To answer your questions, yes both companies have come a long way and both are great to deal with. While goridedoo had a bad interaction with them, that is definitely not the norm that we see here, and we have had the same one-time issues happen with other customers too. Not that it is an excuse but remember, these warranty departments are 15-20 people deep, they all have their own personalities and all have their own thoughts, and at the end of the day their employers rely on them to adhere to a set of rules while using judgement as no case is the same. With that said, we truly did not believe that goridedoo's situation was handled right which is why we stepped in and helped him out when he did not purchase them from us in the first place.
Pricing: Klim and FXR actually have more pieces that align in price than most people think, but the ole saying you get what you pay for rings true here as well. As mentioned above, FXR is more fashion forward when Klim focuses more on the aggressive rider features. Fabrics, Waterproofing Membranes, Zippers, etc all differ from these two brands. Some of these things increase price, while some of them increase durability. With Klim's higher price you get Gore-Tex and a lifetime warranty backed by Gore-Tex. Remember this does not mean your lifetime, but the lifetime of the garment. With FXR you get a more entry level price, flashier colors, and much larger outerwear line-up. (Not to mention for the Midwest and East coast riders, FXR has many technologies to keep you floating in water etc. Not really a factor in the West) So really it comes down to what you value more. If you are going to replace jackets more often than every 4-5 years, and want the extra color and pizazz that Klim does not offer, FXR would be a great option. If you like to keep your pieces for years on end and put up the investment right away, then Klim is still one of the bests to look at.
Construction: As noted the construction of the garments from both companies are quite different. Klim uses Gore-Tex which is a laminated product so that when you are wearing a shell piece you truly have one single layer in the coat. Whereas FXR uses a two piece waterproofing membrane that some people tend to misjudge as insulation. It is simply just a difference in technology. As to fabrics holding up, over the past year we have seen both companies very well represented in the West. Some of the top sponsored backcountry guys are wearing FXR with no issues, same goes for Klim. What we can tell you though is that Klim generally, has a more seat of the pants feel of durability. Basically if you were to be blind folded and feel both garments, you would relate the stiffer rougher material of the Klim Cordura to be the most durable. But this is also why Klim does not offer so many super bright patterns etc. GoreTex makes Klim send them a sample of every product they produce, it is called "Fit For Use", which means that goretex has to approve the piece for what it is made for. A ton of the bright fabrics and pieces that are used in other brands will not pass the Gore test, which is why you don't see the bright fashionable side like in other brands, although they have come a long way in the last two years.
Basically in summary, it truly depends what you are looking for in a jacket. If you want brighter colors and design FXR with definitely do that for you. Yes you may have some smaller drawbacks to some premium brands, but you also spend less than those brands. If you want to have a purpose built piece without all the pizazz and craziness in design, and are ok with putting up the investment one time, and using it for a while, then Klim will likely be your go to choice.
Hope this helps out, and feel free to shoot us a message if you have specific questions. We spent 50-60 days this year in both the Klim Stealth and Valdez along with the FXR MonoSuit and Mission Jackets.
