KUIU

I heard these are about the warmest hunting coats, bibs, and gloves on the market. I wonder if that is true. Super pricey, but might be worth it.?

https://www.kuiu.com/homepage?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItfaInrzw6AIVeezjBx0lWAKBEAAYASAAEgK4BvD_BwE

I would have to wait for my rich relatives to buy something that expensive. Miltary Arctic wear is cheaper. It is what I use and in most instances it is too hot.

You heard wrong. Cant count the number of hunters I've guided in the last few years that came north with KUIU or Sitka only to freeze their buns off. The worst part is the durability. The insulated stuff is noisy and doesn't last through one tea fire. You can get way better stuff for a quarter the price.

I was given a brand new Yukon Kuiu rain jacket and wore it all last fall. I do like it very much, but it is not any better than the Helly Hanson stuff I normally wear. The Hellys will cost you $80 and the Kuiu over $600.
Then last fall a hunter brought me up an entire Sitka rain suit. I like how it fits but its not made very well....I think Kuiu is tougher. Save yourself a bunch of money, buy wool and Helly.

Interesting. I was kind of skeptical. Noise & durability came to mind as possible concerns as I looked at their products on the Kuiu website this morning. Imagine ripping a coat or bibs that expensive. Lightweight is perhaps their biggest benefit. Warmth & breathability are most important to me, along with comfort & durability. I'm usually sitting with my back against a tree. And I want something that I can walk thru brush with.

X 10 !!!!!! you can never go wrong with wool and a good wind resistant canvas anorak and some good extreme cold weather army bibs. I wouldn't pay a moist turd for that KUIU stuff when you can get a complete wool outfit, anorak and surplus bib for the cost of one jacket. That smart wool base layer is key to whole thimg working. With marten averages of $40 - 50 my wife would send me to get my head examined paying $800 or 900 for a jacket.

The top priced KUIU jacket is $500 USD, but yes, that is a LOT of money

I have heard the same thing from outfitters and guides that I do business with.

Did you hear the same as what I heard, or as what yukon observed?

Maybe KUIU are designed for people that do a lot of walking, in open areas.

I’m pretty sure they are designed to line the pockets of the company’s owners.

I agree with yukon, there are many other options out there that are proven and simply better. Quality wool isn’t cheap but it is not as expensive as the “designer” brands and will last years longer.

I deal in Cdn dollars ..... the kutana gale force hooded jacket is 821.72 Cdn not including tax and shipping A quick glace lists at least the next 3 jackets over $600 Cdn. My interest level wanes quickly when i see overpriced gear. Just saying

Shoot, the last camo jacket I had was a duck carhart jacket that I hit with a little black and green spray paint.

I guide spot and stalk caribou and moose and what i have been recommending to my repeat clients is the Big Bill wool gear and the Helly Hanson base layer and rain suits. Last year a client gave me a puffy jacket at the end of a hunt from one of the big name outfits ( think it was First lite) . I brought it out to the trapline for freeze up in November. I only stayed in a month and it didn't make it for the plane trip home. My wife took to calling me the duct tape chicken after the first few weeks. Here's where i've bought alot of my gear from

https://www.gostwear.com/hunting-c-86.html?osCsid=b3bf27fd60193e70010d5ef4ecbf47d4

add a good outer windbreaker anorak to this and your set.

Interesting to learn about some specific examples of other alternatives out their. Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm frustrated being so cold all the time while sitting in a tree deer hunting, so I decided I should best start looking for some good gear. Gloves too...no fun when your hands freeze.

X3
The only change I would make to the above suggestion, is "buy POLY and Helly". If you are out in the field for days on end and dont have a good way to dry out wet gear, wool will stay wet and heavy for days, whereas poly/fleece can be dried out in a very short time, even on cold days.

1 problem I have now is I sweat walking into my stand, and that seems to cause a big problem.

^^^^
Try only wearing something like an Under Armour 2.0 long sleeve "T" on your upper body while walking into your stand, carry your other upper body clothing in a pack or something. After you get to your stand allow yourself to cool down and dry off before you put your other outer layers on.

A trick a lot of us guides use is to buy a down filled coat. They compress down real small. Then you can put it on when you get to your stand, or in our case when we get to wherever were going to glass from. You will want to have some sort of light fleece jacket that will go over it though as they are noisy. I like Wiggy's stuff better than down. They make a nice sweater they call it thats real warm. I have a wool anorak from Boreal Mountain anoraks that Ive been wearing for a few years that is awesome. If its real cold I wear a down vest or something under it. Nothing on this planet colder than an October boat hunt for moose. With my anorak and something under it I stay warm and can take stuff off as it warms up. Very few camps now dont have a place to dry out so drying gear isn't an issue. Down is the worst to dry so dont get it wet, plus it loses its insulation value as well.

I recall one of my guiding mentors proclaiming this:

"The best thing about wool is that even when you are wet and miserable, you will be warm and dry!"

I have cautiously tried the new products. Much like the old ones, some work good and others don't work so good.

Sitka has a "pro discount" program that allows a 50% discount for those of you with guide licenses. THAT brings the price more in line with what one can afford. Some of the others may have similar programs.

Pete

^^^^
"The best thing about wool is that even when you are wet and miserable, you will be warm and dry!" Funny.

I used to be a stubborn "wool guy" until I was persuaded to try synthetics. I am now sold on poly and Helly. A lot of that may be due to me usually being in a area with a maritime influenced climate, but I don't see where wool would exceed synthetics in performance anywhere.
I like wool, it is warm, but when it gets wet it stays wet in my experience. Throw a wet poly garment over an alder bush for a few minutes and it's dry, even on a cloudy day, especially with just a little breeze.

Wear synthetics around a cedar fire or while welding and you'll see where wool is better. Don't get me wrong, I wear quite a few synthetics. Haven't put my woolies (wool union suit long underwear) on it close to ten years. I wear synthetic long johns, and in the winter I wear insulated nylon faller's pants. They block the wind when snowmobiling, the snow slides off them, and they are tough. They are also noisy as heck. For an upper layer I wear a wool shirt, wool Filson mackinaw, and a down snowmobile coat. And a Filson wool packers hat, the wide brim keeps snow from going down your neck. When deer and elk hunting I wear surplus wool pants. There are quite a few good brands of wool pants out there, but they are spendy and I can get the surplus ones cheap. I wore various synthetic and poly coats and shirts for years, but went back to wool. Never found a truly waterproof material that wasn't noisy and the others dry much faster but otherwise are not superior to wool and they all are susceptible to flame or heat. Touch one against a snowmobile muffler on the trail and you are going to be spending the rest of the day with a hand sized hole in your shirt.

I've guided a lot of guys with a thousand dollars worth of clothing on. Most of them bragged the stuff up when they got there, but a lot of it wouldn't last a weeks worth of hard hunting and they threw it away rather than take it home. And a heck of a lot of that synthetic "quiet, waterproof" stuff was soaked to the skin while my Filson might have gained five pounds, but it hadn't soaked through to my shirt yet.

Spot on bearcat2. I was going to mention how much better wool is around fires. I've got some funny stories about guys melting expensive synthetic gear. Its hard not to cozy up to a nice fire when the weather is wet and nasty.

Adding dry snow to the equation makes wool much more attractive. Besides the value as an insulating layer it can serve dual purpose as an outer layer. If I’m in the woods and there is more than 6” of snow my wool pants are on. After a day snowshoeing or tromping through the white stuff the back of calves will be caked with snow/ice. I wouldn’t know it if I didn’t see it because I am always toasting warm under those conditions. I don’t know of a synthetic base layer that can do that.

Wool breathes quite well so my experience does not line up with yours. After a long day in the field and hike back to the truck I usually just wear my base layer in the truck because I’m warmer that way, especially if I have a cotton shirt over it. The sweat evaporates, I’m warm and wool saves the day again. Even if wool stays damp, I’m warm.

I trap 45 miles of saltwater coastline in my open skiff and everyday I’m out there I’m wearing wool and rain gear. I wear merino wool long Johns as a base layer, a wool pullover from Barney’s chalet and a Woolrich jacket. On the colder days I double up my long Johns and on the rainy days I wear hellys or guy cotton bibs with a mustang float coat.

That wardrobe has consistently gotten me thru the elements during the winter. You couldn’t pay me to try and wear kuiu. I unfortunately bought into the Sitka gear ploy 6 years ago when I thought I needed it to be successful. It’s didnt last me two seasons hunting mountain goats/black tails. Wool and Hellys kept me on the mountain longer and that’s why I switched

I'm glad you mentioned the noise factor. Very important. When I'm sitting against a tree, there isn't much worse than a noisy jacket.

I've actually lost two moose to the Stka down coats. Both were with bowhunters in the rut. I was calling the bulls in and when they got close they heard the hunters coat scrape against the brush when they started to raise their bow. Its really annoying.

Fires? What are those?
Good luck getting a fire going where I operate.

I've had the same experience calling elk for bowhunters in Sitka gear. The KUIU waterproof stuff is just as noisy, but I've only had hunters wear it during rifle season and can't actually recall missing an opportunity due to it. Their absorbent (non-waterproof) stuff is I believe much quieter than Sitka gear. I like the design of the regular Sitka gear, it looks like it fits good, but it is loud, expensive, and not particularly tough.

And the really annoying thing is 8 out of 10 hunters will blame you or bad luck, not their expensive gear.

I've had people buy me Kuiu and Sitka, it didn't last long, the waterproof stuff is noisy, and it is definitely not good around fires. Keep some duck tape handy if you buy some. Good quality rubber is the way to go for rain, I use synthetic and wool layers under it. I think a lot of hunters buy it for one or two week fly in hunts because it's light, and weight is an issue. Why any other hunters buy it, I couldn't comprehend.

Interesting stuff.

Imagine the frustration of having to use duct tape on Kuiu's $500 (USD) coat. Yikes.


Warmth is what I'm looking for, not rain protection.


Good info so far.

I have a full set of Kuiu but conditions in Nevada are way different then Alaska. I wear it for elk and deer hunts here plus the occasional chucker hunt. Some of it is very noisy wool is too heavy and blue jeans can get wet. Biggest thing I hear from folks who wear it is freedom of movement when hiking and climbing. Its a layering system and is made to be used that way

I am a fan of fleece, and poly base layers. If it's dry and cold, down is great, but here, fleece tends to be the outer layers, most of the time.

I have 1 down vest. I think I'll carry it in, & then put it on under a coat. Based on some of the info on this thread, I think I should be using the down vest more. I got it from my grandpa years ago. I don't see much down on the market, nor do I see people around here wearing it much, but it's probably underrated.

Down is fantastic dry. It is very bulky (puffy) but usually compresses well and is lightweight. All too many down clothes have much to light duty of shell that rips easily (probably to take advantage of the featherlight nature of down) and wet it ain't much good. But the way you are describing using it, unless it is so bulky as to get in the way of you shouldering your gun or drawing your bow you should be good. And it is warm.

Late to the party but I will second what has been said about a lot of so called expensive stuff. My post secondary education is in Outdoor Adventure Leadership. A lot of the gear used for the activities we love is high tech with super good warmth to weight ratios. That said, when carrying all your gear with you on multi day adventures, be it climbing, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, etc, you can bet your butt you will want the high tech superlight stuff. Makes life far more enjoyable.

But it comes at a second price to the actual cost of the item. Keeping the stuff in good shape is tough. Not destroying it is tough, and when you do its hard to repair. Hunting is different. As said, simply pushing through brush will demolish a lot of the high end stuff.

When it comes to hunting the scale must slide somewhat towards durability. All the Kuiu, Sitka, etc gear is nice and performs on par with lower grade stuff, but insulation is loft. Dead air space. Not very sexy, but true. High power down has the best warmth to weight ratio know. But if being super light weight doesn't matter as much, whats the point in paying extra for it? And lets not get started on the "waterproof and breathable" farce. that is another rant entirely.

I do a lot of winter camping, snowshoe expeditions pulling toboggans, using axes and saws, fire, and wall tents. We still manage to keep things lightweight through other means, but all the materials are traditional. Cotton anoraks, fur, cotton canvas tents, wool, and fleece, leather mukluks and mitts, and metal (titanium) woodstoves. The reason is that winter camping is hard work, and we don't want to be buying gear every year. Lots of expensive Arc'teryx jackets have become half melted piles of goo because someone got too close to the wood stove! The idea is, we want to be able to live comfortably out of a tent at any temperature and traditional gear is really the only clothing that allows us to do that.

A lot of similarities with winter camping the way we do it. That's not to say that high tech ear has no place. For example, when snowshoeing and pulling a toboggan at 30 below, you might only be wearing a thin fleece. Stopping for a lunch break means throwing on a down and nylon packable puffy jacket. But it goes away as soon as you start pulling, chopping wood, etc again. That way it can last for years, and you don't feel it on the sleigh. Not the place for a heavy snowmobile coat!

For normal everyday wear, and especially trapping, I generally wear blue jeans, or Helly Hansen rain pants with polar weight fleece long johns, a fleece upper and a Carhartt coat. Works for my daily life, work, and even hunting and trapping with a few modifications. The reason is this combination wears like iron. I am a huge fan of fleece. When worn as a mid layer, it stays in good shape for ever. Warm enough when damp, and won't break the bank like some wool products. (Icebreaker merino? You mean bankbreaker??) And is durable enough to be worn as an outer layer if needed. heck I have several fleece sweaters been worn hard and are 16 years old.

I always say a carpenter doesn't have just one tool, neither should someone have only one outfit. Especially if you want to enjoy and optimize every activity. I have different gear (with some overlap) for kayaking, hiking, hunting, trapping, winter camping, snowmobiling. Heck, i even have different waterfowl gear from my bowhunting gear and if i did a backcountry, multi day hunt I would choose a different combination again.

But I can assure you, unless it was marked down AND already on the sale rack, and even then... the tags on my clothing will not say Kuiu or Sitka.

Mainly because I am not rich, nor good looking enough to have my picture in the Cabela's catalog...

Agreed. AK Viking and I operate in the same type of climate.
This points out that this isn't necessarily a one size fits all issue. I wouldn't be caught dead (or maybe I would) relying on wool and/or cotton (Carhartt, etc.) in the places I spend most of my time in.
If you limit your activities to arid and consistently cold areas then you do have more options for what will work.

Yeah, cotton rarely seems like a good idea waggler.

For you guys that like the helly hansen over poly base layers, what product line or model do you prefer? Specifically for cold damp/wet hunting in the brush where a durable quieter fabric is desired. Thanks

Kuiu’s claim to fame is lightweight packability. If that’s what yer after, they got it. Think Sheep Hunting(I know right). For warmth I would go with a Musk Ox coat... stay out of the cockleburrs.

If you are talking under-layers, any poly and fleece is fine I'm not brand loyal. And I don't find the high-end stuff worth the extra money. I do like Under Armour long tees and Long John's though. If you buy them online they're about half of retail price.
In the climate I hunt in I really like the Helly Hansen impertech rain gear, and it doesn't need to be the camo version either, they're OD green Works in about any application.

^^^^^^
I should mention that with the combination I use, you will get wet from condensation when you exert yourself. Where I hunt though it's better to be wet underneath but wind-proof on the outside. If/when I get damp, I will strip down to my under armour and usually I will dry out in just a few minutes, especially if there is any sort of a breeze.
Staying warm and dry is a science if not an artform.

AJE
These northern trapper/hunter fellas are giving you good advice on clothing, but I think you need to realize the differences between their activities and yours.
For these guys, other than long boat rides on a river or maybe a couple hour glassing sequence, I think it is a rare occasion that they sit in one spot for hours on end like we do. I don't want to take anything away from these guys and most of them experience way lower temps then we do at times but there is a huge difference when your doing any kind of physical activity in the cold or just sitting in one spot for hours on end.

I am like you, as I spend a lot of time sitting/swaying 20 ft up in a tree.
If you are a bow hunter like I am, last fall, particularily during rut was dang cold.
There are 3 things that I would recommend to you to help you keep warm.
1) As the guys above stated, lots of good gear with wool or fleece out there. Whatever you choose, try to find something with a wind stopper membrane in it. I have a parka & bibs set. fleece layer inside,wind stopper and thinsulate middle and fleece outside. had it for 20+ years and works very well. I don't usually bring it out till the temps are in the single digits and the wind will be up. And i by all means never wear this stuff on the walk in.
2) On walk ins, make sure your top base layer is something long sleeved and cotton as you want it to soak up all your sweat on the way in. Once your at your stand, you strip down to the skin, use the sweaty T as a towel and dry yourself off as best as you can.
I usually keep my shirt off as I prepare my gear for my ascent and let any breeze there is dry me off. If you've never done this, you'd be surprised how fast you'll dry. I usually have a UA long sleeve T in a bread bag that I pull out and put on. I turn the bread bag inside out and stuff the sweaty T in it. I do this almost all the time unless I have a really short walk.
3) Never eat breakfast... But bring lots of food...
A big breakfast will just add to profuse sweating on walk ins and just make it miserable because half way to your stand you'll probably have to poop.
Another thing not eating breakfast does is, right about the time you're all settled in and cooled down, you'll be staring to get hungry. I usually wait an hr or so but not to long and I'm eating something already. I space out my eating through out the day so as to always keep the calorie intake up. For me it makes a huge difference between being able to make it for an 11 hr sit or not.

Not trying to sound like a know it all just saying what works me..

My hunting buddy gets cold all the time. He purchased a Heater Body suit and he can now stay in a stand all day.

Oh, now I see what you guys are talking about.
Get some bunny boots for your feet, and a fur hat for your head, that will keep both ends of you warm which will help immensely keeping the middle of you warm.

Thank you, very helpful

Sitting in a stand, I wouldn’t spend the money on it.
You can get down pants, a down coat, better base layers, handwarmers, better boots, heated vests.


Your first mistake is asking trappers, the cheapest people on the planet, the Hebrews of outdoor recreation, about $600 jackets.


I have a completely different experience with Sitka gear than the others here.
It has never failed me, the patterns are amazing, I’ve never been closer to game, had game not spook, and had goats walk to within touching distance.
I’m convinced the patterns can’t be beat.

I also have their storm front rain gear, frankly, I own almost every product they make.

There are a couple of pieces which are just ok... but the majority of it, I am impressed with, and have had zero issues with the quality.

I have used the same outfit for 4 years now on 20+ hunts, sheep, multiple goats, kodiak, PwS, bear hunting, caribou, moose, from Nome to Illinois, and it is still not only useable, but in great condition.

My Storm front raingear I have been in south east with 7” of rain and 50-85mph winds in 6 days, hunted and hiked up and down the brush in Kodiak with it, it has always kept me dry, itslightwr than my Helly and it’ll dry out on the inside,unlike the helly Hansen.
It’s expensive, not everyone has $1,200 for rain gear. It’s the same price as the other 3 layer gore Tex pro gear by ArcTeryx, Black Diamond, Etc. The lighter and cheaper rain gear isn’t as durable, or tough, but it’s lighter, and cheaper, and what most people buy... for those reasons.

There are trade offs to make, cost, effectiveness, weight.
It can be good, it can be light, it can be cheap, but it can’t be all three..

I’m not a fan of Kuiu mainly because the owner was a complete douche of a human. I refuse to support someone like that. And it’s not as good as Sitka, the camp patterns are trash, especially the Vias.
Except their socks, they make the absolute best socks, hands down.

I usually lump the “it’s overpriced yuppie gear, just wear carharts and a woolrich coat” people in with the “Vortex scopes and binos are just as good as Swarovski for the money” crowd. To summarize this statement, most people don’t have the right to opine because they don’t have the money to buy the most expensive, or best gear, to compare it to the “just as good” stuff they can afford.

Can you kill stuff in blue jeans and red cotton button up shirts? You bet.
I’m sure waterrat and Pete can blow most people’s minds with photos of animals killed or guided dressed like a Los anchorage hobo, lol....

But I guarantee you, they weren’t as comfortable, and don’t look as good as me in my Sitka gear.

Waterrat and I look better than you in WHATEVER WE WEAR.....! We are the epitome of comfort and paragons of sartorial virtue! We cannot help it.

Pete

Hup:

I thought the owner of SItka gear sold the company - then after the no compete period, started Kuiu gear. Bad rumor ?

The guy was known to SE Alaska guides - Kuiu Island being across from Baranof Island where SItka is located.

Harriston was one of the founders of Sitka gear, and they got hired by Sitka and he was fired.

After the no compete, he did start Kuiu without the top brand names in goretex and primaloft and just continually trashed Sitka while making inferior products.

There’s a lot of stories out there and his own words which can be looked up to see what an arse of a person he was. And one who used helicopters for sheep hunting, was a jackoff about women hunting, and projected his arrogance like it was an attribute for people to look up to.

I would not recommend the Sitka rain jacket. I have owned two.