Counterfeit gear and clothing

imported
#1

Be very careful when buying Brand Name gear and clothing on Ebay. There appears to be a rash of fake parkas, especially The North Face Summit Series with fleece insert, going around. I’ve just started to research this, but I had a friend who got ripped off buying one of these parkas. $110 for a $300 jacket, yeah, right! The biggest give-away is that the jacket left him with a soaking wet back after a short walk downtown while he did some christmas shopping. I’m not sure it breathes even a little bit, if at all. Plus, the fleece insert has a Gore-tex care tag sewn into it. (“Steam iron warm” ;-)Riiiiight. We should all iron our fleece. haha!) Close inspection reveals quite a few loose threads and stitching that is not of the usual TNF quality. The jacket looks snazzy, though. An impressive fake. This Ebay seller was located in Brooklyn. Buyer beware…

Tyger

#2

sounds pretty normal for TNF gear. its been about that quality for a few years now… here in the UK there is always a rash of fake thinsulate stuff (hats, gloves etc)…

Bloody Cactus

#3

North Face Jackets

You mean my North Face Triple Combination jacket may be counterfeit and not Genuine???
I Paid $20.00 USD for it in Shanghai, two years ago. (Actually, the regular price was either $16.00 or $18.00 USD, I tipped the extra change to the guy that actually made the run to the store.)
It does appear to be well made and looks authentic - including the logos and Gore-Tex label; so I was never really sure whether the cheap price was because it was a copy-cat fake or just a “buy it from the source” local bargain and that TNF was producing their line in Shanghai.
At any rate for a savings of about $275.00, it’s fine for my (and my wife’s)purposes.
If anyone will be in Shanghai and wants the name of the place: it’s called “The Jacketman” and is an easy taxi ride from the port.

Happy Trails,
Capt. Bly

Capt. Bly

#4

Gore-tex isn’t all that useful for hiking anyway. All most people are concerned about is if it looks hip/cool/expensive. I love TNF for goofing around, taking out the trash, walking the dog, etc., but don’t take it to the woods. It’s heavy. Also, many people don’t know what real breathable Gore-tex performance feels like–it only works under a certain narrow range of temperature and humidity conditions–so they never know they’ve got junk. In extreme cold g-tex works great because of the moisture gradient between the inside and outside of the membrane. In wet weather, and especially warm, wet weather, where exertion and sweating is involved, it sucks as badly as most other shell gear. Twenty bucks USD seems about right for a fashionable nylon/rubber coat. North Face used to make great stuff, back in the day.

Tyger