Might get stolen if it is an expensive brand....

I'm not sure what you are trying to say.

Yeah bud you are a little fuzzy here. Are you soliciting ideas/methods to cover up logos on expensive name brand gear items to help prevent their theft? That is my humble interpretation of the intial post.

First post outside of the gear deal forum. What are you thinking about? Markers, patches? So many logos are embroidered on. So removal would be impossible.

That's my read as well.

Not a big issue on the trail, but when traveling, wearing sexy brand clothing or carrying an expensive backpack, etc. can mark you as a target for theft. IMHO, that fear is overblown -- flashy jewelry and expensive purse excepted.

For backpacks, you can do what Canadians do all the time -- sew a flag on top. May open up a whole another can of worms though.

A lot of people just don't want to be walking billboards when they are hiking. Many people remove the logos. A seam ripper often works, but if they are embroidered or silk-screened it's a bit more difficult.

Well it is a logo that is on a technical shell. I guess they are heat sealed or something?

Cover it in Gaffa tape. The would be theif will think the jacket is split and move along.

I am way ocd about labels, but i never thought of the theft thing. It all started when i got 4.5oz track spikes and was mad that they had a big plastic swooshes sewn on either side. Putting labels on any kind of ultralight gear always seemed counter-intuitive to me. But now the obsession is more than a weight issue, and i just hate labels in general.
Seem ripper for sewn-on patches or embroidered logos. The heat sealed stuff i just get really cold and scratch off carefully with a round-edged exacto knife blade. If you can get the label melty-hot without hurting the material, you can kinda peel or rub it off. Sometimes you can even color the label with a sharpie to make it match the material.
For the record, im not a clepto, but if i found a stash of gear with carefully removed labels, im sure a silent debate of morality vs opportunism would be in order.

A lot of people just don't want to be walking billboards when they are hiking.

A friend visiting Tibet brought back a photo of a HortnFace logo on a jacket copied from a well known big name brand. He said he almost bought one for me ... part of me wishes he had:-)

I remove labels from gear when it's easy to do: simple sewn on badges, stickers, etc. If it takes effort or might be problematic (unfilled needle holes in insulation) I don't bother. You can always take a sharpie and blunt particularly obnoxious ones.

Yes, you can use all sorts of techniques to remove / cover up obnoxious labels. Or just vote with your wallet and don't buy them -- well, most of the time anyway.

No TNF stuff in my gear closet. But I do wish ID hadn't sewn on their triangular logo onto my beloved eVent rain jacket! :(

Ben,
I cut off my ID label. It's seamtaped so it won't leak, but that also means you can't get the threads out. NBD for me.

The thread stubs are far better than that logo.

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Big Logos. I often cover or remove them when I have them. That being said, I tend to look for smaller companies.

I understand that Columbia Sportswear owns Mountain Hardwear, Sorel, Montrail, and Pacific Trail, among others and VF owns The North Face, Reef, Jansport and Eagle Creek, among others.

Just like in other parts of my life, I don't think I want to participate in the corporate takeover of the universe.

Yeah it would seem it is time to dust off the anti-trust laws now wouldn't it?

Edited by frankenfeet on 05/04/2010 02:03:05 MDT.