The DARK SIDE of the Outdoor Clothing Industry

The outdoor gear industry started as a purely functional thing and today price tags are higher than they’ve ever been, the hype is ridiculous, and it seems like the whole point of all this has been missed… to get us outside.

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Script: Jordan Tucker
Editor: Matthew Veal
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand

[CombatBanana]

Yeah, over a year ago I decided I wanted to go backpacking. I've now spent well over 500 hours researching gear and skills and I haven't spent a single night in the woods. I still barely understand how rain jackets work but I can tell you the expensive ones aren't worth it.

[unodwicho]

That's why I LOVE Decathlon. Sometimes you look like a dork, sometimes it looks good but it's ALWAYS affordable

[rk]

I`m one of those guys who overthinks every purchase.
Not because I want to have the most fashionable thing ever, but because I was dirt poor for many years. Every purchase out of the ordanary had to be on point, do what I need it to do and has the best price to performance that I could get for a certain set price. A misbuy resulted in me maybe not beeing able to afford food. After years I still can't get rid of that feeling, so every purchase is super stressful for me.
One good rule of thumb is to ask you one thin "does any of my gear do what the new shiny thing does", if you can answer yes -> DON'T BUY ANYTHING.

[cdysthe]

I was raised in Norway. We were skiing or hiking all year around. I've been cross country skiing since I was 3 years old. Now I'm 65. My dad had a Fjallraven jacket he used all the time. When he passed away in 2020 I took over this jacket from 1972. It's as good as new functionally. Looks awesome and just works.

I bought a $400 Fjallravem jacket here in the US in 2022. It's already useless since stitching is failing and so is the main zipper. I'm pretty sure I will not hand that jacket off to my kids. They will have to buy their own Fjallraven, Patagonia etc stuff at ridiculously high prices. It's sad and annoying.

I'm sure you can get high quality stuff these days also, but it will not be fashionable in 5 years and you'll have to get something new.

[troy]

this feels like a similar trend that cars are facing where the aesthetic of being outdoorsy is causing people to spend all this money even if they never use it to their full potential. like all these people with jeeps and huge trucks are not going to go off roading but they spent thousands on the gear for it, and like fast fashion much of the new gear on the market is not functional for what its marketed to do.

[lukerbs]

i’ve never experienced a social expectation to wear a specific brand of clothing while hiking.

[MyLifeOutdoors]

I have a channel that talks about outdoor gear almost exclusively. I’ve had similar thoughts and feelings and have wondered how I can continue to serve my audience, help them find the gear that will work for them at every price point without contributing to excessive consumerism.

I’ve also experienced the massive difference in views a gear video gets over a trip video. It used to really bother me, but one of my viewers helped me see it in a different light.

Trip videos, especially to beautiful exotic places, can be discouraging to people who will never get to see those places. Why do I want to see your expensive vacation photos? But gear can go anywhere. If you are only able to hike a few weekends a year close to home, you can still picture yourself there with the gear in the videos. (Assuming it’s within your budget). If you plan one big trip a year that will only last a few days but might have some unique terrain, conditions, or gear needs, you can essentially extend that trip for months through researching and shopping for the gear that will make that trip more enjoyable. It’s fantasizing about the one big trip long before it happens. Do you need that gear, maybe not but it’s not completely about that, it’s about the trip you are looking forward to.

Those perspectives have helped me feel better about the popularity of gear videos. But I’m still concerned about the consumerism.

I enjoy your content BTW. Thanks for making it.

[maximedorion]

We really need more YouTubers to raise awareness on overconsumption (or just plain mindless consumption) because it's causing so many kinds of harm.

[Etb]

People need to stop caring about what others think about them.

[aspiring...]

I am a person that camps yearly (not serious camping). I dont have any of his stuff. Military suplus has served me well.

[IcecalGamer]

IDK where (or what content creator) i've heard this:
"If you are at the gym or on the trail in a bland non-branded T-shirt or hoodie, you are one of the ELITE moFOs that don't give A . You're there for the iron or the activity".

[yashthegamer]

As a former 4 yr old I like to say that I hate outdoor clothing brands

[jonathanandrade]

I grew up about an hour away from yosemite and it was suprising how many of my school mates had not been. We were pretty poor and a family of 7 so 20 bucks plus gas for a fun outdoor trip for a family of 7 was a good deal for my parents. We went almost every weekend in the summer. PB&Js and just regular clothes. We didn't have anything fancy just vans jeans and whatever t shirt we had. Even when we went in the winter it was just put plastic bags over your feet extra socks and the put them in your shoes. Your shoes got soaked but your feet were dryish. I still love the outdoors and I always tell people comfortable shoes is all you really need to get out on a hike.

[aconfusedtaco]

As someone who works in the industry, the best gear is what fits you, what you can afford, and most importantly what you already have.
Its a bit sad when i outfit people for their first camping trip and theyre so nervous about what the minimum they need to camp, thinking its going to be a mountain. No my friend, a tent that can fit you, a comfortable sleeping bag that will fit most weather youll be in, and a sleeping pad because sleeping on the bare. ground sucks. Everything is extra.

[dariamorgendorffer]

So true. You just want to enjoy nature. Isn't that the point? I thought the cities were the place where I would get judged for what I'm wearing. Not in the forest. Seems as if you don't have the 'right' tools, you don't have business being outside! Make it make sense!!!

[CedroCron]

Still rocking my 20 year old Columbia jacket. 0 wrong with it. Wrote to Columbia to thank them for making such great affordable durable winter jackets. I mentioned that I lost the fleece liner on one of them and they sent me a brand new jacket for free to thank me for being a customer for so long. I won't wear anything else!

[Mowntandewey]

Growing up, my outdoor wear was just a jean jacket. Oh how I miss those days.

[drewe]

Hot take: outdoor brands make good names for metal bands.

"Dude, arcteryx is opening for The North Face in September!"

[faequeenapril]

I will forever be a forest goblin, I see so many people in top of the range outdoors clothes that it reminds me of the exercise/gym world where everyone is in specific outfits by specific brands that make you feel like you're out of place. I often go out into nature, and I dont have anything specific I just dress to make sure im warm enough and make sure I got something just in case it rains. The gearification of a thing is the same with bicycletouring/bikepacking you see so many youtube videos of people with their high end gravel bike and their streamlined bags to go on the bike and their racing gear just for a weekend of camping. Meanwhile a lot of people in the commuinity tells newcomers "you got a bike right? ok put your shit on the bike and just go out and have fun" which is refreshing to see. Same with basic camping, now people think they need an entire portable glamping set up just to outside for a weekend.

[alecity]

as a kid, I wasn't from a poor family at all, my childhood was spent half within the house playing and half going outside, one of my favourite activities was going on a morning hike to the mountain with my dad, and what I can tell you if that going to that trail might be one of the experiences with the highest mix of "social classes", everyone poor and rich went to that mountain, people from the richest neighbourhoods to people from slums. Being in that outdoors environment had no elitism and probably was one of the most clasism free environments there was in my city where social discrimination based on apparent wealth is a plague.

This same development towards elitism of outdoors activities hasn't happened there due to different circumstances, but I now live in Europe, and well I am not outdoorsy anymore but can see that elitist part of the public who is competitive about fashion and tech surrounding their hobbies of going hiking, which to my eyes it defeats a big part of the appeal of experiencing that environment outside of regular city social norms, defeats the appeal of "together in nature".