Mountain Equipment or Mountain Hardwear?

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums, and would like to begin with a simple question regarding two brands of mountaineering equipment, namely Mountain Equipment and Mountain Hardwear.
I'm actually looking at purchasing a down jacket from one of them, but my question is; How do these brands compare with one another.. is one generally known to be of better quality than the other? Carry more respect? Does one, generally speaking, produce the better down jacket? Are they much of a muchness.. a bit like photographers arguing whether Nikon or Canon produce the better cameras? (the answer to that is Canon by the way, lol)

I'm just basically trying to gain a little knowledge regarding the two brands so that I can make a more informed decision as to which might be the better brand to go with?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for reading

Mountain Equipment is a company based in the UK. They have been around since the early 60s. They are well known and make good gear, primarily clothing. In the early years they were the English gear company for cold weather expeditions.

Mountain Hardware is a company based in the USA. They have been around since the early 90s.  They are well known and make good gear, clothing and tents. They are probably as much a fashion brand as they are a functional brand.

I have owned gear made by both and would not hesitate to buy either brand.

I'd look at the features and specs of the particular jacket and decide, both companies have high end stuff that doesn't suck. Any particular reason you narrowed it down to those two? 

Ive never owned anything from ME but I have about a dozen pieces of clothing from MH and I love them, mostly because they fit my build, and I like the styling. Ive yet to have something from them I was disappointed in, although I have sent things back that didnt fit like most of their product line. I especially like their climbing pants and shorts because they are super stretchy and durable. I do own a couple of their jackets as well as a couple shirts. 

I own 3 different Mountain Hardwear parkas. And a couple packs. Good gear.

Montbell

Hi Kathy, the answer is Sony. :)

I own both brands and I think they have better options for specific use. For instance I have a ghost whisperer from MH that serves a function that ME has not a good "nemesis".  (Also consider fit) and ME HAS some sick tech combined with usability .

If you tell us what the use or need, we may be able to assist you better. E.g my wife and I just went over a shopping spree as we are going to Canada, qc for the winter. So we ended buying a rab down parka and mh down vest for her. And a belay MH parka for me.

Best

Mountain Equipment generally sticks to making mountain equipment. That is, the stuff that is truly necessary for equipping yourself in the mountains. Personally, I think that some of the mountain equipment they make is a bit underappreciated, and should be explored by the serious mountain equipper. My favorite is the Mountain Equipment Explorer Card. This card gives you the tools you really need to be safe in the mountains: a credit card with no limit and only 12%APR after a 12-month trial period.** With the Mountain Equipment Explorer Card, no piece of gear or summit bid is out of reach. You'll be able to get the gear you need every single time. It's like a nice toprope-assisted dyno to the deadpoint. But there's more! It comes with perks like $1 off at the Starbucks in the downtown Denver REI.*** This is a woefully underappreciated piece of kit from Mountain Equipment that all serious outdoor enthusiasts should look in to. You could probably buy a down jacket with that. I suggest the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer, for obvious reasons.****

** Before the 12-month period is up, the Mountain Equipment Explorer Card will need proof of a 5.12 send on gear with sufficient runouts in order to qualify for 12%APR. Otherwise, the APR will be calculated by subtracting the grade you onsight from 100.

*** Provided that you mill about with the coffee in your hand, staring at things on the REI wall like an art critic contemplating a Brueghel.

****Ghosts generally have the best beta.

Briggs, I have a dri down review forthcoming. I will tackle that very question. Unfortunately, the more I looked into this question, the deeper down the rabbit hole I fell. I'm currently safeguarding myself with various letters that will be mailed to various parties in the event of my death. Once I am sure that, when I blow the whistle, the bigwigs at Sierra Designs and other shadowy organizations won't be able to exact their revenge, I will release my dossier. I'm going to blow the lid off the whole conspiracy, and then the conspiracy will no longer be watertight, and exposed to the elements. Good thing the conspiracy is dri treated. Or is it?

Briggs Lazalde wrote: I always wonder why all modern down jackets dont have dri down treatment? I have a dry treatment down bag and its been rained sideways on and keeps its loft and warmth...why not do this with all jackets? Its not expensive

I think they should as well, but the basic reasons are: 

1) questions about long term performance of the treatment

2) some issues with clumping (Patagonia had bad luck early on)

3) similar to #2, treated down doesn't loft quite as much, maybe the treatment is a little "sticky?" Basically you have to add a bit more down (ie weight) for the same loft/warmth.

4) it makes a difference, but not a huge difference. No matter what those cute videos of shaking a glass with plumes in it make you think, the treated stuff still gets wet. Down is just high maintenance unless you live in a very dry climate.  

Briggs Lazalde wrote: I always wonder why all modern down jackets dont have dri down treatment? I have a dry treatment down bag and its been rained sideways on and keeps its loft and warmth...why not do this with all jackets? Its not expensive

What, and not also get to sell a waterproof shell to the customer?

jdejace wrote:

I think they should as well, but the basic reasons are: 

1) questions about long term performance of the treatment

2) some issues with clumping (Patagonia had bad luck early on)

3) similar to #2, treated down doesn't loft quite as much, maybe the treatment is a little "sticky?" Basically you have to add a bit more down (ie weight) for the same loft/warmth.

4) it makes a difference, but not a huge difference. No matter what those cute videos of shaking a glass with plumes in it make you think, the treated stuff still gets wet. Down is just high maintenance unless you live in a very dry climate.  

This actually covers the dry down issue really well.

How many times are you out when it will possibly rain or super heavily snow with a down jacket and have no type of shell with you?

A little off topic, but did MH discontinue the EV2 and Direkt2? Neither are on their site (or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter). Do they have something new in the offing?

Ben Gleason wrote: A little off topic, but did MH discontinue the EV2 and Direkt2? Neither are on their site (or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter). Do they have something new in the offing?

That'd be a shame about the EV2, not many comparable tents out there (~5lb, 3 poles, single wall). Email MH and let us know? 

Ben Gleason wrote: A little off topic, but did MH discontinue the EV2 and Direkt2? Neither are on their site (or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter). Do they have something new in the offing?

Mountain Hardwear's redesigned their entire alpine line, tents, clothing, packs, etc. in a complete overhaul for spring, 2019.  Read the story here.

$650 for the AC2 and you still have to buy the vestibule. They definitely aren't getting cheaper. Hopefully it's good. I find pole sleeves annoying personally but probably stronger. I wonder if the front vestibule pole will still cross the main poles (stronger) or just come off the front anchor points like the BD tents.