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Thinking about getting the Attack pant's and merino zip-T for early season,warm weather elk hunting. Tired of hot cotton, getting wet and staying wet. Time to upgrade! Any of you use this stuff,if so, does it wick away moisture? Is it quiet,tough enough to withstand archery hunting in Montana? Is there something better? Thanks!!
Look at First Lite products. Best I have ever used and they hold up well
Kuiu will serve you well.
Any of the "big three"...Kuiu, Sitka or First Lite.....
If you are hunting in the heat, check out the tiburon pant.. They are awesome for early season elk.
Dries fast, extremely light, and pretty durable for the weight. Been very happy with them.
Kuiu, First Lite merino wool I have and is great.
Sitka Merino was bad and i would never buy it again. The shirt did not hold up 2 weeks compared to a first lite shirt and Kuiu. This was back when they were mostly wool and now I know the Kuiu is 50/50 isn wool/ poly, making it more durable and a little more stinky.
Go with Kuiu or First Lite.
I use kuiu merino tops and attack pants in Colorado at 9000' all September elk hunting. Awesome gear! The new ultra merino kuiu offers in the tops and neck gaiter is softer and tough with some stretch. It holds up like it should.
Elkdiy X2!
I am also trying out some first lite tops this year. Good luck!
I have both the Attack pants and the newest Merino shirts available from Kuiu. I could wear the Attack pants every day of the year - they're awesome pants. Not ideal in really hot weather but with the ventilation it's manageable.
If you're tired of hot cotton getting wet and staying wet then you're not going to realize the benefits that you're looking for in Merino per se. It is pretty hot to wear as well and tends to stay damp for a while. It just doesn't stink after and still stays warm despite being wet.
Ideal setup - if you're ascending - is wear a polypro shirt climbing and then change to merino once the climb is done. A dry shirt is nice to wear :)
First Lite is going to be better in the merino department. I have a bunch of their merino and it is fantastic. As far as other clothing goes, Kuiu is hard to beat. I love my Attack pants and Super Down. For me it is Fist Lite merino and Kuiu outerwear.
I have 2 new Kuiu 125 merinos ordered from late June and was told I may not get them till the end of August. One is a short sleeve in verde and the order is a long sleeve in verde. Anyone else have anything on backorder and from when??? Ed
I have a lot of new stuff from First Lite and Kuiu. Both are great with a slight edge to Kuiu.
KUIU Tiburon Pants may just be the finest warm-weather technical hunting pants on the market today. I wore them on a recent trip to Hawaii and so did my partner. If you'll be humping a pack and sweating hard, the Tiburon ventilates well and dries fast.
KUIU Attack Pants are phenomenal cool-weather pants for active hunting. I've found nothing with more stretch and flexibility while remaining fairly warm and resistant to weather. If I could only own one pant, it would be these.
First Lite has worked great for me. I especially like the thumb holes on the merino tops.
Switched over from Sitka to KUIU a few years ago and ain't going back. If you are going from cotton to KUIU you will be in for a huge change. You'll find that you can actually be comfortable while hunting! First Lite is great stuff too but KUIU usually has a better price point.
For warm weather you may want to look at the Tiburon pants versus the Attack pants.
Kuiu attacks and 145 merino zip long sleeve T will be tried out this fall (actally I have worn them some already)
The attacks are phenomenal, even ok in the heat here in Oklahoma with the vents. The 145 is good and plenty thin. I have the neck gaiter as well. I ordered the 145 because the 125's were backordered.
Attacks aren't too bad in heat, the new ones have zippered vents on the legs. Works well. I have pair of solid color that I use for both air travel and casual wear on the trip as well as work awesome in the field hunting. No more blue jeans. They are not only uncomfortable on a 5 or 6 hour flight they are heavy, don't pack well and are about the worst materiel there is in the mountains.
The first lite Kanabs are very good too, breath well in the heat and IMO cover about the widest range of temps out there. Right now they are my go to hunting pants.
Tiburons are great in hot weather. If your trip was high mountains in late aug very early sept you should be good. If early to mid sept they wouldn't be the only pants I take. Cold front moves through and you're in a pinch. The attack or the kanab would be a safer bet, both can be used well into late sept and early to mid oct with a good base layer.
Any of the light weight merino from kuiu or first lite is decent in the heat and good base layers in the cold. Very versatile. I think the first lite is slightly better built and like the asat camo better, but more expensive. Most things kuiu are a great value, normally a bit lower priced.
Kuiu makes hands down the best raingear I've ever used.
Leave all the cotton home. It won't even compare to the stuff you're looking at.
Thanks a lot guys for all your info, I am convinced that I need some kuiu or something similar. Just called the office, and they do have the Attack pants available in Verde camo, but the 145 zip-T is not until the end of the month. Might just have to order the 125 no-zip. Hate to order the 145 and not have it by Sept. 3rd. when I head west. Yeah, I know cotton ain't worth a hoot when you're sweating, I do have wool underlayers for cold weather hunts, just don't have good single layer camo for warm weather. I will be placing my order tomorrow, once again Thank You all!!
if you're lot locked into a camo t-shirt, Icebreaker is killer stuff...
X2 on icebreaker, underwear & light wt t shirt, I've got both First Lite & Sitka base and outer wear and like it but Icebreaker is the sh*t in any weather I've used it in
I like the Kanab pants also but would like to try out the Tiburons and Attack
KUIU can't go wrong. Great Product.
I have them the KUIU and love it. I really love it for early season.
i would not get a no zip shirt, i live at 9k and hunt above i go up quick and heat up quick. Its not all the time but when you need it you need it.
Either way GL & Shoot Straight!!!
The Kuiu is nice but I'm afraid you may not be getting the merino top from them this season as everything seems to be backordered and a long wait. Ordered some a few months ago and still waiting
I have some shirts from Kuiu ordered and they are backordered. Said late August also.
For as long as I can remember, they never have any stock. I can see the first couple years in business, but now it just seems like a racket. If supply can't keep up with demand, prices go up. Me personally, if something is on backorder, I go to the competitor and purchase. I just don't understand year in and year out why they are always on backorder.
For as long as I can remember, they never have any stock. I can see the first couple years in business, but now it just seems like a racket. If supply can't keep up with demand, prices go up. Me personally, if something is on backorder, I go to the competitor and purchase. I just don't understand year in and year out why they are always on backorder.
wilhille, it's on backorder because lots of people want it and they all buy around the same time...plan ahead
Got an e-mail that icebreaker has a sale going on. I'm very happy with the icebreaker base layers that I've picked up. As others said, if you don't need camo, you might want to check out some of their stuff.
I like my Kuiu Chugach NX better than my C4E rain gear.
Wilhille- I have orderred a ton from KUIU this year.. I would say they have been in stock 95% of the time with everything I ordered.. Much better than in the past.
KUIU also recently started giving free shipping to everything on backorder, which was a huge complaint from the past. Been very happy with the delivery time and the customer service.
Its not a Racket.. Its good product that has a bunch of demand.
Wil is that the nuyarn(?) on BO or the standard?
My hunting partner just got a bunch of the nuyarn a few weeks ago, but he had it on pre-order.
For very warm weather, I use Smart wool. They have a lighter weight shirts of any I have seen. they do an excellent job of wicking moisture and drying. I have Kuiu also but the smart wool is lighter weight. They don't offer camp so I buy a light grey color.