ienosis

I just got hold of a black blazer LT size M but now looking for an S. Anyone need that swap or similar before I sell it?

i just got hold of a black blazer lt size M but now looking for an S. anyone need that swap or similar?

http://www.coldsmokeco.com/product-category/ecg/

some dead bird inspired goods here..

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been working with reflective fabrics..

Looks interesting. Have you handled the actual fabric? Can anyone comment on it's durability? 3M scotchlite guidelines suggest a limited amount of washes for its life cycle. Not sure whether that means it falls apart after 75 washes or whether it stops being reflective. Or perhaps other manufacturers have a better fabric? Does Nike use 3M? Anyone know?

The North Face is probably the most uninteresting, pedestrian and overrated outdoor brand I know. 

There is nothing wrong with their more expensive products (Summit Series) but the ubiquity of the brand and it's popularity amongst youngsters who think of it as a status symbol, all this is really off-putting for me...

 

I see reflective materials as really useful for runners and cyclists, for anything else I'm not sure. Maybe except for the new Stone Island Mesh Reflective jacket, that one is really interesting. 

 

Thermochromic jackets are definitely techwear! And they look pretty fantastic in person.

Fair points. The problem seems to lie with their aesthetic and popularity then.

Personally I don't think the mesh jacket is any more useful than the running and cycling styles. They also did a reflective knit piece a few seasons ago, but I consider that as fabric experimentation for aesthetics, not so much function.

The same goes for thermochromic jackets. They look amazing and really are a great display of SI's technology, but does anyone have any insight to their real purpose beyond a outerwear piece? I don't think it offers any real benefit to the wearer besides add a visual effect. Where do you draw the line between function and aesthetic?

Thats BS by the way (at least in the EU). Mark up or regular brands is 2x - 2.2x, for the higher end stuff you're looking at 2.2x - 2.5x. 2.7x is ridiculous. Acronym is not compromising on fabric, hell they put 2x or more R&D in their stuff then Outlier and you know what the mark up for that stuff is? Yeah far below 2.7x.

If their stuff is being marked up by retailers with 2.7x they should really look for new ones because they are being f'd with.

Also don't forget that Veilance has the Arc'Teryx desings, history and production facilities at their disposal and they can buy higher volume (thus cheaper) then Outlier can as a small brand. There is no reason for them to use 'cheaper' fabrics except that they probably did the research and concluded that the advantages on paper don't weigh up to the extra dollars you pay as in real life it's hardly noticeable.

Not sure what experience you have. My direct experience with international retailers (at least selling product from the UK) is that they're standardly marking up product at 2.8. And overseas even more due to customs and delivery etc.

Can't remember if anyone mentioned already but Outlier is selling direct to customers. Where Veilance and other brands would typically sell wholesale for around double the production cost, Outlier could technically make the same product and revenue but undercut Veilance by 2.8 fold.

I was up to date in this thread from the beginning til about 40 pages in. Left for a long while and only just came back finding myself a wonderful 60 pages to catch up on. Really wish there were more discussions in this area. I have a few questions and issues that I'd love to hear discussed that I don't think have been yet:

Can someone explain the stigma behind North Face? 
As far as I have seen, their quality matches other outdoor clothing and they have some fashion oriented collaborations with brands that I thought were sufu approved.

Fair enough they don't do 'all black er'thing' but for a outdoor label their branding isn't that interfering, yet they're still receiving a decent amount of flack on here.

It would also be great to hear opinions and discussion on reflective materials. SI with their reflex fabrics, Nike with their flash tech, other 3m scotchlite implements, how functional they really are and how does it fit into the urban techwear dynamic. Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences with these garments?


Also really enjoying discussion on future tech that can be implemented into clothing. That magzip looks awesome and I can't wait for it to hit the market. I do wonder whether it is designed to be fully one handed. From what I can see, the magnets attract the zip ends together but even then, zips often have enough resistance that prevents such free zip movement [unlike the example shown on their website]. Does that mean it's most probably not water repellent? Anyone have any experience with particularly free flowing zips? I would guess they would have to have smaller teeth, not taped or coated and probably attached to a heavy garment...

And finally, do you consider the thermochromic ice jackets as urban techwear?

does anyone have any other rucksacks that might belong in this thread?

besides from the bagjack messenger and acronym stuff?

the nike cheyenne 2000 pinnacle seems really good for this?

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/sportswear/en_US/view_post?country=&lang_locale=&blog=&post=en_US/2009/08/28/21m-new-arrival-cheyenne-2000-pinnacle-backpack

unfortunately can't find this available online anymore anywhere..

@guincho

i copped the mountain parka from uniqlo innovation, sorry, yet to post pictures.

i actually nabbed the last one from their store (yes they only sold it in one store here in the UK i believe), in an M which is to be honest probably a size larger than i would have gone for if i had the choice.

retailed at £50 but i got 10% because one of the ends of the inside togs was broken. a hidden fault with no damage to function? great bargain for a student like me.

so far it hasn't been tested in much hard weather, but was in a medium downpour for about 15 minutes and i was completely dry.

it's just an outer shell and for me definitely not warm enough.. but then i do hate the cold and i've been in a veilance field jacket and wished i'd had a few more layers on still.

i'll post pictures up soon. like i said before, attention to manufacturing quality not on par with any of the brands you're talking about here (bonding is wonky), but for less than a 20th of the price all you lucky veilance owners have paid, i can't complain. it's keeping me dry and looks pretty decent (only branding being two very small reflective squares on the sleeve).

that outlier bag reminds me of my seal line boundary pack.

http://cascadedesigns.com/en/sealline/packs-and-duffles/boundary-pack/product

not quite 'urban tech' but i qualify its relevance myself because i've used it for cycling for years. it's actually totally air tight due to being based on dry bags for canoeing. they actually produce a messenger line now specifically for cyclists but back when i needed a waterproof backpack, this seemed ideal.

on a separate note, i understand aitor's previous work has been urban techwear related (CP and SI projects and even umbro) but not sure whether his first own 'prelude' collection of three trousers still fit's into this category (at least any more given the direction of products this thread has gone into)? they are worked on the human body, and involve complex experimental patterns, but in terms of addressing a specific problem and how successfully, i wonder if there is a better category he belongs to (now)?

picked up a mountain parka from the uniqlo innovation range today. size m, bit big but apparently the last one left (in uk).

not sure if it qualifies due to it's light grey not black nature, but its a good technical waterproof shell jacket. seams are taped (not super perfectly but more than enough to keep it waterproof, just not perfect).

will post pics if anyone's interested, for £45 ($70) i'd say it was a pretty good bargain (urbantech student here without hundreds available for clothing).