In some respects there are no comparable brands for clothing. The "performance led" part of the market is sort of split - for downhill the top of the range is based around protective gear rather than shorts (etc) and for XC then it is similar gear to what is worn on the road - the main difference being zipped rear pockets on the tops ( in mainland Europe probably most xc mountain bikers wear similar gear to what they'd wear on the road). This is alot less common in the UK though.
For shorts then in terms of quality then i wouldnt say anything matches up to what you are wanting when it comes to padding / liners however the outer layers are pretty functional even on cheaper shorts so i tend to just get a pair of shorts that fit well (endura, gore, fox, specialized etc) and wear my regular bib shorts underneath. For tops then it depends alot on preference, some people wear body armour under them, some dont, some people like pockets some dont, some people like a loose fit some like it tight, some like zips some dont, some like short sleeves some like long....whatever your preference is going to push you towards certain brands. Generally i like Fox for tops, Endura and Specialized for shorts and Gore for windstoppers and technical clothing.
