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First lite vs Sitka

T

Tree-Demon

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2017
Messages
81
Location
Maryland
Dont think I've seen anyone talk bad about wither of the two but as I am about to get divorced over the amount of money I'm about to spend on one of the other. I want to make sure I choose wisely so looking for people who have used both and can give the pros and cons along with prefrences. Im talking early season mid and late season items what might be a waste camo patterns Im looking to get schooled here so fill me in. I have read alot about the two but seems like everyone recomends them both but not sure the recomendations are coming from people who have used both sets. I also hear all the scent lok talk so not opposed to scent lok either. I am willing to spend some cash just want to make a good choice. By the way I hunt only public land that gets a fair amount of pressure.
 
If you want to read more on scentlok, make sure you read the scentlok threads in the scent control section. But, if you are going to use it, you need to fully commit to the system. To each their own and you will read about people who are against it, but I will never hunt without it...
 
I recommend rokslide forum for questions like this. There are a lot of first light/ Sitka users there


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Sitka or First Lite both make quality gear. Which camo pattern you choose is purely your preference - the animals don't care one way or the other which pattern you're wearing. Though as a trained and practicing visual designer I have to say patterns like ASAT and Predator do a far superior job of breaking up human shapes than other patterns.... but then again plenty of critters are killed while wearing realtree Xtra too...

I am a scentlok freak though, and if you browse through the scent control section you'll see where I stand on the subject.

If we exclude activated carbon from the discussion I would the quality of gear (based on what i've tried on and seen) in this order: First Lite, Sitka, and Scentlok

The first lite stuff is really, really nice IMO. Feature rich, comfortable, and considered for hunters. Sitka is too, but you're buying into their 'systems' which is just a fancy way of saying layering. If you like being marketed too Sitka is probably your brand.

Scentlok is 3rd only because the fit and finish of their products are slightly behind First Lite and Sitka. While their garments are still very high quality hunting clothes, they just don't quite have the same level of polish as the other brands. For example some of the jackets and pants have odd sizing, etc.

Another thing to consider First Lite and Sitka hold their value extremely well. If you are not pleased you can easily resell it on classifieds without taking much of a loss.

That being said... if the public land is as pressured as you say my vote would be for scentlok. You're gonna need every advantage you can get over other hunters (and the pressured deer there). Good luck!
 
I have tried mostly everything out there. First lite is extremely comfortable so is Sitka. Originally built for the western hunter these two brands are now starting to branch into the whitetail hunters world. I think this is where the two brands start to drift. I prefer the Sitka over the first lite here as i am in the northeast and I feel the clothing Sitka makes wins on the overall durability. As far as patterns go both have spent countless amounts on researching and developing their patterns to fool the eyes of game not humans. I think both are equal in this category however to the human eye i kinda like first lite's color schemes a little better. With all that said scentlok is also a great brand but you have to commit to their scent regimen as you commit to Sitka's and first lite's layering regimens.

My choice order is Sitka, first lite, followed by scentlok. I guess its a matter of personal choice as clothing does not make the hunter its time and experience that do. Clothing should be viewed simply as a tool in your tool box which you then deploy as needed to accomplish your goal of a successful hunt/harvest.
 
From what I have read on scentlok you need to run it in a dryer for 20 or so minutes to activate the carbon. I tend to hand wash and hang dry hunting clothes. My wife loves smell good detergents and fabric softners. So putting anything in the dryer for hunting im just not comfortable with.
 
redsquirrel said:
If you want to read more on scentlok, make sure you read the scentlok threads in the scent control section. But, if you are going to use it, you need to fully commit to the system. To each their own and you will read about people who are against it, but I will never hunt without it...
Click to expand...
I've read the scent control forum and Johns books but would you agree about my dryer situation? Or is there an easy solution to this?
 
Tree-Demon said:
I've read the scent control forum and Johns books but would you agree about my dryer situation? Or is there an easy solution to this?
Click to expand...
My wife will occasionally wash stuff with scented detergent. If I feel there is anything hanging around in there I will run some clean scent free towels through there first. I have never had an issue.
 
redsquirrel said:
My wife will occasionally wash stuff with scented detergent. If I feel there is anything hanging around in there I will run some clean scent free towels through there first. I have never had an issue.
Click to expand...

X2!!

I play the wind when I hunt and i was successful prior to having scentlok gear so not having it won't really change the way I hunt. Clothing is all a matter of opinion in my mind. Honestly everything we buy is a matter of perspective in the sense if you believe it it will work. When you stop believing in your gear and setup confidence falls and a new road needs to be travelled. Remember the hunting world is largely hyped and we have definitely more technology than yester year but success can be seen across all years regardless of gear.
 
A couple years ago I bought some scentlok. I think it helps but there are just too many chances of contamination and it really took a lot of the fun out of hunting for me trying to do my best keeping them free of scent. I'm back to wearing comfortable clothing that will keep me from sweating as much as possible. Scentlok was hot and I sweated a lot inside of the one piece trying to seal every vent the best I could. I think It just made things worse.
I haven't tried first lite except for a beanie and no Sitka. I picked kuiu because I liked the open pattern camo out of the three. Im sure they are all quality. I've never felt so comfortable than in my kuiu merino wool or their synthetic series, peloton. There knee padded pants with side vent zips are like turning on the AC. Same for the jackets with pit sips. I'm wanting to get a set of their tiburon series next for early season. It has small holes all over the material. Totally opposite of what I was trying to do with scentlok, lol but I'm going for not sweating causing more scent and play the wind. What I like about my kuiu is it's warm, light, and open camo and you can vent when you are using energy then zip up tight in the stand. No bulk. I'm sure first light and Sitka are the same. Only thing I don't like is the price. I buy only on sale.
 
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