Street cred: Patagucci out, Arc’teryx up

**The Reverend Floater** · 04-04-2021, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by bennymac

Law Enforcement / Armed Forces gear. Super spendy stuff made of somewhat more rugged materials with muted colors/camo and features for special forces/swat etc. Patagonia, 5.11, OR, and Salomon (amongst others) also have LEAF lines but Arcteryx is the most expensive of the popular retail brands that I’ve seen.

LEAF is the bomb, but not that different from regular Arc. It's more like Arc in a military use case.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 04-04-2021, 07:43 PM

Yeah, the same stuff just in multicam. Nice how all the tacticool bros can send money to a Chinese company now. Has a certain irony to it.

**The Reverend Floater** · 04-04-2021, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Yeah, the same stuff just in multicam. Nice how all the tacticool bros can send money to a Chinese company now. Has a certain irony to it.

Yeah, no. Manufactured in Vancouver. And not exactly the same stuff...designed specifically for military by different designers. Same fabrics and construction, however, and often same features.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 04-04-2021, 07:55 PM

Gotchya. But even if it's still made in Van, the profits are now going to China.

**bennymac** · 04-04-2021, 08:08 PM

LEAF used to be all manufactured in Vancouver (I think) - but not all of it is anymore.

And while there are some similarities overall the stuff is different - different fabrics, different fit, different features etc.

**schindlerpiste** · 04-04-2021, 08:42 PM

PEAK and Schoeffel is where it’s at in the Austrian alps

**zion zig zag** · 04-04-2021, 08:53 PM

I thought all LEAF was Berry compliant? https://certifications.thomasnet.com...nt-compliance/

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**dan_pdx** · 04-04-2021, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by Core Shot

Pps. Arcteyrx sucks ass. I have three fleece jackets where the hem blew up. They just heat taped it on. No stitching used. And it only works a few years. When they were stitched in Vancouver it was bomber.

Me too! I thought mine was from the Vancouver days though - I bought it in 2004. I've been meaning to send it in for warranty repair since 2006 or so, think it's too late?

**XXX-er** · 04-04-2021, 08:59 PM

IME ^^ just send it in and you will get warranty IF its not worn out so its still got to be a product failure

even if a piece is manufactured in vangroovy it would be sewn by one of my people

little Chinese women wearing arcteryx seconds as they slave away at the sewing machine

**bennymac** · 04-04-2021, 10:06 PM

I’ve sent in stuff to Arcteryx for warranty that was a decade old and no longer being made by them. They gave me a generous credit.

I still have what was a very expensive large backpacking pack from North Face from 1997. It’s in excellent shape except for one place where the fancy weight distribution suspension is broken. Someday Imma send that in to warranty and make them laugh.

**Benny Profane** · 04-05-2021, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by bennymac

I’ve sent in stuff to Arcteryx for warranty that was a decade old and no longer being made by them. They gave me a generous credit.

I still have what was a very expensive large backpacking pack from North Face from 1997. It’s in excellent shape except for one place where the fancy weight distribution suspension is broken. Someday Imma send that in to warranty and make them laugh.

This is my Patagonia story from a few years ago I tell everyone. I went into the closet and grabbed an old Nitro parka the had been hanging there for at least 14 years and a few moves. I got too fat for it. I lost a fair amount of weight that summer, so, I thought, hey, let's try that guy on, since it still looked great and had cool colors in a retro way. Perfect. So, I throw it into a tech wash with a few other items from present day, and, open up the machine and little blue bits everywhere. The entire waterproof breathable lining (not Gore Tex, they had their own system back then) had disintegrated in the wash. I thought, oh well, will make a nice Spring shell, I guess. Wore it once on a nice day, but thought, hell, why not send it to repair and see what happens. I didnt demand anything of them, hoping for maybe a hundred bucks credit. A week later I get an email informing me that I had 350 bucks credit! So I bought their powder jacket, which was 400. A brand new jacket for 75 bucks with shipping and tax.
On the phone with a CSR during this thing, she tells me, you know, that parka was 24 years old. I said, oh, I thought maybe 21.

One big thing I learned after that, also from the same rep, was to make sure I wash all my stuff at the end of the season in Spring, not before the season starts in the fall. Sweat is the enemy to good ski clothing, so dont let it do its thing all summer. Or, for 14 years. So, that reminds me, gotta go get some tech wash.

**Percy Rideout** · 04-05-2021, 09:01 AM

I was an acrteryx hater on the hill for years....then i got a cheap shell to try out.

Fits my tall lanky ass perfectly. Good material. Good zippers.

**XXX-er** · 04-05-2021, 09:09 AM

I forgot the soft shell pants i got at 25% off, wore for 5 years the crotch delame s and they credit me full price so I buy another pair of their soft shells which are an even better design

I have sent enough o the gear in for warranty to the point I the customer is just cycling thru the gear which they are replacing & upgrading

yes its expensive stuff but i can't afford to not buy it

**dan_pdx** · 04-05-2021, 10:06 AM

As a weekend warrior, I just don't wear out gear that fast, so I don't buy that often but I window shop heavily, and I think smaller brands are way more interesting than the biggies like TNF. I've had two Orage ski jackets in a row - they're great quality and tend to have good spring sales. I also like Montbell a lot, though they used to be a better deal because they would ship from Japan for free if you bought over 10,000 yen (about $100) of stuff, and their domestic prices are about 30% less than if you buy it here. Unfortunately, they got wise and force you to buy from their US online store now.

I've been lurking Trew for quite awhile, but haven't found something that I really need in a color I like - they have distinctive color schemes. Also interested in Westcomb, but again, haven't seen anything I really need.

What brands would you look for if you wanted to avoid the embarrassment of running into someone wearing your jacket in the lift line?

**dunfree** · 04-05-2021, 11:04 AM

Cabelas

I suspect Montbell America objected to the cheap imports from Japan competition and Montbell corporate didn’t want this iteration of Montbell USA to go tits up like the one did back in the 1990s.

I suspect asking for cool fashion advice on a forum in 2021 is not the place to get cool fashion advice. Either that or the selection of outdoor brands hasn’t changed in a decade.

**Meadow Skipper** · 04-05-2021, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by dan_pdx

What brands would you look for if you wanted to avoid the embarrassment of running into someone wearing your jacket in the lift line?

LL Bean. But then you might be embarrassed for another reason.

**jackstraw** · 04-05-2021, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

A fashion tip for baller wanna-bes. “Arc’teryx on me/No we don’t run no Patagonia.”

Gotta keep up. Whatever happened to The North Face as cool shit street wear?

Or is this tech talk, jong!?

exactly wtf did i just watch?

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 04-05-2021, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by dan_pdx

As a weekend warrior, I just don't wear out gear that fast, so I don't buy that often but I window shop heavily, and I think smaller brands are way more interesting than the biggies like TNF. I've had two Orage ski jackets in a row - they're great quality and tend to have good spring sales. I also like Montbell a lot, though they used to be a better deal because they would ship from Japan for free if you bought over 10,000 yen (about $100) of stuff, and their domestic prices are about 30% less than if you buy it here. Unfortunately, they got wise and force you to buy from their US online store now.

I've been lurking Trew for quite awhile, but haven't found something that I really need in a color I like - they have distinctive color schemes. Also interested in Westcomb, but again, haven't seen anything I really need.

What brands would you look for if you wanted to avoid the embarrassment of running into someone wearing your jacket in the lift line?

I saw a guy wearing the same insulated FA puffy as me, I make a big slashing hockey stop, sprayed him and said “Nice coat!”

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**Core Shot** · 04-05-2021, 11:26 AM

Where’s sir mix-a-lot when you need him?

**dan_pdx** · 04-05-2021, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by dunfree

I suspect asking for cool fashion advice on a forum in 2021 is not the place to get cool fashion advice. Either that or the selection of outdoor brands hasn’t changed in a decade.

Yeah, but I think that media targeting a younger crowd would give me shit like Poler.

**fatnslow** · 04-05-2021, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by dan_pdx

Yeah, but I think that media targeting a younger crowd would give me shit like Poler.

That shit was straight garbage. Glad to see them sink like the Titanic.

**neufox47** · 04-05-2021, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by bennymac

Forgot to add it’s also what dentists and lawyers wear for their once a year guided hunting trips.

Pretty sure Kuiu has that market cornered.

**JohnF** · 04-05-2021, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

LL Bean. But then you might be embarrassed for another reason.

Leave me alone.

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**dan_pdx** · 04-05-2021, 11:55 AM

Re: LL Bean, I had a riding buddy years ago who was from New England and wore LL Bean jackets at Mt. Hood. I figured if anyone knows about foul weather, it's someone from New England, so I imagine the performance is there. But yeah, it doesn't have the snob/nerd appeal I'm looking for.