I have Sitka Early Season Whitetail, Mountain and Timberline.
The ESW pants are so comfy we joked it was like hunting in your pajamas. Very light.
Mountain and Timberline have the knee pads with Timberline having the waterproof knees and butt and are just as comfy....with one exception. If you have the knee pads in, it presses a little on your kneecap. On a long day hike, that might get annoying but pretty simple to just pull them out. Given the closeness between these two, I would go with the Timberline for the waterproof options.
Note that there are a lot of places to buy discounted Sitka these days. Watch Camofire, check Amazon often, Cabelas bargain cave, etc. All my stuff has been bought at 60% or less of what you see it advertised for. Just gotta be patient.
I havent used Kuiu.
