Weird that no Scandinavian brands made it on this list, do Americans not buy those? Stuff like the North Face is genuinely considered a pretty poor quality brand here in Denmark. Typically North American brands lose these types of tests by our consumer focused NGOs as well.
My inherited 150 year old Icelandic wool sweater is more water/wind resistant than my Fjällraven Hard shell though. So maybe quality just isn’t really what it was anywhere.
Brands like Norrøna and Bergans use Gore-Tex, and it seems like everyone is sold on it being "the best". I guess Gore-Tex is an alright fit for the climate in Scandinavia, as it can be rather humid during autumn and spring. And people are staunch protectors of their national brands, so I wouldn't be surprised that nobody outside of Norway has heard of them. They are household names in Norway.
During winter you generally just need a wind tight shell, you'll have multiple (breathable) layers underneath. A good mesh webbing underneath a wool base layer under a wind-stopper is my preferred option, keeps you dry and warm in temperatures down to -25C, easily. When it's cold there's no humidity, so your worst enemy will be heat loss due to wind. The chilling factor of wind is a little scary. People that looks overdressed end up freezing because the wind goes straight through them.
You can never go wrong with wool. At least it doesn't lose all insulating capacity just because it gets wet. When it's raining sideways it usually doesn't matter what you're wearing. The humidity is going to be so high that nothing will be able to transfer humidity from your body. You're going to be wet either way. No fancy fabrics will keep you dry, but wool will at least keep you warm.
Good equipment comes with lots of ventilating pockets and zippers, not just under your arms but on the chest and side pockets as well. Inside and outside of your legs as well. Being able to adjust ventilation quickly means that it can be more wind and water resistant. When skiing I will open either the underarm or chest zippers and close them when taking the lift up again. This is usually enough to keep me from getting wet and cold, in temperatures down to -25C.
I don't know about others, but the Nordic brands like Norrøna, Bergans, Stormberg, Haglöfs, Cintamani, Fjällräven, and so on, do not use only Gore-Tex materials. They use other materials too, like G-Loft, Dermizax, Gelanots, etc.
Also, Gore-Tex itself comes in multiple variants (Windstopper, C-knit, Shake-dry, and so on). So just saying that someone "uses Gore-Tex" is not saying that much.
I live in the Nordics, so the Nordic companies are the ones I go to, since it makes sense to get clothing that is designed for and tested in the climate one will be exposed to.
Also, there is (in my experience) a notable lack of the "quality wheel of fortune" one unfortunately experiences with e.g. North American brands; I no longer want to guess if the zipper deteriorates after 8 months, or whether the seams start to rip apart after 6 months, is the "warm jacket" really that warm in a real situation, and so on.
The choice of clothing depends a lot on what you do, even during the winter when it's -25 C: are you moving all the time, do you sit still for long periods, what exactly is the temperature, do you expect snowfall, high winds or none at all, and so on. For example, if you try to do ice fishing dressed up perfectly for cross country skiing, I think you'll start to freeze sooner than later!
Stuff like the North Face is genuinely considered a pretty poor quality brand here in Denmark
Superdry ruined the outdoor jacket market in the UK. They make stuff that looks technical but just isn’t, for posers who live in cities to ermm pose in. But now the (formerly) genuine brands have realised there is money to be made from people who will never actually need proper outdoor clothing but like the look, so they have cut quality and increased price to match.
Here in Wales we chuckle at the English setting off for a days hiking all wearing Superdry and so on. When the weather turns they will be miserable.
Which brands do you rate? I've had a Karrimor eVENT jacket for 4 years, and despite regular Nikwax tech washes is now letting water through between the shoulders - and I'm not a frequent pack wearer, so it hasn't abraded.
Karrimor went bankrupt and the brand has been owned by Sports Direct for the last few years. Draw your own conclusions!
Arcteryx is still good, but expensive. Brasher, Snugpak, Arktis and Keela are all worth looking at. Alpkit is surprisingly good for the price. Paramo kit is decent.
Rab, Mountain Equipment and Montane are good UK brands. I find ME tend to have a more athletic alpinist fit, whereas rab jackets are more voluminous so you can pull them on over everything else e.g. on a belay. Rab Photon Pro is a well known synthetic insulated jacket for Scottish winter conditions. I agree on Acteryx - good but over-priced and becoming the outdoor poseur's garment of choice. You can also get some real bargains for perfectly adequate clothing in Decathlon.
agree on Acteryx - good but over-priced and becoming the outdoor poseur's garment of choice.
I always wonder why people who aren’t at all spend so much to look outdoorsy, maybe it’s to impress Tinder/Grindr dates. Woe betide them if their date wants to go hiking or climbing or something!
Having said that I am wearing jeans right now, but I’m not pretending to be a cowboy...
Oh almost forgot Berghaus, used to be a big fan of their kit but not so much now. Same quality drop-off issues that have affected some of the others mentioned on this thread.
Thanks - I bought my jacket from Sports Direct but assumed they were a stockist, not the owner!
My Brasher boots have lasted 15 years and only failed due to younger me being too lazy to look after the leather properly (it's cracked at the crease). Thanks for all the names, will see which I can find stockists for.
My wife wouldn't be seen dead with me wearing Paramo. If they'd only do better cut garments!
My first pair of Brasher boots were superb - possibly the comfiest boots I have ever owned. They lasted about 2 years before the leather cracked and they were unrepairable - but that's with constant (ab)use - my fault not theirs.
I purchased what I thought was a direct replacement pair recently only to discover that what they now sell (following an acquisition) is a poor copy of the boots I had before.
I bought a NF jacket thinking it would be something that could last me a good 5+ years. The inner padding around the collar just desintegrated after a few weeks and looks like a white plastic band. The outer shell absorbs moisture and is far from the water repellent/absorver it's advertized. Maybe I'm chasing old unicorns but these "technical" brands are not what they used to be say 20 years ago, despite their higher prices.
I think it's fairer to say that TNF has expanded also to include a whole lot of lifestyle clothing.
They continue to offer quite a lot of expedition-ready gear (tents, waterproof shells, etc.) that's definitely not lifestyle stuff - mainly under the "Summit" sub-brand.
e.g. does the shell have a hood that's sized to fit over a climbing helmet? Probably "serious".
Absolutely, I concluded the same some time ago when I saw it being sold en masse in major retailers in the US. Most of these brands now seem synonymous with some status/lifestyle statement.
The inner padding around the collar just desintegrated after a few weeks and looks like a white plastic band. The outer shell absorbs moisture and is far from the water repellent/absorver it's advertized
It could be fake. North Face is one of the most problematic brands for it. Rumour has it the fakes are made in the same factory on the same production lines, just of low quality materials. Never buy North Face online, from a market stall, or wherever.
I've got an icelandic wool sweater I bought from a woman (who wove it) while biking around the island. Really warm, also gorgeous in a rustic way, but way too heavy and incompressible for climbing/backpacking. The warmth/weight ratio is poor relative to modern synthetic puffies like the Nano-Air.
The biggest difference is that your wool sweater will keep you somewhat warm even if you're completely soaked. It's also has some nice fire resistant properties, but this might not be so useful for most people.
My inherited 150 year old Icelandic wool sweater is more water/wind resistant than my Fjällraven Hard shell though. So maybe quality just isn’t really what it was anywhere.