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jakewolf
Dec 23, 2005, 8:18 PM
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I know this will not be popular, but the climbing community should be greatful for sorority girls wearing Patagonia and north face, as well as all those people with auto locker key chains. If these people buy the gear it means more money into the outdoor industry and more research and development for people that do use the product. TNF is a bad example, but nalgenes and carabiners are not. If greater sales allow for larger more efficent production- which equals lower price and same quality I am all for it. As for everyone complaining about kids wearing 3 ply jackets to walk to class, most of you don't need them to go cragging for the weekend- get over it.
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rocamosca
Dec 23, 2005, 9:42 PM
Post #102 of 116
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oops
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sidepull
Dec 23, 2005, 9:46 PM
Post #103 of 116
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In reply to: I know this will not be popular, but the climbing community should be greatful for sorority girls wearing Patagonia and north face, as well as all those people with auto locker key chains. If these people buy the gear it means more money into the outdoor industry and more research and development for people that do use the product. TNF is a bad example, but nalgenes and carabiners are not. If greater sales allow for larger more efficent production- which equals lower price and same quality I am all for it. As for everyone complaining about kids wearing 3 ply jackets to walk to class, most of you don't need them to go cragging for the weekend- get over it.
trophy worthy logic!
it's funny how some feel they own the brand.
by the way, i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to BD.
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kydd76
Dec 26, 2005, 8:35 PM
Post #104 of 116
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Registered: Jun 16, 2005
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I have no brand Preference I just buy on the skinny. But I have to say that I have only owned one north face piece of clothing. One of there first two layer gore-tex pack able jackets. It was a fine jacket, small light and water proof. But I have never really heard any good things since. I have also seen A5 is now a clothing brand, very sad.
I started climbing back in the mid-nineties. I picked up a marmot alpinist light weight jacket for two hundred dollars. I researched and found that most gore-tex is laminated on the same machine no matter which clothing company uses it. Gore makes a killing that way.
I was only able to buy sportive climbing shoes in one store in Cincinnati. So as I walked in one of the sales guy’s got on my case about the marmot jacket since they only sold TNF at his shop. He told me how they made a better product and had a better warranty. I was really put off by his condescending manner and told him that there was really in my opinion no difference. He got mad and told me that I would be sorry, and at fifteen thousand feet my jacket would fall apart. If trying to add injury to insult, and you will not even have a warranty to fix it, then where would I be then? I told him that it sounded like I would be at fifteen thousand with a hole in my jacket and that I would have to sew it up with my repair kit and when I got home I would send it in to be repaired. But I was talking sense, so he told me that I would get my just dessert for not getting his TNF product. He also explained that I was bound to fail in the mountains with out the TNF jacket. Since it was so important to have the best, and that TNF had been the reason that so many parts of the world had been explored and climbed. I soon found out as we talked that he was not a climber and only skied in at perfect north slopes in Indiana. So what did he really know? A true sales man, make the sale at the expense of your customer.
With that said I have never had a problem with my jacket, as if that matters. But every time I hear something about TNF I think about that ars.
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climb_ian
Dec 26, 2005, 8:49 PM
Post #105 of 116
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Registered: Nov 28, 2005
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That fourm is GREAT.. what the hell happened to The North Face..look in a add from a 1996 issue of Rock and Ice than log onto www.northface.com and compare the two together....what are you going to wear on an 8000 meter peak the gortex 3 ply shell or the denim jacket with fur around the hood with a sell out north face patch sewn on it ..
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fishbelly
Dec 26, 2005, 9:22 PM
Post #106 of 116
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Registered: Oct 31, 2004
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Saw a guy wearing a Mtnhardware jacket & a BMW ball cap at wal mart to day. In the NASCAR section..We have became a really diverse society
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climb_ian
Dec 26, 2005, 10:38 PM
Post #107 of 116
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whats worse than that is there is a nascar section at walmart>?
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fallingup
Feb 10, 2006, 2:20 AM
Post #108 of 116
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Registered: Apr 26, 2004
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In reply to: I was only able to buy sportive climbing shoes in one store in Cincinnati
kydd76,
Was that at Outdoor Adventures (later Benchmark) in Clifton on Vine and McMillian or Short Vine?
Latter,
fallingup
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clayman
Feb 10, 2006, 3:55 AM
Post #109 of 116
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Registered: Apr 20, 2004
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In reply to: Saw a guy wearing a Mtnhardware jacket & a BMW ball cap at wal mart to day. In the NASCAR section..We have became a really diverse society
uh I guess...you were there
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suprdude22
Feb 10, 2006, 7:10 PM
Post #110 of 116
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Registered: Aug 18, 2005
Posts: 64
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Maybe its me, but I have come to the realization that it OUR (people that actually do stuff with their lives) fault. If we didnt look so DAMN cool in our stuff when we walk around the mall or campus or wherever, it wouldnt have caught on. Along those same lines, If you see US in our gear, you would never really be able to tell us apart from those kids that have never spent a night in a tent or an hour outside. One thing I noticed at a recent weekend at HP, were the girls just sitting around watching the guys climb. This isn't a bash on girl climbers. These are the girls that used to go to the skate park and stand around there. They were ALL wearing their TNF fleeces. When I started camping/climbing, it wasn't mainstream, however, it has become something more people are doing once and saying they "do" it. I don't know what to do with it, but WE are becoming the people that the rest of society will live vicariously through.
mp
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iceaxe23
Feb 11, 2006, 8:42 AM
Post #111 of 116
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Registered: Jan 30, 2006
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I still have my North face catalogs from the 80's and 90's they were way cool with expedition photos and way cool gear. I got my first down north face bag in the 80's and it was awesome lasted me over 10 years (I then sold it for the newest dryloft faze) had a employee deal from them in the late 90's and got some really good gear. the Climber DL sleeping bag (I love this bag!!!) the heavy duty dryloft down belay parka (this thing has saved my life a few times) and many other soft goods that perform well. Oh and I can't forget my cerro torre pants and jacket (at one time I had the one piece suit too) As of recent I got some A5 retro approach shoes that I love(well for $20 how could you not) and the rappel pants (again for $20) but that is about it....the new jackets look like something Michel Jackson would wear...not a mountaineer
as of now most of my gear is from Moonstone...not trendy, great quality, and works well for me...
me on rainier with my trusty TNF climber bag that is just over a pound, tie in point, dry loft shell, and did I say just over a pound...one of the last good things they made
(This post was edited by iceaxe23 on Jan 31, 2009, 8:00 PM)
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gearjunkie
Aug 1, 2007, 7:14 PM
Post #112 of 116
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Registered: Aug 1, 2007
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I think where the North Face went wrong is when it started to change it's customer base... This can be most accreditted to the combination of its acquisition by VFC, the worlds largest clothing company, and the explosion of "wilderness chic" that has arised recently...
now, instead of manafacturing their products for the die-hard climbers and explorers out there, they've started to change their designs in order to appeal to the more recreational user. though obviously more profitable, they have lost a good deal of faith from the climbing community, as their products now focus more on style than functionality or quality.
similarly, when TNF bought A5, a once renowned company that made reliable aiding gear, they basically discontinued the gear line and focused solely on the apparel.
TNF, please come back to your roots and do what you used to do... innovate and put out great, functional gear for the true explorers
(This post was edited by gearjunkie on Aug 1, 2007, 7:18 PM)
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leapinlizard
Aug 1, 2007, 8:02 PM
Post #113 of 116
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Registered: Jul 14, 2004
Posts: 200
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My only beef with TNF is the A5 F-up. I was at the A5 clearout sale back in, what was it 96, when Middendorf was cleaning out the storage unit that A5 was based out of here in Flagstaff. He said that he had sold the company to North Face, and although I was bummed to here it was sold out, I never in a million years would have thought that they would have done what they did. I mean A5 was like the name in bigwall gear, and now it means that it is probably pink or has faux fur on it. What a travesty. Of course that doesn't mean I won't buy from them if the price is right. I did just pick up a Nupste Down jacket, a Mountain Parka and a gore tex beanie all for $310.
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stymingersfink
Aug 2, 2007, 12:26 AM
Post #114 of 116
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Registered: Aug 12, 2003
Posts: 7250
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Holy Thread Revival, Batman!
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gearjunkie
Aug 2, 2007, 4:06 AM
Post #115 of 116
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Registered: Aug 1, 2007
Posts: 2
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hahaha wowww, didnt even notice that. do i get some sort of prize for reviving it after a year and a half?
nah but its a good thread that i came across in a search
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paulraphael
Aug 6, 2007, 5:47 AM
Post #116 of 116
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Registered: Feb 6, 2004
Posts: 670
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This thread will probably get revived every time TNF gets worse.
People are pretty aware of the decline since they became a mass market brand in the 90s, but I think they suffered their first decline in the 80s.
I worked in a climbing store when I was in school in the late 80s and saw tons of the stuff first hand. I had hang loops pull out of VE-25 tents from gentle tugs when showing off tents to customers! Old timers at the store said that the quality was way down from when the company was a small shop a decade earlier.
Of course back then, the customer base was still climbers. So the crappy gear was at least climbing gear, and not just crappy streetwear with climbing pretentions.
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