Michael,
Bare with me on this. Gonna be a bit long-winded.
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT pigeon-hole yourself into just one brand. If you're looking at clothing & gear just to get the job done, you might as well stay away from TNF and buy Coleman and Go-Lite.
In my opinion, TNF use to be a great company for
gear & clothing. They, along with Patagucci and maybe Sierra Designs were the biggest kids on the block, so to speak.
I no longer buy TNF nor do I own any pieces from them, not even a mesly T-shirt. They have kinda cornered themselves into a cul-de-sac in that, in a retail environment, clothing has a better profit margin than gear. Now, all TNF is good at is clothing...pants, jackets, shirts et al. They've slipped with gear. BUT, as your post exceptionally illustrates, people still buy TNF because their brand recognition is catastrophically huge!
Also. Other brands like Mamut, MHW, MSR, Gregory, Black Diamond have pieces that in my opinion, will serve you great on the mountain and probably deliver better function to boot AND look great if you're wearing it around town. Mamut has some killer looking pieces (clothing). Don't. Please don't buy mountain-orientated clothing just for the sake of 'owning it.' We have jokes for people like that (
Mountain sexual's).
Lately, I've been looking at two brands we don't have here in the States,
66° North and
Norønna. Both companies make some great gear and clothing. I'm waiting for my Heimaklettur Softshell (
from 66 North) I ordered last week.
If you pigeon-hole yourself into only one brand, you're missing a multitude of other brands that could perform better and look just as good if not more stylish in town.
For instance.
In terms of brands, I own pieces & gear from: Black Diamond, MHW, Arc'Teryx, Mamut, Petzl, Marmot, Osprey, Mont Bell, Nemo, Scarpa & Hilleberg.
Most people will own pieces from a multide of different companies. Some brands are better at insulated pieces. Some are better at water-resistent shells and some make better climbing equipment.
I would buy older stuff from TNF but nothing new, at least in the last 7 years. And I won't EVER buy anything from Go-Lite or Red Feather...Pure crap.
Skip the -40 sleeping bag as well. It's cold on Denali but a -20 bag should serve you just fine. And it'll be lighter on your wallet.
I would advise do some more research and ask questions. Big mountains like Denali are expensive to climb for VERY good reasons. If you exclusively stay with TNF, you could be setting yourself up for a miserable time on the hill. Don't underprice yourself.
Ask yourself this. Is spending an extra $300+ now worth a better success, chance of attaining the summit? I know people who skimped on gloves for Alaska and turned around (no summit) because their fingers were going blue. Now, they're back home with hundreds and hundreds of dollars in clothing and no summit to show for it. Don't set yourself up for failure.
And PLEASE don't read into this as a personal attack. I'm just trying to get you to see the big picture, situations that COULD happen. As a mountaineer, when I head out into the hills, I always plan for worst possible conditions.
Are you going guided by chance?
MichaelRyanSD wrote:So I'm posting some random thoughts I've been having as I start to purchase gear for Denali. When it comes to clothing, I've been buying almost exclusively TNF stuff. Since a lot of the cold weather gear is so expensive I'd like it to serve somewhat dual-purpose. As in I can wear it while climbing and in public, for me at least TNF seems to fit the bill between stylish and useful. It seems like a lot of other brands use neon colors and fruity designs.
The problem is now, I've been looking at 4- season tents, -40 degree bags, etc. And I pretty much always look at TNF gear first. I just purchased a Kelty 110 L bag and sort of cringed a little that it wasn't TNF. Has anyone else experienced this with their brand of choice. Am I doomed for the rest of my climbing career to spend almost twice as much to satisfy my need for TNF?