Back in the early days of gear-late 80’s and early 90’s-there was no internet really, or youtube to find out about gear. One had to get the catalogs. Yes, paper magazines with gorgeous photos of ice climbing and skiing and rock climbing alongside pictures and descriptions of the items. One also had to go to the gear stores to get a feel for or a review of anything.

So, while visiting the patagonia/fishing shop in Ann Arbor when I was probably in sixth grade I got my first taste of “outfitting” someone for an adventure. It wasn’t me, but it was totally fun nonetheless.

A gentleman probably my dad’s age came in and was asking about “fleece” which was the big rage/curiosity of the day. After speaking with a sales rep at the store he identified a fleece and was looking it over and going to purchase it. I could tell something had been missing from the conversation though so I asked him what is he buying a fleece for?

He said he’d be fishing in Alaska on an inland lake. I asked him the conditions; cold, wet, rainy mostly, potentially snow but hopefully not. I asked if he understood layering and that cotton was the devil! He didn’t.

Long story short, the sales rep would have sold him a fleece jacket (200 weight polartec midlayer) and sent him off to Alaska and he would have been miserable. He would have then told all his rich friends how this fleece and outdoor gear is crap and doesn’t work. I ended up helping him spec an entire layering system and in the process sold him about $2300 worth of gear. I’m positive he was going to be just fine in Alaska.

So that’s what the early days were like.

Love Dilley