I've become very dissapointed in REI's brand of gear. It seems that every time they revamp a line, it is for fashion's sake, with a decrease in useable quality.

At one time I could count on their gear being "affordable quality", but anymore it's just junk that is only useful for the most casual user (AKA mallwalkers and car campers).

I would guess that most of their customers don't know any better these days, and they are just mirroring that, but it is dissapointing for those of us who actually used to use REI gear for it's intended purpose and for the long haul.