driftwoody
Trail Wise!
Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
Posts: 14,994
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Post by driftwoody on Dec 3, 2018 15:39:07 GMT -8
I bought a Montbell UL Super Stretch 32* bag quite a few years ago, which I still use. I really like the freedom of movement. I can bring my knees to my chest inside the bag.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 18:12:46 GMT -8
Also thought about the frost line. Good bitmore down. Thanks
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Post by cheaptentguy on Dec 5, 2018 8:35:34 GMT -8
I don't know anything, but I suspect most of the manufacturers that make clothes are trying to rope in the casual person that doesn't do anything outdoors but wants to wear a cool jacket to the bar or around town. It's obvious must puffy jackets these days aren't being used for backpacking. So, it wouldn't surprise me if they were looking for an urban center that's nature friendly and has an outdoor culture that would lead to casual people walking in and paying a lot of money for a jacket that they don't really need.
I definitely think that's the case with the Portland Snow Peak store, which is a really nice boutique of expensive clothes that also has some nice gear.
But again, I don't know anything. Just guessing.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Dec 5, 2018 14:41:39 GMT -8
With the increasing move towards public transportation in urban areas that associated out of doors walking to and from the spaced pickup points (subway stations and bus stops) mean an expanding market for severe weather clothing. Going to work in Chicago or NYC in winter means mandatory heading into heavy weather. A backpacking trip you can reschedule, not your job. So “fancy” or not, heavy weather clothing is a necessity for those millions of urbanites versus recreational backpacking.... So why ignore such s big market if you’ve got the expertise to service it? FWIW? Stand at a bus stop in Chicago, in January, and tell me what I don’t “really need”. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2986400/New-York-leads-nation-steps-day-winter.htmlnymag.com/news/features/35815/index1.html
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Post by cheaptentguy on Dec 5, 2018 15:27:20 GMT -8
FWIW? Stand at a bus stop in Chicago, in January, and tell me what I don’t “really need”. Obviously, need is relative and there are certainly conditions where it makes sense to have a Monttebell packable jacket. Point is, there are plenty of people that don't need such a jacket that just like having one. And I'm not judging. However, those companies are trying to sell product to whomever will buy it, which includes people that don't need such a jacket but just think it looks cool or like the idea that one day they might use it. Main point is that people on this forum are thinking about people who backpack getting gear in terms of why a company might operate in a city that isn't necessarily a backpacking destination. But a company putting a brick and mortar is just thinking about sales, which might be a destination that isn't as obvious to backpackers.
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Dec 5, 2018 15:41:44 GMT -8
Stand at a bus stop in Chicago, in January, and tell me what I don’t “really need”. Exactly! I don't know why it is that people worry so much that someone might buy a piece of gear and never go backpacking with it. Also, almost to a person, every backpacker I have ever had an extended conversation with about gear, especially clothing gear, has been concerned with "how it looks", one way or another. That is why some backpackers prefer camo styles, even though that is totally unneeded for backpacking. have chased after the corporate "strategies" of both Mont-bell and Snowpeak numerous times in pursuit of some piece of gear I thought was interesting enough to acquire, but have come to the conclusion that whatever they're trying to do in the retail world outside of Japan is embedded in the inscrutable mind of someone remote - possibly sitting almost naked on the top of a picturesque peak in central Japan, who imagines that he is in direct contact with the mind of America. So true! It bugs me to the point I simply have given up on Montbell. Not interested in them if they aren't interested in me. You can add Rab and a couple others that presently escape my mind to that list as well. Rumi
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2018 16:25:16 GMT -8
I'm often frustrated by Mrs. big_load wearing her UL down jacket in everyday life instead of her other one with more durable fabric. She also prefers her backpacking rain gear to more standard gear, so she wears them out faster.
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Post by johntpenca on Dec 5, 2018 17:28:22 GMT -8
So true! It bugs me to the point I simply have given up on Montbell. Not interested in them if they aren't interested in me. You can add Rab and a couple others that presently escape my mind to that list as well. Not sure I get that. I buy the gear that fits my need. Not particularly concerned about their corporate mindset. I'd be really surprised to see Montbell go mainstream as TNF and Patagonia have done. Montbell's marketing strategy is significantly different. I'm often frustrated by Mrs. big_load wearing her UL down jacket in everyday life instead of her other one with more durable fabric. She also prefers her backpacking rain gear to more standard gear, so she wears them out faster. Yup. The clothing I wear in town is independent of my backpacking/BC skiing clothing. The clothing worn outdoors is expensive and specialized. Don't want to trash it using it for everyday wear around town.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Dec 5, 2018 18:09:00 GMT -8
Given the abuse I expect my backpacking clothing to survive I’m not at all concerned with the challenges presented to it my walking from a subway ststion to a museum entrance. While downtown presents monstrous demonstrations of the Venturi effect when wind funnels through a narrow passage and fighting that off is a great use of my goretex parkas: far less abrasion and stress than back in the mountains. Anything too fragile for the city? Not something I want anywhere near the Sierra.
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RumiDude
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Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Dec 5, 2018 18:22:53 GMT -8
Not sure I get that. I buy the gear that fits my need. Not particularly concerned about their corporate mindset. I'd be really surprised to see Montbell go mainstream as TNF and Patagonia have done. Montbell's marketing strategy is significantly different. I have been interested in Montbell, but for whatever reason it is difficult to find their stuff on a rack to actually try on and inspect closely. Even when ordering direct from Montbell, the sizes and colors available has been spotty. Believe me I have tried. And they have an irritating habit of discontinuing products as well. So, I have stopped trying to find their stuff. It isn't like there aren't comparable products elsewhere. Almost the same applies to Rab. Rumi
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Post by dayhiker on Dec 5, 2018 19:41:35 GMT -8
Their website says the new store will be in downtown Denver and will open on 12/14. Seems strange that with so few stores they will have 2 only 30 miles apart. Maybe they are closing the store in Boulder instead. I was in there tonight and the sign now says closing sale. The clerk said on 12/23 and the new store is in Denver (I saw it on the website but did not realize it is new). Everything in the store is at least 20% off right (and that is most of the stuff there).
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reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Dec 5, 2018 23:48:07 GMT -8
I'm often frustrated by Mrs. big_load wearing her UL down jacket in everyday life instead of her other one with more durable fabric. First world problem, for sure.
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swmtnbackpacker
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Back but probably posting soon under my real name ... Rico Sauve
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Dec 8, 2018 16:48:12 GMT -8
... Japanese concepts of "camping" and "backpacking" are more European than American, though there are good things to be said about both styles. I suspect that, in time, the American concept of what constitutes "camping" and "backpacking" will change to align more closely with these smaller, older areas - especially if we keep voting for the people we have in the last 50 years. I recently (in the last year) bought a Snowpeak Geoshield stove, almost entirely out of curiosity. If you visit the websites of both these companies - the Japanese ones - you'll see a much more cosmopolitan, organized and social way of thinking about the world outside of the cities. It's not, BTW, "wilderness" by any stretch of the imagination. Read where they tend to overpack in general though Montbell is some very light stuff ... but still the lightest of “trad design”. There are some Japanese “cottage” companies like Locusgear that are more in line with the US company MLD for tarp based camping gear. locusgear.com/?lang=en
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Post by downriver on Jan 23, 2024 0:14:17 GMT -8
I also read Montbell closed its Denver store last fall in 2023. I did not see any articles on their store closing. Fortunately, their Boulder store is still open. I do know a lot of businesses on the 16th Street Mall in Denver have closed due to homelessness and crime. Perhaps this is why Montbell closed, too.
Regards,
DR
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jazzmom
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a.k.a. TigerFan
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Post by jazzmom on Jan 23, 2024 15:09:17 GMT -8
I was in Denver mid-September and spent a couple of hours wandering the 16th Street Mall area. The Montbell store was still there. There were empty store fronts but I thought the biggest issue, at least then, was the construction. It was a mess and, frankly, you had to be pretty determined to do any shopping -- which I managed to do, successfully , as well as have a really nice lunch.
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