devinsixtyseven
Explorer
Salomon = Quality. I suspect the arrangement will only help both, if there's any crossover.
Arcteryx is worth the price. REI and the Jaw both have some of their stuff on sale right now...jackets, packs and other things.
I looked at TNF, MHW, Spyder, Columbia, Burton/Analog, 686, Bonfire, Salomon...I swear I tried on every descent jacket on the planet, and went with the Arcteryx Sidewinder SV (I think...it has the stow hood...haven't used the hood yet). It's worth every hundred I shelled out. The spray skirt is the best design I've seen, it uses an elastic cord to snug a loose skirt in place rather than elastic bands inside a more solid skirt as on my previous jackets. The end result is the cord snags outside the belt loops on my pants (on purpose), and being an XL size there's plenty of room to move around, so the snow stays out rather than the skirt riding up around my chest like the older design on my previous jacket.
The sideways zipper is great. I only have one zipper in front of my neck now, and it's an Arcteryx fuzzy jacket with a cover on the inside so the zipper isn't against skin.
Their attention to detail in construction and materials used, at a more reasonable price point than TNF, is what sold me vs all the other brands I looked at.
-Sean
Arcteryx is worth the price. REI and the Jaw both have some of their stuff on sale right now...jackets, packs and other things.
I looked at TNF, MHW, Spyder, Columbia, Burton/Analog, 686, Bonfire, Salomon...I swear I tried on every descent jacket on the planet, and went with the Arcteryx Sidewinder SV (I think...it has the stow hood...haven't used the hood yet). It's worth every hundred I shelled out. The spray skirt is the best design I've seen, it uses an elastic cord to snug a loose skirt in place rather than elastic bands inside a more solid skirt as on my previous jackets. The end result is the cord snags outside the belt loops on my pants (on purpose), and being an XL size there's plenty of room to move around, so the snow stays out rather than the skirt riding up around my chest like the older design on my previous jacket.
The sideways zipper is great. I only have one zipper in front of my neck now, and it's an Arcteryx fuzzy jacket with a cover on the inside so the zipper isn't against skin.
Their attention to detail in construction and materials used, at a more reasonable price point than TNF, is what sold me vs all the other brands I looked at.
-Sean
