European clothing vs. North American clothing.

[boney gumbo mcgee]

I have had a Patagonia fleece lined wool shirt that I bought 8 years ago from TK Maxx, I didn't know anything about the brand at the time I just liked the look of it. The shirt just refuses to die. I have liked it so much I recently looked at getting a replacement, sadly they don't make it any more and I also realised what a bargain I got as it cost £20.

 

[Corso]

When I moved to Britain I was stunned to find that despite the global nature of the brands (Patagonia and NorthFace, for example,) there were entirely different products here. I innocently assumed that a gear-head was a gear-head, and that British gear-heads would appreciate and use the same brands and gear that I had. I was surprised to find otherwise. To be fair, I'm rediscovering the beauty of using surplus gear. That stuff is generally built to last and costs much less than their commercial equivalents.

now that blame can be directed squarely at the companies themselves - take Merrel for instance - bought a great pair off them while in the US -sawtooths if i recall, could you get them in the UK no, would they send a pair to the UK no, would they give me a reason no

still don't know why their US and ROW ranges are so different....

 

[boney gumbo mcgee]

I bought some Arborwear jeans and trousers thinking that they were made in USA and imported by UK distributor. The treeclimber jeans were made in Guatemala and the treeclimber trousers were made in China. No issues with quality though, I can see them lasting a long time, just thought I was dealing with one of those rare companies that actually design and produce their goods in their own country. Still happy with their products though and would use them again.

 

[slowjunk]

A North American alternative to Fjallraven Vidda Pro Trousers may be something like the Tin Pants made by Filson. Tough pants.

http://www.filson.com/products/oil-finish-single-tin-pants.14005.html