Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
As the buyer for a large store, I have to choose between offerings from The North Face, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Arc'Teryx, Cloudviel, Marmot and even Pearlizumi, Sugoi and Columbia. Yes, we have too many lines, but...
The level of quality offered by Arc'Teryx could deteriorate and still be superior to anything else. It truly is head and shoulders above the rest. I was a buyer when Arc'Teryx introduced their first Gore Tex shells and it was revolutionary then - well over ten years ago. They continue to innovate and stay well ahead of everyone else. Does it keep you drier? No. Dry is dry. However, it is beautiful stuff.
One thing I see on a weekly basis is disappointment with laminate shells that has nothing to do with the product. People don't seem to realize that even a $700 laminate jacket is worthless without $5 worth of DWR treatment. The factory DWR coatings on most shell pieces degrades quickly, which allows the parent fabric of the laminate to get wet. That allows moisture to sit too closely to the laminate itself, which in turn clogs all of those glorious little pores that makes the fabric breath. Toss in a hard effort and moisture accumulates inside. A quick glance at the soggy exterior often leads people to believe the shell has leaked when in reality, it has gotten soaked and not allowed internal moisture to escape. That little bottle of DWR is not just on the shelf of your local outdoor store for looks.
By the way, I have jackets with H2No (Patagonia), Conduit (Mountain Hardwear), eVent (Pearlizumi), as well as a few shells with Gore Tex Paclite, XCR, etc, and they all work as advertised. Key to that is proper maintenance of the piece with proper washing and treatment of the DWR. What goes under it also counts.
The level of quality offered by Arc'Teryx could deteriorate and still be superior to anything else. It truly is head and shoulders above the rest. I was a buyer when Arc'Teryx introduced their first Gore Tex shells and it was revolutionary then - well over ten years ago. They continue to innovate and stay well ahead of everyone else. Does it keep you drier? No. Dry is dry. However, it is beautiful stuff.
One thing I see on a weekly basis is disappointment with laminate shells that has nothing to do with the product. People don't seem to realize that even a $700 laminate jacket is worthless without $5 worth of DWR treatment. The factory DWR coatings on most shell pieces degrades quickly, which allows the parent fabric of the laminate to get wet. That allows moisture to sit too closely to the laminate itself, which in turn clogs all of those glorious little pores that makes the fabric breath. Toss in a hard effort and moisture accumulates inside. A quick glance at the soggy exterior often leads people to believe the shell has leaked when in reality, it has gotten soaked and not allowed internal moisture to escape. That little bottle of DWR is not just on the shelf of your local outdoor store for looks.
By the way, I have jackets with H2No (Patagonia), Conduit (Mountain Hardwear), eVent (Pearlizumi), as well as a few shells with Gore Tex Paclite, XCR, etc, and they all work as advertised. Key to that is proper maintenance of the piece with proper washing and treatment of the DWR. What goes under it also counts.
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