Not happy with KUIU --

[h2ofowlr]

Everyone needs to check out PNUMA Gear. https://www.pnumaoutdoors.com/

They claim their hunting pant & jacket (selkirk all weather) is twice as breathable as Sitka or Kuiu or anything else at 120,000 breathability level.

PLUS THIS STUFF IS 100% LIFETIME GUARANTEE NO QUESTIONS ASKED FOR ANY REASON.

It should be lifetime guarantee at those prices.  Must be a big market for the $100+ per piece clothing.

[shadowless_nite]

This is my first year with kuiu gear. I spent early archery and muzzleloader seasons wearing the attack pants, peleton 240 hoody and guide jacket. They performed great. Quiet, water resistant and though they eventually soaked through during early muzzy downpours here on the wetside, they did dry and drain out fairly quickly which I expected since it wasn't actual rain gear. I decided to hold out till late archery  season for rain gear and lucked out on the 30% off sale. Ordered the chugach set at midnight beginning of the sale. Finally got my pants last friday just in time to make it for my late archery elk hunt saturday morning. They performed great in the rain. Kept me dry all day and the jacket, a large in size, to my hope and surprise fit well over my xl peleton and xl guide jacket I had underneath (settled on a large because xl sold out almost instantly). And just my luck I ended a elk dry spell of 7 years and was able to harvest a cow saturday evening. On the last step out of the clear cut literally 2 steps from gravel road they caught something in the dark (it was midnight) around my ankle. With a full hind quarter on my back once I stepped forward there was no stepping backwards. And heard the sounds of heartbreak and dissapointmental. Tore the ankle open in extraordinary fashion.  Sent a heart felt email to their warranty dept. And am waiting  for a response. I would have expected atleast some durability.  Even a $40 pair of game hide pants would took a hit a few times. Also throw me in the noisy team. Couldn't stand wearing the hood over my guide beanie. Between the hood rubbing against my beanie and the rain beating on the hood I might as well put ear plugs. And to top it all off. This could have been prevented with some gaiters..... that I had ordered according to boot size in a large (I wear a sz9.5)  and they fit my ankle well but nowhere near closing around my calves. 





Hoping this gets resolved in a matter that justifies the price and hype.

[buglebrush]

Tagged.  Curious to see how they respond

[7mmfan]

My guess is they will say tough luck. The Chugach is some of the lightest gear on the market, and its pushed as such. I feel that when you make the decision to go ultra lightweight, you also make the decision to go less durable. That is exactly why I got the Yukons. You are right, the gators would have helped, that's a bummer they didn't fit properly. Mine seem to fit just fine.

[Jason]

I bought a pair of Yukon pants on the second day of the 30% off sale and have yet to receive them  . Tracking number says I should get them tomorrow. Unfortunately I bought them because I heard they were quieter than the first lite rain gear, now you guys have me second guessing my decision to buy them on what I heard.

[7mmfan]

Don't regret it, with every product, especially rain gear it seems, there will be those who love it, and those who hate it. I have the Yukons, very happy with them.

[Bronson]

I have both the Yukon jacket and the First Lite Stormtight jacket.  The Kuiu is a bit quieter than the First Lite but I like some of the features of the First Lite jacket over the Kuiu.  Neither are overly quiet for bow hunting but I haven't had any issues with the noise disturbing a hunt.  I am only wearing the jackets when its raining though.  I wouldn't regret the purchase.  Its good gear, just take care of it.  No gear is going to be bomb proof and cost doesn't necessarily make it more durable.  If you hunt in thick junk you're taking a chance.  You just have to decide if the chance of it getting beat up is worth the cost of the gear and how well it works.

[krapmit]

This is why I say to try PNUMA - for the same price point, you're getting a no questions asked lifetime warranty and (they claim) better breathability.  Not going to be as light, but you can't beat lifetime.

Neither Kuiu, sitka or firstlite is putting their product to that level of guarantee.  PNUMA is trying to be like LL BEAN with guarantee.

[shadowless_nite]

My guess is they will say tough luck. The Chugach is some of the lightest gear on the market, and its pushed as such. I feel that when you make the decision to go ultra lightweight, you also make the decision to go less durable. That is exactly why I got the Yukons. You are right, the gators would have helped, that's a bummer they didn't fit properly. Mine seem to fit just fine.

Yeah I'm assuming they're going to tell me tough luck, and I know their disclaimer pretty much doesn't cover anything other than seams coming apart. But it's worth a shot. And I knew that these would most likely be delicate, as I have lost many pairs of pants to my bike chain while hunting I purchased the gaiters for just that reason, better to eat up a pair of gaiters than the even more expensive rain pants. Being 5' 6" with a 29in inseam wearing the same pants as someone 6ft tall leaves it bunched up arpund the ankle. And getting them altered voids warranty so that doesnt help. Worse case scenario I'll give rainy pass a try and then have them altered to be shorter. Just gonna cross my fingers and hope a for a pity warranty.

[JeffRaines]

This is why I say to try PNUMA - for the same price point, you're getting a no questions asked lifetime warranty and (they claim) better breathability.  Not going to be as light, but you can't beat lifetime.

Neither Kuiu, sitka or firstlite is putting their product to that level of guarantee.  PNUMA is trying to be like LL BEAN with guarantee.

I'm sure many of us have never heard of PNUMA. I would hesitate to spend that kind of money banking on a lifetime guarantee with a company that I wasn't sure of. I'm sure they'll honor it, but how long will they be in business? Maybe in 5 years or so it'll be a safer investment if they're still around. While the other brands don't carry a lifetime warranty, at least I know they're not going to disappear anytime soon.

[haugenna]

I rarely buy products based solely on a lifetime guarantee. It could sway me one way or another but it is not solely the buying decision. As another mentioned, define lifetime, your lifetime, the company's lifetime?  I have see companies in the building products world offer ridiculous warranty and benefits to try and influence the buyer only to have a class action when they realize they can't make good or go out of business.

Reminds me of a famous movie quote, "I can take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I got spare time" Tommy Callahan

[Bronson]

They aren't specific about the lifetime warranty.  Against manufacturer defect?  Unconditional?  I didn't see them specify.  If you do what happened to Shadowless and tear your pants while using them will they exchange them without question?  Might be good gear, I am not familiar with it but its still expensive and they are vague about the conditions of their lifetime warranty, so its hard to say how much different they are than others in the industry.

[Chesapeake]

They specify their lifetime guarantee on their site. It caught me as mostly useless. It states they will "repair or replace". They make no mention of offering a refund.

The issue I have with "repair or replace" is that the majority of the issue with these garments are a failure to keep water out. So you buy a $300 rain jacket that's useless after a half hour and all the company is willing to offer is a warranty replacement of another of the same. That's useless to me.

I just did this with a Firstlite storm front. They would only replace their poorly performing rain jacket with another poorly performing rain jacket. I wanted my money back so I could go buy something else that would hopefully work better.

The other issue with warranties. They just wrap up the expected cost impacts into the product price. How much of that $300 price tag is there to cover expected warranty claims?

Krapmit,
Why are you tooting the Puma whistle so hard? Whats your relation to the company?

[JeffRaines]

Krapmit,
Why are you tooting the Puma whistle so hard? Whats your relation to the company?

Same thing I was thinking.

On another note, I'm surprised you had a bad experience with first lite. I don't have any of their rain gear but the items I do have I can't complain about.

[Chesapeake]

I have a few Firstlite garments and up till I bought their rain gear I'd never had an issue as well. Both me and a pard bought the stuff and both of us were disappointed. Its ok, we both have Kuiu Chugach now. Live and learn.