Is there truly "Year Round" clothing?

Down here is Arizona, we live in a oven 7 months of the year. When April starts to to roll off the calender, the Temp. outside begins to inch up past 90 degrees. The winter jackets and pants get put away until November, and even then they see only part-time use. Needless to say, you just put over $400 of gear in the closet.

Up until just a few years ago, apparel did not exist that could take the two extremes. You either wore one, or the other, with few choices for the in between. There are now options, and here at the store I dwell on them. I carry very little of anything else. Personally, I have other things to spend my money on, and if one jacket/pant can handle the load, I'm all for it.

JACKET: There are several choices (Joe Rocket- Alter Ego & Tourmaster Flex-2), and my favorite is clearly the Flex-2. The jacket is VERY well made, easy to use. It works great in the summer as a mesh jacket, and in the winter as a full-on cold weather jacket. It's not just me. We've sold 100's of these jackets, and not one customer has been disappointed.

Not so with the Alter Ego. The outer Cordura shell comes off in panels, and zipping everything up can be a little more involved than I like. The outer shell on the Flex-2 comes on and off easily, and can be put on without removing the jacket. Just a better design.

Here's a story for you. When the Flex-2 came out I had a customer from Montana call and asked for my opinion on a winter jacket. He was also hoping he could remove the liner and use it in the summer, so venting was a huge need. I told him to try the Flex-2, but he had doubts it would be warm enough. He bought the jacket, and I got an email about 2 months later stating that the jacket worked great, and he had also been using it as a ski jacket...lol.

PANTS: Since I like the Flex-2 I also like the Flex-2 pant. Same reasons I like the pant, just a simple solution that works. I also like the Tourmaster Venture Air pant. Still warm down to about 40, but yet more mesh for the summer months.

The bottom line is that there is apparel that can be used summer and winter, you simply don't have a ton of choices. It's just a good thing that what is out there, is highly functional.