Meathelmet 0 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 You guys have any decent shops for gear there? Mainly clothes stuff. I mean,some arcteryx,patagucci etc. stuff? I have to buy some stuff soon,but was wondering if i should wait few weeks untill i come over, or to get the stuff from europe? Here you have to skin for a arctreyx jacket some 500€s = 600-700$s, if that is something to compare with... What is the price levell usually? I know we have a strong euro at the moment,so shopping from the US is goood, but how is yen doing comparably? Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Rapies (sp?) on the main street near Jusco has a some top range gear. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Concur-it's a sweet shop and the prices are pretty good for the quality of the gear. I think your Euro will go a long way in Japan. I'll let you look into the exchange rate yourself but ,just for example, Rapies had down jackets on sale for 15,000 yen (I think) in October. They were some famous brand, Creek Boy may be able to elaborate. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Firstly, keep in mind that I have not done any gear shopping in Hakuba, so my advice is of limited value. But my guess would be to pick up your clobber in Europe if you really need it. There is a chance you will arrive and find that they don't have your size (can be a problem for big healthy scandi guys) or it costs a lot. Even with a strong EURJPY rate, Japan is quite expensive relative to Europe, especially if you are buying in a resort setting. But then if you can get your stuff at the sale prices like Davo quoted then it would be hard to beat. You could make me a price on my Sidewinder jacket, I am open to selling. I really like it but it has a few minor shortcomings that I am looking to improve upon (although I am yet to find the jacket that combines all my preferred features and I would have to find that before selling mine). I love the Arteryx bib and brace pants though. They are awesome! A few guys on the forum live in Hakuba and should be able to advise pretty accurately what kind of gear range is available. What is Mammut gear like? I have some of their mitten shells and they rock. Link to post Share on other sites
Meathelmet 0 Posted January 15, 2006 Author Share Posted January 15, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by _spud: You could make me a price on my Sidewinder jacket, I am open to selling. Lol...I allready have the exactly same jacket as you have... But thanks for the offer! And thanks guys for the names of the shops. I have all the normal gear, but my stuff start to be "quite" worn out, so update is needed at some point. Pants are missing half the fabrics,gloves are held together by 4m of duct tape etc... So it is good to know there is some decent stuff aviable when neccessary. Otherwise i could check out some stores in osaka where we stay for a day or two before we come up to hakuba. But 15.000Y for a jacket? aint that like 110€ or something...not bad if they have quality stuff there...not bad at all. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Rapies is a great place for gear. Has good prices too. Sizes can be iffy depending on your size for pants and jackets but Fattwins,myself, and several other peeps on the forums have picked up good gear for pennies there. As Davo said, he had Marmot down jackets for pennies in the Fall. Dont know he has now. He speaks good English so dont worry if you have questions. Link to post Share on other sites
Davo 1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Ahh so it was Marmot not Mammut. I got a Mammut beanie from Rapies, seems like a good quality brand. I would imagine 40-60,000 yen would be the top price range for quality jackets in a shop like Sportaka in Osaka. You'd probably get a nice, good quality set of pants and jacket(snowboard) for about 50-70,000 yen at this time of year. You'd pay more for cetain brands of course. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Think I saw a North Face 800 fill jacket for 19,000 as well but sure those would be gone by now. Thats pretty cheap. You can also pick up really good 2nd hand skis/boards/etc there for pennies. Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have never been impressed with North Face. It seems too much of a overpriced label like Louis Vuitton. Non technical people want it for the cool brand factor. Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I like N.F. Love my down jacket of theirs. 6 years and going strong Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I bought a lowe Alpine soft shell jacket for my Dad at Raphies. 8000 yen was a steal. I almost kept it for myself. Raphies has really really really good deals on the best gear out there Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Be carefull with North Face, there are lots of fakes on the market. Make sure you know EXACTLY how an original looks. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 That might be true in Hong Kong but in Japan most everything is legit Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Kraut_in_HongKong: Be carefull with North Face, there are lots of fakes on the market. Make sure you know EXACTLY how an original looks. How EXACTLY does an original look? Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Toque: That might be true in Hong Kong but in Japan most everything is legit If you buy from some obscure source then I would even worry in Japan. The shop may have bought it somewhere unknowingly. And you can not tell an original NF from a fake. They can be quite well done too. I would buy only from larger shops - and pay the price. But I am lucky and my wife works in fashion and has access to some factories that make ski gear for well known brands. So I don't have to suffer $700 for a Spyder jacket. But I agree, the risk in Japan will be much lower. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 While on this topic, I bought a pair of North Face Mits at shop in a resort in Avoriaz France last year. They cost just over 100 Euros (takai ne kedo atataka sou desu). They had down insulation and were in fact quite warm. However, one day as we skied down to a valley, the snow turned into a light rain and those mits got thorougly wet. The water seemed to seep right through the seams. I thought that was pretty poor quality control for North Face and wondered whether they were fakes. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 The mitts you bought are only meant for very cold weather where they would stay dry. Down offers little to no insulation once it is wet. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Toque, what you say makes sense. That's strange, have you been drinking too much? Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Not only am I drunk right now but I'm also high as a kite Forgot to add that The North Face has 2 lines of outdoor gear Summit Series and Not Summit Series The Summit Series is the good stuff and what you want I wouldn't bother with the other line for outdoor activites. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Keep up the good work! Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 >Not only am I drunk right now but I'm also high as a kite And people criticize the JET program! Where else can you be drunk and stoned and get paid for doing nothing? I wouldnt be able to talk if that was me right now...Probably be talking to God in a ditch somewhere watching ants work... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 There are lots of fakes easily available in Japan. Just walk along the markets between Ueno and Okachimachi, for instance, and see how many Louis Vitton bags and pirated DVDs you can spot Still, for ski gear in the shops, that's probably another story. I don't think the shops here buy the fakes. Then again, I could be wrong Link to post Share on other sites
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