Brands like Patagonia You will Like

On top of making high-quality outdoor apparel, Patagonia is famous for going to great lengths to ensure the sustainability of its products. The brand’s mission is to protect the environment, and, judging by the programs it has in place and the actions it has undertaken, it is doing a great job of it.

Worn Wear, the brand’s program that aims to extend the life of outdoor clothing in order to improve environmental sustainability is a perfect example of this. Aside from Patagonia making some of the best winter jackets, high-quality clothes overall that last for years, Patagonia helps people share, recycle, and repair their gear through the Worn Wear program.

The brand is also famous for its wide range of products. Patagonia makes high-end clothing and equipment for various outdoor activities, ranging from hiking, climbing, mountain biking, and trail running to fly fishing, kitesurfing, and snowboarding.

Related:

• Patagonia vs Columbia
• Patagonia vs The North Face
• Similar brands to North Face

While you can’t go wrong with Patagonia, it’s not the only brand worth considering.

If you are looking to equip yourself for the great outdoors, there are several renowned outdoor gear and clothing brands like Patagonia that you should also check out.

Whether it is because of their environmental initiatives, brand mission, activities, or quality products, the following brands are similar to Patagonia. But some of them may be a better fit for your personal preferences, so be sure to read through this list before you start your shopping spree.

Arc’teryx

Like Patagonia, Arc’teryx does an impressive job of supporting and promoting environmental sustainability. This eco-friendly Canadian outdoor clothing brand has been making top-notch clothing, equipment, and accessories for mountaineering and hiking since 1989.

Arc’teryx designs and manufactures its products to withstand a fair amount of wear and tear. In addition to Gore-Tex, Arc’teryx only uses the most advanced fabrics and materials.

Arc’teryx products use 750-fill-power down or higher, as well as high-quality synthetic insulation such as ThermaTek and Coreloft. It also uses responsibly sourced wool and organic cotton.

Arc’teryx is among the most innovative outdoor clothing and gear companies. 20 years ago, Arc’teryx invented the most effective and most popular waterproof zipper in the world.

The brand is also famous for the proprietary state-of-the-art tools it uses in the manufacturing process and its rigorous testing methods. Instead of outsourcing manufacturing to the developing world, like many other outdoor brands, Arc’teryx makes all of its products in Canada.

The customer service the company offers is really something else. On paper, Arc’teryx warranty may not be as good as Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee, but it comes pretty close. Arc’teryx is famous for going out of its way to help its customers.

Everything sounds perfect so far, so what’s the catch? Most people get “sticker shock” when they decide to check out Arc’teryx gear. Arc’teryx products are for those who want nothing less than perfect in terms of quality, and they are priced accordingly.

Related: Best Arc’Teryx Jackets

Best from Arc’teryx: Alpha FL Hardshell Jacket

The Alpa FL is one of the best-constructed hardshell jackets you can find. It’s an excellent choice for hiking and climbing. In terms of durability and performance protection, the Alpa FL comes close to perfection.

The jacket is simple in terms of design, but the engineering is exceptional. If you need a hardshell jacket that is durable, yet incredibly lightweight, weatherproof yet breathable, and comfortable yet highly functional, you can’t go wrong with the Alpha FL.

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The North Face

Of all the outdoor clothing brands on the list, the North Face is likely the most similar to Patagonia. Like Patagonia, it’s a California-based outdoor brand famous for eco-friendly practices and quality apparel.

The brand has been pushing the boundaries of innovation for more than 50 years and is always taking new steps to make its manufacturing more sustainable.

For instance, the brand’s store now sells refurbished products in order to promote sustainable practices and eco-friendly consumerism.

The North Face is a favorite brand among outdoor enthusiasts and fashion lovers alike. Its clothes are great for everyday use just as much as they are for hiking, travel, and mountaineering.

The brand is pricey, but its jackets, hiking pants, skiwear, technical outerwear, and hiking accessories offer outstanding performance. However, some of its new products sacrifice performance in favor of style.

The fabrics North Face products use range from sustainably sourced goose down and merino wool to Polartec fabrics and recycled materials. The company has partnered with PrimaLoft to develop its own ThermoBall synthetic insulation. It does an exceptional job of mimicking natural down.

In addition to Gore-Tex, the company uses its own proprietary technology—DryVent. North Face engineers every DryVent product to be fully windproof, waterproof, and breathable. The brand’s customer service policy is similar to that of Patagonia, and it offers a lifetime warranty on every product.

Best from The North Face: ThermoBall Eco Triclimate Jacket

While this versatile jacket is made for snowboarding and skiing, its thoughtful design makes it great for travel, hiking, and a variety of other cold-weather activities. The weather resistance and insulation it provides are on par with higher-end single piece jackets.

The puffy sweater alone is warm enough for chilly spring and fall days. On top of its 3-in-1 construction, the ThermoBall Eco has a variety of cool features.

The jacket comes with 5 roomy pockets, long pit vents, and a goggle wipe. The hem and the hood are highly adjustable. Like most other North Face jackets, the ThermoBall Eco Triclimate is quite sleek and stylish. It is available in versions for both men and women.

Related: ThermoBall vs Nano Puff

Related: Marmot vs North Face

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Columbia

If you are looking for a brand that’s similar to Patagonia, but more affordable, Columbia may be the best choice for your next outdoor adventure. The Columbia Sportswear company started making outerwear for men and women in 1960. It was one of the first companies in the world to use Gore-Tex.

When it comes to sustainable and eco-friendly practices, the company is not as famed as Patagonia. Nevertheless, its environmental initiatives are impressive on any scale.

Columbia sources the majority of its fabrics from Bluesign certified mills. Moreover, many of its products are made from recycled materials. The brand’s apparel and accessories also use organic cotton, merino wool from non-mulesed sheep, and RDS certified down.

You can easily find Columbia jackets that are good for around town as well as the great outdoors.

In terms of build quality and performance, Patagonia’s products are undoubtedly better. But, considering the fact that Columbia’s apparel costs just a fraction of the price, the brand’s products exceed all expectations.

Thanks to its innovative proprietary technologies, such as OmniTech and OmniHeat, the company is able to offer warm, breathable, weatherproof, and lightweight outerwear at a more than fair price.

The company goes out of its way to honor its warranties. The brand is quick to replace products or repair them and send them back to customers. However, only its outerwear and gear are warranted for a lifetime. All other products come with a one year warranty.

Best from Columbia: Silver Ridge Lite Hiking Shirt

Even though it is super affordable, the Silver Ridge Lite offers incredible value. It’s one of the best hiking and travel shirts on the market. If you’re planning an outdoor summer adventure, the Silver Ridge Lite will offer you everything you need in a performance shirt. It’s soft, breathable, lightweight, and has a 40 UPF rating.

Chances are, you will like the way it looks as well. It comes in 10 stylish colors, so should be able to easily find one that suits you perfectly.

The shirt is made from quick-drying and moisture-wicking Omni-Wick polyester. It also features mesh-lined yoke and back vents that work more than well. The overall relaxed fit and the open collar also help with cooling. The shirt is available in versions for both men and women.

Related: North Face vs Columbia winter jackets

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Marmot

Like Columbia, Marmot was one of the first outdoor brands to use Gore-Tex technology for its gear. The brand pays special attention to environmental sustainability and fair labor practices.

The brand’s new EVODry collection is a perfect example of this. EVODry outdoor apparel is characterized by recycled nylon, PFC-free DWR treatment, and water-free production.

Marmot’s focus on making sustainable and environmentally friendly outdoor gear and clothing for more demanding nature lovers has earned it a loyal following. The brand itself was established by hardcore mountaineers.

In terms of quality and performance, Marmot is very similar to Patagonia. Their products also fall in the same price range. But Marmot offers a wider range of camping equipment than Patagonia. Marmot’s tents and bags are some of the best on the market.

Like other outdoor brands, Marmot has developed its own innovative technologies. These include the NanoPro and MemBrain coatings that are designed to balance breathability and waterproofness even in tough conditions.

The brand’s proprietary Evo Featherless synthetic insulation is also worth mentioning. It insulates just as well as 700-fill-power down. Aside from nylon and polyester, the brand also uses ethically sourced organic cotton. Moreover, it is constantly increasing its use of fully traceable recycled materials.

Best from Marmot: ROM Softshell Jacket

Since its recent redesign, the Marmot ROM has become the favorite softshell jacket of many active outdoorsmen and women. The jacket’s build-quality and unique features make it an excellent choice for a wide range of outdoor athletic activities.

Thanks to its high-performing fabrics, it offers superior weather protection without sacrificing breathability and comfort. The Marmot M2 fabric helps regulate body temperature while the Gore-Tex Infinium fabric repels water and blocks wind.

To allow for unencumbered freedom of movement, the ROM features expertly tailored panels. Its athletic fit is also worthy of praise. The jacket provides the right amount of room for layering underneath. Considering the performance it offers, the ROM is incredibly lightweight and durable.

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Fjällräven

Fjällräven is a Swedish brand that specializes in outdoor equipment, mostly upscale backpacks and clothing for men and women. The brand has been quite famous in Nordic Countries for a while, and it is becoming more and more popular all over the world.

When it launched, the brand revolutionized the way outdoor gear is made. Thanks to the ingenious inventions of its founder, Fjällräven was one of the first companies to make lightweight backpacks and thermo tents. The brand’s products are known for their simplicity, style, and durability.

Like most other outdoor brands on the list, Fjällräven is committed to sustainability and environmentally responsible business practices.

Admittedly, Fjällräven efforts in this area aren’t as remarkable as Patagonia’s, but the brand is constantly making efforts to make its manufacturing and supply chain more sustainable. It is a member of the Fair Labor Association and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Fjällräven outdoor clothing and accessories use a medium proportion of recycled and other eco-friendly materials.

Most of Fjällräven jackets that are designed for hiking, camping, and mountaineering use synthetic insulators while Fjällräven products that are designed for more casual wear use natural down.

The company’s proprietary Supreme Microloft and G-Loft supreme synthetic insulators mimic down feathers both in composition and shape. They are also quite resistant to wear and tear.

Fjällräven only uses PFC-free DWR treatment. It has also developed its own high-performance fabrics, including Eco-Shell and G-1000.

Eco-Shell is made from recycled polyester. In addition to being very durable, lightweight, and highly breathable, it offers impressive freedom of movement.

Like many other high-end outdoor clothing brands, Fjällräven offers a limited lifetime warranty on all of its outdoor clothing and gear. However, it doesn’t perform non-warranty repairs.

Best from Fjällräven: Bergtagen Eco-Shell Jacket

While Fjällräven Kånken bags fall under the category of high-street fashion, Eco-Shell gear is designed for men and women who live and breathe hiking, backpacking, camping, and mountaineering. Naturally, the Bergtagen is no exception.

It may be one of the most expensive technical jackets you can find on the market, but you can rest assured that you will get more than your money’s worth.

The jacket’s technical, articulate cut, and pliant polyester lining make the jacket incredibly comfortable to wear. The Corylon lower back and elbow reinforcement lend the jacket durability.

The Bergtagen offers complete protection from wind, snow, and rain. At the same time, it is exceptionally breathable. In addition to being a good-looking performance jacket that’s designed to stand the test of time, it is packed with a variety of cool features. These include a highly adjustable hood, an adjustable hem, a two-way main zipper, and long-pit zips.

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Mountain Hardwear

If you are into high-altitude hiking and other demanding outdoor activities, Mountain Hardwear is undoubtedly one of the brands on this list you will like the most.

Soon after it was founded, it quickly became popular among professional adventurers that require the most technically advanced and highest performing equipment. Mountain Hardware has a clear focus on achieving the highest level of quality in its gear and contributing to a more sustainable future for all of us.

Even though Mountain Hardwear has been making quality outdoor clothing for men and women from day one, it first gained fame for its innovative tent designs. At 25,000 ft altitudes and higher, you’ll see more Mountain Hardwear equipment than any other brand.

In an effort to promote sustainability, Mountain Hardwear is increasingly using recycled polyester and Bluesign-certified textiles. Mountain Hardwear is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

It sources leather from Leather Working Group Accredited tanneries and uses RDS-certified down. Mountain Hardware has also developed its own Thermal.Q Elite synthetic insulation. In terms of performance, it comes quite close to PrimaLoft and ThermoBall insulations.

The brand has also invented Q.Shield Down—a revolutionary water repellent coating for down insulation. Newer Mountain Hardwear waterproof-breathable clothing utilizes Dry.Q Elite technology.

Best from Mountain Hardwear: Phantom 0 Sleeping Bag

If you are looking for an extremely warm winter sleeping bag, you will like the Phantom 0. It is one of the most expensive models on the market, but, if you go with the Phantom 0, you likely won’t need to get another sleeping bag in your lifetime.

Its comfy and snug fit, oversized face gasket, huge zipper draft tube, and draft collar blocks help ensure you get a good night’s sleep in extremely cold conditions.

So that its 800-fill-power down insulation will keep you warm even if the sleeping bag gets wet, the Phantom 0 features the highly water-resistant and weatherproof Gore-Tex Windstopper fabric.

You could probably push it past its 0 Fahrenheit rating. You won’t find that level of protection even in some higher-end hardshell jackets.

Considering the level of comfort and warmth the sleeping bag provides, it is incredibly lightweight (2.68 lbs). Phantom 0 comes with an excellent compression stuff sack, and its packed size is quite impressive. Be sure to check out Mountain Hardwear tents as well if you are planning a tough winter expedition.

If, however, you would like to explore more Patagonia alternatives, L.L. Bean and Lands’ End are also worth checking out.

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Takeaway

If you are a fan of Patagonia, make sure to check out these brands as well. Each of these brands offers innovative, eco-friendly, and high-quality outdoor gear.

Whether you are planning a summer hike or a winter mountaineering expedition, Arc’teryx, Marmot, Fjällräven, and the rest of the bunch can provide you the right outdoor apparel and equipment.

I’ve reviewed one more brand since publishing this post, so check out my Patagonia vs Outdoor Research comparison as well.