Written by: Ian VanDerLinden
I first saw First Lite’s gear about a year ago in a local Field and Stream and what struck me first was their Fusion camouflage pattern. It was unlike any camo I had really come across before and it really had my attention. My fascination only grew after seeing the camo pattern in numerous environments on the show Meat Eater which demonstrated how this one camo pattern could be used from hunting in the western backcountry, to field waterfowl hunting, to spring turkey hunting. I wanted to give my impressions on First lite gear since a few friends have asked me for any pros and cons that I have found with their product, so here goes nothin’.
***Disclaimer: I have used their gear for a couple of hunting seasons. These are my impressions as of now. Definitely a work in progress. *****
Cons:
I’m going to lead off the conversation with the cons I have found with their gear so far. Luckily the list is not super long but some of the cons do carry some weight when deciding whether to make the investment on this gear.
- Price
- This is perhaps the biggest con to me for their gear. Browsing through the selection at my local Field and Stream I noticed that most of their clothing pieces cost easily over a hundred dollars. I accept that most hunting clothes these days cost a pretty penny, but not that pretty of a penny. To this day at that Field and Stream their woodbury Jacket is marked at $325! To me this seemed to be an absurd amount of money to pay for a hunting garment. A hunter on a budget (which I am) would be immediately turned off by the price tag alone before even getting to really see the value of their products. However, it has been announced that First Lite will be going direct which will drop prices. The price drop will vary from piece to piece, but I feel that depending on where the prices settle this will certainly make First Lite very competitive in the price range of the Sitka, KUIU, and other hunting apparel brands that exceed the $150 average price range. With their release of their 2018 line up of products I noticed that the prices seemed to stick around the sub $300 mark, and I feel that will be the trend in the foreseeable future for First Lite products.
- Western Hunting vs. Eastern Hunting
- This con isn’t necessarily limited to just First lite gear but applies to a number of other hunting apparel companies. Layering systems have become the thing these days which is essential for western hunters that can begin hunting in September for rutting bull elk in terrain that just simply doesn’t exist out east. Being a whitetail hunter in Western New York the predominant method of hunting is through the use of tree stands. Our hunting seasons don’t usually open until October for deer with our archery season. Temps can still hold into the lower 70s but we aren’t nearly as active, or really face any substantial terrain features. Our tough terrain in terms of elevation exist in the southern tier, finger lakes, and the occasional trip out to the Adirondacks. First Lite apparel is a little hard to navigate in terms of what piece would really be the best for our temperature ranges and hunting styles. Of course if you do your research and take the time to really hone in on differences on aerowool, insulation weights, and what pieces would be better for certain temperature ranges. Our winters get cold, and the wind doesn’t help matters. In conjunction with price, their pieces that really work within tree stand hunting are very expensive and don’t offer nearly as many options as their mid weight line. This is looking a bit more optimistic with them shifting over to direct where that $325 Woodbury Jacket can now be bought for $280. Still not cheap, but much more justifiable and competitive with the rest of the market.
- Durability
- This is not really a nock on the quality of First Lite quality standards as much as a trade off of using merino wool. Compared to nylon and polyester blends, merino wool lacks durability in some of the mid weight pieces. I bought one of their Halstead fleeces and after the first wash (followed their instructions for proper washing and drying) and the adhesive used to secure the left arm pocket wore out and had to touch it up. Not the biggest deal in the world, but definitely an anecdote that needs to be shared.
Pros:
As stated before, the cons list is not long but the price of their pieces is probably the biggest turn off for those on a budget that can’t justify shelling out a hundred dollars for a fancy long sleeve camo turtleneck. Now the pros to their gear is a bit longer and counters a few of the cons. I have spent a lot of time looking into their gear and thinking about how to piece together the best layering system for all of my outdoor adventures.
- Fusion camo pattern
- This camo pattern has impressed me. The way it is designed is allows body shape and outlines to be broken up using fluid lines with very common colors found in just about every environment you can think of (minus tundra). It does not have any prints that directly mimic real foliage that add specific colors for specific areas. For example, Realtree MAX 1 has a little more coniferous foliage patterning versus a realtree hardwoods pattern. Fusion focuses on broad spectrum color pallets. This means you can use this camo to deer hunt, waterfowl hunt, and spring turkey hunt. As far as I’m aware of, no other hunting camo on the market can achieve this level of versatility. Multicam is the only other camo pattern I have seen with this level of versatility, but it hasn’t found a clear niche within the hunting world from a civilian stand point. I only touch upon Fusion but their approach to camo is also applied to their cipher camo. Along with the color pallets, the shapes utilized in the pattern are designed to help break up body lines. I can attest from first hand experience that this camo pattern works very very well! This Turkey season I had four hens come charging into my spread and stop amongst my decoys fifteen yards away from my position. I had eight highly skilled eyeballs looking and searching and not one was spooked, even when looking directly at me.
- Merino Wool
- Merino wool has a lot of positives that translate well for hunters, first being that it is naturally odor resistant. Merino wool has been a common material used by winter sports enthusiasts for its ability to keep you warm without adding any substantial weight, and is extremely comfortable to wear. It resembles a finer cotton shirt that is super soft to the skin. It’s thermal capabilities cover a decently broad spectrum which makes sense given that Merino sheep live in environments that can have drastic temperature swings and moisture levels.
- Layering System
- At first, the sheer amount of pieces they offer is very confusing. Trying to sort out the product names, wool weights, and what pieces you need versus what you won’t need was daunting at first. For those who put in the time to read, watch reviews, and do some research with getting hands on pieces to put the jargon to touch, their layering system is pretty sweet. It’s dynamic in the sense that you can get pieces to mix and match to create custom systems for any time of year, hunting style, weather conditions, you name it. You can do all of this without sacrificing mobility, which is the feature I particularly took note of. Even their heavier insulating pieces such as the woodbridge jacket did not restrict mobility versus another jacket of similar fill weight I own.
- The other aspect to their layering system are the body mapped pieces. For long sits I would not recommend them unless you are doing a fair bit of walking around as well. Pieces such as the Sawtooth Hybrid Jacket is great for hiking to locations and then sitting. It retains heat in crucial areas as well as vent heat out from key areas to help you cool down faster. This system is crucial for preventing overheating in colder temps.
Overall, First Lite makes excellent gear for those that can afford it. I am making the switch over to using their gear in large part due to the versatility of the Fusion camo pattern and the overall performance of their gear when used properly. The price can be a barrier, but with switching to direct, prices have dropped. Thus making them competitive with other brands within their price range, and I would highly recommend looking into their gear!
585 Outdoors 