BRANDS

I'd suggest narrowing the topic to just one of those items at a time.

She's back…

"Dear Lord baby Jesus, lyin' there in your ghost manger, just lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors. I would like to thank you for bringin' me and my mama together, and also that my kids no longer sound like *expletive* gang-bangers."

I am back indeed. It's a different question though. I'm merely curios to know which brands I should be looking at IN GENERAL for tents, sleeping bags and down jackets. Like what are the best brands on the market to look at. I am not asking for suggestions on particular items for my specific trip, like before.
Or does a best brand not exist either and it all depends etc., etc. etc., so that UNIQLO is probably going to fall in the same category as MONTBELL?!

All you need to know is that America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, bad@$$ speed.

Ok maybe there's more to it than that…

Western Mountaineering
Montbell
Feathered Friends
Lukes Ultralite
Borah Gear announced on Facebook that they are working on a UL down sweater but have a vest at the moment.
Patagonia
Eddie Bauer
JC Pennys
Hawke and co
Nunatak
Zpacks
Kelty
Marmot
TarpTent
Hilleberg
Big Agnes
MSR
REI
Walmart's Ozark Trail
Hi Tec

And these are for tents, sleepings or down jackets…? Or are they all good at making everything?

I am not American and I don't like neither speed nor money. God shall forgive me for that.

"And these are for tents, sleepings or down jackets…? Or are they all good at making everything?"

Yes. No. Sometimes. Maybe.

Hilleberg makes (by reputation since I don't own one) a great bomber tent but with a significant weight penalty and price tag. Hi Tec makes a low quality but lightweight tent for $50. TarpTent (again by reputation) makes a nice tent at both a reasonable price tag and weight but this is subjective as a $250 tent is reasonable to person A but is priced too high for a starving college student.

People seem to love Montbell's down jacket selection. I like the $25 one I bought from Eddie Bauer on sale although it's comparitively heavy at 14oz.

I love my ULSS#3 down sleeping bag from Montbell. Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering both have great reputations. You can spend a small fraction compared to those three and buy a Kelty Cosmic Down.

If it was me, I'd limit the discussion to one item, state its intended use (climbing Rainier vs hiking the PCT), and give a rough idea of what your budget is.

Good luck with your search.

Sierra Design seems to have quite affordable, lightweight and quality sleeping bags and tents…any thouhgts?

…

I can't think of a funny enough joke as a reply. Shame.

DOWN JACKETS: Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, and then a whole list of general outdoor apparel manufacturers that we could quibble over for pages, like Patagonia, Montbell, eeeeeeeeeeeeeetc.

DOWN SLEEPING BAGS: Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, and then a whole list of other manufacturers that we could quibble over for pages. And then there are quilts…

TENTS: that really depends on "tents" or "shelters," with consideration to capacity, free-standing, mountaineering, 3 season vs 4, etc. As another poster opined, you might do better with one category at a time.

Tent (no shelter): Lightweight, durable, 3 seasons (no mountaneering), 2 people (otherwise my backpack will get wet).

I have already tried to post one at a time and got 30 pages of suggestions! :-)

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Tent-Reviews

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Ultralight-Tent-Reviews

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Ultralight-Sleeping-Bag-Reviews

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Down-Jacket-Womens-Reviews

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacking-beginners.html

The best brands are the ones YOU like and fill your needs/requirements. There is no "best" king of the hill really, just brands more respected or thought of then others, depending on the individual viewpoint at any given time. So many manufacturers make so many different items it is really a hard question to quantify.

It's kinda like saying "What is the best car?"

What'd I miss?

the "trail name" says it all.

Plenty of other Adventurous Bears in this forum!

And hey, it's quite undeniable that Ferrari makes better cars than, say Opel. And that's not cause I'm Italian!

[..]

Ferrari may be better than an Opel….

But I'd rather take a far less expensive Toyota Tacoma on a jeep road than the sports car.

And a Ferrari would not work very well if I need to pick up groceries.

And I sure as hell would not want a Ferrari for the winter here at the base of the Rockies. (My old Mustang was bad enough growing up in Rhode Island)

In the same way, there is no such thing as the best gear. Different needs, goals and preferences dictate which gear is "the best" for you.

I strongly suggest specifying your needs more and take it from there.

The links above posted for review sites may esp be useful.

More rambling from me:
http://www.pmags.com/best-gear-fallacy

Yeah links are being useful. Not so much mean comments.

However, I didn't ask for "best gear", I mainly asked for 3/4 best brands for the categories: down jacket, down sleeping bag and tent, so that I can narrow down my choices and have a look at their websites to pick the most suitable garment for my needs. Oherwise, I would have to look at 30 websites, each one with 100 and more products to offer.

Not mean at all. Just blunt and to the point. :)

Take rain gear for example. Here are some standard questions for the AT:

Is this person tough on gear or do they treat it gently?
Tend to hike cool or sweat a lot?
Like ponchos?
Want more breathability or more water proofness?
What time of the year is the person hiking the AT?
Prefer simplicity and lightweight or want extras like pit zips that add weight but perhaps more functionality?
Tend to hike more or spend more time in camp?
What is the budget?
Want one jacket for multiple environments or something more suited for the well marked , defined and maintained Appalachian Trail?

So..how are YOU using your gear? Appalachians? Rockies? near Moab? Canadian Rockies?

What time of the year? Like free-standing tent or would a tarp work for you?

Do you need a three-season down jacket or prefer something for winter as well?

Want the lightest weight or something with more features?

Even the BEST BRANDS question is too broad. I use military surplus, GoLite, Feathered Friends and Costco brand gear among others.

Which of those is the BEST BRAND?

BEing rather serious, give us a brief write up of what you plan to do and the answers can be given accordingly.

I can argue that I believe Lamborghini is better then Ferrari now that Audi owns them. See my point about the logic of "best brand?" It is subjective.

I already explained all this in a previous post.

I guess commenst, like everything in life, are a matter of personal perception. Or projection.

So..how are YOU using your gear? Central and South American's ground levels and hills.

What time of the year? All year.

Like free-standing tent or would a tarp work for you? I like a free-standing tent, but not necessarily. Surely not a tarp though.

Do you need a three-season down jacket or prefer something for winter as well? For winter too, so long that is packable and fairly lightweight.

Want the lightest weight or something with more features? Lightweight, compact, sturdy, durable.

NONE OF THIS GEAR WILL BE USED FOR SERIOUS HIKES, NOR every single day.

I meant the best brands on the market that makes down jackets, sleeping bags and tents, not the best brand amongst the best brands. So we can argue between a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a Maserati to be "best cars", but we can't argue with BMW to be a nicer, better made car, more expensive than a FIAT.

Hey, whats with the bashing of the novice on the forums. isn't the point of this to share your knowledge, not put someone down for not knowing very much. there are people that want to get into the sport of backpacking, come here for questions and are put down and basically made fun of on this forum… as ambassadors of the sport should we welcome new members and novice with open arms and share our knowledge with them? Stop being elitists and start sharing your knowledge. Maybe the OP's question is a little broad and covers a lot but whats with the put downs and negativity. stop!