Arcteryx Fake Question

Whoops, I meant that it says "Made in Canada" , not "Made in Canana"

This can be a tough call. I own an arc Alpha LT made in 08. As i recall, production was already off in China by 08, yet mine was still made in canada. I recall hearing that the company still retains canadian manufacturing on some of their high end items. Perhaps you can call the company and ask them if they still make the theta ar in Canada?

And in general, a good way to avoid ebay fakes is to
1) check item location. If its from any part of asia, i immediately walk away.
2) Check user feedback, and other items that they have up for sale. If there are multiple listings for the same item, theres a stronger chance that something is fake
3) look for real photos as opposed to stock manufacturer photos

Perhaps you can link me to the auction? I can take a look and give my honest opinion. I've seen and handled a number of arc jackets, so maybe I can help

Also, since joining the lightweight community, my hindsight has become a lot clearer, and can honestly say that many arc products are overhyped (especially in terms of quality, since production has moved offshores) or over built. My alpha SV only comes out when i mountaineer/snowboard….its just too heavy and not as breathable as my alternatives. For normal rain, I prefer anything made of eVent. If im trying to go ultra light or theres only a very slight chance of rain, I look at jackets such as marmot mica/essence. So depending on your application, it maybe be worthwhile to check out the alternatives

As of last year, Alphas were still made in Canada. Before that, all the proshell stuff was still in Canada, but then they shipped everything but the Alphas to China. You might want to double check that though, since I would not be surprised if it was all in China now.

Anyways, ebay is a good way to get ripped off. I would just buy local.

Hey Konrad,

The link is http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270481858389

I got outbid, and after reading this, I knew there wouldn't be time to talk , so I didn't rebid. My point in getting a theta was because I'm working with a baselayer – patagonia r1 hoody – r2 jacket and I need a shell to cut the wind
out. I figured the Theta would handle better than the Alpha.

Was the winning bid really $330? Maybe I am not seeing that correctly. I have to admit I just don't get the whole ebay thing, the prices almost never seem competitive compared to hunting for deals for new goods.

For example the AT Theta AR has appeared on steepandcheap for as low as $223, brand new (coming then from backcountry.com. AT stuff pops up regularly, but is really popular, so you would need a tracker (like sacalerts) and buy immediately. Obviously there is no knowing when a particular item will appear.

http://sac.gearattack.com/items/222

But for a packlite jacket, $223 still sounds really high, twice as much as I would want to pay. Other jackets from packlite are avail, on SAC and elsewhere. Cabala's has a packlite jacket for under $100 I believe.

(not really an answer to your question at all, but buying from a retailer like backcountry will guarantee that you are not getting a fake).

I haven't looked at ebay for backpacking stuff, but I have seen cycling stuff go for more than the list price fairly frequently. Always cracks me up, especially as cycling gear tends to go on sale for even more of a discount than backpacking stuff.

I work in a store here and Canada that has the biggest selection of Arc teryx in the country. Its hard to tell now Because they contract Adidas Factories to pick up the excess volume of product needed. So you can`t really tell because some are made in china in April and some are made in Canada in July. depends on what the orders need. I can`t personally buy those from Ebay Becasue there most of the time either stolen, or bad pro deals (staff incentives) which can be samples some times.

Also because they moved production off shore they can reduce shipping around they globe which reduces green house gases and lets them develop a product better and produce more samples and prototypes in Canada to test faster.

If you want a sweet UL bombproof mountaineering jacket get the Alpha LT. only 14oz and 2.85oz/sq. ft fabric and 9mm Seam tape(smallest and lightest tape in a jacket another 40% less tape than there own tiny tape)

arc' stuff on ebay isn't that cheap. $200 for a used proshell usually $300+ brand new. i just scored a sidewinder "pro shell" not XCR for $205 not including shipping, possible duties. it's the 08-'11 model.

Hi John,

I got stiffed with face Tnf gear years ago on eBay and had no luck getting money back from PayPal as it was outside the dispute time window.

Best thing to do is to send an eBay message to the seller asking him to confirm it is a 100% original Arcteryx item, if it then turns out to be a fake you will be covered by PayPal, you will need to check the dispute time frame.

Cheers,

Stephen