Why is Arcteryx so expensive?

I have had a miura 50 pack for cragging for many years. Last year the shoulder strap blew out but the pack literally still looks new. I sent it in for repair and they emailed that they were going to send me one of their newer packs. I responded that their new packs are more light and fast and not really crag worthy. They repaired the shoulder strap and sent it back. Can’t even tell it was repaired. 

DRusso wrote: 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.

That’s exactly the info I got from the short douche manager of the Orange County CA North Face store in 1996!

Chris Wright wrote:

The guy modeling those jackets looks like a Romanian hit man

more like Orin from Parks and Rec

1)you are paying for the highest quality
2)you are paying for an excellent warranty
3)the technology and skill that goes into making just one jacket is mind boggling.

Look at what it takes to make an Alpha SV. You can find the article that follows the whole design and production process. They do this so that you benefit from an insane attention to detail for the next decade in comfort. Tbf veilance is crazy but that is an entirely different market. If you want to find Arc'teryx ar a discount, check out some of the outlet stores. There is one in Castle Rock, Colorado with first quality surplus from previous seasons. Everything is at least 30% off MSRP.

Mees wrote:

fixed it for you

Lol that's a fair assessment 

tsherry wrote:

Sorry for the double post. Saw Arc'teryx's head designer give a talk once. His view on sustainability is a bit controversial. He wants to make products that last as long as possible. The logic being, the longer a product's lifespan, the longer it stays out of the landfill. 

Which I tend to agree with, however if the OP is concerned with environmentalism it may be a good idea for them to know each viewpoints. 

Tim Opsahl wrote: 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?

This is a good question. 

I've had pretty good experience w Arcterryx CS, actually. Some things that have failed they've replaced. One hardshell delam. Harness issue.  Both replaced, after some discussion or examination. Maybe some others. However, they don't offer to help with damage, even in house for charge, rather they have referred to a contractor in Seattle. Further, not sure whether this matter substantively, but sometimes it's felt like they're doing me a big favor, sometimes grudgingly. Definitely not always, but I noticed when it felt like they weren't standing behind the product.

I contrast this to my experience with Patagonia, however - no questions ever. Here, let me bend over to help you out and make it right, every time, cheerfully, without fail. 

Nothing by Patagonads or Arcteryx comes close to topping Price’s custom home sewn poncho.

A Bomb wrote: Some of this is personal taste but I'd definitely say arcteryx is at the top or very close when it comes to style, fit, function, and durability.  Maybe Patagonia is close but seriously, OR doesn't even come close...look at the stitching for one.  Does Patagonia even match Arc'teryx stitch count per inch?

As far as standing behind their product I've been impressed with Arc'teryx customer service.  I had an alpha lt jacket for 10 years that saw heavy use backpacking. It was close to trash but I sent it in to see if they could fix the back hem that had come unglued.  Instead of a repair they said it was a manufacturing defect and gave me $400 towards a new jacket of my choice.  That's more than I spent on the original jacket, and honestly that jacket was just at the end of it's useful life.

And as far as the denier a 40D jacket may get you through some storms but good luck when the factory dwr wears off and your home applied dwr doesn't perform.  That's where a higher 70d or higher jacket will perform better in the long run.  And Gore Tex is really a half scam anyway but I digress...

Is Arc'teryx really worth the extra dough?  For most probably not, but they are very well built items that have had more thought put into them then most other manufacturers down into the smallest details.  I have two of their hardshells two different atom jackets and some other odds and ends.  It's all great stuff that performs well and looks great.  Their colorways are always interesting too.  

Interesting you started an account JUST for this post above...

-Trying to measure quality by stitch count is a stupid and not a useful metric. That'd be like saying a bar tack is always better than a box stitch to attach two things together because it has more stitches, which it most definitely is not. 

-Yarn weight of your face fabric in relation to waterproofness is also not a correlating factor, especially when it comes to if a DWR coating will stay on the yarn.  Also "perform" is an ambiguous term, a 100D GTX jacket will perform very poorly if I want to move fast.

If you want to be a fanboy and try to justify your purchases to yourself, cool. But spouting things that aren't true is a different thing. 

Hi everyone! This discussion surfaced on my Google Now (probably because of my interactions with Arcteryx!) and I registered to share a recent experience with their customer service.

I sent my wife's Patera Parka back because the jacket's zip pull had broken and there was no way we could replace it ourselves. This was back around late November. We only just received the repaired jacket yesterday. The jacket had to be shipped to Washington before it was sent back to Canada where repairs were made. Return trip was the same in reverse.

Can't even tell it was replaced. But not only did they replace the zipper, they must've checked the entire jacket because they had gone ahead and pre-emptively repaired the pockets where seams were coming apart (which we never noticed ourselves!)

The opinions about the details and fit of Arcteryx are on point. My wife is a seamstress / designer, not a climber or any kinda outdoor enthusiast; but she knows garments and how they should fit. In fact, in her opinion, pattern making is probably the hardest and most crucial step in garment construction. And it's true that a lot of outdoor apparel seem to have 1) baggy fits, 2) unpleasing design, 3) loud color combinations.

When she tried on jackets from different brands, the Arcteryx jacket was the only one she was happy with. And we waited for a sale to get it. I'm actually quite jealous of her jacket. As a shopper, the aesthetic I look for are minimal, subtle, detail differentiation, nothing loud or garish. Arcteryx fit that. Unfortunately their prices don't fit me and I thought I'd share my experience since I've often thought their stuff are too expensive!

If jackets from different brands are pretty much the functionally same or similar at their price points, then the next step up people look for are details that set one product or brand apart from the other.

Huh, three brand new accounts posting on this, and have only posted on this. Accounts created right before posting.
Not saying there is something nefarious, but a very odd coincidence...

Ray L Member SinceJan 24, 2019
Montana Jeff Member SinceJan 24, 2019
A Bomb Member SinceJan 23, 2019

NorCalNomad wrote: Huh, three brand new accounts posting on this, and have only posted on this. Accounts created right before posting.
Not saying there is something nefarious, but a very odd coincidence...

Ray L Member SinceJan 24, 2019
Montana Jeff Member SinceJan 24, 2019
A Bomb Member SinceJan 23, 2019

NorCalNomad wrote: Huh, three brand new accounts posting on this, and have only posted on this. Accounts created right before posting.
Not saying there is something nefarious, but a very odd coincidence...

Ray L Member SinceJan 24, 2019
Montana Jeff Member SinceJan 24, 2019
A Bomb Member SinceJan 23, 2019

More than likely people who googled "why is Arc'teryx so expensive?" And received this forum as a result, then created an account to comment.

I see more arc’teryx on people who have never stepped on a mountain or climbed a rock than I ever see in the mountains.  While shopping today I saw half a dozen morbidly obese people (not that that disqualifies them as climbers/hikers etc-just makes it very unlikely) wearing $600 arc’teryx jackets.  Several arc’teryx Jackets with company logos etc that are financing services or law firms. Arc’teryx is a name associated with elitism-and people want to tap into that.  

Arc’teryx used to be leaps and bounds above other companies with a corresponding price.  That is no longer the case.  Buy what works for your needs-as cheap as possible, not just a label cause it looks awesome or makes you appear hardcore.  

NorCalNomad wrote:

Interesting you started an account JUST for this post above...

Probably 'cause they saw the post and wanted to relate their experience. Why is that so "interesting"?

Why do “climbers” care if non climbers wear Arc’teryx “attire”?  If a climber goes to the beach do you wear board shorts to wear on the beach? When I walk down the beach looking for a rip to help me paddle out I often ask myself why are all these people on the beach wearing billabong or O’Neal board shorts?

Brian wrote: 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.  

If everyone thinks Arc'teryx is expensive, then they haven't seen the even more expensive outdoor wear from Canada Goose or Nobis, both Canadian companies..

NorCalNomad wrote:

Some truths and some points not so close. btw I don't work for Arcteryx, but I'm in the industry.

-Anytime there is a golden GTX tag on something it's a higher cost than an equivalent membrane because goretex demands certain things and part of the cost is the goretex guarantee on top of the individual company's guarantee. But at the high end (+$500) of jackets no one is using a non branded (gtx, event, neoshell) membrane so...

-A LOT of Arcteryx's stuff is well within the same price bracket as competitive product.
Alpha AR (40D/80D GTX) $575
Patagonia (40D GTX) Pluma $ 550
The North Face L5 Pro (44D GTX) $600

Proton LT $300
Patagonia Nano Air $300
The North Face Ventrix $280

-Arcteryx overbuilds a good bit of stuff. The Alpha SV with a 100D fabric on it is ridiculous. I've talked first hand with a lot of Alpine pros (both sponsored athletes and guides) that say that 40D is really all you need to 70D on the high end. Also some of their shoes are more complex to make (ie more expensive) not for the sake of making a better shoe but just from the aesthetics.

-Sportiva does not import shoes to EU from Asia, then import them to USA. They are Italian, but they're not that stubborn to make a stupid business move like that. Also the import duties for shoes is WIDLY different than import duties in relation to jackets or backpacks and is very different in the EU versus the USA. I know plenty of shoes that are made the exact same way, just EU gets synthetic leather and the USA gets real leather because the import duties are more favorable that way. Sportiva's climbing and alpine boots are done in the EU. Hiking (depending on the level of product), approach, and trail running gets done in Asia.

Good point!

When comparing apples to apples, the prices of The North Face Summit Series and Arc'teryx Ascent Series are on par in price with one another.

Can somebody start a new thread "Why is TNF so expensive?"   

Jaren Watson wrote:

Rethink your reasoning here. It’s faulty. 

You're right! 

I'll stick to "Why is TNF so expensive?" ;-)