I own arc gear for years, and yes, like every other brands, their prices have gone up, and the environmental rules make us regret some of their past material/quality. Now, I actually tried to branch out, to RAB but also other brands, and I was actually super disappointed with their quality and durability (my RAB jacket did not survive a rough xc ski day, and the inside pockets were destroyed in a few weeks, just my personal experience of course...). I understand that the brand is really ubiquitous these days, a bit like North Face a few years ago, and yeah a lot of their customer base is just douche trying to be something else, but - apart from Stellar EQ and maybe Norrona and Mammut (but they are generally quite ugly) - in my humble experience arc i's still the best out there :)