Triple Aught Design?

huskyfargo

Adventurer
I just bought a stealth hoodie from them, and I love it. It's made in Canada, but that's still "American made". The fit is great, and their customer service was excellent. I love the fact that some of their things that are hard to find seem to have gone up in value when you look at it on ebay.
 

Mike S

Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
I have some TAD shorts -- excellent product, good service once available. I forget what I paid... as Desert Dude used to say - "Cry once."
 

off-roader

Expedition Leader
I though a bit on this one because initially i was of the OP's same opinion and had difficulty justifying why some would pay so much for their clothing ($100 Henley shirts for example) when it dawned on me...

Although some may consider it costly I think Triple Aught's clothing is like anything else being sold today. Some will certainly be willing to pay their price because
a) they can afford it /can't afford not to have it & b) they do something that merits Triple Aught's designs/features and makes it a worthwhile investment.

Its just like my clients spending $30000 on a single license for our software to simulate a different date / time on their computer. Many question if my software is worth it... It is to those who need/want it and purchase it.
 

REDrum

Aventurero de la Selva
Not true. Both say "Made in China"

Just checked my Wife's Artemis tag (honey get over here!)...."Made in China" :( Oh well, guess that answers my own question....

Rumor has it, scarcity of TAD clothing/gear in the US is due to huge demand for it in the far east.
 

MattScott

Approved Vendor
I just bought a stealth hoodie from them, and I love it. It's made in Canada, but that's still "American made". The fit is great, and their customer service was excellent. I love the fact that some of their things that are hard to find seem to have gone up in value when you look at it on ebay.

It's because Canada is king when it comes to seam-sealing technical jackets.

I love my Stealth Hoodie LT.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/expedition-gear/clothing/1838-review-the-stealth-hoodie-lt-from-triple-aught-design.html

One day, instead of purchasing the correct product first, I'll be able to afford to have the mentality that allows me to spend more money on several pieces of sub-standard gear that eventually will just fall apart. Until then I'll buy once and cry once.
 

Sempertoy

Explorer
One day, instead of purchasing the correct product first, I'll be able to afford to have the mentality that allows me to spend more money on several pieces of sub-standard gear that eventually will just fall apart. Until then I'll buy once and cry once.

Uh...
 
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Dave Bennett

Adventurist
One day, instead of purchasing the correct product first, I'll be able to afford to have the mentality that allows me to spend more money on several pieces of sub-standard gear that eventually will just fall apart. Until then I'll buy once and cry once.

BTDT
 

ol' scott

Adventurer
How rough are y'all on clothing? I remember specifically a pair of khaki pants I bought in 7th grade (circa 1998?). I wore those through middle school, high school, college, and they finally ripped this summer while I was building a barn (they were caught on a nail). During those years they went from church type wear, to school wear, to wear anytime, to yard work, to work on the truck, to construction wear. They didn't change roles because they were worn out but rather because of various stains that they ended up getting. I believe my mom purchased them at K-Mart for $12. They lasted me 14 years and would've lasted longer if not for that silly nail.

I say that to say this. Those pants cost me less than $1 a year. With TAD pants you'll have to live more than 100 years to get that kind of value. I still own and wear a lot of things that I owned or purchased in middle school and high school (It's just another perk of being blessed with extremely good taste and style ;) ). Sure, I understand the "cry once" saying but I think that's quickly becoming an excuse for charging a lot for snazzy gear. I laugh every time I see the $135 bead or the $85 match case that TAD sells. That tells me how quickly they will charge for something based on the perceived value of American Made craftsmanship. I'm all for supporting American products but I have to remember that I'm an American too and I need to support myself, and my American family, first.

However (this is the important part) I have never owned any TAD clothing so I can't speak to the quality or value or anything else other than the opinions I have already given. What I can tell you is that I've owned plenty of other gear from other manufacturers and I haven't been disappointed, and I haven't cried either. So if you buy TAD gear you probably won't be disappointed, you might even walk a little straighter because you're proud of your great gear that nobody else knows about. If you do decide to go another direction you can always check out REI (great, amazing return policy on new stuff or the Scratch and Dent used gear sales) or geartrade.com (used gear from private sellers or returned gear from online retailers). I bought a $110 Ex-Officio fleece for $9 from gear trade, I plan on getting 20 years out of it for a dollar/value ratio of better than $.50 a year (you'd have to wear a TAD jacket for 400 years to get that kind of value btw). I counter the "cry once" argument with "Why cry at all?"
 

TangoBlue

American Adventurist
How rough are y'all on clothing? I remember specifically a pair of khaki pants I bought in 7th grade (circa 1998?). I wore those through middle school, high school, college, and they finally ripped this summer while I was building a barn (they were caught on a nail). During those years they went from church type wear, to school wear, to wear anytime, to yard work, to work on the truck, to construction wear. They didn't change roles because they were worn out but rather because of various stains that they ended up getting. I believe my mom purchased them at K-Mart for $12. They lasted me 14 years and would've lasted longer if not for that silly nail.

I say that to say this. Those pants cost me less than $1 a year. With TAD pants you'll have to live more than 100 years to get that kind of value. I still own and wear a lot of things that I owned or purchased in middle school and high school (It's just another perk of being blessed with extremely good taste and style ;) ). Sure, I understand the "cry once" saying but I think that's quickly becoming an excuse for charging a lot for snazzy gear. I laugh every time I see the $135 bead or the $85 match case that TAD sells. That tells me how quickly they will charge for something based on the perceived value of American Made craftsmanship. I'm all for supporting American products but I have to remember that I'm an American too and I need to support myself, and my American family, first.

However (this is the important part) I have never owned any TAD clothing so I can't speak to the quality or value or anything else other than the opinions I have already given. What I can tell you is that I've owned plenty of other gear from other manufacturers and I haven't been disappointed, and I haven't cried either. So if you buy TAD gear you probably won't be disappointed, you might even walk a little straighter because you're proud of your great gear that nobody else knows about. If you do decide to go another direction you can always check out REI (great, amazing return policy on new stuff or the Scratch and Dent used gear sales) or geartrade.com (used gear from private sellers or returned gear from online retailers). I bought a $110 Ex-Officio fleece for $9 from gear trade, I plan on getting 20 years out of it for a dollar/value ratio of better than $.50 a year (you'd have to wear a TAD jacket for 400 years to get that kind of value btw). I counter the "cry once" argument with "Why cry at all?"

I compliment your thrift 'ol scott. By the way, your avatar and forum name are a bit misleading; I was expecting a sage, grizzled veteran at least my age or more but you appear to be around 25 years my junior. That doesn't make any difference, you make some valid observations.

As you scanned the earlier contributions you may have noted I like TAD gear. Now my real name isn't Mr. Richie Richpockets and I don't throw around my hard earned dollars, but I appreciate craftsmanship and entrepreneurship; things that deserve to be rewarded. More than just liking their gear is also appreciating the background of TAD; it's not just a sewn in US flag label, but how they evolved into what they are.

The company was started be a former Army grunt who went back to school for design and started making clothing that no one else did. His tastes and style were also those of special operators who had demands for tough gear that met their utilitarian needs and then it grew in popularity from there. Many of their clothing items are made in the US, and in particular California, I suspect in union shops. The quality extends beyond expert garment workers and seamstresses but comes from top-notch fabrics not always available from US textile plants routinely but by special runs. US labor and textiles don't run cheap but those are more Americans making a wage and I think that's a good thing. The owner is a pretty simple guy, someone you'd like to hang out with around the campfire because he probably has something tasty tucked away in he 40-series Land Cruiser. You probably won't get him to shut up about his family, especially his toddler son, but that's okay because he is pretty damned cute and does knuckle bumps. You won't get him to be quiet about his business or industry because he really has a passion for it... not from a mercantile sense but in developing a good product-line from state of the art materials and satisfying his customers. I don't know the dollar/value ratio of that but in todays marketplace I assert it's priceless.

I'm not being critical of your thrift or the other good retailers and good deals you made "not-so 'ol scott," I'm just saying, if TAD isn't for you or you don't appreciate high-priced, limited production items by uniquely skilled craftsmen and women, great. But please don't demean them without knowing, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story."
 

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