Aside from really premium small-batch gear I've ridden from Mission and Kitsbow I can't think of a brand that I've never had a manufacturing issue with. In general, I've had good results from Race Face (my Conspiracy jacket for example looks like it's been through a blender and still works great). Actually, the shorts I referenced in a photo in the body of this piece failed during my test (single-stitch crotch seam) and after a $5 fix at the local garment repair place they've been going strong for some five years or more.
I know Race Face has had some quality misses - the first run of the Agent shorts for example - but in general, I've kicked a lot of their gear around with good results.
The Nano is not a rain jacket by any stretch of the imagination. I still think it's a useful piece of kit and, actually, my brother CTK has had years of ESJ use out of his. The Stash is slightly better in mist but also wets out fast. The Stash is better in the wind, and at trapping body heat, but in both cases, and as with all ESJs, packability is the key feature.
I've ridden the Conspiracy jersey in the rain plenty. I do live in North Raincouver. I'd like to think I did an okay job of explaining that it's certainly not a true weatherproof rain shell in the spirit of the Conspiracy jacket? As an easily packable ESJ layer and as outerwear for a rip where I'm constantly moving - in damp or rainy conditions, it's great but, like the super-light shells, it's not pretending to be a rain jacket.
Sept. 20, 2021, 4:12 p.m. - Andrew Major
Aside from really premium small-batch gear I've ridden from Mission and Kitsbow I can't think of a brand that I've never had a manufacturing issue with. In general, I've had good results from Race Face (my Conspiracy jacket for example looks like it's been through a blender and still works great). Actually, the shorts I referenced in a photo in the body of this piece failed during my test (single-stitch crotch seam) and after a $5 fix at the local garment repair place they've been going strong for some five years or more. I know Race Face has had some quality misses - the first run of the Agent shorts for example - but in general, I've kicked a lot of their gear around with good results. The Nano is not a rain jacket by any stretch of the imagination. I still think it's a useful piece of kit and, actually, my brother CTK has had years of ESJ use out of his. The Stash is slightly better in mist but also wets out fast. The Stash is better in the wind, and at trapping body heat, but in both cases, and as with all ESJs, packability is the key feature. I've ridden the Conspiracy jersey in the rain plenty. I do live in North Raincouver. I'd like to think I did an okay job of explaining that it's certainly not a true weatherproof rain shell in the spirit of the Conspiracy jacket? As an easily packable ESJ layer and as outerwear for a rip where I'm constantly moving - in damp or rainy conditions, it's great but, like the super-light shells, it's not pretending to be a rain jacket.