by Gadgetgeek » Fri 03 Sep, 2021 7:33 pm
A couple of things I would think about in general. These are something that you might decide are not priorities, and that's totally fine, but worth going in eyes open.
A lot of US brands are run under companies that are also military suppliers. This is a concern for some, not all. Larger than that however is that some of the "green" companies are very much in the propaganda business. As far as I know, very few have actually tried to make their factories more fair, and more eco, last I heard the big charge pushed by Patagonia was pretty thin for support from other manufacturers. Again, I'm not making that value judgement, its just something that catches folks off guard later on in the learning curve.
All of the Aussie brands have become much more "seasonal" over the past decade, so you really will have to try things to see how they fit. The company I used to work for bought everyone 3/4 heavy weight raincoats, since we were in them a lot. The cut of the old jackets (An aussie company, I think we were using One planet, but its not important) the new batch were WE, an otherwise great company, but the jackets were terrible. Obviously a re-brand from somewhere else. They stopped selling them shortly after. So you do really need to take things on a case by case basis. Also, some of the aussie brands are still riding on reputation that is now owned by a different company, so when reading old reviews, consider that.
You will likely notice that most aussie stuff is heavier than its foreign counterparts, one is the terrain, and the other is that overall, backpacking is less common and so they target a market that tends towards semi-supported and a wider variety of environments, with a lower willingness to own multiples. For example, when running expeditions on the Sunshine Coast I needed two tents, and three sleeping bags to cover the climate range in just our region, let alone much travel. I'm also a gear-hog so there is that as a consideration, but I can camp one night on the ocean with an overnight low of 28C and fifty klicks and three months later, and wake up in frost. Knowing if you can get away with the lighter gear, or knowing that you want one pack/tent to rule them all is a valid question. A big thing to recognize is that no synthetic/coated fabric lasts forever. Don't even think of it as a "long" term thing, I've got nylon duffel bags that are still very good, but the internal PU coating is all flaking off, and requires regular cleanups. I also camped with a guy who had a canvas pack older than I was, it was maintained and patched, but otherwise going strong. I guess the short version is knowing your priorities, and that will help guide your decisions. Everything is a compromise at some stage, you decide where that happens.
Ask heaps of questions. A huge part of it comes from finding your own style, and how you want to pack your stuff. My kit as an instructor is totally different than how it would be solo. Also, "instructor" mode might be as simple as camping with folks I'm not really sure of as far as their skill level. Nothing wrong with ultra-light or ultra-lux, really depends on your goals, and we can't set those.
For what its worth, I currently run a tarptent (since I use treking poles anyway), several brands of sleeping bag, (almost all synthetic due to the rain/humidity here, some DIY quilts) Osprey packs and Thermarest mat when I'm not hammocking. That having been said, I've worked with folks who run/own nearly every brand and once you get down to brass tacks, its simply a matter of knowing what feature means the most to you. For example, I know a person who, as an instructor uses a paramilitary style pack because the rifle sleeve was the right size and shape to hold their waterproofed paperwork carrier, and the bag was about indestructible. I was also recently on a training event and several people were jealous of my lightweight osprey pack as many of them were carrying over-stuffed hydration packs. Meanwhile I had the same or less gear in a 45L pack.
Outdoor gear lab has really solid reviews and its worth reading older ones as well to see how products have evolved over time.