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Kuiu Hunting Clothing

September 26, 2011.

Most hunting clothing sucks. At least for hunting in the mountains of the west. The biggest and most lucrative markets for hunting products have traditionally revolved around whitetails and turkeys, where dark camo patterns and moderately-priced low-tech products cost-effectively fit most hunters' needs, and that was the way that hunting clothing evolved for a long time.

But if you hunt in harsher environments, where weather can change rapidly and you're often hours or days of hard hiking from your truck or any other shelter, traditional hunting clothing starts to show its weaknesses. I've been hypothermic while scouting for elk in my leaky Cabela's-branded rain gear, and I've thrown out poorly-cut, poorly-made, ill-conceived fleece pants that let me down after spending the night in the open up above the Arctic Circle.

Like a lot of guys who wanted more from their hunting clothes, I started buying clothes from mountaineering companies a number of years ago -- clothes that were designed to shed water and snow and hold up under severe field conditions.

Then Sitka Gear came along, and started making hunting clothing with the materials and quality expectations that go in to mountaineering-grade clothing. At the time, I already had a closet full of stuff from The North Face, Patagonia, REI, and various obscure Scandanavian companies whose names I can't pronounce, so Sitka's arrival on the market was kind of out of sync with my personal timing for buying hunting clothes.

But I have been trying some of the new stuff from Kuiu (koo-yoo), the latest sensation in mountaineering grade hunting clothing.

Kuiu is run by Jason Hairston, one of the guys who founded Sitka Gear. Kuiu has been compellingly marketed, including hip action-oriented photography and extensive use of social media approaches like blogging that are fairly ground-breaking for the hunting industry. They're very steeped in the "hunter as athlete" ethos, and rely on direct-to-consumer retailing to build strong customer relationships and keep costs down. They even cooked up their own camo pattern, and because of this you can easily spot Kuiu clothes in field photos and videos -- this may prove to be one of their most clever marketing strokes.

On the Kuiu website, Jason describes his goal like this:
"I wanted to make the lightest and highest performing Mountain Hunting clothing possible. I wanted to create a brand that stood for uncompromised quality, uncompromised performance...."

So far, they're on the right track.

Here's what I've looked at so far:

Guide Vest

A nice, versatile layering garment. I've worn mine on a couple hunts this year. Helps with the morning chill, but doesn't take up too much room when you shove it in your pack after the day warms up. I got mine on sale for $99 -- this isn't cheap, but still a much more palatable price point than the official $130 price tag.

Merino 185 Zip-T

Merino wool is all the rage as a base layer material right now. I like it OK, although I thought I smelled a lot like a wet sheep the first time I wore it (that sensation has faded with multiple washings.) The 185-gram material is very lightweight. Good for layering and good for early season use, but the 250 gram material would also be very useful for cold weather hunting.

Guide Jacket

A buddy just ordered one of these. He wears an XL, but ordered an XXL so that he'd have room to add layers underneath. If he had ordered his size, I don't think that layering would have been an option -- something to keep in mind if you look at one of these. Also, be advised that the sleeves seem to run pretty long on this jacket.

T-Shirts

Man, these things run small. I wear XL in 100% of the t-shirts I wear, but I wish I had ordered an XXL in this. I can fit in the XL, but it's skin tight and not too flattering on my middle-aged body. As a public service, I don't wear it in public.

Merino 185 Beanie

This is a neat idea -- a hat so thin that it can easily fit under a baseball cap for layering, and then be stowed in a pocket as the day warms up. Unfortunately, they're really small. I have an above-average head size. This beanie doesn't cover my ears (the main thing I want to keep warm!) and feels too snug. I wished this item worked for me -- but it doesn't. They need to offer a Big Beanie for those of us with big heads.

Spindrift Jacket

I haven't used this yet, but it's compelling. At only 13.5 ounces, it's very packable and would be great for pulling on after hiking out to sit somewhere and watch a saddle for elk, for example.

Chugach Rain Gear

I'd really like to try this product. But, the pants only come with a 33" inseam. I'm stubby with a middle-aged gut, and need something more in the 29" range. Maybe someday.

It's good stuff, although the lack of selection in sizes can be frustrating. Nice products overall, but you have to pay the price for what you get. Very good to have new choices like this for hunting clothing. I wish them all the best.

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