General gripe

Gascan4X4

Low Speed, High Drag
I'll preface this by stating that I don't spend weeks-on-end in the wilderness, I'm more of a "weekend warrior", if that. In my experiance with buying North Face cold weather gear (gloves/jacket) circa 2008 from their official store, at full MSRP, I was left cold and severely unimpressed... I later heard similar complaints from others; will never buy their gear again. On the other hand, all Columbia Sportswear (and Mountain Hardwear under their ownership) has performed well and kept me warm. Biggest issue I had was zipper failure on several of their soft-shell jackets of a certain vintage/style. I also have several of Columbia "fishing style" button down shirts and a soft-shell jacket or two that are over a decade old and still wearable. In the last few years I purchased a handful of Eddie Bauer fishing-style button down shirts and have been impressed how well they've lasted and the material/design is overall better than Columbia Sportswear. Someone here mentioned seeing Eddie Bauer clothes appearing at Costco recently... I picked up two pairs of light hiking pants their and the cut/fit/material seem better than what I've seen from Columbia's offerings. MY personal opinion is that Columbia Sportswear and Eddie Bauer are a great bang for your buck.
 
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MTVR

Well-known member
I knew Tim and his late mother (Gert) Boyle professionally- I helped them out with some stuff back in the '90s. My office was right up the hill from Columbia Sportswear corporate headquarters.

They were always nice to me, and their stuff has always done me well...
 
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fullybalanced

Too many plans, not enough time
so, i used to swear by Mountain Kahiki's but their repeatability was horrible (i wore anything from a 32-40 inch waist and i didn't vary in size)... now i'm stuck on Kuhl. they are built well and wear well. i find the very comfortable and long lasting.
 

Delsh

Active member
I'll second the motion on Kuhl pants; whether more technical-type pants or heavy work-type pants, they always fit the same (and well), move well, are comfortable - and they have the best pocket to keep your cell phone secure without your sitting on it.
 

ripperj

Explorer
I just found by accident the Ridgecut jackets at Tractor Supply .
Seem really heavy duty (Arctic weight version ) Condura , much heavier than Carhartt and on sale for half the price.
I have been wearing Carhartt as long as I can recall (still wear their pants), but the last two jackets I had had zippers fail while the rest of the jacket was fine.

I see how many years I get out of the Ridgecut


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