Hey guys, does anyone have this jacket? Apparently they'll have the Olive color in XL in next month (Kuiu really needs to figure out it's inventory issues) and I've been wanting to pick one up - just wondered if anyone had any first hand experience with this jacket and if they felt it was worth it & how cold you felt you can handle it with a merino base layer. thanks

Goldstein has worn his from Sept NM elk, Oct Co elk to Late season Alberta mule deer. PM him

I travel a lot for work so I picked up their Guide DCS (Olive) and Super Down Ultra (Phantom). The intent was to use the Guide DCS for wind/rain and the Super Down Ultra for insulation. This way I'd be mostly covered no matter what the weather was like where I was heading to. This combo worked very well this past winter. Just need gloves and a beanie for next winter!

The Guide DCS does a very good job at shedding rain (based upon walking from car to client's building and vice versa) as well as blocking the wind. The insulation is damn near worthless. When it's cold and I wear a short sleeve shirt under it, I very quickly feel the cold on my skin. This is walking 100-200 yards max. Not too bad if I am wearing a Henley. No issues if I am also wearing the Super Down.

If you are stationary for prolonged periods of time, such as hunting in a blind, and it gets below 50, you will need more to stay warm. In February I was hunting javelina in southern AZ. Lots of snow and it was 10-30 degrees. I would have froze if I had worn just the Kuiu merino top and the Guide DCS while glassing for hours.

Based upon my experience, Kuiu's Layering Guide does appear to be pretty accurate. Here is the link:
https://www.kuiu.com/layering-system-guide.html

Thanks for the tip as always, Bobo. Will message him now.

Yea that's what I kept thinking. I've got a few Kuiu layers (insulated snap shirt and Chinook jacket) and like them a lot, but the jacket while very good, required a bit of layering when temps were under 50. I was a bit concerned the Guide Jacket would be pretty close to the Chinook but with a hood, and I was really wanting something warmer to justify the purchase.

It is touch warmer then chinook, it’s more rebust and heavier. But next time we have some chilly weather toss your rain jacket over chinook. It will up temp rating a good 5 plus degrees, if not more if really windy.

To me the chinook is more of a sept jacket and guide more oct

I own the Guide DCS jacket. It is an excellent durable outer layer windbreaker. I wore it this past 2nd Rifle Elk season in Colorado. It does repel light drizzle we’ll but anything more significant and I would put on my dedicated rain jacket. As AZHunter mentioned to wear any cooler temps, you need layers. When it was in the low 30s I wore a peloton base layer, super down ultra jacket and then Mtn Guide DCS jacket over the top. I was very comfortable and I was positioned on a bluff so was constantly sitting in some stiff winds. The Guide jacket did an excellent job of being a windbreaker. I wore this jacket every day and just changed layers underneath as dictated by the temperature.

Awesome, very good information. Looks like I'll need to get another insulation layer then, but should be pretty set with what I've got when these come back in stock.
Thanks a bunch

You may take a look at their Axis Hybrid jacket as well. I've been debating between it and the guide myself and tried both of them on at the DSC show. From my understanding the axis hybrid just has some extra waterproofing in the hood and upper parts of the jacket in the shoulders and chest area. I've been looking through different reviews on both trying to figure out if the axis is worth the extra cost over the guide, just to keep from having to pack an extra jacket (rain jacket). Just something else to think about.

Thanks for the tip, I hadn’t considered that one yet. Just checked it out and like it. I messaged Kuiu to see if they’d be stocking it in Olive too (prefer the solids) and depending on their follow up may add this to the mix.

You bet. Hopefully you’ll find something you you like. It’s hard to fork over that kind of money on a jacket, but if it’s worth it, it’s worth it.