Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Kuiu Super Down Hooded Jacket Review

Disclaimer: This is just one man's opinion, take it for what it's worth (not much). I'm on nobodies pro-staff and bought this jacket with my own hard earned money.

I recently received the "newish" Kuiu Super Down Hooded Jacket (SDHJ) and wanted to share my thoughts on the product. I've been using down for decades in jackets, vests, gloves and sleeping bages and it is my favorite insulation. And yes, I do know that down isn't worth much and can be dangerous when wet. However, IMHE it's not hard to keep down dry in the areas that I frequent (Utah and Colorado). So you hardcore Alaska, PNW and Canadian guys might want to skip this review. :-)

To give an idea of how this jacket compares I'll be referencing 2 other garments I own and have experience with; Kuiu Spindrift and the Montbell Ex Light Down Jacket (ELDJ).

Weight: The SDHJ comes in at 10.9 ounces, the Spindrift at 14.6 and the ELDJ at 7.1. All jackets are XL.

Hood: Only the SDHJ comes with a hood. This was the feature that first caught my attention. A hood IMO goes a long ways to keeping a person warm. Very very happy with the hood. It has an elastic cord that runs around the face opening and allows it to be closed up tight. The collar also extends up onto the chin.

Fit: The SDHJ is an "athletic" cut and fits snugger than the Spindrift. Which is a good thing to me. The fit is very similar to the ELDJ.

Layering: Don't plan on putting a bunch of stuff under the SDHJ. One or two baselayers are all I can use without compromising the fit. The SDHJ fits perfect under Kuiu's Guide Jacket. I'm pretty happy about this as the Guide is my most worn outdoor garment.

Stretch: The SDHJ made with a stretch fabric. Neither the Spindrift and ELDJ uses stretch fabric, nor do any of my other (3) down jackets. IMHO stretch isn't a big deal in puffy jackets, but it is noticeable to me and I like it more than I thought I would.

Down/Loft: The buzz with the SDHJ is the use of Quixdown which is down treated with a DWR. There is youtube video with Jason doing a little demo on the product. This is relatively new technology so I have no idea how durable or effective the treatment is long-term. Nor how well it works with moisture generated from the user. The SDHJ has a maximum 2 sided loft of 2.5" in the chest area and tapers down to 1.5" in the sleeves and bottom of torso. My ELDJ is 2.5" throughout. The SDHJ advertises 850+ fill and the ELDJ 900.

Construction: Kuiu notes baffled construction on their website for the SDHJ, but to me it looks like sewn through construction. If someone from Kuiu wants to correct me on this, please feel free. The ELDJ is sewn through.

Warmth: The SDHJ without using the hood is warmer than the Spindrift and colder than the ELDJ. With the hood it's warmer than the ELDJ and very toasty. I would expect the SDHJ to take me thru spring/summer/fall seasons down to freezing with a shell over the top and a decent baselayer. The SDHJ also has a draw cord at the hem. This makes it work better as an outer layer than the other two as things can really be sealed up.

Puffiness: This is not what many consider to be a "puffy" coat. My TNF Nuptse jacket is a puffy coat, this is a midlayer insulation piece that can be used as a outer layer.

Durability: The SDHJ uses a 20 Denier fabric, Spindrift 40, and ELDJ a crazy light 7. I've had my ELDJ for 4 years without issue, but I'm also very careful with it. I think the SDHJ's 20 is a good balance of lightweight/durability. I certainly wouldn't use any of these jackets a an outer layer for busting thru the brush. But as a midlayer, lounging around camp, or sitting behind glass they will be fine.

Overall: The SDHJ has met my expectations and will be in my pack this year. In the end, the hood and layered fit with my Guide jacket were the difference between my other options.

Thank you for the detailed write up.

Did you get it wet at all, such as rain or wet snow?

If so, how did it do?

I haven't tried it in the rain. I may give all 3 a "shower" to see how they do.

What are its packed down measurements? I recall the KUIU site saying it folds into its own pocket. Is this the case?

It packs down into its chest pocket and is approximately 8" long and 4" in diameter. The Spindrift packs into one of its hand pockets and is approximately 12" long x 5.5" in diameter.

This comparison is a little misleading as you really have pack the SDHJ in to get it to fit, while the Spindrift packs easily into its pocket.

Sounds a lot like my REI Revelcloud. I really gotta work to pack it down to its Nalgene size.

Thanks for the write up. How does the"puffy-ness" compare to the spindrift? I sure wish they wouldn't have quit making the spindrift, it's one of my favs.

Loft is at least 2x the Spindrift.

One thing that was pointed out on another website is the breath-ability of the SDHJ. Like all my down coats it's not super breathable. The Spindrift is noticeably better in this category. Of course the upside to this characteristic is it performs well in the wind. If you're huffin-and-puffin and need a mid layer the Spindrift, fleece or similar product would be better. IME when I'm hiking and working up a sweat a base layer and wind shell are all I need down to temps in the 20s.

The new down is a full size smaller than all of the other KUIU gear. If you wear an XL, you need XXL in it.I had to send mine back and upsize.

I found the sizing to be right on, keeping in mind that it is meant to layer under your shell. My XL down and Guide jacket fit great together.

I really like Kuiu's products but their sizing sucks.

They've definitely had issues with sizing. My Guide jacket and Attack pants were both Canadian manufacture and were right on. A lot of the first Chinese stuff was jacked up. From what I've read the sizing is back on track.

I'm 6' 200 pounds, 46" chest. XL guide, vest merino tops, etc... XL down wasn't even close. At least that was my experience.

I am 6'4" 250lb, I am not fat and XL vest is so tight I am trying to sell it. I have three Guide jackets all XXL and they are tight if I am layering. 1 is Vias, 1 is Verde, and 1 is grey. Most of my other gear is Marmot, Mountain Hardware, and Arcteryx, I can layer fine under these garments. And wear an XL vest in their lines. So as far as I am concerned Kuiu has major sizing issues. I have products from them made both in NA and overseas and neither is sized correctly. I would like nothing more then to continue supporting them as I feel their products are of very good quality. However I can't keep buying stuff that will only work one way. I am sitting on giftcards for Kuiu that I just can't spend because of the sizing issue. I really hope Jason will figure it out and finally get it right.

I'm 6'-2", 195 lbs, and 44" chest and my XL stuff fits great.

Kuiu is very sensitive to sizing issues right now because of all the problems there has been. Jason has mentioned in some of his recent posts that they have recommitted themselves to making sure sizing is correct based on their charts. Here's a link to a current post on the Kuiu blog where he gives his number and email to contact him directly with any problems.

http://blog.kuiu.com/

I still can't get over the move to China. I was in with KUIU before it hit the warehouse. But that really pissed me off.

Guessing they are still going strong

Yeah I wasn't to happy either but I can understand the "why". However the purpose of not retailing it now doesn't make sense.

There was lots of bitching from most of us when the Bomb dropped. Many guessed it SHOULD have lowered prices. I just looked and it doesn't appear that it has.

Nope. Prices have definitely not gone down.

China is not necessarily cheaper to manufacture in, it can be depending on what you're producing, but they also have very high quality manufacturing. China also has the expertise as there are very few outdoor clothing items that are produced elsewhere.

The move appeared to be an efficiency issue because Tomoda could not turn product around fast enough. At the end of the day Jason needed to make a decision that would allow KUIU to continue to grow.

We can all guess that prices should have gone down, or that he did it so he could scale the company, but the one fact remains if you don't have product on shelves, you can't sell product, if you can't sell product you don't make any money....especially if you've already purchased said product.

At the end of the day, KUIU is still cheaper than their comparables and the reason behind the move to China is probably a lot more complicated than what we keep trying to simplify it to be.