so with everyone and their dog having a new and exciting( read expensive as fu*k) line out, what do you guys and gals go with?...im still rocking out the badlands gear ive had for years , lately got a bit fluffier and been eyeing up some new stuff,
my problem is, it all looks the same, it all costs the same ( ie: sitka ,first lite, kuiu etc.) but what I'm curios about is a year after use, for those that have made the plunge to the new gear, what did you get, how did it work, would you purchase again
again this is about gear purchased in the last say 2 years or so
I was really happy with my merino baselayers from firstlite, until i went to make another purchase and got the price in CAD delivered. I didn’t complete the order. Something has changed, possibly just actually including all the taxes and duties but it makes them to pricey for me.
i have the yukon pants and jacket from kuiu, as well s the superdown for midlayers. I have started to put some hard miles on this gear and so far would recommend it. Kuiu has taken to having some good sales, so your $ could go farther there.
I buy Sitka and usually only when it’s on sale. My hunting gear overlaps with hiking gear as well and I have mismatched stuff. My hunting partner went 100% first lite and I can see the advantage of buying one brand and having the “system” designed for the hunt in mind, but I don’t think it’s helped him get more animals. He recently quit buying first lite because of the shipping back and forth to the states and the lack of canadian support. He’s buying Sitka from here on out.
My brother went full kuiu and I’ve seen a few other pieces from various people and I’m not impressed. I bought a vest from them last year and a guide jacket for Christmas. I returned the guide jacket as it was the wrong size and lost about $40 shipping it back. I won’t order again.
I have quite a bit of arcteryx stuff for backpack hunting which is high quality and lightweight.
I think kuiu is more durable than shitka, and does a better job with their layering system. Sitka has been great with the warantee on the jetstream gloves and jacket I bought close to 10 years ago, but so far kuiu seems to have more durable shells. My warrantee experience was about 5 years ago.
Sitka, Kuiu, under armour, carhardt, just a few examples of companies that used to be really good. Then they got big, started mass producing and their quality went out the window. Pending what kind of hunting you’re doing, I personally do the run and gun, in the mountains, always moving, therefore, Stone Glacier hands down is making the best stuff right now. Only downside for most, is they don’t have Camo. Unless you’re bow hunting, Camo is just a gimmick anyway, in my opinion
Last edited by Bullreaper; 01-31-2023 at 03:53 PM.
As far as I know carhardt or UA never made premium gear. Maybe i missed out? My wife bought me some heavy UA pants i used late season a few times that were decent.
Im curious if anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of kuiu? I gave up on sitka when they were bought by goretex, but can’t comment on recent quality. I do think the kuiu stuff is still better than the sitka ever was.
First Lite's new CAD pricing scheme penalises us significantly. You still are paying for shipping... they just add another 15 or 20% or so on to the price on top of the exchange conversion when you put a Canadian address in.
I called and tried to get them to charge me in the US dollar price, but they wouldn't do it, said it's what customers wanted! Customers want more expensive gear I said?
Clothing wise, once I was set up with Sitka, their warranty replaced anything that’s failed or worn out. Iv had 3 failures now over the last 10-15 years, all zippers, all my fault.
After 6 brutal years with a sitka blizzard parka, I tore 3 zipper teeth off last week. I submitted a warranty claim, by the end of the day, there was a $1000+ parka on its way, no shipping no duty’s, only a friendly email from the Sitka rep.
It’s stuff like this paired with some decent quality that keeps me brand loyal. If they have the best gear but crappy CS, you won’t see me using it. All gear wears eventually, warranty and CS should be near the top of ones list of diving into the $$$ gear
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