Bi-Monthly Gear Guy Column

You Are Here:

Home >> Gear >> Keep it in the House

View the entire 300-plus collection of must-have gear items tailor-made for your adventurous lifestyle. PLUS: A special section on womens gear.

Today's Question
Who makes the best three-season one-person condensation-free tent? answer

What’s the best boot for a Denali summit? answer

Today's Question
What’s the best hybrid bike under $1,000? answer

What is the best cold-weather, full-length parka? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Outside Online

Bi-Monthly Gear Guy Column
Keep it in the House
Beat the Cost of Gear

By Douglas Gantenbein

Most people can rattle off the outdoor world's equivalents to Coca-Cola or Levi's—The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia, Sierra Designs, Marmot. Brand-name companies that drive the market with their pipeline of highly specialized offerings. And in fairness, all of these outfits make great gear—the outdoor industry is just too competitive to do otherwise.

The Gear Guy Opines

Join the Gear Guy every second month, as he gets some (more) gear gripes off his chest. Got a burning issue you want him to tackle? Post your thoughts in our GEAR GUY Q&A MAILBOX. Think recumbents ride faster than road rigs? Can't make hide or hair of the soft-shell market? Here's your chance to ask him to settle the debate.

But keep in mind that NOBODY makes their own stuff in their own factories any more. It’s all sewn together (or equally often, welded or molded) overseas. And other companies have access to the same production facilities used by the name-brand outfits. So REI, L.L. Bean, Campmor, or Eastern Mountain Sports all have "house-brand" goods—clothing, packs, even boots—that they design, then contract with another company to make. And because there the retail chain is shorter (REI has its jackets made, then sells them directly to you), these items typically cost 25 to 30 percent less with no discernible loss of quality.

Case in point: L.L. Bean sells an excellent Gore-Tex jacket called the Mountain Guide XCR for $279 (www.llbean.com). It uses Gore's latest membrane, has a durable nylon shell, and comes with goodies such as taped seams and a well-designed hood. In terms of performance, it's designed to compete with a high-end jacket such as Mountain Hardwear's Tenacity Parka, which goes for $395 (www.mountainhardwear.com).

You get a little trimmer design in the Tenacity, better color choices, and spiffier design touches such as padded chin flap, yes. But otherwise they're both solidly made three-ply Gore XCR jackets. At this point, you should be weighing what you want your jacket to do: A tough, high-performance piece for technical ice climbs? Drop the extra green on the Tenacity. A reliable shell for an Alaska backcountry trek? Bean’s Guide XCR will do you nicely.

Next Page: Beat the Cost of Gear

•	Subscribe to Outside and get a FREE Gift!

•	Give the gift of Outside Magazine!

•	Subscribe to Outside Online's free weekly e-mail newsletter featuring gear reviews, fitness advice, galleries, podcasts, and more.