Why is Arcteryx so expensive?

I own lots of Patagonia, Outdoor Research, etc. I even own an Arcteryx harness, and really like it. But I see the prices on their soft goods and just can't figure it out. They're like 50% to 100% more expensive than even Patagucci and OR. Is it worth it? Are they really that great? What's the value there?

Where is this Silicone Valley of which you speak, Bruno? Between two big fake boobs?

The dead bird logo has a lot to do with it for some stuff, but in fairness they make some competitively priced stuff that is great - Proton LT (vs Nano Air), Acrux boots (vs LS/Scarpa). My Dually says made in Canada so I totally get why it would cost more than a synthetic belay parka from Patagonia, OR etc.. tho maybe not worth twice as much...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY0BwvuiV1g

It's up for debate, but the argument is, basically, Arcteryx is on the cutting edge, producing the toughest soft goods, and spending more than anyone else in the field on R&D.

Personally- I agree the price point doesn't relate to it's superiority over other brands. 

bruno-cx wrote: All outdoor brands are essentially just street wear brands for rich white bros working in Boulder or Silicone Valley.

Arcteryx Veilance:
https://veilance.arcteryx.com/home.aspx?country=us&language=en

Excuse while I go spend $1500 on jacket so I can impress the YP at the climbing gym.

The guy modeling those jackets looks like a Romanian hit man

It’s hard to answer this question with individual anecdotes that you are going to get.

Ideally, if you could poll a large number of people who had an arcteryx jacket, vs equivalent OR or Patagonia jacket, and determined that the arcteryx group held on to their jacket 50% longer, before needing replacement... that would justify the price. But I don’t think you would get this kind of data, bc those who can afford arcteryx, can probably afford to replace their things more often, and might choose to do do, for reasons other than just durability.

I don’t have a personal experience of comparing an identical item from Patagonia and arcteryx head-to-head. But I’ve been happy with all the arcteryx items I’ve ever owned, as well as with all the OR and Patagonia items, so it’s a tough call.

My husband had an arcteryx rain jacket, and that thing was a beast. For many years. He, unfortunately, misplaced it somewhere, we think he left it at the crag, didn’t notice it immediately, and we never got it back. But it is probably still working well for the fortunate person who found it... 

I have arcteryx ski bibs, got them on clearance from BC years ago, and they are amazing. Both in fit, and in durability/waterproof-ness.
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My husband got an Arcteryx shirt from his brother as a gift, and damn, he looks good in it. It looks dressy enough to go to work in a place that requires collared button-down shirts, but then gets thrown into the washer, dried without ceremony, stuffed into a suitcase, and continues looking good, long after the dress shirts (that cost almost as much as arcteryx) start looking ratty, despite the dry-cleaning. 
After 6 months of him wearing that shirt non-stop, I bought him another one. Both of them are still going strong and looking great. 
I’m honestly not sure what you would use these shirts for, in the actual climbing/outdoor activities. They are great for travel and work, but I wouldn’t climb in them... not sure what the market is for them, other than, well, I guess we are the market for them? I’d buy another one, probably for his birthday. They are that good. 

Lena chita wrote: It’s hard to answer this question with individual anecdotes that you are going to get.

Ideally, if you could poll a large number of people who had an arcteryx jacket, vs equivalent OR or Patagonia jacket, and determined that the arcteryx group held on to their jacket 50% longer, before needing replacement... that would justify the price. But I don’t think you would get this kind of data, bc those who can afford arcteryx, can probably afford to replace their things more often, and might choose to do do, for reasons other than just durability.

I don’t have a personal experience of comparing an identical item from Patagonia and arcteryx head-to-head. But I’ve been happy with all the arcteryx items I’ve ever owned, as well as with all the OR and Patagonia items, so it’s a tough call.

My husband had an arcteryx rain jacket, and that thing was a beast. For many years. He, unfortunately, misplaced it somewhere, we think he left it at the crag, didn’t notice it immediately, and we never got it back. But it is probably still working well for the fortunate person who found it...

I have arcteryx ski bibs, got them on clearance from BC years ago, and they are amazing. Both in fit, and in durability/waterproof-ness.

My husband got an Arcteryx shirt from his brother as a gift, and damn, he looks good in it. It looks dressy enough to go to work in a place that requires collared button-down shirts, but then gets thrown into the washer, dried without ceremony, stuffed into a suitcase, and continues looking good, long after the dress shirts (that cost almost as much as arcteryx) start looking ratty, despite the dry-cleaning. 
After 6 months of him wearing that shirt non-stop, I bought him another one. Both of them are still going strong and looking great. 
I’m honestly not sure what you would use these shirts for, in the actual climbing/outdoor activities. They are great for travel and work, but I wouldn’t climb in them... not sure what the market is for them, other than, well, I guess we are the market for them? I’d buy another one, probably for his birthday. They are that good. 

Fill us in on the shirt? It sounds amazing! 

Climbing and killing for hire friend.

I would never wear anything other than this coat.

Lena chita wrote: It’s hard to answer this question with individual anecdotes that you are going to get.

Ideally, if you could poll a large number of people who had an arcteryx jacket, vs equivalent OR or Patagonia jacket, and determined that the arcteryx group held on to their jacket 50% longer, before needing replacement... that would justify the price.

I think all the good brands last. I still own a Patagonia jacket I bought in college, and I'm OLD. My Patagonia Gore-Tex gloves bought at the same sale in the 1990s just died last year, and that was the Gore membrane failing. 

Doug Chism wrote:

Fill us in on the shirt? It sounds amazing! 

This one

He has a short sleeve and a long sleeve version. 

Tim Stich wrote: Climbing and killing for hire friend.

I would never wear anything other than this coat.

Give him some black Ray Bans and cast him as Keanu's son in Matrix 4.

Tim Stich wrote: Climbing and killing for hire friend.

Scroll to about :45

I own some of their clothing, and it really is well made, well thought out stuff. The SV (severe weather) clothing has kept me comfortable in some pretty harsh conditions. The lighter weight stuff is equally well made, but I have a hard time justifying Arc'teryx prices for less extreme conditions. Maybe if I had more money to start with...

I see far more people wearing Arcteryx in the financial district of Manhattan than I do at any crag.

This has been discussed before but here is some insight from someone who works in the industry (for a company producing outdoor clothing and hardware.)

With apparel the retail price is traditionally double the whole sale price and that is double the cost to produce the product. For example: Jacket cost $50 to produce is sold to wholesale shop for $100 is sold to customer for $200.

Arcteryx uses Goretex fabrics for their hard shells, Goretex products are expensive from a material cost stand point. They also use waterproof YKK zippers which are also expensive, using cheaper materials would certainly allow for them to charge less.

Arcteryx uses digital die cutting machines to cut fabrics, this is more expensive than manual machines or companies whose workers cut fabrics by hand.

Hiring labor to design those jackets in Vancouver is expensive because cost of living is so high there. 

Often times people see that a product is made in China or Bangladesh and think that means labor must be super cheap but the sewing part of the labor cost is only one piece.

For example Euro based brands who are distributed here in the US also have to pay to ship the goods and import them into the country from the Euro head quarters before they sell them. This contributes to pricing as well. Take La Sportiva for example it cost them how ever much to design and produce shoes they are sent to their warehouse in Italy and then the North American office has to pay additional costs just to get them into the US before they sell them increasing the price.

I would assume they need an absolutely stellar customer service team and take little complaint for repairs at the cost, and thus the idea is that you're buying something that you'll use for 10 years. I bought an Arcteryx piece on sale and love it, but don't think it's uniquely different than anything else.

Does anyone have experience with their team on repairs of their gear?

The answer is clear....

Arcteryx wants to crack into the professional gamer market.

They are a Canadian company and the Canada dollar is trading at .$.75 to the U.S. dollar.  So you are paying an exchange rate besides the high prices.  

It’s not really more expensive than Patagonia or OR when you look at similar products. I think the main difference is Arc’teryx doesn’t go on big sales and clearance as often.

All produce synthetic puffies in the $250-300 range retail. The gore tex pro offerings are similarly priced when available. The down jackets are also similar. The Cerium LT at $380 is more than a Patagonia down sweater, but it’s also a higher end product. The Thorium AR is closer in price and probably warmer. Patagonia has the Futz Roy which is warmer and more expensive. 
Yeah, they have their fashion line too. That is designer clothing domain, and prices never make any sense there

Lena chita wrote: 
My husband had an arcteryx rain jacket, and that thing was a beast. 

My husband has an Arcteryx rain jacket too.  I think it's about 8 years old and it's still in perfect shape.  We wash it occasional with the Nik-Wax detergent.

Out of curiosity I looked at their website.  They offer a lifetime service and repair warranty.  They also have a deep commitment to minimizing environmental impact, sustainability, analyzing the supply chain, labor and human rights, materials compliance etc.  I was very impressed by the extensive info and the philosophy that underpins it.  This certainly plays into the cost. It's actually an incentive for me to patronize them at this point in my life.  From an environmental standpoint, the lifestyle I have is indulgent by world standards and climbing almost by definition (unless you walk or bike to your climbing) is a completely selfish carbon imprint.  So I look for ways not to add to insult to injury.

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this post but so be it.

The better questions is why would anyone pay full price? On sale they are often priced competitively.