Arcteryx

[Benjisan]

I was looking at buying a rain shell and I stumbled across the Arcteryx Alpha, Beta, and Theta shells. Normally I would steer clear of Arcteryx just because its way out of my price range.

Today I'm really not seeing a reason not to buy one of their jackets. Everyone I talk to who owns one seems to love it and apparently these shells are bombproof and very versatile. Guys were telling me they do everything with them from ice climbing to skiing to using it as backpacking raingear.

Before I plunk down five hundred bones on one of these suckers I wanted to ask if you guys had any experience with Arcteryx jackets or Arcteryx gear in general. Any good or bad experiences with their gear?

[asteffes]

I was looking at buying a rain shell and I stumbled across the Arcteryx Alpha, Beta, and Theta shells. Normally I would steer clear of Arcteryx just because its way out of my price range.

Today I'm really not seeing a reason not to buy one of their jackets. Everyone I talk to who owns one seems to love it and apparently these shells are bombproof and very versatile. Guys were telling me they do everything with them from ice climbing to skiing to using it as backpacking raingear.

Before I plunk down five hundred bones on one of these suckers I wanted to ask if you guys had any experience with Arcteryx jackets or Arcteryx gear in general. Any good or bad experiences with their gear?

I like their stuff. I suggest checking mountaingear.com and backcountry.com for a deal on anything you're interested in. They often have good bargains on Arcteryx goods.

[Benjisan]

I like their stuff. I suggest checking mountaingear.com and backcountry.com for a deal on anything you're interested in. They often have good bargains on Arcteryx goods.

Thanks, I'll go check those out. I've just started using Moosejaw.com because they give you 10% of your purchases back. My stuff should be arriving within the week and I hope Moosejaw works out for me as I've never used them before.

[Life_in_4Lo]

I worked near the Arcteryx outlet in VBC for awhile. I bought everything my size (which, unfortunately, wasn't much) but I love the stuff and the materials and design are the best I've worn.

[TACODOC]

The new ILBE MARPAT field packs used by the USMC are made by them, I think it is the MILSPEC version of the Arc'Teryx Bora 500. Very skookum pack and comfortable too.

They make great gear IMO.

[Benjisan]

Yeah I've seen those USMC packs on ebay. I thought about buying one just to see how it stacks up to the old ALICE pack and then I found out Arcteryx makes em. I don't even need to buy one to know it is probably a million times better than the old ALICE. I never had a chance to experience the MOLLE system but I never heard good things about it.

As for the materials and design of the arcteryx stuff...I tried their jackets on and it felt like it was hand tailored just for me. I've never had that feeling from a piece of backpacking gear. I'm reasonably close to Vancouver, BC and was thinking of taking a trip to Canadia just to check out their store and headquarters.

[DaveInDenver]

I have a Arc'teryx Gamma LT jacket and I love it. It's a soft shell made from Schoeller Dynamic material. So far it's been bombproof, had it about 3 years now. Nice thing about Arc'teryx is that they make a lot (maybe all?) of their stuff in Canada, so there's the keeping it more or less local aspect.

[teotwaki]

There is no doubt that Arcteryx gear is way overpriced but.....

If you can get a deal it is well worth buying their gear. My softshell Gamma MX Hoody and pants are killer. I wore them for two weeks straight on Mount McKinley and nothing went wrong with them. I still use them a lot. My local ski shop stocks Arcteryx but most boarders don't knwo the brand. I just wait patiently for the sales :sombrero:

[pwc]

Overpriced is relative to quality I think. I had a pack of thiers for a while but upgraded to a Dana Design which I thought was more comfortable and held more (since then Arc'Tyrex has introduced more large packs)

My wife has one of the Bora packs and loves it. It's comfortable and takes a beating well.

We've never had to use their customer service, thankfully.

[asteffes]

Yeah, it's really more a question of value. North Face used to make some extremely high-quality gear, until they moved production to China for the majority of their products. Now I'm not so sure their equipment is worth the price.

Arcteryx and Mountain HardWear still seem to build excellent quality stuff for the money. Arcteryx is really on top of using the most modern fabrics, zippers and innovative designs. Mountain HardWear is still building a lot of their stuff in the US, and their quality is at least as good as North Face. I also love the fact they are headquartered in my home town of Richmond, CA. I'm not going to run out and replace all my TNF stuff with theirs but I am taking them more seriously as I see and use MHW gear. Arcteryx stuff is very impressive, too. Perhaps it is a bit more expensive than the other good brands, but if you want the best stuff it's never going to be cheap. I guess it's more a question of really needing the best or not. :sombrero:

[teotwaki]

Yeah, it's really more a question of value. North Face used to make some extremely high-quality gear, until they moved production to China for the majority of their products. Now I'm not so sure their equipment is worth the price.

Arcteryx and Mountain HardWear still seem to build excellent quality stuff for the money. Arcteryx is really on top of using the most modern fabrics, zippers and innovative designs. Mountain HardWear is still building a lot of their stuff in the US, and their quality is at least as good as North Face. I also love the fact they are headquartered in my home town of Richmond, CA. I'm not going to run out and replace all my TNF stuff with theirs but I am taking them more seriously as I see and use MHW gear. Arcteryx stuff is very impressive, too. Perhaps it is a bit more expensive than the other good brands, but if you want the best stuff it's never going to be cheap. I guess it's more a question of really needing the best or not. :sombrero:

Agree with most of the points made. TNF gear is spotty as to whether or not it is expedition quality. The best items are limited production, never advertised and never in catalogs. For example, try to find their "Elephant's Foot" bivy sack somewhere. It is a super light synthetic half bag that zips into a TNF jacket that acts as the top half. Super-packable go-fast gear.

For quality and value I'll put MHW up against Arcteryx any time (unless Arcteryx is on sale!). Being owned by Columbia has not ruined MHW. Don't forget Marmot either. I used a pair of their synthetic insulated belay pants on McKinley rather than down.

If you know what you want then watch EBay too.

PS: The USMC Marpats were designed by Arcteryx. Unfortunately the contract seems to have been awarded to Propper who specialize in low-bidding government contracts.

I can tell you guys are Gearheads like me!:wings:

[Benjisan]

Not a slight against TNF but its now owned by a huge clothing corporation called VF (I think historically known as Vanity Fair?). I'm not saying a big corporation can't put out awesome products, they can and do. It's just that the attention to detail is sometimes lost when other concerns come into play (investors, growth, etc). I actually didn't know about TNF being owned by VF until last night. This has got me thinking about researching all the gear companies I help fund. More research, yay!

[Benjisan]

Now I just read Arcteryx is owned by Salomon which is now owned by Amer Sports. Dangit, can't keep up with these big corporations. So I guess I can't get away from big business and my previous post now seems silly. I feel like such a naive boob.

[asteffes]

Not a slight against TNF but its now owned by a huge clothing corporation called VF (I think historically known as Vanity Fair?). I'm not saying a big corporation can't put out awesome products, they can and do. It's just that the attention to detail is sometimes lost when other concerns come into play (investors, growth, etc). I actually didn't know about TNF being owned by VF until last night. This has got me thinking about researching all the gear companies I help fund. More research, yay!

I remember when the North Face mill was on Gilman Street in Berkeley, across the street and down one block from the Berkeley REI. I also remember being sad when they shut it down, which marked the time when TNF started farming out their production to China.

Anyone remember when the TNF guys left TNF to start Sierra Designs and Walrus? Talk about a non-starter; I never saw an SD product that lived up the TNF's glory days. I really hope MHW maintains their quality and locality better than the other TNF spinoffs did.

[DaveInDenver]

I remember when the North Face mill was on Gilman Street in Berkeley, across the street and down one block from the Berkeley REI. I also remember being sad when they shut it down, which marked the time when TNF started farming out their production to China.
Back at the end of the Ski Hut days, eh? That was a L-O-N-G time ago.


Anyone remember when the TNF guys left TNF to start Sierra Designs and Walrus? Talk about a non-starter; I never saw an SD product that lived up the TNF's glory days. I really hope MHW maintains their quality and locality better than the other TNF spinoffs did.
I thought TNF bought Sierra Designs back in the late 1980s, early 1990s (during the OHI days) and it was spun off again when TNF filed for bankruptcy in 1993. I'd always heard that was when Mountain Hardware (in 1993) started, by ex-TNF guys who left or were laid off during the 1993 TNF bankruptcy.

[devinsixtyseven]

Salomon = Quality. I suspect the arrangement will only help both, if there's any crossover.

Arcteryx is worth the price. REI and the Jaw both have some of their stuff on sale right now...jackets, packs and other things.

I looked at TNF, MHW, Spyder, Columbia, Burton/Analog, 686, Bonfire, Salomon...I swear I tried on every descent jacket on the planet, and went with the Arcteryx Sidewinder SV (I think...it has the stow hood...haven't used the hood yet). It's worth every hundred I shelled out. The spray skirt is the best design I've seen, it uses an elastic cord to snug a loose skirt in place rather than elastic bands inside a more solid skirt as on my previous jackets. The end result is the cord snags outside the belt loops on my pants (on purpose), and being an XL size there's plenty of room to move around, so the snow stays out rather than the skirt riding up around my chest like the older design on my previous jacket.

The sideways zipper is great. I only have one zipper in front of my neck now, and it's an Arcteryx fuzzy jacket with a cover on the inside so the zipper isn't against skin.

Their attention to detail in construction and materials used, at a more reasonable price point than TNF, is what sold me vs all the other brands I looked at.

-Sean

[xcmountain80]

Let me first say awesome gear. I have the Theta AR shell and I used it as a rain/spray jacket on a off shore fishing trip in rough seas, everything but my arcteryx covered areas were wet. I use it all the time whether for work or play if stays tough and lives up to my expectations. I had a Northface shell in the past with a zip in fleece that I loved and it finally stopped holding the DWR water proof coatings so after 9 yeas with that jacket I got the ArcTeryx to give it a shot, You may spend less on ebay, I checked there after I bought mine and could have saved some cash.

Aaron