The Argali Clothing Project

[agohn155]

We have a good bivvy or testers right now but I appreciate the offer!

How is the testing going and when is the release date in 2026?

 

[Brad@Argali]

@Brad@Argali I'd be interested to hear why you started with grid fleece and not a piece with evolve or alpha direct? More of a preference thing with you, simplicity, performance, or based on past product use? Aside from fabric weight, are there any other differences with your approach on the light vs mid-weight pants?

Great question. For tops, there are a variety of reasons. I'm a big fan of synthetic insulation and active insulation, but I wanted to start with a piece that was simple, approachable, and could fit in any backcountry hunters layering kit. While there are a lot of midweight fleeces out there, finding one that I can actually wear while hiking has been a chore as I've found they are often too warm or not warm enough. To me our Guide Air Fleece threads the needle as the kind of midlayer you can take on almost any hunt.

I've found that in anything but cold weather hunts, evolve and alpha in any of the weights are warm to wear while hiking, and for me, too warm, unless it's naked alpha. But naked alpha has it's own issues that I don't think are ideal for hunting (i.e. snagging on everything). So, I like alpha and evolve, but until I'm hunting in colder weather, I use them to keep warm while glassing or hanging out at camp.

On the pants, It's hard to describe in the abstract, but a great pair of pants has to have great fabric, excellent fit, and the right amount of functionality and features. My approach is simplicity above all else. Proper fit, simple feature set, durable, QUIET fabrics with the right amount of stretch, and the right cut for the pants (i.e. tapered not straight leg). I'm going to share some photos from a recent moose hunt I just did showing some photos of the Torex just to show how we're testing and what I'm finding.

Also, I do have a jacket I am nearly done with that uses Evolve that I absolutely love that I'll be talking more about here soon. I'm a big fan of synthetic, active insulation in the right pieces and we will absolutely be making some of those pieces.

 

[wysongdog]

Absolutely. Quiet has been one of my primary focuses. Both pants are quiet. I used the Vesper on an NV archery mule deer hunt this year and they were great.

Well awesome where’s my pair to try? Lol

 

[RWT]

I am in on this. I really appreciate well made purpose driven clothing. I now only buy Hart Schaefer suits. Why. I still have the one I was married in from 2006 and it still looks great. Fits well and although not in style with the skinny Jean flat fronts, it is classic and I remind the youngsters. I am a MAN. I have MAN parts and those parts need to be taken care of with room to move.

Still have my Rivers West original fleece jacket and pant. They have been on many hunts and are by far the warmest jacket I own. That set is 18 years old. Does not breath at all, but very warm. It’s a shame they suck at marketing or new design.

Make a great product and they will still be using it 20 years later.

 

[wysongdog]

Absolutely. Quiet has been one of my primary focuses. Both pants are quiet. I used the Vesper on an NV archery mule deer hunt this year and they were great.

That being said tough enough for the Africa bush? I’m headed over next year to chase buf.

 

[Brad@Argali]

That being said tough enough for the Africa bush? I’m headed over next year to chase buf.

No idea. I've never been so don't know what the vegetation is like. Our Vesper pants aren't designed to be brush busting pants. Even though they are durable and I have personally used them a lot in a wide variety of environments and had 0 issues, everything has a breaking point. If you're looking for brush busting pants specifically to crawl through thorns, these aren't them. I'd look for something with a heavier front fabric that has cordura in it.

Clothing, as with any product, is all about tradeoffs. You can't have lightweight and the most durable fabric. For an early season pant like our Vesper, It's about finding the right balance between being lightweight and durable, which I fully believe we have done. However, if anyone that makes clothing is being honest, lightweight clothing, especially pants, are not impervious to destruction.

 

[Brad@Argali]

I spent 12 days in Alaska in September hunting for moose and using/testing our clothing and gear, and wanted to give you all an update on that trip and how the gear performed. This trip had the full AK experience-- bad weather, high winds, bugs that could carry you away, etc. On the bright side, hunts that suck can be great gear-testing trips, and this was a fantastic trip to test the limits of our equipment.

Every hunt has its challenges, but this one was particularly rough. It rained most of the trip, and the winds were incredibly high for a few days (45-50 mph sustained). And when the winds weren’t blowing, the bugs were the worst I’ve ever experienced.

After not seeing a moose for 10 days, on the 11th day, in the last hour of our last morning of hunting, we called in a legal bull, and my good friend Charlie shot it. We hustled to get it back to camp in time to catch our bush flight out. It’s a good reminder to hunt until the bitter end, even when things seem desperate.

Clothing We Tested
On this trip, all three of us wore the Torex Pant and the Guide Air Fleece. Temperatures ranged from the low 20s at night to highs near 60. The Guide Air Fleece stayed on us day and night, and we all wore one pair of pants the entire trip.

Even though I design our products, I’m our biggest skeptic and harshest critic. With our clothing, my expectations are borderline unrealistic for performance. Here’s what I noticed that stood out about the clothing on this trip:

1. The Torex pants didn’t “bag out” after multiple days of use and remained comfortable, even after repeatedly getting wet and drying (That’s the advantage of a polyester fabric over a nylon).
2. The fit of the waist remained constant throughout the trip and didn't stretch out even after sitting under a sweaty pack hip belt every day. (We have a special liner inside our waistband that helps prevent too much stretch, but I wasn’t sure how it would perform in the real world).
3. Durability was on point. The Torex Pants held up to abuse in the brush, and nobody had any snags or tears.
4. The side zips provided ample air flow when it got warm out, and the mesh liners kept all debris and bugs out.
5. The thigh pocket volume and positioning on the leg were great.
6. The Guide Air Fleece was comfortable and performed flawlessly. The thumb holes on the sleeves were particularly useful on this trip, as the bugs were atrocious.

I could not have asked for more in terms of how the clothing performed. The only thing I did not like was the Bitterbrush color and how it looked after 12 days of use. I’ll have more on that in my next email when I talk about color selection.

P.S. If you look closely you'll see an early prototype of a jacket we're working on for down the road.

 

[wysongdog]

No idea. I've never been so don't know what the vegetation is like. Our Vesper pants aren't designed to be brush busting pants. Even though they are durable and I have personally used them a lot in a wide variety of environments and had 0 issues, everything has a breaking point. If you're looking for brush busting pants specifically to crawl through thorns, these aren't them. I'd look for something with a heavier front fabric that has cordura in it.

Clothing, as with any product, is all about tradeoffs. You can't have lightweight and the most durable fabric. For an early season pant like our Vesper, It's about finding the right balance between being lightweight and durable, which I fully believe we have done. However, if anyone that makes clothing is being honest, lightweight clothing, especially pants, are not impervious to destruction.

Agreed everything has a trade off. I’d rather have quiet than super tough and durable and loud. I’ll try them over there and we will see. Hell half the ph’s hunt in shorts lol

 

[Brad@Argali]

How is the testing going and when is the release date in 2026?

I forgot to answer your question on timing…January ‘26 we will have the presale with product shipping March or April.