Hundreds of eager shoppers lined up yesterday outside the Arc'teryx factory outlet on Dollarton Highway for the first day of the retailer's annual factory sale.

The North Vancouver-based high-performance clothing manufacturer, affectionately known as "The Bird," and coveted by many outdoor enthusiasts, slashes its prices by up to 60 per cent for intrepid Thanksgiving weekend shoppers.

Inside the sale, just 20 minutes after it opened, roughly 300 shoppers sifted through a flurry of soft shells, base layers and Gore-Tex pants, swiftly snapping up popular sizes and colours.

"I'm being good," said Susan Thon from Kitislano from the lineup for the checkout. "I tried to behave myself. I only bought what I needed and not everything I wanted."

An outlet worker hollered to the crowd that a number of double parked cars would promptly be towed.

In the parking lot, traffic director Becky Weaver tried to keep things running smoothly.

"I think the estimate was 1,000 cars, possibly more," she said. "There's gonna be lots of cars. Hopefully people carpool."

Jaime Ogdan, store manager, said he and his staff are bracing for a busy weekend, although he wouldn't offer a projection of expected shoppers.

"I'm hoping we empty out," he laughed, "because I have to clean it all up at the end."

The sale runs until Sunday at 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, in an effort to clear out the last scraps of merchandise, prices will be slashed additionally.

Arc'teryx has also manufactured high-performance gear for the U.S. Marines and the Vancouver Police under the Leaf brand.

kmcmanus@northshoreoutlook.com