding factor. I may look into the skre. I have seen a lot of ads for it, but I also know that they arent as proven as other brands.

I'll just keep doing some searches for reviews and narrow the list down.

 

[NDguy]

TBH you don't "need" the top brands for clothing, Especially if you are rifle hunting as who cares about camo at that point. Look at the hiking and camping companies and you can get most of this stuff that the top dogs make at half the price since they are mostly solid colors.

Bow hunting is a bit different but still, you can get a lot of nice gear without spending a grand on clothes. That could be a elk tag

If you are bow hunting out of a tree stand, even more so I would say you don't need top of the line clothes. They are mostly made for active hunting, not sitting in a tree. I will say the FL or Sitka outer layers are great for keeping you warm though. But you don't need to get a Sitka complete system to sit in a treestand. Buy cheap clothes for base layers and mid layers and use the outer layer coat if it's cold.

 

[JT1992]

TBH you don't "need" the top brands for clothing, Especially if you are rifle hunting as who cares about camo at that point. Look at the hiking and camping companies and you can get most of this stuff that the top dogs make at half the price since they are mostly solid colors.

Bow hunting is a bit different but still, you can get a lot of nice gear without spending a grand on clothes. That could be a elk tag

If you are bow hunting out of a tree stand, even more so I would say you don't need top of the line clothes. They are mostly made for active hunting, not sitting in a tree. I will say the FL or Sitka outer layers are great for keeping you warm though. But you don't need to get a Sitka complete system to sit in a treestand. Buy cheap clothes for base layers and mid layers and use the outer layer coat if it's cold.

Yes, I agree if I were a rifle hunter I would just save my money and get good solids.

But, I am a bow hunter and I think camo is pretty crucial, I dont necessarily want the most expensive stuff, just good quality.
And i would have to disagree with "Cheap" layers, it pays to have quality stuff underneath. If anything I would buy high quality layers and buy an oversized thin camp shell system if i was going to go cheap

 

[NDguy]

Yes, I agree if I were a rifle hunter I would just save my money and get good solids.

But, I am a bow hunter and I think camo is pretty crucial, I dont necessarily want the most expensive stuff, just good quality.

Ya in that case I would do what I suggested. Get your outer shell and then layer underneath. For instance FL base layers can cost you like $150-200 whereas you can go get minus33, Blackovis, or icebreaker merino for way less than that.


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[JT1992]

Ya in that case I would do what I suggested. Get your outer shell and then layer underneath. For instance FL base layers can cost you like $150-200 whereas you can go get minus33, Blackovis, or icebreaker merino for way less than that.


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Well, while this is a good conversation I have plenty of good layers. I just really want a good early season set to go hunt velvet bucks. But it's definitely something I follow as a general rule anyways. I think UA has a happy medium going (stuff most people could afford, usually all their non-hunting gear could fit well as a layer, and it was good quality), but unfortunately they seem to be pulling out of their hunting line, especially after that guy who ran it is now doing his own thing with that overpriced NOMAD junk.

 

[Mr Drysdale]

Not knocking any brand listed. I am 60 years old and also hunt Whitetails and don’t own a single item from any of the above listed brands. Mainly Cabelas brand items. Love their “Windshear” items. When it’s cold the MT050 stuff comes out. Our Mississippi weather is not usually as cold as Western hunting but this year was different. Cold as Hell! Our bow season starts in October and rifle extends through January. Layering is the secret especially sitting in a tree.

 

[go_deep]

Best pants I own are Codet wool pants I bought at a surplus store, actually bought 2 pair. They've kept me warm in December sitting in a treestand in northern Wisconsin to January elk hunting in Wyoming.

 

[JT1992]

Not knocking any brand listed. I am 60 years old and also hunt Whitetails and don’t own a single item from any of the above listed brands. Mainly Cabelas brand items. Love their “Windshear” items. When it’s cold the MT050 stuff comes out. Our Mississippi weather is not usually as cold as Western hunting but this year was different. Cold as Hell! Our bow season starts in October and rifle extends through January. Layering is the secret especially sitting in a tree.

Cabela’s has great stuff and you can’t beat their warranty. Unfortunately it wasn’t until recently I even had a store close

 

[kidoggy]

generally wear wranglers or carhart. have no need of a 300 dollar pair of pants.

 

[mcseal2]

For anyone needing a puffy reading this thread don't forget the Kifaru Lost Park Parka. I bought one this winter and it's the warmest one I have. It is great for late season stuff and the removable hood is a nice feature. The Kifaru and the Kuiu Kenai hooded jacket are the ones I'm keeping of all the ones I tried, the rest are on Ebay now. The FL Ucompaghre is my favorite insulating vest, and I can layer it well with the Kuiu Kenai too and add or remove based on activity and weather. Still together they don't match the warmth of the Kifaru. Winter whitetail or predator hunting that sucker is warm!

Only real negative on the Kifaru is the material they use in the hood is loud scratching against my whiskers when moving my head. Game wouldn't hear it but it impairs my ability to hear game. I have been wearing a FL Chama under it and using that hood under the Kifaru hood fixes that issue. The material is pretty windproof and supposedly pretty water resistant though I haven't needed to test that yet. It's a pretty tough puffy I haven't been afraid to use as an outer layer.

In 2XL the Kifaru puffy is 25oz, the Kuiu 20oz and the FL vest is 14.3oz.

 

[toadmeister]

For anyone needing a puffy reading this thread don't forget the Kifaru Lost Park Parka. I bought one this winter and it's the warmest one I have. It is great for late season stuff and the removable hood is a nice feature. The Kifaru and the Kuiu Kenai hooded jacket are the ones I'm keeping of all the ones I tried, the rest are on Ebay now. The FL Ucompaghre is my favorite insulating vest, and I can layer it well with the Kuiu Kenai too and add or remove based on activity and weather. Still together they don't match the warmth of the Kifaru. Winter whitetail or predator hunting that sucker is warm!

Only real negative on the Kifaru is the material they use in the hood is loud scratching against my whiskers when moving my head. Game wouldn't hear it but it impairs my ability to hear game. I have been wearing a FL Chama under it and using that hood under the Kifaru hood fixes that issue. The material is pretty windproof and supposedly pretty water resistant though I haven't needed to test that yet. It's a pretty tough puffy I haven't been afraid to use as an outer layer.

In 2XL the Kifaru puffy is 25oz, the Kuiu 20oz and the FL vest is 14.3oz.

I have the Kuiu hooded Kenei and FL unpronounceable vest also, love them both. Kuiu Kenei has pit zips and just breathes well.

I also have a Kifaru Doobie (blanket) and it's so crazy warm I don't ever really use it.

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[mcseal2]

I love the Kenai for the same reasons. It is the only puffy I tried that I can quail hunt in on a cool day. It breathes so well I can walk in it at low to medium exertion levels for a long time without overheating. It is nice to not have to constantly take it off and put it back on when working a ridgeline glassing at every good vantage. The hood material is quiet too, the whole puffy is the quietest I tried. It's my favorite when it's warm enough. Probably due to the breathability it's not very windproof, it needs a good shell layer to break wind over it.

I have a Kifaru 20 degree Slickbag that's the main reason I spent the money on the LP jacket. That bag did awesome last year in the toughest conditions I've had it in. It got down to a damp 0 degrees one night and I slept comfortable. I had my bag's foot against the wet wall of the tipi every night and never felt any dampness inside. My buddies bag was a cheapy and I gave him the extra room, put my Thermarest cot closer to the wall. The 15" of snow we had the first night shrank our tipi's footprint a bit despite all our attempts to move the snow off of it. I thought a jacket version of it might be a good thing to have available for my late September AK moose hunt this fall.