Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Guide jacket vs Sanctuary jacket

So I am in the process of updating some of my hunting cloth. I am deciding between the First lite sanctuary jacket and the Kuiu guide DCS jacket. I would say that I do more stand hunting than hiking and would rate warmth over weight or packability. What do you all think?

Thanks

No decision if you seek warmth/insulation - the First Lite is the way to go.

The Guide jacket is great but it's simply a soft shell.

Thanks Skane. That is what I suspected but, as I am unable to get my hands on them to physically check them out, I wanted someone else's opinion. Also, with first lite being almost twice as expensive that makes sense. Haha

Yep - no free lunches with this stuff.

The Sanctuary is a furnace.

No one likes the Sitka Gear Incinerator?

I'd have loved one last week.....

I have both the Guide jacket and Sanctuary jacket and I've owned the Incinerator.

They are 2 completely different pieces of gear. The Guide jacket is a soft shell jacket that is windproof and water resistant and breathable for times when you are active. Not much insulation at all though. I love mine and wear it 90% of the time I'm in the field. I layer it over a puffy type jacket and I'm good down to 10 degrees or so when active and 20-30 when sitting still.

The Sanctuary is a bigger heavier and less breathable jacket and is ideal for cold conditions when not moving. I wore mine in KS most of last week with a base layer, hoodie, and the jacket and was good down into the teens. If you put a puffy or something under it then you could easily get to below zero conditions without trouble. It is a quiet type material that is windproof and water resistant as well.

Bob, I had the Incinerator and it was nice but it's not very breathable at all and I felt like I would sweat out the down a little when active. It is waterproof and was very warm but I think the sanctuary may be slightly warmer although that's a tough call.

Lee

Lee: Thanks .....this stuff is so expensive you hesitate to spend on it until you understand what you're buying.

Kind of drives me crazy because the stuff seems very specialized.

Bob, if I was consistently hunting in cold and wet conditions I'd get the Incinerator probably. Sanctuary is not waterproof but will shed light rain/snow.

You are right about the specialized nature of this gear. Plus the fit is not consistent across brands either which makes it even harder.

Layering is the most flexible system (how many times have you heard that?) and with today's stuff it all compresses to less than one old school heavy jacket.

My current low teens and up setup. I don't hunt when its colder than that. Heck no.

Light Merino Base
Medium Merino Base
Puffy vest - First Lite Uncompahgre
Puffy hoodie - First Lite Uncompahgre
Light windproof soft shell - Kuiu Teton
Light (because I don't hunt much in rainy areas) rain gear - Kuiu Teton

You can easily and comfortably wear all this at once, however I'd probably forgo the light base in cold weather (to reduce the number of layers on the arms, I like to keep it to a minimum), and obviously the rain gear is on an as needed basis. So the cold weather setup is:

Medium Merino Base
Puffy Vest
Puffy Hoodie
Windproof Soft Shell

The Teton soft shell is very tough and if its not too hot I always wear it while busting brush.

On cool but not cold days or while hiking its some combination of the two base layers and the soft shell.

Yep, except mine is all FirstLite, save one puffy which was a steal of an REI "garage sale" down several years back.

Lee. Excellent review. Thanks for that. Another question: which of the jackets will hold up better going through brush?
Sorry for so many questions but as Bob said with these clothing veins as expensive as they are, I want to make the best informed decision as I can.
Thanks

Define "brush". Different places, that means different things.

The bottom line answer is that none of these are really designed for that, and "going through brush" with that amount of insulation on is going to have you sweating like a whore in church. But, knowing what "brush" means to you can help point you in a better direction for that endeavor.

Realizing that anything thorny, like a rose bush, will shred anything puffy, let's define brush as conifers or trees with low hanging branches or a shrub without thorns.

Hope that helps

Guide jacket has a more "sturdy" shell but I doubt there would be a lot of practical difference in how well they held up. I have 2 guide jackets and I am far from easy on my gear and they have held up very well. I haven't worn the sanctuary much in brush because like they said above, you'd get pretty over heated if you are doing a lot of walking in that jacket.

I have a DCS Guide jacket/pants and the Sanctuary coat/bibs. The Sanctuary is not a coat to wear for anything other than sitting - it's that warm. The Guide is great as a layering piece - blocks wind well and light rain/snow. I wouldn't wear it in a steady rain or a downpour of any magnitude.

I keep 3 systems that cover my hunting. The Guide is my walking/stalking/warm to cool weather (down to 20s). Layer merino base layers and a puffy and you're good to go. Switch layers as situation dictates. My go to set up is: icebreaker 260 top/bottom, smartwool liners and med-heav crew sock, FL Labrador sweater, FL Uncompagrhe, Guide jkt/pants. I normally hike in wearing only FL sweater - Uncompagrhe in my pack, Guide jkt strapped to pack. Get to where I'm going and start putting on layers as needed.

I hunt in NWPA for WTs in early December. Typical weather is 25-30 in AM, 30-45 during the day with rain sprinkled in for good measure. It's usually pretty crappy. The Guide system isn't really warm enough to sit all day and the Sanctuary it to warm plus isn't waterproof. Enter Rivers West Ambush jkt/pants. It is warm, waterproof, and quiet. It doesn't breathe well but if your sitting all day or still hunting, it works well. I tend to wear the same base layers under the RW.

When it hit teens I dig out the FL Sanctuary. It is warm and quiet and will shed some light snow but can be used to still hunt if you don't have much elevation to climb. I still tend to wear the same base layers as the other 2 clothing systems.

Took me 35 years to arrive at this system but it works for me. Hunting clothing is way better now than it was in the 1970s when I first started hunting. Some of it is a bit pricey but I've spent a lot of years being wet/cold/hot/miserable. Sell a rifle or two and buy good clothing and boots. Heck you can kill a deer with any rifle but it's hard to kill them if you're not out because you aren't comfortable.

I have 2 of the Kuiu Guide jackets and love them but they were never intended for cold weather sitting.

Does anyone have an inkling as to what insulation, and how much, is used in the FL Sanctuary jacket?

I checked their website, and, unless I missed it, it mentions only something about a "proprietary" seven layer system of fabric and insulation.

I am just curious as to how the insulation value would measure up against known quantities such as "four ounces of 850 fill power down, "160 gr/sq yd of Primaloft", or "100% 24 oz. virgin wool".

So I was at Cabelas the other day and was looking at Sitka gear, the fanatic jacket to be more precise. How does that compare to the Sanctuary jacket? I was impressed with how quite it was. One con was it is a shorter style jacket compared to the picture of the Sanctuary ( as I am unable to get my hands on one).

I pretty much ruled out Kuiu as I think it is not warm enough for my style of hunting.

Thanks

The Fanatic is a great jacket but not as warm as the Sanctuary or Incinerator and I have all three. The Sanctuary and Incinerator are about about the same when it comes to warmth. The Sanctuary is softer and quieter. The Incinerator is waterproof and more durable. For stand bowhunting the Sanctuary works best, for stand gun hunting I'd use the Incinerator.

For strictly stand gun hunting I'd also give the SJK Thermal and Artic Cloaks a look. I tried both of them out this season and liked them. I clipped the Cloak to my backpack and put it on before I got in my stand. You can have the Cloak out of the stuff sack and on in about a minute. It is a touch noisy but I consider it fine for gun hunting. If you shop around you can buy either one for about half price.