BD Clothes?

I'm not confusing black diamonds stuff at all. I am aware that they are for the most part new to the clothing arena. I was stating I am not a huge fan of bd climbing/ski gear and based upon these experiences I will avoid their clothes. Unless the schoeler pants are that much better than the arc'teryx gamma sk/lt and the outdoor research cirque pants I won't buy their stuff. They are like the north face for gear-you can always find skis, trekking poles, backpacks and what not for relatively cheap. I've bought bd packs and have trashed them in two seasons while I have arc'teryx, osprey packs still going strong after 5 years. I like their ice screws and the whippet-otherwise not much.

Cor,

Beyond Clothing was using Schoeller in some items. When their site comes back up we'll find out if they still do. They also used to make everything custom fitted, with upgrade options.

This might explain their current situation. Sounds like they were bought out and the marketing slicksters are moving in.

AMK,

Good find, but BD should display that more up front.

Seems like a relatively small point in comparison to the functionality of the clothes, but I can't get over how prominently large they're displaying their logo on seemingly every piece. I understand that every company has to market itself, but the size of the logo on these clothes (and their new-ish line of helmets) is out of control.

The Blueprint Part Dank wrote:Has anyone bought any of the offerings from the new Black Diamond Clothing line? How have you liked it?

BD Dawn Patrol alpine Jacket: Without getting into the waterproofness of this garment cause I know nothing about that ( yet ). I can tell you what I know from one true day out in the field working safety on a film set.
The wind was a steady 35-40 km above tree line. Gust around 60 or so. Comfort wise the jacket was great. Looks well normally I make the clothing look good but this time I think it was a draw. The hood has a good fit with a helmut, better then most. Cuffs around the gloves good.
On the down side the the Schoeller material across the back allowed air to leak through certainly sucked the heat out of my core. I was forced to face into the wind for extended periods to avoid dramatic heat loss. It was pretty cold I should mention.
Not sure what the waterproofness is but if those big wet rogers Pass pancake flakes soak through your overheated back and mix in a little alpine wind we have the makings of a arctic zombie movie.
I'm not totally dissing this jacket like I said it has only had one real day out in the hills and three days posing on Banff ave.
If your like most and can only afford one piece of mountain armour you may want to hold off purchasing this till more info on it's performance. Starting to wonder if I shouldn't have replaced my high end Arcteryx shell with another. Jury is still out so lets not linch anybody just yet.

Took the Dawn patrol LT Pants out on a rock gig today. They have a pretty good fit however they have a patch pocket on the right side that is a little far forward for my taste. Their alpine pants have a great look and feel but somebody put the patch pockets right up on the front of the thigh. This is just plain stupid. Even if you put a map in there you'd feel it with every step. I wouldn't recommend these till they put the dam pocket back on the side where it belongs on the side of the leg. The things look and feel great but somebody in their R@D totally fucked up. They obviously never used these things in the real world.

I finally got around to getting some BD apparel. I bought the Coefficient Hoody and the Stance Nelay hoody.

Coefficient Hoodie: This is essentially Black Diamond's version of the R1 from Patagonia. As far as wind protection and insulation, they use the same material, so I didn't notice any real difference. As for durability, the R1 seems to have a very slight advantage with a more durable face fabric.

As for the design differences. The Coefficiemt hoody is a full zip garment whereas the R1 has a 1/4 zip. I think the full zipper makes it easier to put on and take off, and let's me vent a bit more heat on the approaches.

However, the new R1 hoodies have a thumb loop on the sleeve, and the Coefficient doesn't. I've always really like having a thumb loop for a little extra warmth and to keep the sleeves in place as I layer on top of the piece.

Overall, the two pieces each have their ups and down, but I give BD an ever so slight advantage because of the full length zipper.

As for the Stance Belay Hoody, I was standing in the store with a Das Parka in one hand and the Stamce in the other. I ended up buying the Stance because it was on major mark down.

I definitely think the quality of the primaloft in the Das Parka provides better insulation. But I'm very warm natured, so that doesn't bother me as much. The biggest knock against the stance belay hoody is the lack of a two-way zipper. I think that's a really glaring design flaw with the piece. An integrated stuff sack of sorts would have been a nice touch. But overall, if the Stance hadn't been at such a great price, I would have definitely gone with the Das Parka, which I think is a far superior piece of gear.

i tried a few of the BD softshell jackets on recently. for the most part i liked them OK, but the tiny hand pockets were an absolute dealbreaker.

akafaultline wrote:I personally will avoid their stuff. Not the biggest fan of their gear. To me, they are similar to the north face-they are so big that you can always find some of their crap for dirt cheap because they over produced (clearance). All pieces I have from them have been bought on clearance and none have been great. They do have a bib which looks cool-still won't buy it though.

Not being a fan of there outerwear is one thing but to say there "gear" is crap is a bull shit statement....

Having used a lot of Schoeller fabric clothing through the years, I'm a pretty big fan of their stuff.

The BD Schoeller pants look pretty nice. So nice that I just bought a pair of their Dawn Patrol LT pants for my son. Hopefully, they will be as good as the other Schoeller stuff I've used.

I just purchased the stance belay parka and i can say that this things feels twice as thick as the DAS and the Kappa hoody by arcteryx. it feels really really thick. thicker than my mountain hardware subzero SL. I'm not sure what to think of the synergy insulation but i can say i think it lofts incredibly well. primalofts website says that synergy is it's loftiest insulation. the jacket doesn't compress extremely well but i'm used to stuffing a sub zero in my pack so im not too concerned.

Hard to believe that Black Diamond would enter the soft god market after all their success in every other product line. I also don't like the fact that they seem to be taking over the climbing world but lets be honest... their gear performs and last. sure maybe not perfect but generally hard to beat....

I've been using the BD Dawn Patrol Pants since November. I'm 5'10" 168 pounds and the men's medium fit me very well. I have been very pleased with these pants while waterice climbing and mountain hiking. For the first time, I can access all the pockets, including thigh pockets, with my harness on. I've never been able to do that with Patagonia, Mammut and TNF.

Schoeller material is spot on. Strectch, tough and relatively light. I'm no UL, so to each his own.

Really, the only complaint I have is the cheap integrated belt BD uses. With a pack or harness, the belt loosens and the pants tend to sag a bit. The pants are cut some-what high in the back, so they don't fall out of the harness.

I guess the pressure from the harness or pack presses on the cheap buckle they use and it immediately loosens. I wish BD either used a more sturdy belt or gave us the option to change them out. The option for suspenders would have been cool too.

Christopher G wrote: Really, the only complaint I have is the cheap integrated belt BD uses. With a pack or harness, the belt loosens and the pants tend to sag a bit. The pants are cut some-what high in the back, so they don't fall out of the harness. I guess the pressure from the harness or pack presses on the cheap buckle they use and it immediately loosens. I wish BD either used a more sturdy belt or gave us the option to change them out. The option for suspenders would have been cool too.

A lot of companies have that issue, I've got a pair of $270 Patagucci Alpine Guide Pants with a draw-string that's skinnier than my shoe laces

I recently just picked up they're Solution Hoody and Dawn Patrol LT pants and was thoroughly disappointed! When it comes to the Solution Hoody I have 3 major complaints. The first being that the cut is claimed to be an 'athletic fit'. Not the case here. I'm 6'-0/150lbs and purchased a large. It was super wide and short. They also claim the hood to be 'over the helmet compatible' and even show a pic on their website with the hood over a helmet. Not only did I have to stretch the hood somewhat to fit over my helmet but once it was over the waist line of the jacket rose at least 2 inches. Upon raising my arms up, the waist line rose another 1-2 inches. The second was the craftsmanship. Talk about cheap materials! Within the first day of wearing it I ended up ripping out one of the cuffs while simply putting it on! And last but not least, they bill it as warm enough to wear on cool spring/fall days as an outer layer and as a midlayer in the winter. Well this supposedly wind resistant layer felt like I was wearing nothing on a 45 degree day with 5mph breeze. Yeah not the case. As for the pants, the fit was athletic if you like your pants to fit like a pair of wrangler cowboy pants. Too tight for my taste. I was also rather disappointed with the kick pads on the bottom. Way thinner than my Arc Beta AR's. Definitely not the best for use with crampons. So to sum it up for ya, I WOULD AVOID BLACK DIAMOND SOFT GOODS AT ALL COSTS! Do yourself a favor and stick with a reputable brand such as Arc, Mammut, or the likes. Hell, I'd take anything North Face has to offer before going with BD and that's not saying much IMO.

Been using one of their soft shell jackets for a few weekends now (ice climbing) and I actually like it! I am 6'4" and 180lbs and the large fits me quite nicely (long arms!), although I wish the lower body was a bit slimmer. In any case, of all the soft shells on the market at the moment, it is the only one I have found that actually fits me (and I've been looking for a couple of years...).

The material (Schoeller) is very comfortable, light and stretchy, and so far water resistant.

Now if they could just remove those silly hand pockets (I climb with a harness on, dummy!), they'd have a pretty nice piece of climbing-specific gear.

I'm a larger guy. For a casual shirt I'll usually wear somewhere between a L or XL for a nice fit. I ordered the XL in the technician shirt and was surprised how snug it was in the shoulders. Gave it to my brother who is typically a M to L size. Recently ordered the castleton pants. Ordered a size bigger in the waist after the experience with the shirt. The waist was true to size if not bigger. Took the pants to the tailor for an adjustment. They'll be alright pants...not sure I'd recommend them to a friend.

If you have the opportunity to try the clothes on in person, I'd definitely recommend it.

Hopes this helps if someone is considering a purchase.

Mike

6'4" 180lbs

BD large fits fine.

BD Access Hybrid Hoody, 8 months, performs well for everything from cragging to fall multipitching in NH. Only complaint no stash pocket/pounch, but tough to do that with the Schoeller side panels.

BD Hot Forge Hoody, 3 months, amazingly warm, layered with above and polypro warm in the 10-20 degrees. New hybrid primaloft and water treated down has performed as advertised too. Outer fabric a little thin, but feels thicker than some other puffy's

No other experience with their pants or shells but I'll be sticking w/ these jackets.