sixoclocknews

Bump, anyone for $30 a piece?

Sold and sold, Thank you!

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I've had a similar experience with them putting an order through, then saying they won't honor the price. Basically after 2 weeks of increasingly stern, relentless emails they finally caved and gave me the discounted price. They were a pain in the ass and didn't seem to care that they'd confirmed the order AND charged my card. The people I talked to on the phone always seemed nice, but were either not helpful or lying through their teeth. Unless the discount is 80%+ I won't bother with them after my experience.

One could make a case for these jobs raising the standard of living/increasing opportunity for these people, but the true question is why are these people worth less? An Economics 101 course would be helpful to you. It's troubling when the reality of the vast improvement of hundreds of thousands of individual people's lives conflicts with one's socio/political paradigm, yes? Economics teaches you how to maximize profits, not act in a socially responsible manner. I'm all for the reality of vastly improving people's lives (even when it comes to cutting into profit margins) ie: .30 an hour x 280 hours a month = $168 per month 5.00 an hour (still under the minimum wage) x 280 = $1,400 per month. Which improvement is more vast?

One could make a case for these jobs raising the standard of living/increasing opportunity for these people, but the true question is why are these people worth less? They (as anyone) don't *want* to be exploited, but except it because they don't feel like they could do better at the time. I'm sure they'd be willing to take a raise, but the company would move production before that happened. If their skill set is the same, then they should be paid the same. Human condition is what unregulated capitalism fails to protect. Believing that you're helping 'Raise the standard of living' or any other corporate bull, is a way for you (and the corporations) to rationalize exploitation. If they cared about the condition of the people, they'd pay them equal wages no matter what the discrepancy in the currency rate. But they don't, they care about making money. But look on the bright side because of all the Arc'teryx growth, and expansion (& exploitation) you can get a Covert Scarf. Talk about innovation...

While the move to China is to increase production and profit margin at the same time, there's no way that a jacket in Canada used to cost $400 to make. The dealer mark up has been 50% for some time, even now with the ones made in Canada it's 50%. And that doesn't account for the Arc'teryx profit margin (which is anyone's guess). I'd be surprised if that $600 Canadian made jacket costs more than $200 to make.

I think you don't see the price decrease because of the increased cost to make Pro. The jackets that stayed in Canada (Alpha LT and SV come to mind) also saw price increases. Seeing as the Theta AR has been their best selling most popular jacket, I think they wanted to avoid raising the price. I think they'd have problems advertising that no international environmental/child labor laws are broken in the production of their products simply because China's (and others) laws are so weak, if existent at all. The lack of laws is exactly what has helped China become a powerhouse of production (along with a lack of tariffs etc.) Imagine if there was an import tax on sportswear that made it cost effective to produce the goods here, you'd see a bunch of companies pop up. Arc'teryx was also bought out not too long ago (and has changed hands at least once since), and have been slowing shifting production from Canada ever since. The new management seems to value profit more than the values it was founded on. It happens all the time, and it's a result of capitalism, but that doesn't mean that the company doesn't have a choice. There are plenty of companies that stay true to their values while producing quality merch. they just might not be able to produce enough product to fill every REI. Then there's additional environmental impact of shipping from over there. As Hugh pointed out there are people that are willing to sew in the US/Canada/where ever, but when you don't treat your employees correctly, or expect them to work 10+ hours a day (to keep up w/production schedules or whatever) they'll find another job that treats them better. You can make cost competitive, quality, local products, you just don't have as high of profit margins. You just have to pick what's more important.

When in my pack it was in the stuff sack provided by marmot. So it wasn't in a compression sack cinched down to a softball or anything, but it wasn't hanging nicely in a closet either. When I slept in it I used a bag liner. Nothing was ever spilled on it and actually it never stunk either, so I don't think dirt and oil was a major factor. I think (as you and Baltoro have touched on) that it just couldn't stand up to being compressed that much. If you use it for a few over-nighters here and there and are able to store it properly then I'm sure it would last longer. Mine just couldn't hold up under everyday wear and tear (the Primaloft I mean, the construction and shell material were great). I talked to someone at Feathered Friends when I was looking for a new bag and he mentioned that synthetics do break down (lose temp rating) faster than down (esp. w/increased use, and according to Baltoro Primaloft is even worse). But I can't say they're totally unbiased either

I had a Pounder. I used it almost everynight for 3 months one summer and probably <20 the next, and it had lost a significant amount of warmth. So much so that I was cold one night (on a prolite 3) when the temp didn't get below 50. It was a nice bag when it was living up to its rating though.

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Go to Second Ascent in Ballard.