[darkcloud]

My old Arc'Teryx Gamma SV softshell is about to end its 5 year run and I'm in the middle of replacing it. I just can't decide which one I freaking want. I currently have a Gamma MX that I got for xmas and it seems like it will be a little too lightweight, although I hear it get talked up a lot. I also just got in their newest softshell the Hercules 2008 which took me forever to find. I like it but I also have the Griffon coming in next week to try out. I dunno I think I want to also give the Epsilon AR, Sigma AR and Easyrider jackets a try as well. Gahhhh so frustrating. If only these jackets weren't +$300 a piece, I'd just buy all of them

Any help???

[darkcloud]

Nobody? You all prolly wear North Face or Mountain Hardware like a bunch of mindless drones

[The_Blob]

I have an Arc'teryx shell. I have a top of the line Arc'teryx Alpha SV which I purchased in 2000 for 320 dollars and the retail price was 650 dollars. The reason why I got it cheap because it was on-sale, it was a new product as Arc'teryx started rolling out outerwear as they were only a climbing harness company. Also, I live in the same city where they make the jackets, I'm like a 20 minute drive from the Arcteryx headquarters/factory. I don't wear it that much and I'm not a big fan of Arc'teryx anymore because their designs and colours are too trendy for my taste.

This is what I wear as my daily rain jacket in a darker navy colour. It's from Taiga - Germany engineered and Canadian made. Very good quality outerwear at very reasonable prices. I prefer Taiga over Arc'teryx because of their classic designs, quality, and very reasonable prices.

www.taigaworks.ca



This is a Arc'teryx Alpha SV jacket which my Dad thinks it's not so good looking, and I quite agree with him now, too trendy - almost in a Michael Jackson kind of way. My jacket is a deeper blue color with taped water resistant zippers.

[its ray den]

i can't afford arcteryx

[Nikolas]

I have a black arcteryx soft shell. My wife got if for me last year. It is great. I ski in it all the time. We have a shop here locally that often gets them and sells them at a discount. Mine was 60% off so like $125.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

I have a black arcteryx soft shell. My wife got if for me last year. It is great. I ski in it all the time. We have a shop here locally that often gets them and sells them at a discount. Mine was 60% off so like $125.

Damn! No one around me sells arcteryx on sale, EVER. It sucks. I have to order everything on-line, which is a major PITA.

[darkcloud]

These are the jackets I currently have....
Sidewinder AR - Slate


Gamma SV - Black, this is the one I'm replacing

Convert Cardigan - Carob


These are the ones I can't decide on...

Gamma MX - Black

Epsilon AR - Black

Hercules - Slate

Griffon - Black


Tough decisions....

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I have an Arc'teryx shell. I have a top of the line Arc'teryx Alpha SV which I purchased in 2000 for 320 dollars and the retail price was 650 dollars. The reason why I got it cheap because it was on-sale, it was a new product as Arc'teryx started rolling out outerwear as they were only a climbing harness company. Also, I live in the same city where they make the jackets, I'm like a 20 minute drive from the Arcteryx headquarters/factory. I don't wear it that much and I'm not a big fan of Arc'teryx anymore because their designs and colours are too trendy for my taste.

They are a little trendy on some of their items but some their not. Everyone in my neck of the woods only wears North Face, Mountain Hardware, and Columbia so anything other then those 3 and you're really a standout

I wish I lived near you. I'd go broke going to their store. I'm trying to talk my fiance into a roadtrip starting in Cleveland through Chicago, Minneapolis, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Redwood Forest, Seattle, and Vancouver. One bad ass road trip if you ask me and I'm sure it would be driving heaven

[JoeClothing]

they make great pieces. I have a bunch of their fleece jackets. Ever try Helly Hanson?

[The_Blob]

I swear, I was the first person in my city to wear Arc'teryx outerwear back in 2000 but they're still not too popular because Gore-Tex outwear is rather out of fashion here right now. There are more people who wear Taiga jackets because they're more affordable, better looking, durable and less pretentious.

When I first wore my Arc'teryx jacket, I had TONS and TONS of strangers commenting about my jacket, and they were all positive comments like "wow, your jacket is amazing", "those zippers are unreal", "awesome jacket", "cool jacket", "Arc'teryx, that's an awesome brand, I love your jacket"

Many people don't know, but Arc'teryx was founded by the people from Mountain Equipment Co-op www.mec.ca, so the designs and quality are very similar. Kinda like company from Toyota and Lexus. But to be honest, Mountain Equipment Co-op jackets don't fit as well as Arc'teryx jackets but the quality is same are even better. My Arc'teryx jacket worked well for the first year and my jacket looks older than my Taiga jacket even though I rarely wear my Arc'teryx jacket. By the way, I bought Taiga jacket before my Arc'teryx jacket.

As for Arc'teryx fleece jackets, they're crap. I wanted to buy one and I must say, their fleece quality and designs are total crapola and NO ONE IN MY CITY WEARS THEM AND I THINK SAW ONLY LIKE 2 PEOPLE IN ABOUT 7 years who actually WORE THEM.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I swear, I was the first person in my city to wear Arc'teryx outerwear back in 2000 but they're still not too popular because Gore-Tex outwear is rather out of fashion here right now. There are more people who wear Taiga jackets because they're more affordable, better looking, durable and less pretentious.

When I first wore my Arc'teryx jacket, I had TONS and TONS of strangers commenting about my jacket, and they were all positive comments like "wow, your jacket is amazing", "those zippers are unreal", "awesome jacket", "cool jacket", "Arc'teryx, that's an awesome brand, I love your jacket"

Many people don't know, but Arc'teryx was founded by the people from Mountain Equipment Co-op www.mec.ca, so the designs and quality are very similar. Kinda like company from Toyota and Lexus. But to be honest, Mountain Equipment Co-op jackets don't fit as well as Arc'teryx jackets but the quality is same are even better. My Arc'teryx jacket worked well for the first year and my jacket looks older than my Taiga jacket even though I rarely wear my Arc'teryx jacket. By the way, I bought Taiga jacket before my Arc'teryx jacket.

As for Arc'teryx fleece jackets, they're crap. I wanted to buy one and I must say, their fleece quality and designs are total crapola and NO ONE IN MY CITY WEARS THEM AND I THINK SAW ONLY LIKE 2 PEOPLE IN ABOUT 7 years who actually WORE THEM.

Maybe, But you do live in the city that manufactures them. I do see on every website I buy from that they can't ship their arcteryx product to Canada so maybe theres something a little different about the US and Canada products? I doubt it but who knows.

I also have one of their fleece jackets and have had it for 3 years. It's holding up great and has no signs of wear. My first softshell the gamma SV took me 7 years to merit replacing it. The only things really wrong is the front zipper rope broke which is easily repairable and the sleeve cuffs are slightly fraying. Otherwise the jacket is perfectly fine and if I wanted to pay a tailor or send it back to arcteryx I could prolly wear it another couple years.

We have different views. I do know there are other products out their, but as for now I really like Arc'Teryx and maybe see someone else wearing something of theirs once every couple months if that. So until they become another North Face or become completely horrendous coats I prolly won't stop getting their stuff.

[mpimping]

http://www.hellyhansen.com/sport/ind...roduct#pagetop

like this one?

[mpimping]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

These are the jackets I currently have....
Sidewinder AR - Slate


Gamma SV - Black, this is the one I'm replacing

Convert Cardigan - Carob


These are the ones I can't decide on...

Gamma MX - Black

Epsilon AR - Black

Hercules - Slate

Griffon - Black


Tough decisions....

I like the hercules slate

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by mpimping

http://www.hellyhansen.com/sport/ind...roduct#pagetop

like this one?

That's not bad. I like it, but I don't need that kind of coat. I already have a shell, more looking to replace my softshell and I don't see any of those kind of coats by Helly Hansen. I really like the base layer stuff.

[The_Blob]

Yes, I live in the same city - Vancouver - where they make their jackets. I even visit their headquarters/factory usually once a year for their special sales which is about 20 minute drive. There is actually outlet store beside their factory which sells Arc'teryx products about 40% off their retail price but there is no warranty at all. I think their products are seriously overpriced and I honestly have to say that there's not much difference between a North Face shell and an Arc'teryx shell these days. I must say North Face is overpriced too.

Arc'teryx 5-7 years ago was light years ago of the competition, but I must say the competition pretty much caught up. I'm a fan of Taiga for their jackets and Mountain Equipment Co-op for the packs for everyday use. Arc'teryx is fine for extreme sports like snowboarding, skiing in the backcountry, and ultra marathons in the deep damp forest.

I actually complained to Arc'teryx about their service at a large hiking forum and someone who worked for Arc'teryx responded back and they changed their policy completely and even changed their website design about 2 years ago. So, if you'll getting better service from them, it was me who complained.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

Yes, I live in the same city - Vancouver - where they make their jackets. I even visit their headquarters/factory usually once a year for their special sales which is about 20 minute drive. There is actually outlet store beside their factory which sells Arc'teryx products about 40% off their retail price but there is no warranty at all. I think their products are seriously overpriced and I honestly have to say that there's not much difference between a North Face shell and an Arc'teryx shell these days. I must say North Face is overpriced too.

Arc'teryx 5-7 years ago was light years ago of the competition, but I must say the competition pretty much caught up. I'm a fan of Taiga for their jackets and Mountain Equipment Co-op for the packs for everyday use. Arc'teryx is fine for extreme sports like snowboarding, skiing in the backcountry, and ultra marathons in the deep damp forest.

I actually complained to Arc'teryx about their service at a large hiking forum and someone who worked for Arc'teryx responded back and they changed their policy completely and even changed their website design about 2 years ago. So, if you'll getting better service from them, it was me who complained.

How is Vancouver? I hear great things. I really want to make it there some day.

I've been to the North Face outlet and they have the same "as-is, no warranty". I never bought anything but my friend did. The coats zipper teeth actually fell off within 6/mo and he only saved $50 at the outlet store. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I do think North Face is way more overpriced then Arc"teryx or many other brands. Their becoming bland and just seem cheaper.

I do think other companies are catching up to Arc'Teryx in terms of design and build quality but that was an eventual outcome. There isn't much more you can do with clothes until some radical/futuristic design changes are made.

We'll see about their customer service. I'm going to try and send my Gamma SV in for repairs and see what happens. Maybe for loyalty and several years of use I'll get a free coat, kinda like the Saab guy with 1mil miles

[The_Blob]

At the Arc'teryx outlet store, they sell products that didn't make it for the stores because of minor scratches, pinholes in some places, bad stitching and stuff. Plus, you don't get warranty at all. Funny thing is, my jacket cost less than at the outlet store plus I get lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, the front waterproof zippers started fraying after 1 year of ownership and I even rarely wear the jacket. I complained to Arc'teryx and they never replied back. I went to the largest hiking forum in my area and complained that Arc'teryx service sucks big time and they said they will look into it. Well, I never did send my jacket back to Arc'teryx because I think it's a minor problem - zipper still works fine but comestically, it doesn't. Funny thing is that they don't use taped up waterproof zippers anymore, I believe it was from my big complaint - LOL!

The cool thing about the outlet store is that they sell some really early editions of some discontinued versions of their jackets and stuff. I've even found a bunch of first generation Alpha SV jackets with storm flaps. Arc'teryx is a company that likes to brag about the fact that storm flaps are bulky and they would never use 'em.

As for Vancouver, it always rains here. Rains like 300 days a year on average, so like every single Vancouverite owns a rain jacket. Most own Taiga and the rest own Mountain Equipment Co-op, Arc'teryx and The North Face.

Taiga is king in Vancouver and all the smart people wear 'em.

[out4scrilla]

had no idea these were jackets until the end of th OP's post

and wats wrong with rocking north faces?

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by out4scrilla

had no idea these were jackets until the end of th OP's post

and wats wrong with rocking north faces?

Their overpriced garbage as of late. The moment they sold out and started selling $85 cheap jackets at Dick's is the moment their entire line began heading to the crapper. They think they realized being a good to great outdoors wear is nothing to being a OK at best run of the mill outdoors coat with some backcountry thrown in. The coat that essentially put them on the map is their Denali, you know the coat. It the fleece that has a black upper body then comes in a rainbow of colors and pretty much every girl on the planet owns one. Not that this is a bad thing but there outdoor cred has fallen considerably. If you go anywhere that requires active outdoor wear you won't see a north face coat for hours, unlike 5-10 years ago when you couldn't find a open spot on a mountain without their coats everywhere.

They've made the shift from specialized to commercialized and with the inexpensive cheap line they have begun watering down what used to be a great product.

Arc'teryx is very expensive, some of the people can't afford it, but you can't really question its quality, no wonder why it is expensive. Though If I may to choose, I will choose the product that I really needed, regardless the price..

--
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.- Aristotle
rjones Brooks Addiction

[BTM]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

Their overpriced garbage as of late. The moment they sold out and started selling $85 cheap jackets at Dick's is the moment their entire line began heading to the crapper. They think they realized being a good to great outdoors wear is nothing to being a OK at best run of the mill outdoors coat with some backcountry thrown in. The coat that essentially put them on the map is their Denali, you know the coat. It the fleece that has a black upper body then comes in a rainbow of colors and pretty much every girl on the planet owns one. Not that this is a bad thing but there outdoor cred has fallen considerably. If you go anywhere that requires active outdoor wear you won't see a north face coat for hours, unlike 5-10 years ago when you couldn't find a open spot on a mountain without their coats everywhere.

They've made the shift from specialized to commercialized and with the inexpensive cheap line they have begun watering down what used to be a great product.

I have this Northface and suits me perfectly fine...even during 6+ hours of 0* temps in Pennsylvania last year. I don't mind that they sell $80 fleeces to everyone and their mother because as long as they're moving product it's just good business to do so and I bet it's padding their profit margins pretty nicely considering they still produce quality higher end products without an insane pricetag - it is still very possible to get a quality Northface product.

Fact is the majority of people are casual outdoors enthusiasts and have no use to overspend for some overkill just because it's the "right" brand. For those who don't care about the "cred" of their jacket or what more "hardcore" outdoors enthusiasts care and are more concerned with a good product without a ridiculous $700 pricetag I will highly recommend looking into a Northface

[ben14142001]

I'm a Patagonia fiend and have yet to try Arc'teryx.