So, I pulled the trigger on a arcteryx Minotaur Jacket. Supposedly a wind stopper. Went hiking on a friends private land this morning in 35 degree weather. I had on a long sleeve under armour shirt, then my North Face RDT 100 full zip, which is light then my Arcteryx jacket and hiked about a mile up hills and some light rock climbing . I really wanted to see how it held up against the wind. I gotta say, I didn't feel that bone chilling wind I normally do in fall moring hiking. Plus after up hill hiking, it was very breathable. I think I'll be getting more for spring. Yes, some will say the cost was insane, but I spend many weekends in the fall/winter hiking and I count on my gear.

Arc is great stuff. Can't afford it though so i stick with marmot and mountain hardwear.

I have two piece of Arc'Teryx gear: an Atom LT hoodie and a Beta LT jacket. The workmanship on both is superior to my Mountain Hardwear gear (which is damn good).

Agreed, the craftsmanship is second to none. I always went with others like a Condor before, but now I realize, you get what you pay for and I don't regret the cost of the Arcteryx.

Money buys nice stuff!

I said fuck arc'teryx after they denied my lifetime warranty claim when the PU coating deteriorated off a pack.

I'd already started shifting over to Rab for shells, since arc'teryx insists on continuing to use Gore Tex despite substantially better materials coming out in the last few years, so it wasn't even that hard of a decision to make.

BTW- Deadbird's stuff is expensive, but it's not any more expensive than any of the other manufacturer's high-end products. The difference is that Deadbird doesn't offer any less expensive lines, whereas Mountain Hardware does make some "cheap" stuff. But Mountain Hardware also makes $600-700 shells, and they're also nice. And breath better (Dry Q Elite)

You can't trust any name, though. A dead bird on the chest doesn't guarantee you a good piece, it just guarantees you a high price. Likewise, even as much as I've loved my Rab gear, I don't consider it to be the end-all-be-all. They've done some stupid stuff with some of their designs... eVent is insanely breathable, but you MUST put pit zips in your jackets! Especially a technical shell. Sheesh.

ETC.

Anyway... glad you're happy with your purchase, OP. Just don't make yourself a fanboy. There's a lot of good manufacturers out there. Chose a piece based on the piece, not the logo.