Columbia sportswear competitors...HELP!

[FB]

Originally Posted by mrcooper

Outdoor wear? I ski a lot so I see products like Columbia, Moutain Wear, EMS, Spyder, Couloir, North Face, Oakley, Marmot, Patagonia. Stuff like that. Hope this is something that helps.

yup,
i just talked to my teacher and he said find more of where teh companies are going, so that is where i am going to look now.

[SKI]

Try Patagonia @ Hoover's http://www.hoovers.com/patagonia/--I...actsheet.xhtml

HTH... another private co...

A LOT of "outdoor" clothing Mfg's are subsidiaries of BIG clothing/sporting goods Cos.

Moonstone is owned by London Fog (thru Pacific Trail), Marmot (and a zillion other co's) is owned by K2, TNF is owned by VF, and so forth.

[mrcooper]

The companies are only going up. I don't know if you're a skier or whatnot, but ski apparel prices are rediculous. Yet, at the same time, it just like A & F vs. JC Penny. You could spend crap loads of money at A&F on a pair of jeans, or go to JC Penny and get a pair of awsome Lee Dungarees for 25 clams. That's the comparison I would give between Spyder (or whoever else ) vs. Cabellas or Eddie Bauer. I own their ski equipment too, and it works great.

Aside from that, if you spend some time at a college or even a high school campus, you see all sorts of people wearing ski coats as a fashion. Yes, their coats keep them warm, but it's also a fasthion statement. Take The North Face for example. I couldn't walk to class on a cold day without seeing umpteen North Face Jackets, especially those girls in the pink ones. So, you should put that in your paper too. The great thing about it is that you can do the research right in your school.

As far as research goes, go to Lexus Nexus and see if you can use that. Go to this link for my Almmater Ohio University http://www.library.ohiou.edu/ . Use the search engines and research tools to find your info. It's good stuff. Good luck dude.

[FB]

Originally Posted by mrcooper

The companies are only going up. I don't know if you're a skier or whatnot, but ski apparel prices are rediculous. Yet, at the same time, it just like A & F vs. JC Penny. You could spend crap loads of money at A&F on a pair of jeans, or go to JC Penny and get a pair of awsome Lee Dungarees for 25 clams. That's the comparison I would give between Spyder (or whoever else ) vs. Cabellas or Eddie Bauer. I own their ski equipment too, and it works great.

Aside from that, if you spend some time at a college or even a high school campus, you see all sorts of people wearing ski coats as a fashion. Yes, their coats keep them warm, but it's also a fasthion statement. Take The North Face for example. I couldn't walk to class on a cold day without seeing umpteen North Face Jackets, especially those girls in the pink ones. So, you should put that in your paper too. The great thing about it is that you can do the research right in your school.

As far as research goes, go to Lexus Nexus and see if you can use that. Go to this link for my Almmater Ohio University http://www.library.ohiou.edu/ . Use the search engines and research tools to find your info. It's good stuff. Good luck dude.

ha, i wear a Columbia Ballistic, a 330.00 ski jacket as my winter coat, no complaints as i have yet to be cold when it is -25F w/o windchill.

about the searches, my school has all sorts of tools like that, the best one is Business Source Premier.

[Ford Freak]

I never thought of them being fashion statements. I do have a Columbia winter jacket though. I just find it nice that you can remove the liner so you have different combinations. I have noticed quite a few couples wearing the same jacket. I can't stand it when I see that.

[mrcooper]

I totally understand that. I just have to wonder why girls wear the stuff they do (referring to all the north face jackets) I know 50% of them aren't skiers, but the do it for the looks. But, who am I to complain when they look hot in them.

[Fraoch]

Originally Posted by mrcooper

I totally understand that. I just have to wonder why girls wear the stuff they do (referring to all the north face jackets) I know 50% of them aren't skiers, but the do it for the looks. But, who am I to complain when they look hot in them.

I went to the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, Maine a few years ago. The store was filled with posers, all people who liked the outdoors "look" but couldn't stand to be 4 feet away from their Lexus.

The people I saw in there wouldn't like the outdoors with its dirt and bugs and rain and such.

Posers!

[SKI]

Posers... What a laugh! The majority of the people you see in the TNF & REI flagship stores in Seattle are just about the same. The people who really make me laugh are those twits who go to the airport all decked out in their "Adventure Travel" duds, for a flight from Phoenix to LA....

I HATE to pay the prices that some outdoor clothing costs. Since I prefer to use really good outdoor equipment (& clothing IS equipment as far as I'm concerned), not going bankrupt when I buy stuff is a challenge! Once purchased, I use outdoor clothing until it's REALLY worn out: I don't buy anything just because styles change! I've bought a lot of stuff from REI outlet, Sierra Trading Post, etc, at major discounts, over the years. Currently, the word "GoreTex" seems to be used to add $200.00 or more to the price of a piece of outerwear. Marmot is acting the same way towards their "MemBrain" technology, which was originally developed as a cheaper alternative to WL Gore's stuff! Right now I'm using a TNF HyVent shell parka for everything: skiing, backpacking, hiking, camping, fishing, etc. I paid $100 for it (on sale, retail $150), so you can still find good gear for reasonable prices if you shop around and do your research. MEC in Canada is another place with some sweet deals. I've bought used gear on occasion, too, from people wound up with something that didn't fit, or who discovered they "couldn't stand to be 4 feet away from their Lexus". I got my "pre-K2" Dana Designs Terraplane pack that way, for $200, when the original owner realized after 5 days use that he'd bought the wrong size pack on advice from the "expert" in a shop. They were around $325-350, IIRC, and it's one of my most prized posessions!

The specialty ski clothing Mfg's are REALLY bad about this kind of thing! Spyder, Bogner, Burton and Nils are probably the worst.

BTW, for cheap, decent jeans, these days I go to Wal-Mart & buy Wranglers for $15. Hey maybe all this cheap, not-stylish, "function-first" clothing is why I'm single!

[mrcooper]

I agree. I tried to find boot cut jeans (b/c I just bought my first pair of cowboy boots - which are awsome) and I couldn't find any anywhere. I went to Jc Penny.com and found some Lee Dungarees for $19.99. Great deal.

I too have been to the LL Bean joint in Freeport. I used to live near there. I went to school at Bridgton Academy and used to ski every day. You'd always see people with their $500.00 one-piece ski suits........laying on the ground b/c they can't ski.

It's true about Gore-tex and companies like Spyder, etc. But when you see a good deal on that stuff, I always snag it up b/c they do make quality clothing. Otherwise, I'm all LL Bean and Cabellas. Prices don't lie and the quality isn't much different.