Best Camo brand for big game hunting
 

Looking for comments on the best brand / product for big game hunting for all seasons. Was told Sitka is worth the money.

There is no “best” brand. High quality gear will make you more comfortable and keep you in the field longer and on days when others are all hiding in the truck. Brands like Kuiu and Sitka make it easy to put together the pieces you need all in one spot. It is also very possible to do the same with more mainstream outdoor or mountaineering brands. This all depends on your hunting style as well, some are better served with more traditional wool and flannel.

Double post.

ASAT pattern has served me well

Very happy with what I own from kuiu. Website makes sizing easy and bought at the right time the pricing is reasonable.

Non camo versions of same products are great.

Match your clothing selections to your style of hunting. You dont need to spend 2-3k on a light low volume back country set up vs being comfortable in a 500$ setup if your just doing day long truck hunts. I’ve used kuiu Sitka first light under armour cabelas basspro and a few other brands they all work none is the best in every single scenario.

I probably get laughed at for wearing a mix of Kuiu, Sitka (different patterns), and some realtree and mossy oak. I'm too cheap to spend 1K on matching pants and jacket. Pretty sure I've never missed out on filling a tag because my camo didn't match. Get what's comfortable and you can afford.

Comfort is more important. Used to wear blaze orange and was just as successful as in camo. If you move the game will see you regardless.

Old school Red +Black checkered wool jacket + blue jeans .

The camo pattern really isn't that important, what I have found though is that most outerwear designed for hunting happens to come in Camo patterns. I look for jackets with lots of deep pockets in the right places, clothes that run a little large so you can layer underneath, hoods that can detach so they don't get in the way, draw strings on the bottom to keep the wind out, pants with deep pockets so your stuff doesn't fall out when you sit down on the ground, cargo pockets for extra gloves and stuff, zipper legs to get your boots on and off, belt loops that are wide and secure so you can hang a knife, multitool and an ammo pouch and not tear out the loops. Nice big pulls on the zippers so you can get at them with gloves. etc..little tabs on the pants pocket so you can clip your knife there without tearing the fabric. stuff like that.
Hard to get those features without camo, hard to get all of those features without heating up the credit card.
I personally like Sitka and I hear good things about kuiu (spelling)
Having said that, a black and red coat and blue jeans has taken a lot of game for a very long time.

Lately I’ve been mostly buying solids
Add a camo jacket if you like
But if I buy solids I can wear it more often

Most camo is just good for impressing other hunters or getting the evil eye at the supermarket, :D not to mention camo has to be used intelligently to be effective. good old earth colors for this cowboy.

Grizz

This is me 100%. Most of my field pics you’ll see me grippin’ and grinnin’ with solid colours. A couple reasons: I’m not brand loyal. Most of the high end brands make a good piece of this or that. The gimmick is limiting yourself to that brands camo pattern so you “match”. I like to find the best gear regardless of label, and wearing solids allows me to mix and match. Not to mention I can wear it whether hunting or not.

I use First Light. They make really good pants. Their jackets are good to, but their pants have all the right pockets in the right places. I like FL, because the WT lineup is quiet. Though if I was going to sit in a tree stand in November I would probably go with Sitka, definitely a more wind proof line. I prefer solids but because all my stuff is in a camo pattern it only comes out in hunting season. That way I figure it will last we a really long time.

If I had one piece of advice, buy one piece at a time and see if it’s for you.

i have been running browning and redhead stuff, but i bought myself some first lite gear on black friday and that stuff is 10000x better.

so much lighter, quieter, and warmer. I am now a believer in spending the money.

There's an old saying that my friend told me about fishing

Fishing lures catch more fisherman than fish!

I think most of the camo stuff is the same idea. I like solid colours like other guys have said. The bigger benefit of the new "technology" is that it's lighter and still insulating, waterproof durable etc. But you can find that in solid colours for cheaper.

I thought the whole idea of camo was to blend into the environment you're in, break up the human silhouette. Otherwise there is no point in wearing camo.

So depending if its dry fall or snow fall, warm or cold is what hunting clothes I use. I use Russian gorka's for all my hunting gear. Never seen any North American company build clothing as warm as a Russian gorka thats built for Siberian -40. I can wear the bib and jacket with only long johns underneath. I can sit in the stand in -20 all day and not move.

I used to have a heated jacket. I have not used the heated jacket since buying a gorka.

rus-mil.com is the site for the "Winter Gorka"

I paid like $350 CAD for jacket, bib, gloves, balaclava shipped from Russia. If sitka calls their gear the incinerator series that cost you $1600 CAD. This Russian Gear is Thermal Nuclear series.

I bought up a couple of First Lite pieces I found on clearance racks after they announced the shift to direct sales only. Big mistake... I never knew what I was missing, the merino pants are the best thing I’ve ever worn for outdoor activities. Comfortable, warm but breathable and fast drying. The Cipher pattern is great for the areas I hunt before the snow accumulates Too.

The wool mid layers like the Kiln hoodie are also nice, I haven’t tried the base layers as I already had some Ice Breaker pieces. However I’m less impressed with the Catalyst soft shell I got on Black Friday. Roomy shoulders but it’s tight around the belly on me once I’ve got a couple layers on. I wish they made a 3XL or a little bit more fat man friendly cut and honestly I expected more for the price. Maybe I’ll change my mind once I’ve worn it more but it’s just a camo soft shell, there’s nothing special there.

I did the same. I bought full set of hunting gear(mostly for mountains) with this two brands for less than a half price on sales. I love my Sitka-Kuiu gear for comfort and longevity and I don't really care about matching camo pattern.

If it’s for mountain/backpack hunts I believe in paying the extra money for breathable, light weight, and weather proof camo that cost more. All your big well known brands work

If it is day hunts wear you come home at the end of the day or to a warm trailer or wall tent almost anything will do. Hunting whitetail I wear layers of whatever keeps me warm and an outer camo layer that fits the weather

If you are talking camo patterns it really does not matter anything that breaks up your outline in similar colors to the area you are hunting. If you are road hunting or long range rifle wear hot pink if you like it won’t really matter. I find camo only really makes a difference at close range and often you would still get away with anything that breaks up your outline

I think it is so easy for the younger generation to get caught up with the marketing seen on TV, and overspend buying the latest must have clothing that they can't afford. While it's true that you get what you pay for most things, I really think the best camo is the "hunting the wind and sit down and don't move camo". I've layered up with some unknown camo overtop warm clothing and over the past 45 seasons likely harvested more big game than most hunters will ever take. Put in the time to learn your area, Scent control and not fidgeting looking at a cell phone will harvest more animals than spending $2000 on the latest gear and sitting there taking selfies.

- Michael

Marketing is the devil.

5 years ago I laughed at spending top dollar for Sitka, Kuiu.
Then I tried a couple pieces from a hunting buddy, and that was it.

Kuiu: They have it figured out better than anyone for what to wear when going up a mountain. Everything fits, folds, bends, etc where it should. Nothing is left for chance.
Sitka: 95% of the time is what I wear when I'm in the woods (deer, elk, moose). EV 2 is the pattern I went with. Again, it's so well thought out. I actually like the fit of Sitka even better than Kuiu. The Timberline pants are the best piece of hunting equipment I own, period.

To each their own, but I was converted and now will never consider another brand. Buy once, cry once.

Sitka is great clothing with a great warranty. Solids or patterned it doesn't really matter, they are warm, fairly quite depending on what you buy and stand up to hard use. Most importantly they fit (me) perfect.

I would second that the Timberline Pant is the best pant! I also love the Jetstream Jacket. These two pieces can get you through the majority of Alberta Hunting season weather

I would spend the money on those two pieces in a camo pattern and layer with solids like puffy jackets, wool hats and gloves and base-layers.

I don't think you need to spend $2000 on matching camo but I am a believer in having the right equipment when you are in the bush. Jeans and cotton ARE NOT the right equipment for hiking/hunting in the bush.

Carhart.

Save your money

X2 on the timberline. I wear them all the time hunting from sheep to elk amd everything else I pursue. The built in knee pads sure come in handy when stalking game. I have the solid color and super happy with them

Ditto. Have the grey pair and wear them when going into town some days.
Super hard to find the solids....if anyone has a 34R in the moss colour let me know!

Carharts. :)

Although I do have snow camo in like coveralls, the soft fuzzy Can Tire pair, I like them for winter yote setups for blending in.

Kuiu!
 

KUIU hands down! I wore the same peloton layers and pro pants last year while bow hunting muley in coulees, climbing mountains for sheep, hunting antelope and grouse on the prairie and in the woods for white tail. I have Kuiu in non-camo that I wear around the house and elsewhere on those rare occasions these days when I leave home. Far more practical & comfortable than anything I've used previously.

I run a lot of Kuiu. Tried Sitka, and didnt like the fit so switched to Kuiu.
I spend all my free time hunting, fishing, scouting etc.
I dont think its ridiculous to spend that kind of money on good high quality gear. I find it a lot more comfortable and a lot warmer. It just plain fits me perfectly.
I agree like others have said, buy solid colors to layer underneath. Solids typically come on for better prices when the sales do happen.

I get a kick out of friends and coworkers of mine who criticize me for spending $2000 on clothing for hunting/guiding and buy their 10yr old son a $600 pair of hockey skates and $300 stick that gets broken every couple weeks.

Buy once, cry once. I lived by that saying for a long time.
Also huge shout out to Dallas Cota from Kuiu Canada. He has been a huge help for me at the trade shows and also connecting over social media. Dallas is a great guy and stands behind Kuiu.