Canadian high-performance outdoor equipment and technical apparel company, founded in 1989, making gear for mountaineering, climbing, skiing and alpine sports.
Arc'teryx is a Canadian high-performance outdoor equipment and technical apparel company founded in 1989 in Vancouver. It designs gear for mountaineering, climbing, skiing and other alpine sports, and is headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, with a worldwide retail presence. The company was started by a group of Vancouver-based climbers under the name Rock Solid and rebranded as Arc'teryx in 1991.
Technical work at the company spans technical apparel design, performance materials engineering, alpine gear design, and waterproof and breathable shell construction, with products tested in extreme conditions in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Its flagship product, the Alpha SV Jacket, was released in 1998 and set a benchmark for performance mountain gear.
Arc'teryx operates three divisions alongside its core business: Veilance, a luxury streetwear line; LEAF, which produces tactical gear for law enforcement and military users; and PRO, which serves professional mountain users. The company describes its design philosophy in terms of evolution and adaptation, a reference to the Archaeopteryx fossil from which it takes its name, and cites the founding principle that "there's always a better way".
