I think a part of it is the the "sell-out" idea. TNF was literally bought and sold 3 times between 1999 and 2001, eventually becoming the property of Vanity Fair Enterprises, which bought them essentially for brand recognition. And for several there was no innovation in gear while other companies were investing in the lighter-but-still very strong gear market that has lowered typical pack weights by 20-50 % of their pre-Y2K standards. And their prices actually seemed to go up.

This is why so many college students who will only see the outdoors while walking to class from their dorms are covered in North Face clothing.

I was guilty of turning my nose up to those I saw wearing North Face as "posers" for a long term because, as an REI employee, I saw so much less expensive high quality lighter weight gear that new hikers wouldn't buy because they thought North Face was the end-all-be-all. Then I stepped off on the John Muir Trail last summer with the lightest, best gear I'd ever carried on a backpacking trip. And I had to pull off with a stress fracture after 60 miles..........

It just reinforced what I'd always known but somehow forgotten. It's about the journey, not the gear. It's about the hiker, not the pack. I'd put on a LOT of weight in 3 years of working full time and part time while earning my masters degree. I could still make miles, but my musculo-skeletal system was struggling.

So I got back to being healthy, both physically and mentally. I have nearly all my weekends to myself now, and I backpack at least once a month. I've lost 45 pounds since New Year's and I intend to lose another 50 more so I'll be back at my fighting weight in the Marine Corps. And I'm just overjoyed to be out walking the hills.

And when I cross some one wearing North Face Gear, I simply am glad to see others out there hiking, which is what it really is all about for me.