Knowing your history is very important, and no one knows that better than the cult Instagram account, store and online community WAY OUT CACHE. WAY OUT has been one of our favourite accounts on Instagram ever since we discovered it, constantly delivering gems of clothing, gear and ephemera from the ‘golden age’ of the outdoors.
A quick scroll through WAY OUT’s virtual shelves will leave you longing for a time when the colours were brighter and the smiles larger, whether it’s vintage Patagonia fleeces, 2000’s Arc’teryx hard shells or just a juicy catalogue scan you’re after, WAY OUT CACHE will have it.
It’s easy to see that the accounts research is second to none, having extensive knowledge of just about every genre of outdoor equipment and brand. We’ve long admired WAY OUT CACHE from afar but thought it was due time to get inside one of the wisest minds in the nostalgia industry.
We chatted with the man behind it all and talked everything from obscure finds & Harrison Ford’s style, to the aftermath of the Gorpcore boom…
How are you? Where are you? And could you provide some information about what you do?
Hey mate, I’m all good. I’m up in the northeast of England where the sun doesn’t always shine. WAY OUT is a small e-commerce operation and a kind of digital footprint for everything I’m into. It’s definitely not a “mood board” for me but I don’t mind if it is somebody else’s.
Where does your interest in outdoor clothing and ephemera come from?
It’s hard to pinpoint really but it’s just always been stuff I’ve used. As I say, I live in the northeast of England and you need decent gear just for getting out with the dogs on a morning. I’m running, cycling, hiking and it all uses the kind of stuff I’m looking for anyway. Obviously, some of the brands and the American stuff is romanticised and helped along by an interest in the old adverts and catalogues but at the core of it all it’s just functional kit.
Like us, you are big on archival images from outdoor catalogues etc. Where do you end up sourcing these images and is there any specific genre that stands out as your favourite?
Yes definitely, the archival images and catalogues are a massive thing for WAY OUT. Not so much now but a few years ago I had way too much time on my hands and I’d be buying, selling and scanning catalogues like a madman. There’s no way I can have seen it all of course but I do come across imagery less and less these days.
There seems to be a cut-off point somewhere in the last twenty years when things stopped looking so cool in catalogues and magazines so there’s only a finite amount of that kind of thing out there. For that reason, I always go back to Patagonia in the 90s. That’ll be the same answer everybody else will give but it’s genuinely true. Most of the images in those catalogues were submitted or supplied by friends of the brand so they have a look and feel that a marketing team just can’t replicate.
When I first started I actively wouldn’t sell anything that didn’t have a little image or story to support it. That got harder and harder to stick to but I do like to team a sales post with the original product description or somebody wearing it back in the day.
Do you end up keeping many items, or are you pretty good at not getting too sentimental?
Nothing at all, honestly! Anything I’ve briefly kept that you’d deem collectible or sought after gets sold pretty quickly. The whole point of WAY OUT when I first started was to document some of the stuff I had through my hands and I’ve never got the buzz of physically hoarding something.
In my experience, whether you say you have something or had something it’s all the same. Somebody will say “Oh no way!” and then ask you about another piece.
To not keep anything must require serious willpower and discipline, is there anything you majorly regret selling?
I couldn’t say there’s anything I regret selling in the sense that I miss it but there’s definitely stuff I’ve sold way too cheap. I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at pricing things so that they actually sell but I still get surprised by what people are willing to spend on some occasions.
Your page details a a whole host of great brands, is there one you’re more attached to than others?
It’ll probably come as no surprise but definitely Patagonia and for the reasons we’ve already touched on. The old marketing is second to none and it’s all just effortlessly cool.
Closer to home I’m interested in Barbour in the same way although it doesn’t always fit with the page. Some of their old catalogues are incredible and none of their older stuff will let you down.
What modern brands are on your radar at the minute?
It’s tricky for me to get excited by new brands because I can’t see the longevity in a lot of the stuff or they’ll be doing something cringey on Instagram or wherever. I do of course buy new stuff for running and hiking etc but it’s nothing I’m really hyped on. It’s not a new brand but if I am buying something new with tags I like Fjallraven and all of those Nordic brands because they take a beating.
Are you big into outdoor activities yourself? What does an ideal weekend look like for you?
Yeah definitely, I’m always out walking with our two dogs and they take up most of my free time. We live about thirty seconds from the beach and about 20 mins from the moors so I’m always out and about. An ideal weekend would be in the Lakes, Wales etc etc I think we’re pretty lucky in the UK you can make the most of a weekend and be in most places within a few hours.
Harrison Ford and Robin Williams seem to make pretty frequent cameos on your page, do you have any other celebrities that you think dress pretty WAYOUTCACHE?
I’m actually going to say they’re the only two that have been pretty consistent. You can find incredible fits from the likes of Adam Sandler or Matthew Broderick but they’re going to look pretty dodgy the next day. The thing is with celebrities wearing the sort of kit we’re into is they’ve probably just bought it to keep warm or stay dry if they’re filming and it’s pissing down.
I guess like many people with outdoor gear, style doesn’t really factor in and it’s purely stuff with a job to do.
Have you got any grails that you’ve managed to track down or are currently looking for?
For my bank balance, I’d like an endless supply of Patagonia MARS stuff but personally, I wouldn’t mind the perfect Barbour Berwick Shooting Jacket. I’ve bought a few recently and it’s like anything, once you find one that fits you start thinking you need every one that’s ever been made.
Do you think the whole Gorp thing has slowed down a bit recently? If so, has this affected your page in any way?
I would say it’s slowed down massively, yes.
It’s affected the page noticeably in the sense that things take a little longer to sell and at a slightly lower price. It’s disappointing really because the area of that trend I deal in is supposed to be timeless but it has been affected by that crew moving on a little bit.
What’s your most obscure find?
My most obscure find is probably that most recent Patagonia MARS Glissade with the company embroidery from a construction firm in Reno, America. I had a few messages with varying theories about how the lads at the firm come to get hold of the fleeces and they were all pretty passionate and interesting theories.
Whichever one was true it’s one heck of a story. You’ve then got to think how the hell did one of those end up in the north east of England and the whole thing is pretty nuts to be honest.
Are there any products you’ve come across that strike you as being massively ahead of their time?
Not so much but the longevity of some of the pieces I get really blows my mind. Any outdoor gear designed and made in the 80s and 90s should still do a pretty good job today. However, once you move towards 2005 and onwards many pieces are falling to bits. The hardware starts to get a bit cheaper and the linings that much thinner I think.
Have any famous customers passed through WAYOUTCACHE’s doors?
Yes! I don’t want to put anybody’s purchase history out there but there’s been some cool names on the order confirmations. Have a flick through the followers, there’s loads of people there that I still can’t believe are tuning in.
For us, the images you share aren’t just about the clothes, but also that ’80s/’90s feel they invoke. The colours and style of catalogue photography back then is just so so good. Do you think outdoor gear and brands have less character about them now? Or is it just a case of rose-tinted glasses?
There are a handful of brands out there producing cool content but for the most part it’s all the same. Pay for a load of influencers to go to Chamonix and mess about in their trainers for the weekend… you know the score. Granted it looks alright and it definitely gets folks to buy the product but it’s a bit unimaginative at this point.
A couple of good ones for me are Amundsen Sports and Outsiders Store. Both of those have their own identity and Outsiders Store especially are pretty authentic with it all.
What can we expect to see in the future from WAYOUTCACHE?
I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure. I get random bursts of energy with it but the past year or so has been tough. Sourcing is getting harder and people are wanting to pay less with the rise of stuff like Vinted etc.
I’m not sure I could ever give it up completely but the thought has crossed my mind a few times. I’ll keep you posted on that one! Stay tuned until then and make sure you all keep buying.
We most definitely will, cheers for chatting!
