Mountain Hardwear is really really really good. The stuff goes on sale too for ridiculous prices.

Litesmith: lightweight specific gear resold, similar to garage grown gear

Dirty Girl Gaiters: colorful non-waterproof gaiters to keep debris out of your shoes

Nitecore: The best lightweight power banks and the standard headlamp

Enlightened Equipment: Synthetic down things, from jackets to quilts

Decathlon: Various clothing pieces, a bit less expensive, but it's from France so shipping is not negligible

Frog Togg: Cheap ultralight raingear, not the most durable

Pretty much everything listed on Halfway Anywhere is good, there is an annual survey of PCT thruhikers and their gear which is a great way to find out what people are using and how much they like it, most of it is lightweight focused due to the nature of the hike

Just about every brand on Garage Grown Gear. They have some major gear brands along with a ton of cottage companies.

For drybags of every kind, I go with Hilltop Packs. Their suggestions for sizes are pretty dang accurate, including which one to get for my quilt.

For tent/pack, Durston Gear. Dan is pretty well known in some circles, but in others he seems to be completely under the radar.

For packs, ULA Equipment. Extremely popular with thru-hikers (think Pacific Crest Trail), but perhaps not with the general backpacking crowd.

For midlayer, Senchi Designs. They're well-known among ultralight backpackers. Not sure how well they're known outside that sub-culture. I'm 6'4", and 250 lbs, and they carry my size. It also weighs only 7 ounces (195 grams), including a hood and half zipper.

For food protection, Armored Outdoor Gear, for their Ratsack. It's a metal mesh bag that works against rodents and other small pests (not bears), and it's an incredibly light alternative when I'm not in bear country.

EDITS (additions):

Adding Lightheart Gear. Their raingear is fantastic, and they're willing to work with folks to tweak their designs to a better fit (longer/shorter sleeves and main body section).

Adding UGQ Outdoor. Their quilts aren't the cheapest, but their largest sizing goes further than most brands, allowing someone like me to get a quilt that actually fits well.

Adding Hammock Gear. High quality quilts at extremely affordable prices. The Economy Burrow doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it's a solid quilt and around half the price of a lot of other brands.

For tents, packs, and other assorted items: Gossamer Gear, Six Moon Designs, and SlingFin.

Hilleberg tents

Cottage Brands. https://sectionhiker.com/cottage-gear-manufacturer-directory/

Western Mountaineering for sleeping bags, ZPacks for shelters and packs, Superior Fleece and Melanzana for fleece tops, Sawyer Squeeze for water filters and Therm-a-rest for sleeping pads. Just to name a few.

Outdoor Research has some.

Also look at military/ military surplus. Anything Barry Act is made in the US. Some nice fleeces and waffle tops.

Danner/ Keen for boots with many other good options. Aim for lightest weight in boots.

Hill People Gear

NW Alpine is my go-to for hiking & climbing clothes. They also have a section on their site for other MIUSA climbing brands too that crossover into hiking.

Check out Runyon's clothing!

I don’t have a specific brand of anything. I have a whole garage full of discarded name brand/no name gear that no longer works for my needs. Our current setup works well for us in all seasons, fits inside a 4Runner with a large dog, and so far it’s lasted with heavy use (2-6xs a month for last 3 years). I can vouch for these brands based on personal experience and not any affiliation with any company. We currently use 2 different sleeping bag brands (Nemo and REI), 2 Exped mats, Jetboil cook system, Gregory backpacks, Coleman stove, Helinox chairs, iKamper tent, MPowred Luci solar lantern, and a Black Diamond rechargeable lantern. I also have a whole lot of stuff I bought off Amazon or Walmart that works well enough to keep it in my permanent collection. I don’t have a lot of space for extra gear in my vehicle so anything I pack is necessary and reliable. If you’re looking for someone to suggest just one brand of (mostly) quality gear than I would probably have to go with REI brand. The camping items may not always be top of the line but it’s going to be a decent mid choice. Their return policy and garage sale are fantastic perks too. If that’s not within your budget than Coleman products at Walmart are good too and when you’re able to upgrade, focus on the essentials like your sleep system first.

I don't really go by brands. I tend to read reviews for individual products.

Does not exist. No.

Spam

I have a lot of reliable gear that comes from many different brands each brand offers its own benefits and each brand has its own products that it excels at.

A company that makes really good tents might not make really good hatchets..

One that makes good flashlights might not do so well at making sleeping mats...

Coleman brand is a long time tried and tested brand they make a lot of great products but they make a lot of products that aren't so great also.

My best advice is to go off user reviews that's what I do and it's worked out well for me.

Arcteryx

Patagonia underwear and outerwear.

Marmot tents.

Mountain Hardwear sleeping bags.

Cabela's socks.

Jack's plastic welding Pacopad sleeping pad.

Chaco river sandals.

Leatherman multitools.

Julbo sunglasses.

Immersion research river shorts.

Kinco gloves.

Carharts.

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Mostly this is just stuff I like, but also this is stuff that I used pretty hard for years and years that never failed and always performed well. I don't know if it's all best in class, but it was so dependable that I'm not interested in ever trying anything else. Probably the most contentious item on the list, Cabela's socks, I will stand by (or maybe in) until my dying breath.

As a Geophysics student I know a lot of my colleagues wear Zamberlans or LA Sportiva for boots; Fjallraven for pants; Arcteryx for the upper body; Gregory or Osprey backpacks.

Black Diamond is pretty good for head lamps.

I would say Black Diamond and Petzl in regards to climbing equipment.

Oh boy, tech bros with fleeces

I just got a couple of pieces from marmot, and they're all exceptional quality. Seriously I was stunned by how nice everything looked and felt.

I saw some discussion on Vollebak recently, specifically this puffer. They seem like an interesting brand that I haven't heard much about yet. Not exactly my area, though. Most of my outdoors-oriented stuff isn't high fashion.

And Wander gear is seriously good, and looks great too. So expensive though

I use Poshmark. It's definitely marketed to women, but there are still some good finds for men on there, and probably fewer men using the site so maybe better prices as seller's get desperate? Poshmark takes $3.00 or 20% (whichever is higher), so keep that in mind when making an offer. Most sellers list an item for a lot more money than they'll take, as this leaves them room for negotiations.

I've bought vintage Pendleton wool shirts, some vintage Ballantyne cashmere, and then some random "holey" cashmere to repurpose. I bought a women's Nordstrom Collection 100% cashmere poncho/wrap that retailed for $399 for $23 + $7 shipping. It appears to be brand new.

Mercari is another secondhand site, but I find it difficult to use. Ebay of course. And Etsy for vintage clothes (item must be at least 20 years old).

I will check out Grailed! :)

Atomic Bent Chetler's for you my friend.

Expensive outerwear on a beginner is a great way to stand out.

I don’t prefer brands, I prefer individual products if they’re good.

Many years ago the top layer of my Nordica Enforcers were coming off and they gave me new skis, no questions asked. Nordica customer for life.

I’ll always be a Völkl man

Trail fitters is just a retail store. They have lots of good brands but not made in house.

Duluth pack has been making backpacks and such for a long time 100+ years at this point I think. Newish owners though in the last 10? Years. 20 maybe I really suck with timeframes. Really lost favor with the town after hosting one of the trump folks a while back. I’ve heard quality has gone down since new ownership. Cannot verify.

Frost river the people who used to own Duluth Pack doing all the stuff they did there but under a different name heard their quality is what Duluth Pack used to be.

Duluth Trading Company. Outdoor and work wear company is from maple Wisconsin or something. There was an assload of their stores before Duluth had one. Stuff is expensive, but high quality. Good warranty their bullpen boxers are a game changer. But you pay American made prices for oversea made goods.

Does Superior count? Because Northwest Outlet is usually my first choice for boots and gloves.

Steger Mukluks also makes crazy warm boots. Not for work/play, but great for dry snow and bitter cold.

Cooke Custom Sewing and Kondos Outdoors should be mentioned. Top shelf stuff made in the US just north of here. Also Wintergreen.

Well, as much as they seem similar, they are all very different.

1. Trailfitters is effectively an outfitter. They sell most brands and types of equipment and personally, they are my favorite in town for quality gear. The problem is they are pricey, but not out of the ordinary for the brands of gear they send. Support is great, they try hard to keep you satisfied.

2. Duluth pack and Frost River are basically direct competitors. Duluth pack used to be the premier soft goods outfitter in the Midwest, their packs were considered the most rugged and highest quality. The problem is they were bought out and started skimping on canvas, leather and hardware. They sell other brands outside their own label, but the quality has gone downhill on their own label. Frost River was started by a few former Duluth Pack employees who felt they should carry on the mantle of the original Duluth Pack gear. They use the original weight canvas, hardware and leather and are very high quality. If you’re gonna buy something that’s softgoods, spend the extra money on Frost River if you want quality.

3. Duluth Trading is basically the Walmart of gear. They sell some crap, as seen in TV stuff, some really good stuff as well, but the Duluth Trading label is Chinese-made goods. It’s not bad persay, it’s just not locally made, nor is the company even headquartered in Duluth. For Chinese-made goods, it’s actually pretty high quality.

Now, don’t take this as some slight against China in general. It’s just that they try to present themselves as something other than what they are.

There’s also Great Lakes Gear Exchange on 4th St. It’s an outdoor gear and clothes consignment shop, so prices are better than buying new for name brand stuff, but less selection. It’s got some locally made stuff too. I’ve only ever gone there for outdoor clothes (mostly just looking for women’s field/work pants), so I can’t speak to buying gear there, but I’ve never heard anything bad about it. Otherwise I’ve gotten work pants shipped-to-store from Duluth Trading, and I’ve bought cookware from Trailfitters, since I had trouble finding what I needed elsewhere.

Armachillo boxers are great if you like massive, all-day wedgies. I like the fit of their jeans, but the pair I own now has a hole in the pocket where it meets the denim. And I had a pair of cool-max pants I think they were called. My wallet put a hole in the pocket, and the whole pair was worn so bad you could see through them.

I do love their tshirts and flannels, but only if I can find them on clearance. But they're no better than Carhartt.

It really depends on where you are. IMO Decathlon is king but I live in scandinavia and scandinavian brands like Fjällräven, lundhags and höglofs are cheap here. You always have some more generic brands that deliver high quality as well. Patagonia is a luxury brand just like Arcteryx.

By the end of the day, when you are more experienced, you will see that its all about the product itself and what fits you. For me, shoes and pants I user Adidas. Outerlayer Fjällräven, mid layer lundhags. Gloves I grab anything. I have even hiked with uniqlo !

No particular brand loyalty. I research each piece of clothing & gear exhaustively and have found that for outdoor pursuits there are a lot of niche manufacturers that specialize in only one or two types of garment (like a Senchi hoodie). Brands like The North Face & Patagonia are about the only major brands in the rotation.

Patagonia for me.

I'm a discounter hiker. My go to clothing brand is whatever I can find while sorting through the racks.

I know it was the lame dad brand back in the day, but I have good luck with Eddie Bauer hiking pants, t's, and base layers. Long time fan of the Columbia omni wick t's. Hiking shorts are Prana and North Face. Mountain Hardware puffy. Marmot rain jacket. Lots of $12 pairs of Smartwool socks with the "irregular" stamp on them.

Loyal to Altra for footwear. Lone Peaks don't have the best reputation for durability, but they fit my feet better than anything else. Fatigue mitigation over everything.

The more I hike the less fancy my clothes get. I usually wear merino base layers (Macpac because there’s often good sales near me), cheap basketball shorts, Costco merino socks, and a free hat from the hardware store haha. I used to go for the most technical gear possible but over the years have fallen back to this, it’s comfortable and effective. The only fancy gear I really use now are my Patagonia down jacket and raincoat as I don’t want to compromise on effectiveness/quality/weight for these pieces.

Here's a gear review I just did today on the backpack I currently use. More gear reviews coming soon.

https://youtu.be/dz2hRiX8bKY?si=Nf__2v6DAm7pXqn_

Likely won't find in thriftshop... buy my Fjallraven pants are my favorite... reinforcement in knees and shins as well as butt.

Prana stretch Zion has been my go to for years. They’re a little more pricey than I tend to usually get but they’re bomb proof. But in absolute honesty, if you’re trying to not spend a bunch, you can totally side step the glamour brands and get stretchy moisture wicking pants from a no name company on Amazon and you’ll be absolutely fine. Save your loot for the more important gear

Try the REI garage sales on the weekends, thrifting has been trashed in recent years due to resellers getting up at the asscrack of dawn to scavenge anything worthwhile.

I think the best outdoor flannel out there is Pladra. Their fabric is insane and they have a less boxy fit. Super versatile. I love the heavy Fireside flannel. I recommend anyone to check them out.