Captain Yonder

In the last month, I've purchased three kinds of long underwear: Kuiu 145, Icebreaker 250, and Smartwool 250. All were comparably sized and priced (all were on sale), while (as noted) the weights were slightly different. The Icebreaker and Smartwool were slightly thicker and thus slightly warmer. Kuiu and Icebreaker offered varying camo patterns, and the Smartwool shirt was plain.

Hands down, the most comfortable of the items were the Icebreaker and Smartwool. While Kuiu boasts in a number of places of offering the best merino long underwear on the market with a revolutionizing weave that minimizes discomfort, it was definitely the itchiest. I have owned itchier long underwear, however, so my critique is by no means meant to be devastating. Based upon comfort (and all other things being more or less equal), I'd say that Icebreaker and Smartwool make the best long underwear.

Frankly, I am not surprised by the result. Kuiu is a company much discussed for its bravado and slick marketing. My experience with the four different items of theirs that I've owned (also the Guide jacket, the Kenai jacket, and their bino harness) is that their products are decent but overpriced compared to comparable products in the backpacking/REI-type market segment. Kuiu's lack of customer confidence is reflected in their exclusion of reviews from their webpage. I will not likely purchase any more of their products.