This is HARD TO GET, a newsletter about awesome stuff that’s (almost) impossible to find online.

Look at this hairy king, self-isolating under lush foliage, noble beast in one hand, back-country clout-goggles on deck in the other: This is Sierra Designs co-founder George Marks, circa 1965, looking like a damn GORP-FED WALRUS. 

Sierra Designs has a long history of dope shit, but to the degree ppl think about the brand these days, they probably picture their 60/40 Mountain Parka, a touchstone of '70s and '80s GORPLIFE. Robert De Niro rocked a version of it* in The Deer Hunter, a movie about how the global capitalist war machine can drive even the swaggiest outdoorsman insane. 

Founded in the East Bay, Sierra Designs is the focus of our Rare Self-Quarantine Nature-Walk Buyer's Guide, Part III. (Here's Part I and here's Part II.) 

Quick H.T.G. Personality Quiz: Do you own a more beautiful windbreaker than this Sierra Designs stunner? 

If you answered "Yes," yr Personality Type is: SUSPECTED LIAR

Asking $140 here. (Update: 8:49 a.m. PST: A reader lets us know they just copped it. Sleep on H.T.G. at yr own peril!!)

But let's stick with the classic 60/40 Parka right now, named for its ~ 62% cotton / 38% nylon fabric. Someone in Yokosuka, Japan, is selling this intensely fresh color-blocked version here, identified as '90s era ... 

They're asking $1500 for it, which is a) goofy as hell and b) mmmaybe kiiinda justified, given its dopeness / rarity?? If you toss a damn rack-plus into this beautiful cash vortex pls tag us when you gram it. 

Blessedly, you can find nice 60/40s for much less money: 

- Navy here, $143. 

- Khaki -- excellent for pairing with some sold-out taupe Hokas -- here, $58 and here, $59. 

- 2015 Japanese-market reissue in tan, $162, here. 

- Grey, $35, here.

- Japanese-market reissue in blue $150, here.

There are also some nice designer "homages" floating around: 

- Visvim Gore-Tex Totem, black, currently $285 at eBay auction here. Beige, $495 at auction, here. Black, signed by designer Hiroki Nakamura (?), $1300 (!), here. 

- Nanamica x North Face Purple Label, $375, here. 

- Engineered Garments, blue, $320, here. 

*BTW De Niro's Deer Hunter joint was made by Holubar Mountaineering Ltd., where Sierra Designs co-founder Bob Swanson got his start in the outdoor-fibers game. Holubar's vintage stuff is fire, too; the brand recently did a reissue that sold out fast. 

We fux with this Sierra Designs tan / orange anorak, which they reissued a few years ago in a limited run. There's one of them in "new without tags" condition on eBay right now: 

Homey's asking a buck eighty, here.  

Switching gears, this jacket is dope as hell: 1990s-ed out in the extreme + GORE-TEX waterproofing + made in Canada like a damn Arcteryx Alpha SV + sick teal/orange colorway + excellent condition =

We love it. $199, here. 

This one is just flames. Hits in a very similar register, and it's only $34, here. 

Buy it and it's probable that whoever does organiclab.zip will respect you. 

Besides the Cactus joint up top, there are some nice Sierra Designs windbreakers out there, including this pink-blue-mint multi-pocketed one, $98, here; and some others in the $15 to $30 range, here, here and here. 

These color-block shorts are cool but we'd probably cut out the mesh liner if we were gonna rock 'em. $22 here and $20 here. 

These are unprecedented times and the HTG mantra remains a) donate / do mutual aid in yr community, b) cop small and local while boycotting Amazon and Whole Foods and c) keep the criterion channel blazing and take these safely-distanced nature walks when yr able.

Also: Unlike covid particles, the HARD TO GET newsletter is AIRBORNE DRIP that you CAN share with everyone you know, so do that.