Kuiu Super Down Ultra Pant

I love my Kuiu Super Down Ultra. It is the ideal insulating layer for early morning cool weather deer hunts, where I’m moving slowly on the trails or sitting quietly in the woods. It is also the ideal emergency layer, extremely packable and easy to get on and off. Read on to see why I’ll be using the Super Down Ultra a lot more in the coming months. 

The Warmth is Outstanding for the Weight

The Ultra clocks in at a mere 8 oz. and packs an impressive warmth-to-weight ratio. Insulated with 1.7 oz of 850+FP TORAY Quixdown, they are Kuiu’s lightest down pants. They weigh just 8 ounces, which means that you barely notice them, either when they are in your pack or on your legs. 

And warm they are, especially for the slow-moving, stop-and-go style of hunting I engage in. I typically use them as an outer layer over a softshell pant and long underwear when the temperature is between 25 and 40 degrees. The Ultra provides the extra dose of warmth that keeps me in the woods with my spirits high, without any worry of a cold-related injury like hypothermia. And it does so in a way that is much more manageable to move around in, particularly when compared to the multiple layers of long underwear that I’d otherwise need to wear along with a much heavier softshell pant. 

In addition to being my cool weather outer layer, the Ultra has plenty of other uses too. It’s a solid midlayer in extreme cold. And it’s an extremely packable emergency pant to stash in your hiking or hunting pack in case you have to deal with an unanticipated situation, like an impromptu overnight due to injury. 

My main complaint about the Ultra—I wish there was a front pocket to store stuff. But I totally get that this is a weight-related trade off, one I’ll ultimately take because it keeps the pants so light. 

The Quiet Comfort

When I started using the Ultra this fall, I quickly realized that it was the layer I wanted to be wearing every day I was in the woods hunting. In addition to the warmth, the fit is outstanding, moving comfortably with me. The range of movement is incredible too—there’s nothing that restricts how I want to move.

According to Kuiu, the Ultra is also “heat-treated to keep the down from migrating through the fabric, eliminating the need for noisy down-proof coatings.” Although I don’t fully understand the technology behind this, I can tell you that the Ultra is super-slealthy in the field, with none of the crinkly noise that some of you—especially the older readers—likely recall from down products of the past. 

Easy On, Easy Off

Another thing I love about the Ultra—how easy it is to get them on and off while I’m hunting. Since my morning hunts aren’t that far from the road, my typical early-morning layering system is to carry less in, then shed layers through the session. So I typically hike into the woods with these on, then pull them off as it warms up. 

The Ultra’s full side zips facilitate this, making it easy to slip them off as the temperatures improve. As well, they allow for generous venting, either when I’m moving or when things have warmed up a little but I’m still not quite ready to shed the pant completely. 

On days when I’m hunting further away from the car, I stash the Ultras in my Venture 1800 then quickly zip them on when I get to the zone that I’ll be hunting. The Ultras pack so small—to the size of a small water bottle—that they take up no space in my pack. 

Durability

For an ultra-light pant, the Ultra’s durability is quite good. The outer is made from Kuiu’s windproof 12D nylon Stunner Stretch fabric and the seat and knees are reinforced. And while I’ve had no major durability issues (just one snag so far that caused a small tear), let’s be clear—the “ultra-light pant” qualifier here is important. In other words, you should be aware of what you’re going into while wearing them. For instance, walking through a row of brambles wouldn’t be my first choice. 

Water Resistance

I’ve used the Ultra on multiple wet morning hunts and been impressed at how the pant continues to keep me warm. Although not waterproof, the Ultra is able to repel light rain and snow thanks to Kuiu’s TORAY K-DWR treatment on the face fabric. In addition, unlike many traditional down products, the Ultra’s down is treated to be water-resistant, which means that the pant doesn’t lose all its insulation value when it gets wet. 

All in all, the Kuiu Super Down Ultra is an outstanding pant. If you’re in the market for a puffy pant for cool weather hunting or an extremely packable emergency pant, the Super Down Ultra is the pant for you.