meister
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2007
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I love Patagonia.
They have a very strong "common good" approach. They integrate things. They care about the product, employees, environment, labor. Products are extremely functional, minimal in design, tested for incredible durability, and they are beautiful. They're respected as the main innovators in the field. Their stuff is absolutely legit for outdoor activities, and beautiful enough for streetwear--hence the terms "Pradagonia" and "Padagucci." (Although this also comments on their price!) Someone once captured the emotional response people have to Patagonia by saying that when his house caught on fire and he had a couple of minutes to think about what to save, he grabbed his Patagonia stuff bec. it spoke to him of survival.
My love of their stuff started in college. In my freshman year I rowed crew, and we would row out on the river until the river froze. For a short period the rush of the river would prevent it from freezing over, but the water was well below freezing and any splash that hit us would freeze on our bodies. I had grown up in Las Vegas so I was by no means used to this. I started out w/ what got me through LV winters: cotton, waffle thermals. They were worthless in the cold and wet, so I went to an Army surplus store and got 50 Cotton/50 wool thermals. Small improvement. Went to Helly Hanson Lifa polypropylene--warm but retained sweat. Moved on to LL Bean polyester. Good but not great. Got some Patagonia capilene and have never strayed. I've flirted a bit w/ other products, but nothing as as good as the capilene stuff. I still have the shirt I got then, 15 yrs ago. It's been all over the world w/ me.
When I travel I always pack 2 of their briefs, one pair of their boxers and one t-shirt. The briefs dry in an hour or two if you wring them in a towel after handwashing. The shirt (silkweight) is great as underwear in the cold, and the best thing for outerwear in the desert or the rain forest (Philippines). The boxers can be a bit stuffy.
I have jackets, pants, shorts, socks. Never tried their shoes. The socks I wear on 14 hr a day motorcycle trips are Patagonia. I once bit it on a bicycle wearing patagonia pants and an LL Bean Gore-tex shell and the shell was ripped up, as were my legs, but the patagonia pants didn't have a scratch. My brother had a similar event. I've used their original, large messenger bag for 5 years on daily bicycle or motorcycle commutes and as my carry-on. Once I didn't secure it to the motorcycle and ended up dragging it 1.5 miles. It was scratched up a bit and blackened, but looked nearly new after a wash. Laptop was inside and undamaged.
Their pants and shorts fit me perfectly. Their hemp shorts are my favorites.
OK, I'm gushing, but I do love them, and I think it's a love w/ good grounds.
Most of their things I've gotten during their semi-annual sales (Around Feb and August) or the factory outlets. Sometimes their website has sales. STP carries things. But ebay is the best.
Thats a huge rap - they sell plenty of it Down Under too - there used to be a dedicated store in Gowings ...