First of all, a huge thank you for the welcome you gave to my first episode on outdoor clothing , where I detailed the PCU, this system of seven layers of clothing to protect yourself from the climate in all situations.
Now it’s time to discuss the brands and the environmental impacts of this industry.
Outdoor brands I like
There are quite a few brands that use the PCU system . The best known is military and civilian , and on their site you have their " system builder" which allows you to understand the principle.
But if you look closely at certain US brands, you notice that they use exactly this same system without openly displaying it.
For example, at Triple Aught Design, all layers are represented if you look closely.
At Goruck , you also have part of it, there is only the static isolation part, layer 7 so they have never released it.
In Europe, Helikon Tex and UF Pro are two military clothing brands that offer this system.
And if you're not put off by a very military aesthetic, you have Var u st e leka , which is a Finnish brand that offers very sturdy clothing that respects the layering system to the letter. But it's very basic in terms of design, personally it's much too military for me .
But my real favorite of the European brand is Thrudark , a brand halfway between military and civilian outdoor , very very cool, with good ideas. And the 7 layers system is almost complete with them , even if here too, they do not clearly say that they use it.
Thrudark is a bit like Vollebak , or like the Nike ACG line in the good old days, it's premium outdoor clothing where they really try to add style, and abandon the fluorescent zips. Exactly like Triple Aught Design in the US.
I really believe in this new niche, this new way of seeing outdoor clothing in a truly stylish way.
And on the outdoor side , even this system is not used as is, in any serious outdoor brand you can reconstitute it, whether it's Arc'teryx obviously, Houdini or Millet , a good brand from us, high quality .
And my little well-kept secret is Tilak , this awesome Czech brand, and cheaper than Arcteryx . Moreover, they used the same segmentation:
- A civilian outdoor line , therefore the Tilak brand
- A military line , the Tilak MIG range, including the Raptor Jacket is fabulous
- And an urban line, the Poutnik by Tilak range, not easy to find and of which the founder of Acronym designed a few pieces
And you see, this diaper system, I would really like to apply it one day for an “adventur i er” capsule at BonneGueule , it’s a bit of a big dream of mine…
The question of price
Ouch ouch , these are the subjects that annoy…
In terms of price, we have been so accustomed to Asian manufacturing that it is really hard to realize how expensive technical clothing is. Especially when you see Decathlon's prices, you have the impression that nothing costs more than €50.
Look at T hrudark or Vollebak which manufacture in Europe, and you will have a good idea of what European manufacturing costs, even in Eastern European countries.
And I understand why brands absolutely want to manufacture in Asia, because we're not going to lie, there is cutting-edge know-how in technical clothing, an ability to industrialize, even for clothes that are very complicated to make.
As soon as you want very high-end materials like Schoeller, the prices skyrocket.
- A Schoeller membrane jacket made in Italy? You are easily over €600!
- An insulating jacket with quality nylon and insulation? This way the 400 €!
If you also add thermobonding , waterproof zips, European manufacturing, the price explodes and you find yourself in the blink of an eye with pants costing €250.
So the temptation among brands to manufacture in Asia, for less money and with better technical know-how , is very, very great!
So what's happening is that outdoor brands are either trying to relocate to Europe, and having spoken about this subject with several European outdoor players , it's a titanic project.
Either they try to find Asian workshops with real guarantees on the well-being of employees.
Speaking of Asia, you have Japanese outdoor brands , which manufacture in Japan.
Well, it's clearly another world, very cutting-edge, with a very romanticized and quite funny vision of the outdoors in fact, especially when you see the visual universe of Snow Peak.
From a style point of view, I think it's great, and if I had to name three outdoor brands made in Japan that I systematically look at, it would be And Wander, Descente and all its ranges, and Goldwin. But then price-wise… sky is the limit , unless you go there to buy.
And to finish on the price side, if you really have very little budget and you still want to adventure peacefully, in addition to Decathlon, I recommend White Out , a direct-to-consumer brand created by Norrona which offers clothing directly, with very competitive prices, such as a Gore-Tex Pro jacket for under €400.
They name the factory where it's made, in Hong Kong, the factory that was audited, etc. , so they put things in place.
On the environmental side…
The paradox is that it is an industry which gives pride of place to nature, to exploration, to beautiful landscapes, but whose clothes to explore it come from petrochemicals, which release micro fibers plastics in the oceans, and whose water-repellent treatments pose real concerns.
Fortunately, things are changing little by little.
Klattermunsen is a pioneer brand in making the outdoors as responsible as possible, using recycled materials or natural materials whenever possible.
It’s really a great brand with a real touch !
Houdini also makes great efforts, where if your garment is worn out you can return it to the store so that they can recycle it.
Gore-Tex is working hard to no longer use C6 by 2023, that's going in the right direction !
And when you wash your outdoor clothing , don't forget to use a Guppy Friend bag to prevent the release of micro-plastics into wastewater.
