Disclaimer: First Lite gave me this jacket and bib at my request to do this review, I receive discounts as an industry professional, and I earn from qualifying purchases using links to their site, thanks to them for their support.
From the first time I heard of the First Lite Core Jacket and Core Bib, I wanted to try them. Something about this set grabbed my attention, I liked the look, the weight, and maybe most of all, the versatility.
You see, I’ve hunted whitetail deer with this set in September, October and November. I’ve hunted when temperatures were in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and sometimes even warmer by mid-day when I headed out of the woods. And I think this is the most useful set of gear I have ever used. The ability to hunt in a wide variety of weather conditions and across large portions of the season by doing nothing more than changing my base layer and mid layer is something I find very appealing.
However, this set is not just about utility, the design of this gear is smart. While I do prize the utility, I have become a big fan of its features. I will go into more detail on those in this review, but this gear feels like it was designed by hunters for hunters. And it is not First Lite’s first iteration of a mid-season gear set, it seems to have replaced their Solitude set and I’ll give a little bit of my opinion of how it stacks up to what was a very good set of gear in its own right.
Construction & Intended Purpose
The First Lite Core Jacket and Core Bib were designed for mid to late season per First Lite’s website. I have found them useful in the early season as well, though we do get some cold days in the early season where I hunt. Both are wind resistant, quiet, insulated, and have a microfleece liner. They both have 80gsm of PrimaLoft Gold insulation in the body section, with 60gsm in the sleeves/legs. That may not sound like a lot of insulation, but the multilayer construction makes each piece fairly substantial and quite warm.
First Lite lists these for the temperature range of 20-45 degrees, for late October through November. I think this kit is even more versatile than that, but more on that later. This was designed to be a mid-season set. It is clearly constructed with archery hunters in mind, but I think gun hunters will appreciate the features as well.
All in all, I am impressed with these two pieces of gear. The quality of the material, the fit, the way it moves and tapers, the warmth, all of it was very much appreciated.
The only noteworthy con I’ve found with this jacket and bib set is the external fabric durability. In order to make something so quiet, they made it fairly soft, and it doesn’t hold up great to thorns and thick brush. Granted it’s not meant for that, but I’ve put some wear and tear into it when moving through cover, and especially when tracking and dragging a deer. If I would have realized that I would have taken it easier. So now you know, let my wear and tear save you from the same. I think that is just a tradeoff though. If you want something that is very quiet, you cannot also have something that wears like iron.
Core Bib Fit & Features
My favorite part of bibs in general is that they give you extra insulation around your core and eliminate the drafts that are more common with pants and a jacket. The Core Bib takes that to another level, with increased insulation in the core area. The warmth factor is great. The bib is not a light piece of a gear either, and I say that in a good way. It has some substance to it and weighs over 2.5 pounds. It does a lot to keep you warm, a feature I’ll get more into later in this review. Also, I like to tuck my pant legs into my big rubber boots on some hunts, and the bib works nicely for that without being too bulky.
I wear a size large in just about everything, so I got this set in a large also. Both fit perfectly. The bib is easy to walk in but also isn’t too baggy, especially around your core. The fit is very nice for keeping you warm and the straps are comfortable too. The sides have full length zippers, and the front has a zipper that is convenient when nature calls. The zippers really make this thing useful. When dragging a deer, I can open up the sides to vent heat. And you could do the same if a cold morning turns into a hot mid-day.
It has a kangaroo handwarmer pocket in the front along with a zippered pocket in front of that. There is a cargo pocket on each leg with two openings into it, a zipped pocket on one side and a magnetic top flap on the other side. Admittedly, I thought those were two different pockets at first, but it’s two ways into the same pocket.
Core Jacket Fit & Features
The Core Jacket is one of those pieces of gear that just fits me so well. I noticed how nice the cut is, the tapered sleeves and of course the collar. Some other jackets and parkas have big thick collars that can come up to your nose. Those have a place, but that is rarely what I want. This more regular height “contoured archery collar” fits nicely, gives me some appreciated range of motion for my head, is comfortable, quiet, and designed to make things easier for the archery hunter.
Just as impressive is the removable hood. This is maybe the best fitting hood of any piece of gear I have used. It is simple, warm, light, gives excellent field of view and still allows some head movement. I don’t often hunt with a hood up unless the weather is really bad, but I like to get into my spot early, put the hood on and just sit back warm and cozy until shooting light comes. But when it comes to active hunting, this is one of the most functional hoods I’ve seen.
Now the pockets are where some smart design choices come together. There are internal dump pockets, two external zippered pockets, and two external zippered handwarmer pockets. What is special is that inside of the zippered handwarmer pockets there is a magnetic port that enables you to easily get inside of the jacket and access the kangaroo handwarmer pocket in the bib.
So, I can put my hands through the regular pockets and get into the bibs underneath where there is extra warmth. If you add some handwarmer packs to that kangaroo pocket, you can keep your core warmer and hands toasty. I did not use this feature much at first but then I really started to enjoy it as the days got colder. I did not use a handwarmer muff even once this deer season because this feature worked so well. And of course there is a safety harness pass through in the back.
My Experience
Now on to the big question. How do these pieces of gear perform? Well, as I mentioned, I’ve hunted in this set in the 30s, 40s, and 50s and I am convinced it will go colder into the 20s. For the bibs I would only wear a base layer under them. I did use my thickest base layer for colder days, but I never needed to add a mid-layer. So, with a mid-layer I am confident the bib would work good into the 20s.
For the jacket, I used only a base layer on the warmer days and then added a mid-layer for the colder days. I also never pushed the jacket to the max and never needed my thickest base layer. And I think I could have added one more layer under the jacket if it was needed. So, I feel confident this would also work well into the 20s. But it is worth noting that I think this set is viable from 20 degree up to maybe 55 depending on what you wear under it. That is a huge temperature range. And that is my favorite part of this set. It is not First Lite’s warmest weather or coldest weather set, but I think it might be the most versatile.
It is really quiet also. I am quickly and quietly able to get my hands out through the jacket’s access ports from the bib handwarmer pocket if a shot opportunity comes. I should also note, it is easy to wash, I typically air dry it, and I do not see any stains left from field dressing a deer after a wash. After hunting across three months, I am very happy with it overall.
First Lite Solitude vs. Core Set
The Core kit seems to have replaced First Lite’s Solitude kit as their mid-season whitetail system. First Lite had given me a Solitude jacket and bib to try out just before the Core set was launched. Since it was then discontinued, I never ended up hunting with the Solitude set, I just waited for the Core set and used that before giving away the Solitude set. But I did briefly have both at the same time and was able to try on the Core and Solitude Jackets back-to-back.
My conclusion is that the Solitude set felt a little heftier, maybe more durable, and possibly warmer. It had a heavier collar that went up higher for rough weather days. The Core set was more mobile, had better articulation, felt lighter, had better features, was more archery friendly, and felt generally more refined.
In my opinion, the Solitude set would maybe be a little better for the coldest of the cold days, And I think the Core set would be better for most other days. That is my honest feedback. And of course, First Lite does have a late season set, so it seems to me that they wanted to differentiate the mid-season set more from the late season set. And I’m glad, because I like the Core set more and I think it is more useful than the Solitude set, it is better across a wider range of temperatures and is more friendly for archery hunting.
Value
It is no secret that the Core set is not cheap, and having been given the set from First Lite, it seems odd for me to comment on its value. However, I really liked the idea of this set from day one and I likely would have eventually purchased this set myself if I was not given it. It may have just taken another season or two for me to budget for both pieces.
And having used the Core Jacket and Core Bib for a few months, I have concluded that I would not want to be without this set. I think it has become a permanent part of my whitetail deer hunting line up, and I can see some other uses for the jacket as well, such as turkey hunting and fair-weather waterfowl hunting days.
I have also seen the set go on sale, sometimes with pretty significant discounts. So, keep an eye out for that.
Summary & Recommendations
Overall, I am thrilled with this set. And I am thrilled that I can use it for so much of the whitetail season. The versatility is really nice, better even than I hoped for. And the quality is really good. While the quiet external fabric face is not as durable as I might have hoped, I have great confidence in the overall construction. The zippers are solid, the seams are strong, everything about it feels put together really well. If you are careful about what you walk through in the woods, I think this set will last a long, long time.
And if you found this review helpful, and plan to order the set at some point, I ask that you use my links for the Core Jacket and Core Bib because I earn a small commission and it doesn’t cost you an extra penny. Thanks for your support.
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Till next time. God bless you, and go get em in the woods!
George Konetes Ph.D. – Founder and Host of the New Hunters Guide.
The New Hunters Guide is simply what George wishes he would have had when learning how to hunt; a single place to get practical hands on knowledge about different kinds of hunting, gear, strategy, and tips that can improve your comfort and fun factor in the woods.
As a note, First Lite gave me this Jacket and Bib at my request to do this review, thanks to them for their support.