MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I won a couple of hundred quids worth of North Face vouchers and went into one of their stores in Carnaby Street, London the other day.
I know the brand has been getting a little bit less 'performance' related, but it seems it has just become a seriously ****y clothes shop now. The shop was full of the kind of people who queue for hours to buy "supreme" caps, and who collect limited edition jackets etc. Their branch in Oxford Circus wasn't any better; very little in the way of actual outdoor kit.
Very little of their higher end stuff seems to be stocked; its all available online but impossible to try on.
As Donald Trump would say: "sad"
Carnaby Street and Oxford Circus?
There's your problem.
Go to Ellis Brigham or Snow and Rock in CG and you'll find their proper stuff. Or their store just off Victoria Street.
(Oh crap. I'm defending TNF!)
Maybe try shopping in a less 'trendy' area?
Still plenty performance stuff in their ranges - love my summit series softshell and down jacket.
Can't imagine much call for performance outdoor gear by average carnaby st shopper. Shocker but maybe they target stock at clientele likely be there rather than people in the lake districts? - novel retail approach 🙂
Go to any Blacks store, they seem to have a large range of NF kit.
Maybe try a shop that ISN'T in an area catering to the stereotype of people you decribe with such disdain too.
I don't really rate NF kit btw but your rant is a bit misplaced imho.
Well, these people do need to have the right gear to wear for their next trip to Aldi
I find the way to sort through tnf gear is....
Big logo - fashion ranges shouting at everyone your wearing tnf....
Small logos. Probably technical gear.
I had this argument with a friend who works in the industry (and briefly for NF) He pointed out that the kind of person who comes into a shop on the high street looking for out door gear is mostly looking for it for dog walking, an up coming holiday to somewhere hostile (scotland) or to look cool whilst feeling warm. Very few people think "I might climb everest next week, I"ll pop into millets and get some kit now"
They had some decent kit st their newish Bicester store yesterday
Yeah you went to the fashion area target audience of London types to walk Benson.
As mentioned above more to do with the shop and location. TNF still make good performance kit but the location of the shop you went to sells more to this
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Than they do to this
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In the end they are a brand who wants to make money and fasion sales out weigh technical any day.
Have you met climbers they are tight arses.
The shop was full of the kind of people who queue for hours to buy "supreme" caps, and who collect limited edition jackets etc.
I have no idea what this means but it makes the op sound like a right stuck up arsehole.
They have a pretty broad range now, now surprised their Oxford / Carnaby Street stores are targeting a different audience.
I actually quite like some of their non-outdoor-person ranges, have one of their parkas for my commute. Super warm, waterproof and breathable but doesn't leave me looking like a mid-life-crisis snowboarder with work trousers / shoes. 😀
I didn't realise North face made gear for serious outdoor use.
Tended to regard them as an overpriced BSO of outdoor gear.
They're owned by a huge corporation, a mate who used to work for them high up said they were under enormous pressure to return year on year sales growth. They can make excellent technical kit, the limited edition Summit Series stuff is proper top-end mountaineering gear and as good or better as anything else out there, but it's a tiny fraction of their overall turnover and essentially just a way of underlining their technical credentials. Commercial reality I'm afraid and presumably they've made a careful decision to stock stuff that sells in those particular locations.
Can you redeem the vouchers online?
Their Summit & Mountain Athletics ranges are good.
The Glasgow shop is always nice for a mooch, but the TNF concession in Ellis Brigham in Aviemore is where I get most of my TNF stuff. They have decent eco credentials too iirc.
Yep, their Steep Series ski kit is ace. I’ve got a decent Gore-Tex Pro jacket which I absolutely love.
When decathlon opened in Crawley my brother was worried that all the chavs would cheapen the brand by starting to wear Quecha.
When decathlon opened in Crawley my brother was worried that all the chavs would cheapen the brand by starting to wear Quecha.
😆
I didn't realise North face made gear for serious outdoor use.Tended to regard them as an overpriced BSO of outdoor gear.
They made plenty of good stuff a few years back. I was wearing my 20 yr old windstopper fleece only this morning. Still going strong.
I didn't realise North face made gear for serious outdoor use.Tended to regard them as an overpriced BSO of outdoor gear.
Of course they do but as mentioned they make fashion too to help maintaint profits.
Glenmore Lodge use TNF kit and the instructors I’ve spoken to really rate it
It always makes me laugh when you see Munich's residents sitting on the tube going to their desk job at BMW, Siemens or some such wearing their native North Face or Salewa jackets knowing full well the most extreme thing they have to contend with is waiting in the lift queue when skiing.
Saint that, I've a few bits of NF kit that I really like.
A baseball cap that dries quickly and doesn't suffer from sweaty salt strains. Good for riding up on hot days. Got that at some outlet store for £15.
Another is my rain jacket. It's stretchy and move with you, is totally waterproof and I tend not to suffer the boil-in-the-bag effect. Again, bought at not full RRP.
oh, and I've got one of their duffel bags. Bought as I need something quickly and again, not at original price.
When decathlon opened in Crawley my brother was worried that all the chavs would cheapen the brand by starting to wear Quecha.
Recently needed a fleece. Went to Blacks (or whatever is now called) and looked at NF plus some other brands. 120 for a fleece!?
Went to Decathlon and found one for £20 and have hardly store wearing it. Great kit for the money. Have found their mesh cycling shorts great for not-so-clamy arse cheeks in summer.
Have you met climbers they are tight arses.
The ironing! On a cyclists forum too. 😀
Generally it used to be (not sure now) but TNF ‘’Summit series’ used to be decent stuff
Generally it used to be (not sure now) but TNF ‘’Summit series’ used to be decent stuff
Still is. The entire Whistler Blackcomb on mountain staff use TNF stuff. The ones I know like it.
They make properly stunning kids outdoor gear and the summit series kit is great. The rest is there to generate the big money. Best place to pick it up is in the outlets in biscter, York or Chester. Flagship stores are for the fashionistas.
Agree with the summit series comments. The annoying bit is if you go into a NF shop in North America, there are a whole pile of lines they don't bring across here.
The latest basecamp holdals are brilliant and much of their stuff is well made decent quality. Who cares if some one wears it to work, everyone has to keep warm/dry and at least they're outdoors walking.
The very first fleece jacket I bought was NF, I don’t think I’d seen one from anyone else at that time, must be around twenty-five to thirty years old now, a bit small and one of the knitted cuffs has worn through, but still in good nick, and I’ve got a Nuptse jacket and Nuptse gilet which are still in perfect condition after nearly twenty years, and a Windstopper fleece jacket that’s almost as old.
Back then, though, label snobs didn’t sneer at ‘ordinary’ folk wearing such gear while wandering around town, it was still the clothing of rufty-tufty outdoors adventurers who might climb Scafell Pike or Ben Nevis if there’s a threat of snow...
Aye north face have not really changed.
A brand that's changed alot for the worse is Rab.
Same rules apply. The bigger their logo tends to mean the less useful the kit is.
I got a new from Santa. It’s a casual one rather than an outdoor one, champion for a pub jacket.
I rate the Montane kit. Great stuff and not a trendy fashion label...yet !!
Montane is brilliant stuff I buy it from their outlet.
Montane are what RAB used to be, before RAB were bought over.
I have a ~20 year old TNF Nuptse made with the shiny material, rolls into its own stash pocket. Has a usefull inner pocket as well. Has been used and abused beyond the call of duty and allthough looking quite scruffy is still doing its job well.
Contrast that jacket to a new Nuptse i bought a year or two ago and the new one is knowhere near as good, doesnt have a stash pocket, no inner pocket and the two side pockets are too far round the back to comfortably stick your hands in.
The North Face gear is what schoolkids around my area are "into" ie the next fashionable label to be seen wearing.
I went into the local JD Sports the other week and it was full of TNF fashion clothing.
They do still do "serious" outdoor gear, I got a jacket from Cotswolds a few years ago, best jacket I've ever had!
Just another "label" that has diversified to chase profits.
I know somebody who used to be UK marketing manager for TNF - he used to point out that most of their sales were to people wanting something to wear on the high street. They still make some of the best tech kit, but it's mostly for brand positioning, it's not where they make their money (I still have a load of TNF kit going strong from 2004 and earlier). It's not a new thing either, was the case back then when I raced on their team.
RAB is the outdoor brand worn for fashion around our way. North Face is so last year :).
PMK2060 - Member
RAB is the outdoor brand worn for fashion around our way. North Face is so last year :).
Oh goodie! Does that mean I can tell my daughter I'm now officially fashionable?
Wait, so my Rab jacket is rubbish now?
Meh, it used to be Berghaus when I were a student...
So, when am I to see a ned wearing a Paramo?
Well you could head west Matt, my mate Carl is never out of it and he's a dirty Fifer.
I worked in Blacks for a while. Some folk would walk in and just ask to see the North Face jackets. They weren't after fleece jackets, down jackets, waterproof jackets or softshell jackets. Just North Face jackets.
FWIW my brands of choice tend to be Montane and Mountain Equipment but I've various other stuff too from the big names to Decathlon.
I'm safe until the chavs start wearing Millet (that's 'mee-lay', not Millets, you high street heathen)
https://www.millet-mountain.com/
Or are there French scumbags ruining my outdoorsy vibe?
I've got a TNF gore activeshell, decent apart from the activeshell not being that robust.
Had two TNF paclites, also decent although the messenger bag strap did for them after about a year and a half commmuting.
Got some TNF paclite trousers for years, not had the wear that the jackets have had but still going OK.
Got a TNF gore proshell jacket which has lasted years.
Seems to fit me better than other brands and Grangers 2-in-1 rejunvenates them pretty well.
The fashion market is bigger than the specialist outdoor market so I guess you have to expect the outdoor gear manufacturers who want to survive and/or make bigger profits to go after the fashion label market, hopefully without losing sight of their original intentions. Small specialist brands also get bought out and absorbed into high street brands.
Karrimor, Rab, TNF, Barbour, Vango - all brands that have changed one way or another over the years, I'm sure there are many others.
FWIW, Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand; if a company get their brand on Countryfile they've made it, so it would seem!
Wait, so my Rab jacket is rubbish now?
The only Rab jacket I've had was rubbish from day one. Used to wet out when walking across the work car park in drizzle, tried reproofing multiple times but it never worked, waste of £100+!
Less than 1/2 mile away technical NF on sale in specialist shops. Can’proper’ outdoorsfolk walk that far?
The performance of the fabric is down to the fabric manufacturer, the jacket maker buys it in and then designs the cut and fit etc. So it's not a Rab issue if the jacket can't be reproofed.
The performance of the fabric is down to the fabric manufacturer, the jacket maker buys it in and then designs the cut and fit etc.
Yes and no, the brand should test and select which face fabrics they want to use e.g. Arteryx and always bringing out new fabrics to which GTX membrane is bonded to. So, if a jacket has a duff face fabric, it is the fault of the brand for choosing to use a duff fabric in the first place.
Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand
The lovely Prof Alice Roberts has been rockin' Arc'teryx's gear for some time now - but despite it being pretty much ubiquitous in any British Columbian ski town, I can't see it being a high street brand over here just yet ...
I think TNF flooded the market with kit that people who aspire to an outdoor image wanted to buy ... and they also suffered from cheap far east copies and heavily discounted items which from memory is why they bought a 5% share in Blacks to try and prevent the 'brand' from being further diluted.
Arc'teryx still make some of their premium range (such as the Alpha SV) in Canada - supposedly to maintain intellectual property rights and manufacturing techniques such as seam welding.
So it's not a Rab issue if the jacket can't be reproofed.
Of course it is they bought the material and produced the garment, that's not material suppliers fault.
very little in the way of actual outdoor kit.
Should have gone to an actual outdoors clothing shop rather than an actual fashion clothing shop.
It's not The North Face brands fault that you're too stupid to know where to shop.
FWIW, Arcteryx will be the next big must-have brand; if a company get their brand on Countryfile they've made it, so it would seem!
I rarely see people wearing Arc’teryx gear, I guess they see people wearing it on the telly, google it, blanche when they see the prices, and go and buy NF and Rab kit instead.
Had an Arcteryx LEAF Alpha jacket a few years ago, retail somewhat north of £600.
The Goretex started to delaminate & I had a proper fight getting them to replace it under the ‘lifetime’ warranty as apparently that covered the construction not the actual fabric.
I sold the replacement unopened and will never buy from them again.
They were one of the Gucci brands to be seen in around the base in Poole, after North Face got a bit passé. Been replaced by a couple of niche micro brands based in mid Wales mostly now though.
Very few people think "I might climb everest next week, I"ll pop into millets and get some kit now"
which is odd when you consider how many people seem to think "perhaps i'll climb everest on the way to little johnny's swimming lesson"
They were one of the Gucci brands to be seen in around the base in Poole, after North Face got a bit passé. Been replaced by a couple of niche micro brands based in mid Wales mostly now though
Such as?
Paramo are one of the few UK companies I can think of but they are based in East Sussex.
Genuinely interested as I'm struggling to think of any outdoor clothing brand based in Wales who are targeting a similar demographic to the likes of Arc'teryx, Norrona, Patagonia, Sweet Protection and Haglofs etc ... i.e. high end gortex clothing suitable for extreme conditions:- not just picking junior up from his therapist during a light 'mizzle'.
This thread. They're just cagoules, FFS. 😯 Anoraks indeed. 😆
I have an Arcteryx rain jacket which I bought because of the ones I was able to try on it fitted best. Is that allowed? Similarly I bought 2 of their hats at inordinate expense because their XL size fits my giant noggin.
I have mid-range TNF snowboarding gear from America (because you can’t buy xxl in Europe). It’s been been pretty good on its first outing.
Will see what it’s longevity is like in a couple of years...
They're just cagoules, FFS
Even the trousers, fleeces, etc, etc?
I'm safe until the chavs start wearing Millet
Hmm, reminds of a comment from a Brit in Flaine:
"You must be English?"
"Eh?"
"Millets"
I gave a Gallic shrug and flounced.
As for Arcteryx I have a couple of their sacs and a pair of overtrousers. All bought second hand or in sales, all brilliant.
I've yet to see the neds [s]buying[/s] acquiring Arcteryx.
Many big bike companies are the same though, they produce £8k - £10k bikes to show what they can do, but the bulk of their market is £500-£1500 bikes, it is the most technical and best quality stuff that is often the least profitable.
Like Boardman bikes, sell the core range via Halfords where you know a lot of people will see them and the Elite range through proper bike shops.
I have a proper down jacket from them that looks a bit scruffy now but has lasted 18 years and a plain black Hyvent jacket for work that gets worn every winter now for last 12 years. They are a business and selling stuff is the profit, not the technical stuff.
I wore my black Hyvent jacket for a night out in Sheffield visiting a mate, i was stone cold sober and the very first pub we got to, the bouncer wouldn't let me in, i asked why and he said "no North Face allowed in mate"!
This reminds me of when the singer of my old band was complaining about the neo nazis in Germany going under cover in demos by wearing Northface stuff so he couldn’t tell who he was supposed to beat the living daylights out of 🙂
They're just cagoules, FFS
But they're not are they? If they were just cagoules there wouldn't be endless threads on this forum discussing the holy trinity of waterproof-ness/breath-ability/durability in jackets.
My memory of cagoules in the 1970s was that they had none of the above properties ...
the bouncer wouldn't let me in, i asked why and he said "no North Face allowed in mate"!
Sheffield has higher than average participation rates in general 'outdoor recreation' especially climbing and they can be fiercely brand partisan - it wasn't The Lescar was it? 😆
Ah the G&H Cagjac. Now there was a technical garment.
MrsT requires a warm jacket/coat. She has a few health issues and feels the cold i.e. anything under 10deg and the scarf goes on!!!! She has some of the "cheaper" models from Rab, Arcteryx and Berghuas. We bought a Paramo and some Rab base layers for the weekend past and she finds it even colder than her favoured Berhaus.
So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!?!?!?
One problem is she cannot walk far or fast therefor cannot generate any body heat!
Hmm, reminds of a comment from a Brit in Flaine:
"You must be English?"
"Eh?"
"Millets"
I gave a Gallic shrug and flounced.
Mrs M used to wear a Marmot fleece. The logo lettering was somewhat run together, so she was asked a couple of times: Do you work at the Marriott? What do you do there?
The fleece went to a charity shop.
**********
Trekster: have a look at the long thick Lands End coats, which sell well in the US north-eastern states. Mrs M (again) rates them, after having a foot op last winter she also had problems generating wnough warmth. Tights under trousers help, too.
So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!
Depends I guess - I picked up an Arc'teryx Thorium SV a couple of years ago from SportsPursuits - RRP is £300, but only paid £150. Has kept me toasty on Arctic Expeditions with temps down to -29 celcius, however I was wearing 5 layers in total (2x merino, 1x fleece, 1x synthetic 1x down).
If your missus really feels the cold that much then some nice thermal/merino underwear/base-layers might help.
If you are already cold a down jacket won't heat you up much, but if you are already warm a down jacket will help keep the heat in!
Trekster have a look at jacket linked below
I have the men’s version for standing around at rugby/photography sessions and it’s very warm and waterproof even when stationary
Such as?
Jottnar are based in Cardiff, good kit, cheaper than much of the better known gear. Other than Howies, I don’t know of any other Welsh brands for outdoor kit.
https://www.jottnar.com/uk
So, at what price point can we expect a decent warm jacket having just wasted £300!?!?!?
Well, there’s Canada Goose, which is highly regarded in its home country, but be prepared to have a bank account meltdown:
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/canada-goose-womens-expedition-parka-down-jacket/
Don't make the mistake of thinking that the more you spend the warmer it'll be. Insulation is pretty cheap. More expensive jackets pack down smaller, or have better breathability, the designers have spent more time on design, or the jacket is more complex making it harder to make. And to be honest in most cases they cash in on brand image. Standing around waiting for busses or doing light walking doesn't need these things generally.
If I were you I'd be looking at jackets aimed at fishermen or hunters. Loads of insulation.
On the subject of branding, today on a walk I realised I was dressed entirely in Mountain Warehouse and Trespass clothing. And it was pretty damn good. If I'm honest with myself I've been guilty of a bit of brand snobbery in the past, but fair play to the budget manufacturers these days they can make good kit.
I think my best investment was my Mountain Equipment jacket, it's now in its early 30s and still going strong.
Just wish I had got the Patagonia fleece at the same time.
For some reason TNF never did it for me.
Have to admit that most of my layers nowadays come from Mountain Warehouse, can't go wrong with the prices they charge.
Jottnar are based in Cardiff
Interesting - I'd always thought Jöttnar was Norwegian or Scandinavian at least (although I knew about the UK connection with the ex-Marine chappies).
Just shows the effect an 'umlaut' can have! 😉
BlindMelon - Member
Trekster have a look at jacket linked below
Cheers. Had a Wolfskin jacket/fleece combo for many years till the jacket fell apart!! Still got the fleece. Used to be a factory shop in Carlisle where we bought a lot of stuff for son(cubs/scouts/DofE)until it closed. There was then a drop in quality regards stitching which a lot of others came across so we stopped buying it, seems to be making a comeback with a local shop stocking some of the "fashion" wear.
Will have a look at the other suggestions + we/she has a collection of various base layers but having a skin condition dictates what can be worn!!!
I was dressed entirely in Mountain Warehouse and Trespass clothing
I bought some Trespass salopettes once - they were the worst thing I've ever worn - hateful. Would take a lot to get me to trust the brand again.
I thought that Canada Goose was THE label to be seen shopping in nowadays?
I bought some Trespass salopettes once
When? I think the increase in performance of budget kit is arelatively recent phenomenon. And to be fair, Mountain Warehouse is leading that. The Trespass trousers were meant to be £90 or something and for that, they wouldn't have been so good. The materials and design are great but the stitching is wonky even though it's holding up.
The Trespass trousers were meant to be £90 or something and for that, they wouldn't have been so good.
It was a while ago, but the fusalp ones I replaced them with were similar money and vastly better.
On a budget Helly Hansen stuff is excellent, as long as it fits as their cuts seem to be funny sometimes. I have some HH salopettes that would have been similar money and they have been excellent, as has the jacket.