The Argali Clothing Project

[Brad@Argali]

What kind of timeline are you looking at for an ultralight puffy?

I’m assuming you’ll have a couple down puffy jackets, a vest and pants ?

We have a synthetic insulation jacket, a hybrid active insulation jacket as well as a "big" puffy jacket and down pants in the works. the First two jackets will be available first but won't be until later 2026. I'm not currently working on an ultrlight puffy. Personally I've found the weight, warmth and packability of a good synthetic insulation jacket to be superior to an ultralight puffy like the down sweater style.

 

[K_pem]

We have a synthetic insulation jacket, a hybrid active insulation jacket as well as a "big" puffy jacket and down pants in the works. the First two jackets will be available first but won't be until later 2026. I'm not currently working on an ultrlight puffy. Personally I've found the weight, warmth and packability of a good synthetic insulation jacket to be superior to an ultralight puffy like the down sweater style.

The hybrid active sounds super interesting. I’m thinking like mapped 60gsm “Sitka Ambient” meets the new OV hoody. I much prefer jackets to pullovers so that would be rad.

I’m not opposed to a synthetic puffy and appreciate the versatility for certain hunts/conditions (I have a Sitka Aerolite I rotate in; but i can definitively say for a lightweight kinda “just in case/always in the pack” jacket, they typically don’t pack as well and aren’t nearly as light. For example the SG Grumman is about 12oz but has 5+ oz of down fill and is significantly warmer than the Sitka Aerolite at 16oz.

A “big” puffy will be cool to see! I’m thinking like full blown sleeping bag damn near haha. I kinda envision like the old FL Chamberlin but lighter and better fit. I just picked up a Sitka Hyperdown jacket and that thing is RIDICULOUS for a 20 ish oz jacket, it’s just a big wearable sleeping bag. I want to say it has about 8oz of down fill. I’ll be curious to see what you put together to compete in that space too. Hopefully with puffy pants to match.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

We have a synthetic insulation jacket, a hybrid active insulation jacket as well as a "big" puffy jacket and down pants in the works. the First two jackets will be available first but won't be until later 2026. I'm not currently working on an ultrlight puffy. Personally I've found the weight, warmth and packability of a good synthetic insulation jacket to be superior to an ultralight puffy like the down sweater style.

I’d like to hear more about “why” that’s been your experience with the synthetic jacket. I don’t disagree but would appreciate hearing how you got to that conclusion for sure. I lean down for space/weight but have found it’s always nice to have a synthetic option for truly wet times.

Sounds like you have an awesome roadmap planning on the clothing front, can’t wait! Thanks for sharing

 

[HunterGatherer]

Just so I don’t bury the lead, we (Argali) are making a technical clothing line that will be available in early 2026, and this is my *official* announcement of our clothing line. (For all of you that saw my previous thread on the problems with current hunting clothing brands, this won’t come as a surprise).

The Argali Clothing Project is our approach to creating the most functional, layerable western big game hunting clothing line on the market through an open, transparent R&D process that you get to participate in and follow along as we design, test, build and revise. Sign up for our email list (The Thread), and follow along on this post to participate and provide feedback to us along the way. The link above will also take you to a survey that will help us tremendously, so please take that if you’re so inclined.

The goal is not to make clothing for everyone. Our goal is to make clothing for western backcountry hunters that want premium products that maximize performance and minimize weight with simple, functional designs, premium (quiet) fabrics and proper fit.

GET CLOSER is our motto for the Clothing Project. Ultimately, getting close is always the goal when hunting, and that idea permeates all of the clothing we will make as well as the design of the individual pieces.

Why get into clothing? The original idea for Argali was a clothing company back in 2010 when I was in graduate school. I didn’t know what I know now, nor was I in a position to fund a clothing line back then, but I got really far down the road. In some ways this is like coming back to what I wanted to do from the start.

I will also be using this thread to post photos, design sketches and ask for feedback for the next 6 months at least. So if you are interested in that, sign up for notifications on this thread as well. This thread will also be where Rokslide testers that have sample products will post photos, thoughts and experiences throughout the season.

We have 3 pieces we are going to be releasing first (with a lot more in the works). Two pairs of pants, and a midlayer fleece. I’ll post more about each of them, but here is the cliff notes:

VESPER PANT
Designed to be the ideal archery season pant for warmer weather with a quiet, lightweight 2-way stretch nylon fabric—built for comfort and stealth on early season archery hunts with the ability to use through October.

TOREX PANT
Mid-to-late season pant with quiet, comfortable 4-way stretch polyester fabric. Can be used in September, but built for mid-season performance with the ability to layer under for cold weather hunts.

GUIDE AIR FLEECE
Breathable fleece midlayer with a soft brushed interior and durable face—worn next to skin or over a baselayer. This versatile midlayer has built in air channels between insulating baffles to maximize air and moisture movement for use in a wide variety of environments.

Fire away with any initial thoughts or questions, but I’ll have more to say in the coming months.

I “joined” the project and submitted survey responses on your site but I want to say it here as well…

PLEASE make silent apparel for the early archery guys. I believe this would be the Vesper line you have outlined …
Apparel has gotten so noisy over the years to the point I can’t even find silent gear anymore. Manufacturers definition of “Quiet” just doesn’t cut it IME. I realize silence probably comes at the cost of durability and that’s okay with me. I don’t mind replacing things like pants frequently if durability is the compromise for silence. I’m not sure the 2-way stretch you have listed for the Vesper will be quiet enough for me. Maybe consider putting a soft fabric like fleece on the lower leg portion of the pants for example. Legs rubbing together and rubbing on brush is what tends to make the most noise…
Looking forward to see what you come up with!

 

[Brad@Argali]

The hybrid active sounds super interesting. I’m thinking like mapped 60gsm “Sitka Ambient” meets the new OV hoody. I much prefer jackets to pullovers so that would be rad.

I’m not opposed to a synthetic puffy and appreciate the versatility for certain hunts/conditions (I have a Sitka Aerolite I rotate in; but i can definitively say for a lightweight kinda “just in case/always in the pack” jacket, they typically don’t pack as well and aren’t nearly as light. For example the SG Grumman is about 12oz but has 5+ oz of down fill and is significantly warmer than the Sitka Aerolite at 16oz.

A “big” puffy will be cool to see! I’m thinking like full blown sleeping bag damn near haha. I kinda envision like the old FL Chamberlin but lighter and better fit. I just picked up a Sitka Hyperdown jacket and that thing is RIDICULOUS for a 20 ish oz jacket, it’s just a big wearable sleeping bag. I want to say it has about 8oz of down fill. I’ll be curious to see what you put together to compete in that space too. Hopefully with puffy pants to match.

The hybrid jacket ( I will have more to say about it early in January), is awesome. I've been using it all season from archery to late season tree stand hunting and it has been a go-to piece all season as an insulating layer and/or an outerlayer.

Synthetic puffy's are a weird category, IMO. There are the synthetic jackets like the aerolite or the uncompahgre that are really not incredibly versatile in my experience and I don't love them at all. Think more of the Patagonia Nano-Air Puffy, which is one of my favorite all-time jackets. It layers incredibly well or can be used as an outerlayer. It's very light for the warmth, but I can also use it on cold hunts as an outerlayer because it breathes and moves moisture. I can't wear a light down jacket while hiking, which I realize isn't the point necessarily.

Goal with our big puffy is as light as possible, but super warm. Premium down, lightweight fabrics, etc. And yes, puffy pants too!

 

[Brad@Argali]

I’d like to hear more about “why” that’s been your experience with the synthetic jacket. I don’t disagree but would appreciate hearing how you got to that conclusion for sure. I lean down for space/weight but have found it’s always nice to have a synthetic option for truly wet times.

Sounds like you have an awesome roadmap planning on the clothing front, can’t wait! Thanks for sharing

This is just my experience, so would like to hear yours as well.

I used to always have a small puffy and a big puffy for layering. The problem I had is the small puffy wasn't very good for walking around in. I was either too hot (when moving) or too cold (when sitting). And it didn't layer that well under my outer jackets. This is largely an issue with the fabric. For down products, you have to use what are called "down-proof" fabrics so feathers don't poke out of the fabric. This usually means using a nylon fabric that has almost zero stretch and isn't breathable. So in terms of versatility, small puffy's certainly have their place but they have their limitations and are not very versatile in terms of how they perform across a wide array of uses (active vs. still) hunting. Not to mention the nylon shells are noisy, so in colder hunts where I want the warmth of a small puffy but I don't want to sound like a cannonball walking around, they aren't a great choice.

Over the the past 5 years or so I've found that for layering efficiency I use a mix of synthetic and down. Down for my "big puffy" outerlayer, but synthetic insulation for my midweight jackets with a slightly slimmer fit and quiet outer fabrics.

I also like that I can wear a synthetic midlayer type jacket as an outerlayer and it actually breathes and has some stretch to it for colder hunts. And with a good synthetic insulation like Primaloft Gold, you can get a very light jacket that is as warm as most of the small puffy's I own.

 

[Brad@Argali]

I “joined” the project and submitted survey responses on your site but I want to say it here as well…

PLEASE make silent apparel for the early archery guys. I believe this would be the Vesper line you have outlined …
Apparel has gotten so noisy over the years to the point I can’t even find silent gear anymore. Manufacturers definition of “Quiet” just doesn’t cut it IME. I realize silence probably comes at the cost of durability and that’s okay with me. I don’t mind replacing things like pants frequently if durability is the compromise for silence. I’m not sure the 2-way stretch you have listed for the Vesper will be quiet enough for me. Maybe consider putting a soft fabric like fleece on the lower leg portion of the pants for example. Legs rubbing together and rubbing on brush is what tends to make the most noise…
Looking forward to see what you come up with!

You and I are on the exact same page. I'm mostly an archery hunter and noise is paramount for me. Both the Vesper and the Torex pant fabrics are about as quiet as it is possible to get. I can't even tell you how many hours I spend rubbing fabric swatches next to my ear over the past couple of years. I've bow hunted in both pants extensively, as have our testers, and I think you'll be happy about the noise. I'm completely OCD about fabric rubbing as well and that's where the cut of the pant combined with the fabric comes into play. It's obviously not 0 noise, but I don't know how we could make it any quieter.

 

[HunterGatherer]

You and I are on the exact same page. I'm mostly an archery hunter and noise is paramount for me. Both the Vesper and the Torex pant fabrics are about as quiet as it is possible to get. I can't even tell you how many hours I spend rubbing fabric swatches next to my ear over the past couple of years. I've bow hunted in both pants extensively, as have our testers, and I think you'll be happy about the noise. I'm completely OCD about fabric rubbing as well and that's where the cut of the pant combined with the fabric comes into play. It's obviously not 0 noise, but I don't know how we could make it any quieter.

Finally, a company that gets it ! When I look at major brand hunting clothes in stores or shows, I won’t even bother looking at the brand or anything- just walk through the racks and rub everything to see how loud it is. If it’s noisy I don’t care what other features it has or doesn’t have.
Can’t wait to try out these pants.