Below are answers to the most common questions regarding the new Pack Designs. I will go back through this weekend and try and answer specific questions these do not address. I appreciate everyone’s patience.
My post yesterday was not done to patronize or dismiss anyones concerns. I genuinely care about what each one of you thinks and feels about KUIU. This brand has my heart and soul in it and I take all of your comments seriously and to heart. Thank you for sharing them.
Respectfully,
Jason
Common Questions:
Will the Icon 3000 & 6000′s fit on the 2012 Frame?
Yes they do. It requires a simple webbing rig and 4 Duraflex parts to put the 3000′s & 6000′s on the 2012 frame. We are waiting for confirmation on the price and ETD from the factory. We are expecting this information in the next few days.
Will the Icon 5000 & 7000 bags fit on the 2011 frames?
No they will not. These bags were designed specifically to incorporate the load sling and will not work on the 2011 model.
What about other options or models you promised for the 2011 Icon frame? KUIU is going back on its word!!!
The 5000 & 7000 bags were specifically designed to incorporate the load-sling which requires the 2012 frame and suspension. We are currently in development on bags that will be able to work on either frame.
What happened to the day pack?
The day pack is in development. It takes 12 to 18 months to go from concept to product. I will have an up date in the next week or two in a blog post.
What happened to your claim of transparency?
I announced the new packs and products to subscribers almost 2 months before they are available. This is as early as I could announce the new products and be able to answer questions like delivery and pricing. Announcing new product too early is a challenge if we cannot tell customers how much and when. I hope you can understand. Most of the designs for these new packs and frame came from your suggestions here on the blog.
There are also developments that will not be announced on the blog until we are ready to launch the product for competitive or proprietary or confidential reasons. There are several new products that will come to market this year that will not be announced until shortly before they are available. I do promise I will let blog subscribers know first.
I have been in Alaska product testing on a black bear bowhunt. I apologize for not being able to respond to your questions and concerns regarding the new packs, suspension and frame. I am traveling home today (layover in Seattle) and will make sure I go through all the comments and get each addressed over the next few days.
For those of you upset about the new designs and packs I am sorry if you feel wronged. It was never my intention. I know many companies will sell the same designs and technology for years in packs and apparel, which is the reason we are decades behind in design and technology. If you follow brands like Apple, or even the bow companies that come out with a new bow every single season it does not make your bow useless or your iphone obsolete. This type of constant evolution creates new and better products and we all win.
Never being totally satisfied, I am constantly working on new products developments, technologies, fabrics and concepts. KUIU will continue to bring new innovations to market and reinvent old ones. There are many more to come in 2012 and as long as KUIU exists. Product changes, improvements and new innovations should be expected with KUIU. It is why I built KUIU. If this upsets you I am sorry. But, I hope you can appreciate the change we will make to our industry; Innovation our industry has been lacking for decades.
Again I will address your comments concerns and questions over the next few days and make sure you have your answers.
Thank you for your passion and support! I have to go catch my flight.
Oh yea, I did shoot a P & Y Bear with my longbow!!! More on that later.
New product styles for 2012 will be available as early as next month. To place a preorder, please call KUIU Customer Service Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm PST at 855-367-5848 (toll free) or 707-676-5260 . Quantities are limited. To ensure you receive these products this year, we highly suggest placing a preorder right away.
YUKON GAITER
Available in late June
Price: $59.99
Sizes: L fits boot 8-11, up to 16.5” calf (1” shorter than XL)
XL fits boot 10-13 over 16.5” calf (1” longer than L)
Color: Steel Grey
A Gaiter designed for sheep hunts. Waterproof & Breathable using a Toray Prime-Flex 4-way stretch laminated 3 layer fabric. Very quiet for a 3 layer hardshell type gaiter. No seams, which will eliminate failures. The fabric and design make these better than any other gaiter on the market.
• No seams
• First 4-way stretch gaiter
• Boot hook on front with half moon shape cut out on boot hook with a snap closure instead of velcro
• Velcro closure up the front
• Double layer heat bonded on bottom half of gaiter
• Replaceable boot strap
• Same pocket placement as Icon 3000 and Icon 6000 bags
• New hardware
• More head clearance
• Double reinforced bottom and back
• New side pockets for rifle, spotting scope, longer items, etc.
• Side pocket has 4 zipper heads, with a stuff it pocket in the bottom
• Larger front pocket
• New system has a load sling, a fabric shelf that attaches from the frame to the bags so you can pack the XL roll top bag into it with meat or anything else
2012 FRAME & SUSPENSION
Available in July
Price: $299.99
Colors: Vias Camo, Phantom Grey
New system has a simplified design, increased padding, and has been strengthened.
30 DENIER CORDURA SILNYLON ROLL TOP DRY STORAGE BAGS
Available in July
Color: Phantom Grey
Sizes & Prices:
XS $9.99
S $12.99
M $14.99
XL $29.99
Designed for pack storage of your gear. Each size is designed to fit in our Icon’s internal pocket system. Made with a Cordura 30 Denier Silnylon. It is lightweight, durable and waterproof. Taped seams and a roll top design make these bags a must-have for everyone.
ICON RAIN COVERS
Available in July
Color: Phantom Grey
Sizes & Prices:
M $34.99 (will fit the Icon 3000)
L $39.99 (will fit the 5000 & 6000)
XL $44.99 (will fit the 7000)
30 denier Cordura Silnylon. Light weight and durable. Packs down into a small stuff sack. Waterproof and designed to wrap all the way around the bag and cinch around the frame to secure the rain cover.
Our Hat Supplier just notified me the new Cordura fabric cannot be made into a flex-fit because it does not stretch.
The Stark brothers and a few others recommended a fitted hat versus flex-fit. The hat supplier can make us a size run of fitted caps.
I need to know what sizes we will need. For those of you who know your hat sizes will you please comment your size. This will be really helpful for me to get a size range that covers everyone.
I am excited about being able to offer a fitted hat, as Justin mentioned this is the type of product KUIU should be offering.
Thanks again for all of your help and input. It is how we make KUIU a next level company.
I have had repeated requests for what is new in 2012 and when to can you get your hands on it.
I appreciate your patience as we have had the factory maxed working on getting our current product line completed so we can fill the hundreds of backorders.
As we have finally began to get caught up the factory will begin to delivery new product styles for 2012 beginning last week with the Guide Pant and new styles to follow. Below is the most current information on deliveries, which are subject to change depending on the factory and customs.
Merino 185 Crew Tee: Available Late June
Yukon Gaiter: Available Late June
Icon Rain Covers (3 Sizes): Available July
Icon Suspension & Frame: Available in July
30 Denier Cordura Sill Nylon Roll Top Dry Bags (4 sizes): Available July
2012 Guide Gloves: August, due to delayed delivery by Pittards Leather (I am pushing to move up this delivery date)
A 19 ounce Toray Soft Shell Pant with the same cut, fit, and features as your Attack Pant and made with the same fabric as your Guide Jacket. This is the go to pant for your late season or cold weather hunts. Highly wind resistant and weather resistant with micro-fleece lining make the Guide Pant incredibly versatile. Quantities are very limited.
With so many new customers and subscribers to the Building KUIU blog I want to remind everyone why KUIU exists. In building Sitka, I realized how much the retail model strangles innovation. No Toray, No The Merino Company, No Icon Carbon Fiber, no cutting edge innovation. Price is too important to drive sales.
As Mountain Hunters and Guides, we rely on gear in the most demanding conditions on the planet. Before Sitka, I always asked why is our gear decades behind the Outdoor Industry? We should be leading not following. We hunt despite the weather and many times because of the weather. There is no lodge at the top of the mountain, weather does not cancel our trips, we go anyways.
We need uncompromised products made with the finest materials and manufacturing. Products designed without price targets so there are no limitations on what goes into our products. KUIU was created so I can design and build products with as much reliability as money can buy.
Because of this, I have nothing to hide what goes into KUIU products. Opening up the inside of this business, sharing our world-class suppliers; Toray, The Merino Company, Pittards Leather, Cordura, YKK, Duraflex, and Bemis. I want you to have confidence in KUIU products. So much confidence you recommend KUIU. So much confidence KUIU becomes your brand.
The Internet has forever changed retail, we no longer have to rely on a retail sales person for the latest product information. The Internet has given us the power to search and research products and brands, read unbiased reviews, post reviews, post complaints and become complete experts of the gear we buy.
Because of the Internet, retailers no longer have to be experts of the products they sell because the customer is. The Internet has changed retail into a self-service business, hang it on the rack or wait for an order on-line and ship it.
If the retailer no longer adds value to the sale why pay them 40% to 50% more?
KUIU product prices do not include retail mark up. You are buying KUIU products at the same price as I would sell to a retailer. Selling KUIU in this model allows me to continue to develop product without cutting any corners to meet price targets for retailers and allows more people to experience this amazing product line. We all win this way.
Thank you for all of your support and helping me build a brand that is creating significant change to this industry and will turn KUIU into the technical leader no matter what industry.
I had the chance to meet Brad Christian in our show room last fall and we talked about hunting and gear then he told me about a new business venture he was working on called Button Buck. If you have kids and like to hunt like many of us you will love Brad’s clothes for your little guys Button Buck.
I want to help spread the word for Brad and help create awareness for his Brand.
OUR STORY
My name is Brad Christian and I grew up a frog-catching, lizard chasing, Colorado boy who got an early start with a suction-cup bow and arrow, cane pole, and Red Ryder BB gun. College took me from the Rockies to Nashville where I worked in the music biz and met Lauren, a fun-loving California girl studying to be a trauma nurse. We played well outside together, fell head-over-heels in love and got married in Vegas. Just kidding, it was a nice and proper wedding
Though she lured me back to Northern California to be near her family, she became my constant field companion. The flack I took early on for having a female hunting partner was easily offset by the fact that I no longer had to share a tiny two-man pack tent with a dude (an often overlooked consideration).
We were on a wild journey together, making memories that will last a lifetime—like the infamous wedding anniversary we spent . . . in a tree . . . on a farm . . . in minus 24 degree temps. “Husband Of the Year! Husband Of the Year!” But our greatest adventure was yet ahead.
We were pregnant!!! And we could hardly wait to share our outdoor traditions with the newest member of our posse. As parents-to-be, we began searching for kid’s clothing that represented our family’s unique hunting lifestyle. Unfortunately, all we could turn up was a few super cheesy t-shirts and a dress that looked like someone sewed a back onto a camo Snuggie.
As modern hunters, we were bummed. If our goal was to display our love for hunting at the expense of our style, we’d wear our waders out to dinner. But when it comes to our lifestyle clothing choices, “style” is a prerequisite for our picks.
We wanted stylish design inspired by our outdoor culture. That is, “hunting t-shirts” that looked nothing like “hunting t-shirts.” We also wanted the same cut, quality, and ultra-soft fabrics enjoyed in the mainstream. And with nostalgic memories of cool brands from our own childhood, we were motivated to create a relevant brand for a new generation.
So we set out to honor your wild kids and culture with BUTTON BUCK—the original lifestyle-clothing brand for the kids of modern outdoorsmen. So here’s to you little guys and gals! Rock it proudly . . . and may hunting always be relevant to you—“hunting’s future.”
We just received 200 Guide Jackets in Olive. This is a special limited edition run online now and available only while supplies last (no pre-orders). We also restocked Guide Jackets in Frost Grey.
The Guide Beanies are now in stock in the following sizes and colors:
Olive: Medium and Large
Major Brown: Medium and Large
Frost Grey: Medium and Large
Vias Camo: Medium (size Large will be arriving in the next 2 weeks)
Frank Noska from Wasilla Alaska submitted this amazing photo of a recent Musk Ox hunt to the KUIU Album. Frank will be featured in the May/June issue of Eastman’s Bowhunting Journal. Congratulations Frank on a great trophy!
Please submit your photo to the Album and you may be selected for the next Eastman’s Hunting or Bowhunting Journal.
