Kryptek kit

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Ok, my wife screwed up and told me I could spend some money on some new “good” hunting clothes. Now generally I always leaned more toward the traditional type of cottons, wools, type stuff. However this time I was looking at some of the more high speed, lighter, technological type stuff. I fell on to Kryptek camo. First off the stuff looks really cool. I know some don’t like it and camo can be a contentious topic sometimes but I like the look. I got the stuff primarily for spring gobbler and fall turkey season in Pa. So I’ll give a run down of what I got and what I think so far. Keep in mind I haven’t gotten in the woods with it yet so this is more or less just kind of first impression stuff. Also the description of the stuff on the web site could be a bit better so this may give you a better idea of what this realy is.

The first thing I got was the Dalior pants

Now I wear a pant between 36-38 waist so I got the XL tall because I like my pant long. especially when Im sitting on the ground turkey hunting. These fit perfect for me. They are a soft shell pant with just a thin layer of fleece to keep the softshell material away from your skin. I think it makes them much more comfortable than the other softshell pants I have tried without that thin inner layer. However they may be warm with it. So far not a problem but we will see.

PRO: water repellant, tons of pockets (10) total, adjustable waist with some elastic and pull tab tighteners, a rubber type coating on the knees, knee pad pockets on the knees( I doubt I will ever use them but cool none the less)
CONS: heavier than I thought. we shall see if this truely becomes a con.

Next was the Helios shirt
I got this basically because it was on sale and I needed something to go with my pants. First I love the material and think it will be great for spring gobbler here in NC. However I got an XL and it fit very tight. Kind of like an under armour work out shirt. I don’t like that fit at all so I sent it back an went up a size. I wanted some thing I could wear as a stand alone or had room to throw a fleece or something under it if I got cool. I havent got it back yet so we shall see. I have heard that the Gen II helios fixed the sizing problems but I can neither confirm nor deny.

PRO: light weight, good layering item
CON: sizing

Einar softshell jacket

I really like this piece. It’s a softshell jacket with a thin fleece lining and a “windproof” membrane. Now i haven’t had it in the woods yet however I di wear it the other day in some pretty heavy rain and it shed water very well. My columbia shorts were soaked to my drawers and my upper body was dry as can be. It to has alot of pockets and you can’t see in the picture but it kind of has a tail in the back to cover your lower back better when bending over. It is a good stand alone jacket or a good outer layer with heavier insulating undr it. I got this in 2xl so I would have the option to layer under it if need be. I have hunted turkeys in the snow before in Pa, in both the fall and the spring so that was my thought process.

PRO:very water resistant, light weight, IMHO very versitile
CONS: quite honestly I don’t have any yet.

Kratos jacket

I got this again because it was on sale. I guess an end of season type deal. MY thought process on this was it would be a good insulating layer to put under the softshell jacket. Mostly falll bird season but even maybe NC deer season. I don’t know about Pa deer but I’ll have it with me for spring season in PA. It can get kind of chilly for that sometimes. Its a pretty straight forwad design. Its a Primaloft insulation which is super light so I’m not sure how warm it’s going to be. I wore it this morning in 33 degrees and was not cool at all. It comes with a stuff sack and is compresable to about the size of a nerf football. It will be very easy to keep in my daybag or even in the winter in my EDC bag as an extra layer. I got this in 2xl as well and I’m glad i did. I think the xl would have been a bit tight across my back and shoulders. There is no stretch in this jacket and i feel just a small tightness in the shoulders. Not a problem for the 2xl but I think maybe the xl would have bound on me. I have fairly broad shoulders and this is a problem for me from time to time. That being said the sides are a stretchy fabric so it will fit fairly snug around the torso. Now the xl may have fit well on me in that aspect however the 2xl is a tad loose. The jacket has no draw string so we will see if that becomes a problem with drafts and such. I’m thinking if I snug the draw string on the softshell I should be good. we will see. All in all i like the jacket.

These are just some of my initial opinions on the stuff. When i get more use and a better Idea of what i have I’ll post further on it. Over all I’m very happy with the stuff. I’ve never spent that kind of money on hunting clothes before. Hopefully I don;t regret it. So far the stuff really seems like top of the line stuff. The price seemed high to me at first until I looked at some of the other high tech outdoor clothing lines like Sitka, Arc’teryx and then it seemed fairly reasonable. A down side right out of the gate is It is not made in USA. It was mde in Vietnam and on of the peices was made in CHina. i can’t remember which one off the top of my head. I like to buy american when I can but I can;t aford to go broke doing so either. So it’s a trade off for me.
I tried to post pics of the stuff frotheir website but it wasn’t approved so you’ll have to look it up for yourself. If I get some pics of my stuff I’ll try to get them posted for anyone interested.

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