I only have the pants ...I wear them in the early season , walking through wet grass
or rain ..they are tight and small on me so I cant layer under much ...so if its raining in the low 30's I have my incinerator bibs and jacket on ...lol sissy from Illinois with no body fat on me ..haha

 

The problem; Its Gore Tex....

Better stuff out there that doesn't wet out.

 

Like?

 

Huge Sitka fan, but I strongly dislike the Downpour. It has that brushed fabric on it, which means it soaks up lots of water, gets heavy, and takes FOREVER to dry. I also found the cut to be really weird

 

that is a good point to consider. never really thought about it getting heavy or trying To dry it after being out in rain. I hunt private land 99 percent of the time and usually don’t have too long to walk a mile at most. So heavy won’t be too bad but if it rains multiple days in a row could be a problem

 

First Lite Seak is really nice. Kuiu has some really nice rain gear.
Lots of good gear out there. I like premium gear but I have a hard time because I am loyal. when it comes to hunting cloths function is more important the brand.

 

I’m honestly not a big fan of the Kuiu patterns so probably won’t buy their stuff. At least not camo stuff for hunting. As for first lite. I like their stuff. I have their base layers. I was going to build my whitetail system with their stuff but they seem to have gone direct to consumer so their stuff is no longer in stores by me. I don’t like buying stuff with out being able to put my hands in it. And try it on.

as for the downpour. One of my main questions for anyone who has it is would you recommend using it instead of the stratus on rainy days? or buy it large enough to fit over the stratus on cold days?

 

For sure if raining the stratus while water resistant will get you pretty wet in a steady drizzle. For what you mentioned I would buy the downpour big enough to layer over the stratus.

 

Never under anything, you'll regret it .... over a Stratus....we'll I guess so, but you better be buying a big jacket and hope it doesn't get in the way across your chest or on your bow-arm when shooting. Too tight it severely restricts movement, too big it gets in the way.

Sounds like you already own it and trying to make it work...if that's the case you might be better off layering under it instead of the stratus, maybe the base-layer, topped with fanatic hoodie, and the celcius jacket...the Downpour will offer some windproof characteristics that the Stratus offers and the celcius will offer better insualtion than the stratus. Might be a way to achieve what you are looking for.

For what its worth the Downpour is one of their least effective pieces...there are plenty reviews citing everything from durability and noise, to fabric saturation and breath ability. If you're considering rain gear Kuiu really is the best on the market. It outperforms almost all others in a series of side-by-side tests and if customer reviews mean anything, you're hard pressed to find a bad one...I know you said you don't care for the pattern, but might want to ask yourself which is a more important quality in rain gear, staying dry or pattern. BTW, I wasn't necessarily a fan until I wore it in the woods...very effective on the ground or in a tree. I run Sitka almost exclusively, except for rain gear, I sold my Chugach set this spring in favor of the Kutana and don't regret it for a moment.

Hope this helps a little.

 

Never under anything, you'll regret it .... over a Stratus....we'll I guess so, but you better be buying a big jacket and hope it doesn't get in the way across your chest or on your bow-arm when shooting. Too tight it severely restricts movement, too big it gets in the way.

Sounds like you already own it and trying to make it work...if that's the case you might be better off layering under it instead of the stratus, maybe the base-layer, topped with fanatic hoodie, and the celcius jacket...the Downpour will offer some windproof characteristics that the Stratus offers and the celcius will offer better insualtion than the stratus. Might be a way to achieve what you are looking for.

For what its worth the Downpour is one of their least effective pieces...there are plenty reviews citing everything from durability and noise, to fabric saturation and breath ability. If you're considering rain gear Kuiu really is the best on the market. It outperforms almost all others in a series of side-by-side tests and if customer reviews mean anything, you're hard pressed to find a bad one...I know you said you don't care for the pattern, but might want to ask yourself which is a more important quality in rain gear, staying dry or pattern. BTW, I wasn't necessarily a fan until I wore it in the woods...very effective on the ground or in a tree. I run Sitka almost exclusively, except for rain gear, I sold my Chugach set this spring in favor of the Kutana and don't regret it for a moment.

Hope this helps a little.

I love sitka. But I would go KUIU for rain gear!

 

Definitely helps. Don’t own it yet but going to purchase this week. I’m just trying to see how people are using it. I definitely wouldn’t use the rain gear under the stratus. Mostly wondering if people are using it the down pour on top of the stratus or instead of. I was thinking instead of the stratus when it’s raining but if people were using it over the stratus and it worked well I would consider that route.
As for layering I have merino base layers, fanatic hoody and the Celsius midi so hoping that can get me to where I need to be for temps

 

I really like the downpour for stand hunting. The brushed fleece is to quiet the garment down, which it does. I have different rain gear for backpack elk hunting, but for stand hunting I really like the downpour.

 

I agree, love the down pour for deer hunting, I’m sure there are better rain jackets out there but for stand hunting I’m loving my down pour set.
With the layers you already have you’ll be good into the 30s.

 

I have both the stratus and the Downpour set and I also have the Incinerator outfit ! I don't wear the downpour over my stratus ! I would wear what you have under it as I have the same thing and it layers very nicely. Just make sure you you try it on and get the correct size because the Downpour outfit is meant to be snug and seems to run small in size ! I would like to have a bigger size as I bought the celcius midi after I had the outfit and its a little to snug on me now ! You might have to go up 2 sizes just to be comfortable ! I don't think its to bad for weight after getting wet and it doesn't seem to take to long to dry ! Just dry in the dryer on low or delicate !

 

The kuiu Yukon is my favorite rain gear I've used yet. Alot of people like the Kutana even more. But the big difference between the Yukon and most everything else I've tried, is the Yukon has 4 way stretch. 95%+ of rain gear is 2 way. It makes a big difference for comfort. And you really notice it using climbing sticks. If you stand straight up and try to lift your knee with 2 way stuff, you'll get your knee maybe to waist level. The Yukon I can bring my knee nearly to my chest and it still has some stretch left

 

Great point!!!

The Chugach also offers the 4-way stretch, but having owned both the Chugach and the Kutana - I'd recommend the Kutana, as it is a "tougher" set. I mean, I'm not bushwacking through wild rose and briars all the way to and from my stands, but the Kutana looks like it could handle it if I had too. The Yukon is their top of the line and it should be, it's designed to be worn all day and I know several in ID, Wash, BC, and AK who wear it sun up to sundown because they have to and LOVE it. A friend guided in AK for years and had the same set for most of his tenure while others were constantly replacing Hansen, FL, Sitka, etc.....

I usually don't find myself in circumstances where I am hunting in the rain all day. I am typically looking for something that can get me in when a light rain is expected to pass, get me out when I stayed 10-mins too long despite natures clear warnings, AND something that I can slip in and out of with relative ease and pack without weighing me down. I would not consider the Yukon packable by most reasonable standards. The obvious and most important factor is that I stay dry.

 

Thanks for all the replies and help! For now kuiu is out just due to the convenience factor. I purchased both the large and xl sizes of the down pour. I’m a large in most of the Sitka stuff. I was able to test my layering systems under it and shoot my bow a little bit. The large can get a bit snug depending on what I’m wearing under it. But didn’t hinder my ability to shoot. The xl was a bit more roomy and comfy but had a larger chance of the sleeve hitting the cables and jacket hitting the string of the bow. It didn’t seem to affect my shooting but not worth the risk IMO.

This is my first set of hunting rain gear. And don’t usually need rain gear a lot but in the past have skipped some rainy days that could have been huntable so hopefully this will get me out in the woods more!