The Argali Clothing Project

[Brad@Argali]

I'm also in the no chest pocket group.

A built in belt is a feature I have come to appreciate. I always thought it was hokey until I got pair. It's nice having a super low profile buckle that does not conflict with a pack belt.

I'm personally most interested in the late season pants. That to me seems like the area with the most room for market share.

The Torex pants are really great.

 

[Brad@Argali]

I like the big vents also. Dump the heat quickly

Same page. I get annoyed with small side zip that dont dump heat. I also really like mesh on my side vents.

 

[Bojangles21]

Can’t wait for this line. I really hope the fit on the pants are good, love to see the smaller, similar hobby dudes doing great in the industry we all love!


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[yeky83]

The new OV lineup's been popular on this forum, and not to ruffle any feathers but hard not to compare... I'm sure you've been paying attention to those, how would you compare these Argali pieces, similar goals? Similar approaches? Or different goals & approaches?

 

[lintond]

I haven’t read all the comments but I would like a pair of mid weight pants with super big vents that go all the way down the leg like stone glacier has in their pants but with netting like Kuiu uses so when the vents are wide open the legs don’t get filled with crap.

This! I love the SG vents but do wish they had netting.

Also I’d rather have an arm pocket than a chest pocket on a mid layer. The chest pocket just gets obstructed as others have said.


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[lintond]

If you look at the photos I shared on the initial post There is a photo of the side vents. Is that what you mean?

I think going past the knee really opens up the stove pipe. I’d have to pull out my SG but I think it goes way low.


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[Texasbuckeye]

This! I love the SG vents but do wish they had netting.

Also I’d rather have an arm pocket than a chest pocket on a mid layer. The chest pocket just gets obstructed as others have said.


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I like the idea of a arm pocket that is low enough to be functional. But the problem woth that is IF you are wearing a jacket, that pocket becomes useless. With the chest pocket, its an easy zip down and access. Its a catch 22, dang if you do dang if you dont.

Leg leg vents are great. Small vents are not useful. Wouldnt he bad to have a crotch vent as well, but having the outside one is more effective in dumping heat. And too many zippers means more money and things to fail, so the outer vents are the better approach.

 

[Wright406]

Hell ya. Looking forward to seeing the developments. If I was to design a early season pant it would have the following: athletic/tapered fit ( sounds like youve thought of that), thin style knee pad compatible (for antelope or plains game), generous hip zips, no zippers on seat, front thigh pockets (not on the side) and slightly deeper hand pockets ( so trinkets don’t get lost seated). Good luck and looking forward to seeing progress!

 

[fngTony]

Really hope your pants have a normal rise. Also another half inch for the zippers on the fly and cargo pockets would be great, lots of pants get this wrong.

 

[Geewhiz]

If you look at the photos I shared on the initial post There is a photo of the side vents. Is that what you mean?

The stone glacier pants have a side vent that goes down past the knee to about half way between the knee and the ankle, and like that other guys said, going past the articulation of the knee really helps open them up and create airflow for those of us that tend to run on the warmer side.

 

[Npike4040]

For a heavy base layer or mid layer fleece, I hate that zippered chest pocket. I’d rather save the $5 on the cost of the piece by eliminating that step in production.

I’d actually trade that pocket for a kangaroo pocket. I feel like I’m the minority with this, but i absolutely love kangaroo pockets and wish more grid fleece had that option. Not a lot of companies adding them to a grid fleece these days.

I agree. With everyone wearing bino harnesses nowadays how the heck can you access it. Give me a kangaroo pocket all day!

 

[elsb0048]

Do your thigh pockets have any sort of an internal sleeve or divider to keep a cell phone in place?
Alternatively have you considered a drop-in pocket like in some carpenter's pants these days?
That's about my favorite place to keep a phone for navigation and photos.
I do like the thigh pockets as you have shown on at least one side: I often put gloves in them while I do fine motor tasks.

My ideal mid season pant would have a doubled knee and seat

I don't have much of a use for hip vents myself, pants I've had with them didn't seem like much of a benefit and I find myself not touching them. That said I don't think I've had any as big as you have shown. I like the look of them and glad they don't go past the knee like stone glacier. I'd be real worried the zipper would bunch up and rub.

I'm with lots of other folks: I have no use for chest pockets on baselayers or midlayers. It's covered up by the bino pouch and even if not if every layer has a chest pocket in it I start to not remember which layer has the doodad in it as I add and subtract.

Fingers crossed for a 36" inseam!

The fleece is the least inspiring to me: that feels like a pretty crowded market that'd be hard to stand out in.

Also would you please consider making a sun hoodie that includes tall sizes!? for the life of me REI seems to be the only reputable brand that has something in that option. Eddie bauer, columbia, and L.L. bean sort of do but they're either out of stock, don't have a decent anti-stink, atrocious noisy branding, and/or boxy terrible fit.

 

[Brad@Argali]

The new OV lineup's been popular on this forum, and not to ruffle any feathers but hard not to compare... I'm sure you've been paying attention to those, how would you compare these Argali pieces, similar goals? Similar approaches? Or different goals & approaches?

To be totally honest, I have not been paying attention. Those guys are all great (I genuinely like them), but I started Argali as a backcountry hunting brand because that is my passion and what I have a lot of experience doing. The backpacking world and the backcountry hunting world have some overlap but are not the same. As a lead designer, your experience significantly shapes your understanding of what your customers (you all), need/want/experience, and there really is no replacement for that. If you don't do 5+ day backpack archery or rifle hunts at different times of the year, and haven't for many years, I think it's hard to know what your customers who are doing that truly experience in the field. I'm not saying those guys don't do that, but we do the same things as our customers, which is very important when it comes to understanding who our end user is.

If I look at my favorite gear, the people that have designed it do the things that I do and they create products that are well suited to my use because we do the same things and they understand what backcountry hunters need. So if I look at where we are starting from, I think we're coming at this from a different understanding and a different background that plays an important role in shaping what we build.

That might sound trivial, but I truly believe what we are doing is different than what anyone else is doing though in terms of the philosphy for our clothing line and how that influences my underlying principles for design that are driving the creation of individual pieces.

I'm focused on 3 primary things for our clothing line:

1) Proper fit--Whether it's pants or tops, each piece needs to fit for it's designed intent. Baselayers and midlayers need to have a semi-athletic fit so they layer easily and don't get in the way of shooting a bow, have excess fabric in the arms, and just plain function well. Pants need to fit well throughout your lower body, but not have excess fabric on your legs so you can be quiet and stealthy. Getting pants to fit properly is part science part art, but it is imperative to get it right.
2) Fabrics--Premium materials and the right fabric for the piece. For example, our Vesper Pant has a 2 way stretch nylon fabric that is comfortable, quiet, and pretty damn durable. I've spent soooooo much time looking at pant fabrics and gone through at least 1,000 swatches working with fabric mills to find the right fabric. For our Torex pant, focusing on a polyester fabric that doesn't absorb water is important for later in the season. And for our Guide Air Fleece, finding a balance between breathability, warmth and weight is tricky, but it's all in the fabric and you really have to do your homework to find that unicorn fabric. And the last thing, fabrics need to be as quiet as possible. I know this is only a concern for the bowhunters out there, but there isn't a downside for having quiet clothing for the non-bowhunters.
3) Functionality--There is a tendency of company's to create feature sets on producs to make them look different so people will buy them. We will not do that. I am focused on simple, yet highly functional feature sets, designs and fabrics that are designed first and foremost for functionality, and more specifically to help you get closer to animals. This includes everything from the color choices we make, the feature sets (one-handed operation thigh pockets that fit your phone, that that aren't so big they catch on brush as you walk around), hip vents that are long enough to dump heat, but thoughtfully designed so the zipper doesn't hit your knee (with mesh so you don't get debris in your pants while walking around), the design of the product, etc. We will not be putting any gimmicky feature sets on our clothing, i.e. pants with 10 pockets, or mesh dividers inside of thigh pockets, which I truly hate. Everything we make and every design choice will be made with functionality in mind.

Over time as we talk more about our individual pieces I think you'll see our approach is different and the products we are making are different.

 

[Brad@Argali]

Really hope your pants have a normal rise. Also another half inch for the zippers on the fly and cargo pockets would be great, lots of pants get this wrong.

I agree. The rise is important. Not too short and not too long. I think we've found a sweet spot there. Our fly zippers go all the way to the top of the pants, which helps to keep the waist band from stretching. And the cargo pockets. I've spent so much time on these so far. The zippers are truly one-handed operation.

 

[TheTone]

Good luck. It’s a darn crowded market.

I’ll add; if you do go with any camo patterns I’d like to see some of the, for lack of a better word, generic patterns like what Go hunt uses or maybe predator or asat. That, to me, would seem a good separation point to other companies out there

Feel free to send some pieces up to your buddy in Moscow and maybe he can slip them over to me to try out

 

[fatlander]

What’s the weight and expected price point on the light weight pant?

Looking at them in the surface, they look a whole lot like my favorite pant: kuiu katana. Wondering what’s going to be better about yours than them.


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[mtwarden]

I've got use the Vesper pants on a few backcountry fishing trips this summer. The fabric is relatively light, but thus far they seem pretty durable (I had a few tumbles getting into two trailless lakes ).

Weight on my 34" is 15 oz, my Sitka Ascents weigh 12.5 oz, but have no zip zips or rear pockets—the fabric weight and breathability seems pretty similar.

One day the temps were pushing 80° , that feels about the upper limit for me (that's with the side zips fully open)—any warmer I'd prefer shorts or a really light pair of pants. I experienced a couple of days with light rain and appeared there is some dwr, as the water beaded up—heavier rain I'm sure I would have been soaked.

I'm normally a 33 if it's offered, so opted for 34—I'm 99% sure 32 would have been too tight.

Like @Jaden Bales I found the inseam to be a little long; in visiting with Brad he doesn't plan at this time a tall length so would rather have them a little long vs a little short. I'm 5'11 185 for reference.

The zippered pockets are roomy and easy to get to. The side vents are easy to open/close. The rear pockets don't have zippers but instead a fabric overhang which still keeps stuff in your pockets.

So far so good

 

[Brad@Argali]

Good luck. It’s a darn crowded market.

I’ll add; if you do go with any camo patterns I’d like to see some of the, for lack of a better word, generic patterns like what Go hunt uses or maybe predator or asat. That, to me, would seem a good separation point to other companies out there

Feel free to send some pieces up to your buddy in Moscow and maybe he can slip them over to me to try out

No camo for now. Personally, I think for 90% of hunting it is over hyped. But I also want the clothing to speak for itself and I would rather people use it because it is quality product not because they like the camo pattern if that makes sense.

 

[Brad@Argali]

What’s the weight and expected price point on the light weight pant?

Looking at them in the surface, they look a whole lot like my favorite pant: kuiu katana. Wondering what’s going to be better about yours than them.


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I dont have a price point yet. Ive never used Kutanas so cant compare to them. the fabric on the Vesper is soft, comfortable and quiet.