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REI, Land Rover and most high-end mountain bikes arguably sit in the same microfiber travel chair that folds up into a credit-card: ostensible backcountry use l

REI, Land Rover and most high-end mountain bikes arguably sit in the same microfiber travel chair that folds up into a credit-card: ostensible backcountry use luxury city gear. Some motivations: 0. In affluent/flat societies, status is everything, even with home-improvement, camping and other common items. Showing overpaying for shit that doesn't matter is SharperImage's whole business model. 1. Some people want non-crappy, daily-practical, multi-use items: sure an over-priced rain jacket shell is good for running but it also fits into a glovebox. Or a sleeping pad that collapses down and fits in the closet behind all the other camping gear used at home. Btw I bought a $250 Colombia Titanium GoreTex jacket with an actual lifetime warranty some years ago that's deteriorated not from normal W&T. Obviously, it cost them probably $15-20 landed to make it so it makes sense to honor such warranties for a time.

throwaway729 10y ago
> REI... Showing overpaying for shit that doesn't matter is SharperImage's whole business model. Comparing Sharper Image to REI isn't fair at all. REI is the only and cheapest place to buy a lot of "backcountry" gear (aside from online, which has obvious downsides) in huge swaths of the country. And not just for big ticket "could make do with cheaper variants" stuff like backpacks and tents. I've never found low-volume quantities of isobutane fuel canisters cheaper anywhere, including online, than when they're on sale at REI. > Or a sleeping pad that collapses down and fits in the closet... "I have so little dwelling space that I'm willing to pay $100 for a sleeping pad the size of a plate" doesn't exactly scream "luxury city" to me.
dredmorbius 10y ago
https://archive.org/stream/theoryleisurecl00veblgoog#page/n10/mode/1up https://archive.org/stream/theoryleisurecl00veblgoog#page/n1... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Cl...
hkmurakami 10y ago
It's those moments when you see a dude in a $600 Arc'Teryx jacket at Safeway ;)

throwaway729 10y ago

> REI... Showing overpaying for shit that doesn't matter is SharperImage's whole business model. Comparing Sharper Image to REI isn't fair at all. REI is the only and cheapest place to buy a lot of "backcountry" gear (aside from online, which has obvious downsides) in huge swaths of the country. And not just for big ticket "could make do with cheaper variants" stuff like backpacks and tents. I've never found low-volume quantities of isobutane fuel canisters cheaper anywhere, including online, than when they're on sale at REI. > Or a sleeping pad that collapses down and fits in the closet... "I have so little dwelling space that I'm willing to pay $100 for a sleeping pad the size of a plate" doesn't exactly scream "luxury city" to me.

dredmorbius 10y ago

https://archive.org/stream/theoryleisurecl00veblgoog#page/n10/mode/1up https://archive.org/stream/theoryleisurecl00veblgoog#page/n1... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Cl...

hkmurakami 10y ago

It's those moments when you see a dude in a $600 Arc'Teryx jacket at Safeway ;)