Can anyone here explain "North Face" brand to me?

[Megaweapon]

...

[vivalarevolución]

When it comes to outdoor gear, I just buy any decent brands that are on sale on Sierra Trading Post.  Unless you are getting into the real high quality attire, like what you need to climb peaks in the winter, most of these brands offer the same product with a slight different flavor.

Outdoor gear was the first niche hobby I got into that breached the point of obsession.  Before I knew it, the only stuff I wanted to buy was handmade by some old guy in his garage in a mountain town.

[dustinhxc]

On the topic of jackets, anyone remember Starter jackets?

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Haha nice choice of photo! I had a couple Orlando Magic ones!!

Anfernee Hardaway and SHAQ babyyyy!

[demik]

On the topic of jackets, anyone remember Starter jackets?

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I used to have a 49ers one. It was pretty cool. That was like... high school though lol. Ahhh memories.

And I had a raiders one.

I made mistakes as a child.

[jackalope]

I think I will stick with my Carharts

Once it's broken in they are amazing.  Gotta add the insulated Carhart hoodie when it's really cold though.

[paicrai]

i dont know, quality? fashion? just because?

[0100010]

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I also don't understand why people climb mountains..

the FIRST guy.. ok fine.. we didn't know what's up there..

But NOW, we know..

There's literally nothing up there..


I'm certainly not against people challenging themselves..  but there are more productive hurdles for humanity to overcome..

Like a strong man competition, watching them throw pianos from the ground up to the 2nd floor.  You're thinking to yourself, those pianos don't really need to be up there....

[Michael]

On the topic of jackets, anyone remember Starter jackets?

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I used to have a 49ers one. It was pretty cool. That was like... high school though lol. Ahhh memories.

And I had a raiders one.

I made mistakes as a child.

Seems like we both did ;)

[Puddsy]

trendy

typical streetwear culture, i'm guilty of it too

within the fashion communites there's a lot of "brand status"

basically, the better the brand you're wearing, the more fashionable you are

north face has gained some status as a "streetwear" brand, that's why people like wearing it

[Keyzus]

Shout out to the Swedish company Fjällräven. Their jackets are top notch quality, made to last a lifetime.

Where I live you hardly ever need a jacket though. While a lot of the country is covered in snow, today it's a beautiful 75°F here.

It's our summers that are brutal, often hitting 120°F.

[Michael]

Shout out to the Swedish company Fjällräven. Their jackets are top notch quality, made to last a lifetime.

Where I live you hardly ever need a jacket though. While a lot of the country is covered in snow, today it's a beautiful 75°F here.

It's our summers that are brutal, often hitting 120°F.

Viva Las Vegas

[Sygaldry]

I got my Recon backpack for 40 dollars from Sierra Trading Post back back in 2005 and it came with a free Camelback Eddy bottle. Ironically the Camelback, which is touted as indestructible, shattered on me a few years back when I took a nasty fall while longboarding. I was going something like 40mph downhill and ended up breaking my wrist in the process despite wearing wrist guards. The Camelbak suffered a fate far worse. My backpack survived the impact with barely any damage though!

In any case, I've had this backpack for over 10 years now (just passed it's 10th anniversary this past week) and it's still going strong. It takes all the abuse I dole to it without uttering a single word of complaint. I dragged it to and from school (high school, college, and grad school), carried it with me while backpacking across South East Asia, while traveling, hiking, longboarding, snowboarding, work, etc. and it still isn't showing any signs of giving out on me! If it ever dies on me (highly doubtful), I'll definitely be replacing it with the same thing because I highly doubt any of those 100+ dollar backpacks that everyone seems to go crazy for these days will last half as long.

I've had this backpack for so long, in fact, that it now has an incredible amount of sentimental value for me, spanning my life over four academic degree programs, more romantic trysts than I can be bothered to count, a few moves (between a couple places in the US and a few places in Asia), etc.

Come to think of it, I haven't owned anything for longer than my North Face backpack.

This one is for you, oh great North Face Recon backpack, for your indomitable spirit and tireless service over the past 10 years.




Seriously though... While all of you are bashing North Face for how trendy and overpriced it is, at least their day packs are great and I only paid 40 dollars for mine.

[JaccoW]

I got my Recon backpack for 40 dollars from Sierra Trading Post back back in 2005 [...]

Seriously though... While all of you are bashing North Face for how trendy and overpriced it is, at least their day packs are great and I only paid 40 dollars for mine.[/i]

As me and my colleagues always say to each other;"The North Face isn't bad, it's just that there are better brands."

They make some very sturdy daypacks. They're just a bit heavy.

[Sygaldry]

I got my Recon backpack for 40 dollars from Sierra Trading Post back back in 2005 [...]

Seriously though... While all of you are bashing North Face for how trendy and overpriced it is, at least their day packs are great and I only paid 40 dollars for mine.[/i]

As me and my colleagues always say to each other;"The North Face isn't bad, it's just that there are better brands."

They make some very sturdy daypacks. They're just a bit heavy.

There's always a better brand out there =]

I drive a Toyota but Lexus is most definitely better (different price range).

I wear Allen Edmond shoes to work but Alden and Edward Greens make better shoes (different price range).

For a similar day pack to my $40 Recon I'd have to shell out $90 for a Patagonia, $120 for an Arcteryx, so on and so forth (neither of these day packs are in the same price range as the North Face).

North Face gets a bad rep because their fleeces are horrendously overpriced for what they are.

And just as North Face fleeces have become a fashion statement, it has almost become a trendy/hip thing to say "North Face is okay, but there's better."

North Face day packs might be a few grams heavier than these so called "better" brands but they're designed for different purposes. Patagonia and Arcteryx day packs are intentionally lightweight because those few grams might make a difference on a long trek - the intended use for these bags. North Face day packs are intended for more general usage so those grams don't matter as much. Losing those grams is indispensable for the avid hiker/trekker, but they end up causing these bags to be less durable over time. My brother bought a Patagonia bag the same year I bought my North Face bag. He paid twice as much as I did for the bag but it completely fell apart at around year 4 (the bottom of his bag had worn through).

I'd take my "not so good" North Face over the "better" brands any day to save money and to have something that will last. I don't hike/trek enough for me to justify the extra cost for a few shaved grams especially when I use a day pack throughout the work/school day.

 

[dustinhxc]

I think I will stick with my Carharts

Once it's broken in they are amazing.  Gotta add the insulated Carhart hoodie when it's really cold though.

Yep! I wear the thermal hoodie under it! perfect combo.

[Melvang]

I think I will stick with my Carharts

Once it's broken in they are amazing.  Gotta add the insulated Carhart hoodie when it's really cold though.

Yep! I wear the thermal hoodie under it! perfect combo.

I work outside in the winter a lot, but not a lot of physical moving to generate heat.  So I have the arctic coat that is a sizze to big.  The reason is so there is room for my extreme arctic bib overalls.  They have the full length double zipper on the legs.  Makes it very easy to take them on and off when I am wearing my 8" steel toe work boots.  Plus with the double zipper, I can zip the top one down if I start getting to hot.

The only issue is the outer shell on the extreme arctic line is nylon instead of denim so it tends to melt when grinding, torching, or welding.

I have had the bibs since Dec 07 and the coat since Jan 09, neither have been washed yet.  Washing Carhart outer wear is the hardest thing on them.

[jamster]

I'm surprised at the lack of crossover between Geekhack with the world of outdoor gear geaks

Nobody has mentioned the seriously high end pack options yet, or the alternatives to waterproof laminated Cordura that's used in most packs (and loses water integrity after a handful of years).

I've got a McHale pack, which as far as I can tell is the pinnacle of outdoor packs- custom fit by a crotchety old craftsman based in Washington state, insanely overbuilt using quadruple threading and Spectra panels, with an until-recently proprietary harness design, and 7075 aluminium stays instead of the usual overly-malleable 6060 stays. The sad thing about this pack is that it's a lot more capable than I will ever be.

http://www.mchalepacks.com/

The other manufacturer that I'm aware of in roughly the same league (not sure if they do custom though) is Cold Cold World, but I believe they only do alpine climbing packs.

For longer life waterproof materials, some of the Australian/New Zealand brands (and one of the Scandinavian brands) use  polyester/cotton fabrics which are mechanically waterproof instead of reliant on a layer bonded onto Cordura.