In reply to Crest Jewel:
> It's unfortunate that the manufacturing quality was defective.
I too have found Crux not up to scratch. I have both shell jacket (Flak?) and pants. The pants were a good inch or more shorter in the leg than advertised (the reason I'd bought them). First time I put them on out of the packet the waist buckle clean broke. I contacted Crux but they offered no real solution. The hood on the Flak is too small and tight to fit over a normal climbing helmet. The DWR lasted no time at all and soon wet out in light rain, with water actually getting in through the front zip. These instances were years ago now, and I wasn't surprised to see the slow demise of the brand since then, not helped by extremely high prices, a clunky website and obvious supply and stock issues (long before C19 etc). I think their reputation, particularly on UKC, is largely built on image and repetition of impressions, rather than multiple users' real-life experiences. But I've no doubt many have had decent use out of their packs.
I really wanted to like Crux, because of their design and supposed ethos, but in reality their gear didn't live up to the hype.