In reply to Rigid Raider:
Oh...fashion versus functionality debate!! That’s a good one!! Don’t get me started!! I used to work for a well known technical brand in the early 1990’s and have quite a long history of working in the industry before being seduced away by a better offer!
The problem when brands start to be lured by the volumes that a more fashion orientated approach always is that a lot of the functionality is lost and the product becomes very homogenised.
Compare any clothing product produced by the likes of TNF, Berghaus, Mountain Equipment, Rab etc to that produced 20 years ago and you can see that fashion dictates over functionality. For sure, garment technology has advanced a great deal, and we have better materials, but the overall design is driven by fashion.
There’s more TNF duvets on Ken High Street than you’ll ever see on a Mountain and every outside broadcaster always seem to sporting the latest from a big outdoor brand.
However, all is not lost. There are companies out there that still design the product from an outdoor performance perspective...eg., Montane, ....dare I even mention Buffalo!!