Disappointed in Kuiu

O

o2bwest

Guest
I tried a Kuiu 185 shirt on my recent mule deer hunt in Colorado and I was pretty disappointed with it. As most of you who hunted 2nd rifle know it was exceptionally warm, and by mid morning I was down to my base layer. At lunch I happened to look down at my arms and I was surprised to see that both sleeves of my new shirt were full of big holes. I had not been through any bad brush, just the average stuff that brushes up against you as you hike trails through pine timber. When I got home I called Kuiu and said hey I wore your shirt for half a day and now it's full of holes. The lady that answered the phone had a prepared answer about delicate natural fibers and said that I shouldn't have been wearing it without something over it. She recommended that I purchase a $240 jacket to wear over my $80 base layer to keep from tearing holes in it. I guess if you get hot you are supposed to hunt topless. I don't know what I expected them to say. I wanted them to offer me my money back or send me a new shirt. At the very least I expected an I'm sorry and here's a 10% off coupon for your next purchase. They do have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their website, but obviously that's just there for looks. I wrote a review of the shirt and my experience on the Kuiu message boards and the moderator decided not to post it. Bottom line is I'm done with Kuiu.
 
None of the merino wool shirts will hold up to any brush. Smartwool, Icebreaker, Kuiu. It doesn't matter which.
 
I wore a light weight Smartwool shirt for several days of my hunt and it held up fine.
 
So you bought an under garment, choose to wear it as an outer garment, in the brush no less, and have the nerve to complain it didn't hold up to the abuse? Hard to fault Kuiu on this one. Sort of like wearing a pair of silk long johns through a thorn patch, and complaining they ripped. Or wearing glove liners as you dig in the rocks or butcher an elk, and complaining they wore out.
I wear merino from several different manufacturers, and while it is great stuff, it is a base layer only. If it gets too hot, take off the merino and wear the shirt you had on over it to begin with. Not exactly rocket science.
And I'm glad Kuiu didn't reward your stupidity with some free or discounted product. They have to pass those costs on to the rest of use, who appreciate their gear and know how to use it correctly. Kuiu makes a quality product at fair prices, but it clearly isn't for everyone.
Bill
 
I don't think I would be very happy if a brand new shirt that I had just bought didn't last a day of hunting.

Just so you know it says nothing about it being an "undergarment" on their website it says "base Layer" and that it can be worn in temps from 0-115 deg. That means it should be the first layer next to your skin. I am pretty sure they don't expect you to wear a jacket over a base layer in 115 deg temps.

Also in the pics on their website it shows them wearing this exact shirt as an "outerlayer".
 
I wear a smartwool long sleeve t-shirt as part of my layering system. Layering means that at some point it may be your top layer. I've never had issues with holes from my smartwool shirt and have worn it as my top layer a lot.
 
I've worn my first lite base layer by itself many times and never had any problems.
 
I hunted with a core 4 wool shirt and an First lite Chama hoodie for 6 days in the back country of WY. Beat the Sh#t out of it and had no holes. I never took them off. I'd be upset if after a halve day I had holes. If I had them at the end of the week the way I hunted I would not complain. Your situation, I'd complain. Money is hard to come buy. My 2 cents
 
>One does have to wonder why
>a base layer is made
>in a camo color though...
>

Same reason they make camo condoms...So no one sees you coming...



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I wore my first lite nearly every day with no issues. Great point BeanMan. Illamapacker your comment is pretty harsh and inaccurate.
 
I still think it is unrealistic to expect a merino wool shirt worn as an outer layer to hold up well when hunting. At least it depends on what conditions you hunt in. I've destroyed much tougher garments hunting the oakbrush and shrub areas of western Colorado.
 
I've worn mine on every hunt and in every nasty situation. I haven't had one problem with it.


Traditional >>>------->
 
llama packer's way wrong. Ridiculous in fact.

Their website shows "base" as a regular thing you were WHEN YOU'RE HUNTING. Base layers should last. I have an early Sitka wool base layer, worn through brush, and it lasts just fine. Cotton and fleece base layers last also.

As Kuiu moves production to China, if they do it like everyone else does, watch for quality problems like a hawk. They may do it right, but it costs a lot of money to have people sit in the factories and police production.
 
that $hit wouldn't have happened if you were wearing a carhartt t-shirt!! guess i'm too much of a redneck hunter to find a need for all this super lightweight god awful expensive "wonder" wear. and if i find myself in an "emergency" situation, i don't have to worry about cutting off a sleeve!! :)
 
Amazing what the average consumer expects these days.

I wear merino quite regularly, and spend 60+ days in the field hunting each year. All merino brands I have tried have held up well when worn appropriately. Sure, I will wear merino only when sheep hunting, out in the antelope sage, or above timberline hunting mulies. I also wear silk shirts in similar conditions. I do recognize that even my pack frame straps will cause wear on the merino quicker than on a more traditional outer garment shirt.
Wearing merino as an outer layer in the oak brush, devil's club of the Oregon coast, or even in the alder thickets of Alaska is plain folly. I've torn some really tough clothes in all of the above terrain, and never blamed the clothing. I even tore a pair of Sitka pants (Very expensive) when crossing a log and hooking the fabric on the stub of a sharp branch I hadn't seen on the other side.

The OP says he was wearing his merino through "typical brush" and had holes in it at the end of the day. No way to know what he considers typical brush, but the Kuiu merino isn't any more fragile than other brands. I wouldn't complain if my silk shirt had holes in it after a day in the oak brush, and I certainly wouldn't blame the manufacturer.

I don't work for or have any connection to any of the above companies. People are always quick to complain that these new high tech materials are expensive, but then expect the manufacturer to replace it if they damage it. Those costs are passed along to the rest of us, and it is time that quality retailers stand up to this on-line bullying. Kuiu can sell all the clothes they can make, and typically have a backlog, so they must be doing something right. I appreciate them trying to keep costs reasonable, and still selling top quality products.

Bill
 
>Amazing what the average consumer expects
>these days.
>
> Those costs are passed along to
>the rest of us, and
>it is time that quality
>retailers stand up to this
>on-line bullying.

Yeah...that makes lots of sense...this is on-line bullying. Hilarious.

I've spent most of my professional life working for top quality outdoor manufacturing brands (not retailers). This isn't on-line bullying. This is a consumer concerned about a garment not lasting up to expectations (the exact expectations communicated by the manufacturer)

Average consumers, not the awesome hard core elite like you, should expect the very high cost garments to actually work and wear well and long when used outdoors. What do you think their expectations should be?

You must know about the nightmares Sitka had early on with very poor quality workmanship (not materials). Did you try to belittle people who complained about those problems? Were the complainers guilty of on-line bullying?

You just blew it with your initial comments. We all do sometimes.

Rest assured that the quality manufacturers (not retailers as you mentioned) know what on-line bullying is, know when they get substandard fabric and workmanship, and know how to deal with it. The quality manufacturers that have to answer to investors and paying off debts often try to sweep it under the rug. Those that bootstrap on their own: not so much.
 
Not to beat a dead horse. But if Llamapacker is right about not use the "base wear" as an outer wear then Kuiu has a flaw in their system. They don't sell a product that goes between the the jacket/vest and their merino base wear.
 
Correct their merino base layer shirt is the only shirt they make.... When are they going to just make a synthetic shirt for those that don't want a marino shirt? I am guessing with time, but for now its the only ##### they make and so we are stuck until they are around long enough to make more items.
 
llamapacker says "Amazing what the average consumer expects these days."

It's amazing what these manufactures charge for hunting clothing these days.
 
>llamapacker says "Amazing what the average
>consumer expects these days."
>
>It's amazing what these manufactures charge
>for hunting clothing these days.
>

+1, Amen Brother. Exceptional prices should yield exceptional products.
 

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