Thread: 10+ year jackets and pants

Hey,

My last north face jacket and pants have now lasted me about 13 years. I'm looking for some new jacket and pant shells and want something of really high quality with good warranty backing.

So far, my options seem to be offerings from

arc'teryx
mountain hardware
North face (are they really even that good anymore?)
marmot (don't know much about them but their stuff looks top notch!)

It seems to be that all the trendy fashionable stuff never seems to last as well and the mountaineering gear, is that still the case these days?

Is there any company I should consider that I'm missing? Any insight would be welcome

p.s. RECCO is a a must

Thanks

Forget RECCO and buy a beacon. Besides the obvious advantage of not having to wait for patrol to arrive to find your remains, you will be able to search for your friend when he gets buried. And if you do have RECCO you must vacate the area when patrol arrives, or they'll be finding you, not the victim.

OMG really!?!?

Buy patagonia. Quality stuff with excellent warranty. Seriously

TNF and MHW kinda suck. MHW is still ok but heading the way of TNF

Marmot and Arcteryx are great but Arcteryx is too much money for tooo litle

Originally Posted by Skijunkie

OMG really!?!?

nonsense. I have recco in my jacket, my pants and my boots.
With Recco, I can schralp any line any time any place.
Every patrol has Recco and can dig me out if needed.

Good for you for seeking high quality Recco gear.
I had a crap Recco jacket once, and the recco tag fell off when it snagged on a tree branch.
Think what could have happened in a real avalance

Do it right. Pay for quality - your life may depend on it.

^^^my sentiments exactly ^^^

There is so much quality gear really. I agree with the above re MH seeming to go the NF route, but the Synchro hooded shell could go either way.

The suggestions above were the ay to go. Patagonia if on sale or web special. No hassle lifetime guart. as well. MAy also want to check out cloudveil and westcomb as well.


It may not be as popular here as other brands but the Outdoor research stuff is very very well made and not too gaperish.

If those brands fail you may want to check out, sypder, phenix, karbon, kjus or bogner (just kidding)

Dude, buy used Arc'Teryx. That's what I did, and I have yet to pay more than half retail for either my Stingray jacket, the matching pants, OR my Venta AR. I beat my gear and it holds up flawlessly.

You don't have to pay alot to get alot. Just keep your eyes open and snipe accordingly. It takes time for poor people like me to build up a good ski wardrobe, but it CAN be done on the cheap, provided you spend time at a computer at your job and can peruse Ebay and the various gear swaps on here and other forums along with sites like tramdock and SAC.

PS You can buy recco tags separately and put them on any jacket you chose. But have they ever found a survivor with recco before? I think it's mostly used to cut down on body recovery time. You know, so they don't have to wait for the spring thaw.

I had an Arc'Teryx mountaineering jacket that lasted me from 1999 to the middle of last season, and probably could have gone longer if I really wanted it to. I've heard their more recent gear isn't as bomber as the older stuff though. I now have a patagonia shell mostly because we get prodeal on their stuff.

Originally Posted by Core Shot

nonsense. I have recco in my jacket, my pants and my boots.
With Recco, I can schralp any line any time any place.
Every patrol has Recco and can dig me out if needed.

Good for you for seeking high quality Recco gear.
I had a crap Recco jacket once, and the recco tag fell off when it snagged on a tree branch.
Think what could have happened in a real avalance

Maybe I missed some sarcasm here, but Recco is a body retrieval system, not an avalanche safety device. If you think otherwise then try and hold your breath for the 30min it takes for patrol to get there with the Recco gear. I'm not saying that Recco isn't a good idea. It is. But having a beacon is SO much faster and more effective for saving you or your buddy. Like Old Goat said, buy a fuck'n beacon.

Originally Posted by kbuzz

It may not be as popular here as other brands but the Outdoor research stuff is very very well made and not too gaperish.

The OR stuff I've seen lately hasn't been gaperish (not trendy colors or stupid pockets/ zippers), but the quality does not impress me: poor stitching, bulky design, etc. IMHO, current Columbia stuff is nicer made than Outdoor Research.

I do like the OR wide-brim hiking hats though...

I'm going to highly reconmend Marmot gear. I've had Marmot softshell jacket and pants for 4 seasons now and they still look and feel like new. I can't see any signs of wear anywhere. I'm fairly confident they will last a long time.

TNF quality sucks now, Arc'teryx is do damn expensive, i have heard good things about Mountain Hardware's stuff.

Arc'teryx rocks, but is too pricey (keep an eye peeled for used sales)
Westcomb looks nice (I haven't seen any of their stuff first hand, but they are some ex-designers from Arc'teryx)
I agree with El Chup that OR hats rule.

Originally Posted by TCK

Maybe I missed some sarcasm here...

Yes, you did.

why do we hate on north face now? i missed the memo...

Unless you are skiing 20 days or less a season, good luck finding anything that will last 10 years. I have owned products by all the brands mentioned above, pants seem to last 3~4 seasons of hard skiing before they no longer keep me dry, or have enough hippy chrome (duct tape) to qualify me as a dirt bag. Jackets last longer but I always manage to snag them on trees some how. Also wearing a pack on a daily basis has a tendency to kill water repellency after a while too.

Don't pay extra for Recco.
If you think you really need that, get a beacon, probe, shovel and take a level 1 course.

Originally Posted by Adamantium

why do we hate on north face now? i missed the memo...

They became a brand whore of sorts.
Lot's of cheap crap with the brand on it sold through big box stores and large retailers like Nordstroms. Think core brand marketed on crap to posers.

Originally Posted by Skijunkie

arc'teryx
mountain hardware
North face (are they really even that good anymore?)
marmot (don't know much about them but their stuff looks top notch!)

It seems to be that all the trendy fashionable stuff never seems to last as well and the mountaineering gear, is that still the case these days?

Is there any company I should consider that I'm missing? Any insight would be welcome

Non-made-in-china dead bird is still good stuff, but spendy and trendy.

MH is a mixed bag both for quality and fit. Same with Marmot. I wouldn't necessarily avoid these brands, but wouldn't expect 10-plus years from anything made by either of them.

Not a fan of TNF.

Right now I'd be inclined to recommend Westcomb (but I only have one season with my shell, so time will tell). Not cheap, and availability is limited, but the quality seems excellent - every bit as good as made in Canada Arcteryx. And, for me anyway, the fit is better.

Patagucci is solid. That's news on the order of the sky is blue, I know.

How about Flylow? Their stuff seems good. I've got a Kung Fu softshell that's pretty nice.

Originally Posted by Core Shot

nonsense. I have recco in my jacket, my pants and my boots.
With Recco, I can schralp any line any time any place.
Every patrol has Recco and can dig me out if needed.

Good for you for seeking high quality Recco gear.
I had a crap Recco jacket once, and the recco tag fell off when it snagged on a tree branch.
Think what could have happened in a real avalance

Do it right. Pay for quality - your life may depend on it.

YEAH BABY YEAH!

I just got a Cloudveil shell that seems pretty solid but time will tell at how well it stands up. Can anyone else speak on the quality of cloudveil gear?

I also agree with the RECCO statements above (don't depend on it). I wouldn't actively look for it on my gear but look at it more of an added bonus if it comes with it. Buy a beacon if your worried about getting buried.

Jacket - http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../NRA0001M.html
Pants - http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../NRA0004M.html

The British brands using eVent seem to know how to build a good piece of gear.

I've got a Montane Superfly that is at least five years old that I found on consignment which is my shell for anytime that I'm not wearing red. Breaths enough for mountain biking and running while being dry. It's hood isn't the best with a helmet, and the zipper design seems a bit weird, so I'm looking at a Rab Latok but that's not reasonable right now.

i dont know why you would get anything other than patagucci. most bomber for sure. and recco is worthless. i hope i am not catching onto the sarcasm here. can you explain to me how you think it will benefit, because i dont see how it will.

...unless you’re attending CU Boulder or posing in Manhattan.
That being said, my TNF Mountain Guide shell finally gave up the ghost last season after almost 10-years. I replaced it with the 2008 version. The shell is great but not the same. No zip-in compatibility is my biggest bitch.
I went back to TNF because the warranty department kept my old jacket alive for the past 5-years and they never charged me a dime. Blown zippers, replacing worn sections of the selves and chest panels, replacing Velcro and retrofitting zippers- -all done for the price of postage to Nor Cal.
I don’t like the TNF pants. I’ve been looking for replacements for my discontinued Obermeyer, Competition pants. Arc'teryx has some good stuff at reasonable prices.
On really cold days (-20ºƒ [-29ºC]) I layer with a pair of full zip fleece pants under the shells. I’ve had good luck with Red Ledge fleece and they seem to use the same zippers as TNF in their vests; instant compatibility.
The unfortunate reality is that most manufacturers don’t produce garments with longevity in mind. Congratulations on getting 13-years out of your old jacket. Don’t expect that same life out of it’s replacement.
I haven’t dealt with other manufacturers warranties but I know TNF stands behind their stuff.