Icebreaker clothing - twice the cost in oz

[pmack]

I'm looking at a couple of ice breaker shirts for a backpacking trip to SE asia.
I've heard they're great for hot climates as they wick sweat well, don't stink up easily and are easy to wash/dry.

Paddy pallin have the t-lite short sleeve shirts for $120, and the US have them for $65 (both full price)
http://icebreaker.com/Tech-T-Lite-Ridge ... ort-sleeve
http://www.paddypallin.com.au/clothing/ ... -mens.html

At what stage from the shearing of the merino sheep in NZ, to the cheap labor in asia, do these shirts halve in price on their trip across the Pacific?

Just another case of Australia being stuffed around?

And while you're reading, anyone have experience with icebreaker stuff?

[Sydmum]

Yep, I use them a lot for other sports especially during winter. Try ebay or wait for the sales at Snowgum. That being said, I'd travel to SE Asia and buy their silk shirts or other natural fibres that will be more suited to the climes. You don't need to wear merino in the tropics.

[mattmacman]

Definition of Icebreaker, AWESOME, I have a medium weight fleece, two tees and leggings, they dont get smelly, are durable and light but still warm, I use my hoody EVERY day.

[ninjapuppet]

I'm just not so sure about using merino in SE asia. I would suffer from heat stroke like that.
I did some jungle trekking in central malaysia and had one of those indianna jones style nylon shirts with a netting inner that vented very well. By the end of each day, you can see all these salt deposits on your shirt but you can just dip them in water to rinse out and they will dry very quickly.

[mattmacman]

Tip- Wash your clothes in Permtherin before you go to provide insect repelency (or some at least) and avoid tight fitting icebreakers as they're uncomfortable and mosquitos can 'bite' through them.

[Dale]

I bought some Icebreaker gear recently from Prolitegear. They still have good prices on the 150 Tech Ts which are the most comfortable shirts I've worn. I've read a few people use them as their go to running shirt for hot weather.

http://www.prolitegear.com/icebreaker-s ... seout.html

[Sydmum]

Also, get shirts, shorts and pants that are lighter in colour so you can see where the mozzies land... the insects love the dark shirts because they can be camouflaged for a bit.

[byrnesy8]

If you are going to the tropics I would recommend a loose fit.

You can get merino shirts under $40 from Wilderness Wear. I have both Icebreaker and Wilderness Wear shirts and I prefer the Wilderness Wear shirts.

http://www.wildernesswear.com.au/Shoppi ... de=special

[forest]

You can get merino shirts under $40 from Wilderness Wear

Gees that's good value !!!

I just purchased a 150wt Merino L/S by Smartwool, microweight series I recall, direct from the US (Cannot remember which seller)
It's one of the only manufacturers at an affordable price I could find that do a lighter coloured merino top for the heat.
Light tan coloured, called sand or something. Definately do lighter colours for the heat wear.

Love the thing and will need a few more at this rate of wear.
Great temperature control, even when out running through the day.
It's replaced my trusty MH Canyon shirt for all but the evil off track walks where I fear this top would be shreaded on.

[pmack]

I bought some Icebreaker gear recently from Prolitegear. They still have good prices on the 150 Tech Ts which are the most comfortable shirts I've worn. I've read a few people use them as their go to running shirt for hot weather.

http://www.prolitegear.com/icebreaker-s ... seout.html

thanks for that link. i'm hoping to find some of the ones with the prints that i like, i've looked at a lot of the sites in the states and they don't seem to have good ranges anywhere though.
one thing to note is that the sizes are generous. i'm usually a large, never a medium, but find the medium icebreaker is a much better fit. the large is too bulky

[pazzar]

Many reasons why Icebreaker is cheaper in the US, a simple marketing principle of pricing basically means that the cost of exporting to US is far cheaper than exporting to Aus, so therefore it is cheaper. It's the same for many other products. It is strange in the case of Icebreaker as it is a NZ owned company. Many others are much cheaper in the states as they are US owned, so the domestic price is cheap because it has no need for covering export costs. You will find that if you were to buy a garment at $65 US, you would still end up paying almost $100 for it with the added freight. You might as well spend the extra few $$$ and buy it locally, it's much more convenient for you, and you get to try before you buy.
As for Icebreaker in the tropics, it will certainly serve you well, but as said before, some of the lightweight options that you have over there will cost you far less and are designed for the conditions.

[pmack]

Many reasons why Icebreaker is cheaper in the US, a simple marketing principle of pricing basically means that the cost of exporting to US is far cheaper than exporting to Aus, so therefore it is cheaper. It's the same for many other products. It is strange in the case of Icebreaker as it is a NZ owned company. Many others are much cheaper in the states as they are US owned, so the domestic price is cheap because it has no need for covering export costs. You will find that if you were to buy a garment at $65 US, you would still end up paying almost $100 for it with the added freight.

I don't mean to argue, but you didn't specify what "marketing principle" you were referring to.
The only explanation I can see is that all items, once made in Asia, are then shipped to the US.
But that's not logical to ship it all the way to the US, and then down to OZ. It should (and likely is) shipped worldwide from where it is packaged:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m9v8oiZ ... r_embedded
(seems to be china, they say "japanese owned", but you read between the lines on that one)

An explanation i can see is that the american market is larger and more effiecient, so they can afford to have smaller profit margins.
the other explanation is that the retail industy in Australia on a whole is arrogant and overinflates prices.

[pazzar]

An explanation i can see is that the american market is larger and more effiecient, so they can afford to have smaller profit margins.
the other explanation is that the retail industy in Australia on a whole is arrogant and overinflates prices.

I agree that this is mostly true. I think it also has a lot to do with America's dominance over our economy.

The marketing principle I was referring to was price escalation, so basically pushing prices up to create higher margins, and saying that that is the price for covering distribution, tariffs etc. I honestly think in most cases it is a load of crap, since most of SE Asia has free trade, as we do with the US, so shipping in bulk is not an expensive task and there are very few other costs involved. I do hope we start seeing some equality in the future.

[Azza]

I can sum it up pretty easily....

America -
Huge market, higher volumes, lots of competition, minimum wage..

Australia -
Small market, not a lot of competition, smaller volumes, employment award rules and regulations, prices adjusted to what the retailers think we can afford...
Importers put a huge mark on, and then the retailer does as well...

New Zealand -
Prices are lower because the average wage in NZ are lower than Aus.. If they charged like retailers in Australia then the locals couldn't afford it.


Effectively in Australia we're paying for employee entitlements, superannuation, annual leave, unions etc. to maintain our (higher) standards of living.
All the things they don't have in the USA.

[pmack]

Well if the LOCAL retail market doesn't adapt they'll lose out.

I found this site that ships from NZ:
http://www.natureshop.co.nz/icebreaker/ ... erfine-150
Can get the non-print ones for about $76 delivered, so not too bad.
Certainly not as cheap as $36, but that was a sale with limited available sizes/colour

[blacksheep]

Macpac. Ours don't twist!

[pmack]

twist?

[wayno]

ice breaker have outlet shops, have a search and see whats available in aus

http://nz.icebreaker.com/on/demandware. ... cator-List

[kymboy]

I think the Icebreaker site might need to update its list of Aussie retailers. Gowings is still listed as a place to buy IB gear and they closed down 6 years ago

[wayno]

i'm not totally convinced about the price thing as to why it's more expensive down under than in some other countries.
prices in NZ are still expensive compared to a lot of overseas countries, you have importers with monopolies on distributing gear and often a ban on buying the gear online from oversesas so they ccan charge what they like.
thenorthface in nz is a lot more expensive than in Aus htey list seperate prices for the different countires on their aus website. nz is still a small market as well without massive competition and the gear is still made in counties with cheap labout, a lot of these brands only go on sale when its last years stock and then they can afford to sell it for a
fair percentage off.
the outdoors industry is like any other fashion industry, look at how fabric colours change from year to year in various brands. and you can get last years colours on sale often. there are enough people out there willing to pay top dollar for the latest fashion and colours. some people wouldnt be caught dead without colour coordinated gear, they'll ditch everything when they have to change one garment just to keep it colour coordinated. some americans commented they could spot the new zealand trampers in nz, they were the non colour coordinated ones, compared to the overseas tourists who tended to be colour coordinated.
so don't tell me someone isnt making loads of money out of selling down under, it's not all about employment conditions etc. if they kept their prices down they might be able to shift larger volumes but i dont think they are really that interested, i think they just sell in expensive areas to people who hae money or to tourists who need to buy something on the spot and go for a brand they recognise...

[pmack]

So i ended up buying the last two remaining mediums from the US, Field (vibrant green), and Jungle (a more camo green)

I didn't think i'd like the bright green Field colour, as I've tried one on before and I looked like a christmas tree with my red hair!
But i Bought it anyway because they wanted like $45 postage from the states. Was gonna give it to my bro but he wasn't interested.

So anyone want to buy a brand new (well i've tried it on once, and taken the tags off) Medium sized icrebreaker T?
I'll sell it for $50 (both shirts cost me about $115 total FYI, so that's about cost or a bit below)


If you've not tried them on before, they're quite a generous size. I am fairly thin but I never buy Medium shirts in oz, always Large, but I suspect these sizes are more US style, hence the larger size.
Let me know if anyone wants it. I'll post for free if you want.

[pmack]

ok ended putting it up on ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250927102198 ... 1555.l2649

[abmacus]

I purchased several mac pac merino tee shirts whilst they were on special. Around $40 each. They have been wicked. Unfortunately I sweat heaps when I walk and they definitley dont smell. The only problem that I seem to have with them is that they seem to take ages to dry.
I also purchased a heavier long sleeve macpac merino top for about $49 dollars. It was cheap because it was grey with blue trim, the identical black top was about $140 (evidently grey is not cool, but when you stand next to someone with stripy long johns you dont seem to look so daggy)
I had an Ice breaker 320wt long sleeve top bought through our local mountain designs store but the short zip on the front broke after about 4 weeks so I took it back and when they couldnt replace it with one the same I got a store credit and purchased some Zamberlan boots. Which are also wicked.

I also bought a merino top in NZ made by Glowing Sky. ( http://www.glowingsky.co.nz/NewMerino/G ... lours.html)
These babies are made in New Zealand are are quite comparable in price. It looks so good I havent worn it in the bush yet!