[hdrujvw-4579]

I bought a NF jacket thinking it would be something that could last me a good 5+ years. The inner padding around the collar just desintegrated after a few weeks and looks like a white plastic band. The outer shell absorbs moisture and is far from the water repellent/absorver it's advertized. Maybe I'm chasing old unicorns but these "technical" brands are not what they used to be say 20 years ago, despite their higher prices.

[akvadrako]

NorthFace has become a lifestyle brand, so they don’t have a lot of incentive to make things technically good anymore.

If you want good technical clothes you need to pick brands that average people don’t recognize, because they have an incentive.

[NovemberWhiskey]

I think it's fairer to say that TNF has expanded also to include a whole lot of lifestyle clothing.

They continue to offer quite a lot of expedition-ready gear (tents, waterproof shells, etc.) that's definitely not lifestyle stuff - mainly under the "Summit" sub-brand.

e.g. does the shell have a hood that's sized to fit over a climbing helmet? Probably "serious".

[hdrujvw-4579]

Absolutely, I concluded the same some time ago when I saw it being sold en masse in major retailers in the US. Most of these brands now seem synonymous with some status/lifestyle statement.

[goatinaboat]

The inner padding around the collar just desintegrated after a few weeks and looks like a white plastic band. The outer shell absorbs moisture and is far from the water repellent/absorver it's advertized

It could be fake. North Face is one of the most problematic brands for it. Rumour has it the fakes are made in the same factory on the same production lines, just of low quality materials. Never buy North Face online, from a market stall, or wherever.

[hdrujvw-4579]

It was bought at a well known North Face store. Unless they received a batch of fake ones which seems less plausible.

[friendlybus]

Quality fade?