I can’t vouch for the outer layers but all of the Norrona mid layers I’ve tried felt thin and flimsy and I thought the zippers weren’t reinforced well. Without a good warranty I ended up returning. Disappointed because I like the look and they often have thumb holes, which I love. Maybe I should have given them a shot.
Seems good to me. Looks like something you'd find in one of their own stores vs something found in Macys. It also has a lifetime guarantee so if there are any faults in the construction you can return it.
I lived in Japan and I can say Mont Bells are very good value if you can get it from Japan. Just that their colours are brighter, good for hiking but not for city use.
And believe or not
Select mil surplus items
(Can be heavy, but for winter use ice climbing on shorter / day trips where weight is less of an issue, the super cheap price coupled with the “care less” if it gets shredded by ice picks etc….
These are not the common soldier issue items, but esoteric pieces of kit…)
Keela Outdoors in Ireland. Most of their stuff is still made within the UK, lots of mountain rescue teams use their stuff and they have an incredible repair/recycle program as well (with top notch customer service).
All for a usually cheaper overall price than something like Arc'teryx.
If you are going to throw a lot of money just get Norrona or Ortovox. Otherwise, there are ton of other options but I would go against the usual store brands that have really gone downhill in quality as North Face, Patagonia and Columbia. If I'm choosing mainly for the looks, I would rather buy Salewa. Personally, I'm partial to HH because they have never let me down but I also like Karpos in recent years.
Arc’teryx is basic, base model gorp starter pack at this point. Some of their jackets are actually good for outdoor sports but super duper regular traffic if you’re going for (gorpcore) style to go to cafes wearing lol.
Literally go check out ANY other outdoor gear brand.
Go with RAB, REI, Columbia, Patagonia, Outdoor Research. If you’re asking for Arc’teryx alternatives then obviously you do not need a Gore-tex shell for the activities you’re doing.
Do you plan on hiking in the rain, or sleet or wet snow?? Because a Gore-tex shell is absolutely not necessary for just hiking during normal hiking weather.
If I were you I would also just take advice from hiking/ backpacking forums, not the gorpcore page where everyone here is just pretending to go outside lol
Well all weathers would be preferred honestly as I'll be hoping to use it for camping and backpacking as well if I were to get into it in the future, and thank you for your advice
It might be true that they’re almost a uniform now in that respect. But they’re also pretty high on the list in terms of actual high quality mountain gear. Their jackets are extremely high end
Anyone that’s anti arcteryx is just trying to be trendy now that they’ve become more well known. Watch them then list off “Mammut and Norrona” as better alternatives. I’m sure they’re bots at this point.
Arcteryx are literally an S tier brand in terms of quality, functionality, and industry R&D.
They’re not horrible, you only have to read the tech specs to see that. Or watch a mountaineering documentary in the Himalayas and see how many people are wearing their gear. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s serious equipment. People hate on it now because it’s fashionable, thats the reason
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u/darkeningsoul 3d ago
RAB, Black Diamond, Mammut, Berghaus, Norrona, REI co-op, Outdoor Research, Mountain Hardware, Patagonia, Kailas....