The Real KUIU

[SUMMIT3]

Well it's no mystery the constant debate when people inquire on here or other forums about which clothing company to go with. Usually that companies platform gets added into the mix.

Kuiu has had a very bittersweet following on many forums, sweet for how much people love their products and bitter for a lot of conjectures and speculation in concern of their stance on conservation and being a company who looks out for the average joe hunter.

Well I got very tired of the bad wrap that Kuiu was taking and decided to simply ask Jason for the truth. I asked him how involved they were in conservation, what groups they support as well as some good points that help others understand how much they care for all hunters regardless of budget or background. Well not only did he respond incredibly quick, the response was very elaborate and enlightening.

Below is Jason's email back to me. Needless to say I'm a solid customer of Kuiu from now on.


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Hi Tanner,

Thank you for reaching out. I appreciate your concerns regarding claims made about KUIU and your willingness to ask me for the truth versus internet speculation.

I created the KUIU direct to consumer business model to eliminate the 100% retail mark up so more hunters could afford my products. I built this company so the “average joe” as you call it, could afford to buy the best technical product line ever created. There is no other retail apparel or gear company in this market who does not charge their customers retail mark up except KUIU. If I was just catering to the “Elite” rich sheep hunter I would have been much better off taking my product to retail and charging the top of market retail prices that only these elite sheep hunters could afford. Instead I took the risk to build a company differently so that more people could afford to buy KUIU products, not just the elite as some suggest.

Northern Sheep hunts set the bar for the performance level for KUIU products. If our gear performs under these conditions it will certainly perform in any other mountain hunt. This does not mean KUIU is an elitist brand or we only cater to sheep hunters. I sheep hunt every year so I can personally evaluate and test our gear. It is the best way for me to continue to evolve and improve our materials, technologies and product lines. How else can I confidently tell my customers my gear performs in these conditions if I have never been on a sheep hunt? I do not believe in outsourcing credibility through “athletes” or “pro-staff” or solely relying on others for input on my products. I believe it is very important to put my boots on the ground each year in the harsh conditions only a northern sheep hunt can deliver.

In regards, to conservation. I believe strongly in conservation, KUIU spends hundred of thousands of dollars each year supporting organizations such as the of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, SCI, Mule Deer Foundation, CA FNAWS, DU, CWF, CA Mule Deer Foundation and many other local and regional organizations across the country. We always have and always will. I believe it is critical to be actively involved to support the future of hunting and if is very important personally to me.

I hope this gives you some insight to KUIU and the questions that have been raised on social media. Please feel free to post any and all of this email. If you or others have any other questions please let me know.

Thank you for your support, loyalty and business.

Warmest regards,

Jason




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[haas0311]

Glad to hear this about a company. Never heard of them before but the camo pattern is unique. Do you use it here in Texas?


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[Mayhem]

I like the Kuiu products myself.


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[Jspradley]

Nice!

I'm a Kuiu fan (though not a fanboy!) and also a fan of their competition, one area that Kuiu has always been below the bar is on what I perceived to be their lack of support for conservation groups, I'm glad to see that they do in fact dedicate a lot to conservation I just wish they were more vocal about it like First Lite and Sitka.

I've always found the "elitist" thing annoying... Kuiu is by far the least expensive of all the high end hunting gear companies..no one calls Sitka "elitist" when their gear is usually twice to three times the cost of Kuiu.

[SUMMIT3]

Yep, I actually own virtually every piece from First Lite and will always be a strong customer of First lite but I also love Kuiu, incredible products and quality. The Verde pattern works well, if you do any mountain or spot n stalk, I would recommend them. It's not that good for stand hunting but it's some of the best performance wear out there. First Lite or Kuiu, can't go wrong with them.


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[Eric Pence]

Kuiu stuff is the Best there is ...And it handles Texas well.

[Saltyag15]

Cool to get a response like that. Hard not to back a company when the owner lays it all out there for you. I know they really pride themselves in the mountain style of hunting in which lots of hiking is done. I wish they'd release a line that is more closely related to stand hunting and I'd buy more of their stuff.

[SUMMIT3]

Cool to get a response like that. Hard not to back a company when the owner lays it all out there for you. I know they really pride themselves in the mountain style of hunting in which lots of hiking is done. I wish they'd release a line that is more closely related to stand hunting and I'd buy more of their stuff.

Hate to break it to you but it will never happen, I have asked Kuiu before and they are strictly a mountain hunting line.


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[Saltyag15]

Hate to break it to you but it will never happen, I have asked Kuiu before and they are strictly a mountain hunting line.

Fair enough. Thanks for crushing my hopes

[SUMMIT3]

Haha sorry, mix it up a little, as far as say late season stand hunting,I swear my First Lite Sanctuary line is the greatest system I have ever used when it's cold.


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[Mud Shark]

Cool to get a response like that. Hard not to back a company when the owner lays it all out there for you. I know they really pride themselves in the mountain style of hunting in which lots of hiking is done. I wish they'd release a line that is more closely related to stand hunting and I'd buy more of their stuff.

This is the ticket. It's awesome how that guy gave all that info. awesome to see his transparency.
Regarding their product, I went to Alaska for a fishing trip and the guide we had does brown bear hunts as well. He was wearing a KUIU hat so I asked him about it. Oddly enough, he was from Texarkana...He said that the KUIU gear is as good as it gets, but it's not made for the type of hunting we do east of the Rocky Mountains, such as stand hunting. He it's made specifically for active hunting. He said it was well worth the money and stood up to any and all elements there in Alaska. He said if we was hunting in a stand, there was cheaper and better stuff suited for those needs.

[Deers & Beers]

My problem with Kuiu is less about who they support (although I've heard bad stories about this, like SFW & Don P.) and more about their business and moral ethics.

I bought Kuiu when they 1st started and only had a couple products for sale. I bought into the whole idea of innovation and transparency and more than anything that it was made in North America and not China like every other company.

Then, one thing after another happened.

1) My first pair of Attack pants I was promised a 1-2 month wait. At 11 months, I cancelled my order.

2) When I received my 2nd batch of clothing I noticed all the tags said “made in China”. When I called and asked them “what the hell?” they denied it and said it was a mistake. When this happened to other people the word started to get out. A couple weeks later Kuiu had a big announcement “We’ve moved to China, and it’s better for you! It will be cheaper with more quality control and less wait time!”. Of course, the prices and the wait time stayed the same. Not sure how moving from Canada to China would INCREASE your QA/QC?

3) Kuiu got caught deleting any post whatsoever on their forum that said anything negative about their products (including mine), whether something had broken or there was a QA/QC problem or anything. Weeks later they claimed an intern did it and was fired. Transparent?

4) Kuiu was a sponsor of my favorite hunting site (besides the green screen) Rokslide. The owner of Rokslide was doing a Tongue and Cheek review of all their sponsors backpacks by throwing them off a cliff to see how well they would hold up as a joke. Kuiu called the owner and said that he was not allowed to throw his backpack off a cliff and he was pulling his sponsorship immediately. He then proceeded to do his own “cliff test” which was literally a “mild hill test” and put it on Youtube. I guess he wanted to do it as an FU to Rokslide but just came off to everyone as a ****. Quick Note: It didn’t survive the “mild hill test”

5) Kuiu’s specs on a lot of their gear is way off, they pretty much just make them up. For example, the breathability on their rain gear doesn’t take into account the camo pattern imprinted on them, which makes the numbers much lower. There was actually an independent test done comparing Kuiu and rain gears breathability to other brands and let’s just say it was less than half of what they claim. Unfortunately, the person/company that did the test decided not to publish it but I did get to witness the results first hand. Another example is their tent weights. Don’t expect them to weigh what’s on their website, they weigh them barebones with no stakes, guylines, anything. When they started coming in the mail half a pound over weight, people got ******.

6) There’s nothing very transparent or innovative about Kuiu. If you research the materials that they are using, it’s been done for 15-20 years! All he did was take mountaineering gear and put camo on it. Nothing new at all. If you start looking into some of the other big name brands you’ll realize Kuiu is way behind on technology. Besides technology, they just steal everyone else’s design. Do their tents look familiar? That’s because they are a 100% replica of Big Sky tents. Do their sleeping bags look familiar? They are a complete replica of Marmot Plasma bags.

7) They hardly test any of their gear at all, that's why they "update" their packs twice a year. They do one Alaskan Sheep hunt with their prototype gear, take a ton of pics, then that’s it. The consumers are the Guinea Pigs, not the company. Their first batch of tents leaked heavily. They should be happy they didn’t kill anybody. If you ask them about it they won’t say anything, they were quickly removed from the website and basically Kuiu pretends like they never existed.

8) Their packs are a joke. They’re so proud that they made the 1st ever carbon fiber pack. It’s been done for 20 years! It just sucks as a pack frame so no one actually produced it! Kifaru played around with it in the 90s and came to the conclusion that it doesn't hold up at all.. It’s fine for 30-40 pounds of weight. If you need to pack Elk meat out miles in the mountains, you’re screwed! See if you can find a pic of an Elk quarter sticking out of one? I bet you'll see quite a few pics of cracked carbon frames though.. Doubt you'll find any cracked frame pics from Kifaru, Stone Glacer, or Exo Mountain..

I could keep writing but my hand hurts. There’s no reason to buy anything from Kuiu with all the good brands that are out there now.

[Chew]

I don't know much about their line....why wouldn't it be good for stand hunting? Walmart camo and jeans works for stand hunting. Am I missing something?

[wilcox1088]

I love there clothes. Just bought a bino case and a bow sling. Have worn it from stand hunting in the hill country to southeast Texas marshes. Never have had any problems

[bphillips]

My problem with Kuiu is less about who they support (although I've heard bad stories about this) and more about their business and moral ethics.

I bought Kuiu when they 1st started and only had a couple products for sale. I bought into the whole idea of innovation and transparency and more than anything that it was made in North America and not China like every other company.

Then, one thing after another happened.

1) My first pair of Attack pants I was promised a 1-2 month wait. At 11 months, I cancelled my order.

2) When I received my 2nd batch of clothing I noticed all the tags said “made in China”. When I called and asked them “what the hell?” they denied it and said it was a mistake. When this happened to other people the word started to get out. A couple weeks later Kuiu had a big announcement “We’ve moved to China, and it’s better for you! It will be cheaper with more quality control and less wait time!”. Of course, the prices and the wait time stayed the same. Not sure how moving from Canada to China would INCREASE your QA/QC?

3) Kuiu got caught deleting any post whatsoever on their forum that said anything negative about their products (including mine), whether something had broken or there was a QA/QC problem or anything. Weeks later they claimed an intern did it and was fired. Transparent?

4) Kuiu was a sponsor of my favorite hunting site (besides the green screen) Rokslide. The owner of Rokslide was doing a Tongue and Cheek review of all their sponsors backpacks by throwing them off a cliff to see how well they would hold up as a joke. Kuiu called the owner and said that he was not allowed to throw his backpack off a cliff and he was pulling his sponsorship immediately. He then proceeded to do his own “cliff test” which was literally a “mild hill test” and put it on Youtube. I guess he wanted to do it as an FU to Rokslide but just came off to everyone as a ****. Quick Note: It didn’t survive the “mild hill test”

5) Kuiu’s specs on a lot of their gear is way off, they pretty much just make them up. For example, the breathability on their rain gear doesn’t take into account the camo pattern imprinted on them, which makes the numbers much lower. There was actually an independent test done comparing Kuiu and rain gears breathability to other brands and let’s just say it was less than half of what they claim. Unfortunately, the person/company that did the test decided not to publish it but I did get to witness the results first hand. Another example is their tent weights. Don’t expect them to weigh what’s on their website, they weigh them barebones with no stakes, guylines, anything. When they started coming in the mail half a pound over weight, people got ******.

6) There’s nothing very transparent or innovative about Kuiu. If you research the materials that they are using, it’s been done for 15-20 years! All he did was take mountaineering gear and put camo on it. Nothing new at all. If you start looking into some of the other big name brands you’ll realize Kuiu is way behind on technology. Besides technology, they just steal everyone else’s design. Do their tents look familiar? That’s because they are a 100% replica of Big Sky tents. Do their sleeping bags look familiar? They are a complete replica of Marmot Plasma bags.

7) They hardly test any of their gear at all, that's why they "update" their packs twice a year. They do one Alaskan Sheep hunt with their prototype gear, take a ton of pics, then that’s it. The consumers are the Guinea Pigs, not the company. Their first batch of tents leaked heavily. They should be happy they didn’t kill anybody. If you ask them about it they won’t say anything, they were quickly removed from the website and basically Kuiu pretends like they never existed.

8) Their packs are a joke. They’re so proud that they made the 1st ever carbon fiber pack. It’s been done for 20 years! It just sucks as a pack frame so no one actually produced it! Kifaru played around with it in the 90s and came to the conclusion that it doesn't hold up at all.. It’s fine for 30-40 pounds of weight. If you need to pack Elk meat out miles in the mountains, you’re screwed! See if you can find a pic of an Elk quarter sticking out of one? I bet you'll see quite a few pics of cracked carbon frames though.. Doubt you'll find any cracked frame pics from Kifaru, Stone Glacer, or Exo Mountain..

I could keep writing but my hand hurts. There’s no reason to buy anything from Kuiu with all the good brands that are out there now.

I prefer Sitka for camo options anyway. Packs give me Stone Glacier or Kifaru. The other gear should be bought from companies who specialize in it anyway (tents, sleeping bags, and such) not someone who capitalizes on hunters paying more for the same thing.