BITD Karrimor stuff seemed a good buy, well made, good range of stuff and almost desirable. In fact I’ve a cycling jacket that must be nigh on 20years old. Looking around its seems comparitively cheap these days, so has it just been a loss of status? Or has the quality fell as well. I guess being available in sports direct etc takes a bit of the exclusivity away. So still good kit or now budget only?

It was struggling, was bought out and is not the Karrimor it once was. Definitely a budget brand these days. However, no worse than many of the others and you can still pick up useful stuff.

Pretty sure it’s not just available at Sports Direct but is owned by Sports Direct. That aside, pretty decent kit at the budget end of the market…sort of like Quechua, Decathlon own-brand kit.

I’ve got a couple of bits.. not bad but not as good as Decathlon..

Utter crap these days from what I have seen – used to get a lifetime warranty on packs etc. but as they kept going bust and selling the shell on that meant nothing.

More a name rather than heritage any more

For the price it’s ok, just don’t be expecting to get the old quality at the new prices.

I think there’s 2 tiers – the crap that Sport Direct generally sell and then the higher end stuff available online. Sme of the packs are good as are the down jackets and there’s an Event jacket around the £75 mark that’s supposed to be good. I’ve got Karrimor Ksb walking boots and they do the job.

Very impressed with my event jacket. Quality and cut up there with my rab Bergen jacket from a few seasons before. Cheapy approach shoes have lasted really well, and are actually getting better with age.

I think if you pick out the better bits you won’t be disappointed.

The boots are just as good as thsy always were.
Nice wide fittings too.

As above, the clothing and packs very poor now, but not seen the event jacket.

Got mine through field and trek, about 6 months ago

Black with yellow accents

Cheers, I’ll look online.

The down jackets are ok, but a bit light on the down filling.
Tried on some other stuff (3 in 1 jacket, cheap waterproof) in Sports Direct on Saturday but not impressed.

KSB’s £40 in store, brilliant price for a top quality 3 season boot.

Bought some of their approach shoes….soles complete cr@p. If you look at them then they wear out.

I remember the days of the old Karrimor and their factory shop. Clayton wasn’t it?

It went bust years ago and the brand was bought. THe old stuff is amazing. I have bags that are 10 years old and have seen others still working that are much older.

It went massively downhill when it was bought and most stuff I’ve had since then has fallen apart and been of poor quality. I don’t buy it any more.

Wife got a rucksack recently.

Pleasantly surprised at the quality, better than other budget stuff we’ve had.

It’s just rebranded Regatta stuff these days.

I also remember the old shop in Clayton le Moors and had quite a few bargins from there, a few of the rucksacks are still going strong.

Still using the Karrimor Vallot rucksac I bought in 1983

It’s just rebranded Regatta stuff these days.

I didn’t know that. Is Karrimor owned by Regatta then? I had an Alpinist 55 pack for years and contrary to all the rose-tinted memories of how wonderful old Karrimor kit was, the bloody thing regularly came apart at the seams and had to be re-stitched under its lifetime warranty. Great people, good service, but maybe not quite as amazing as some seem to recall ime.

I’ve got a couple of Karrimor rucksacks, a soft shell and two tents. All were superb value and good quality for the price. As said above, if you use your head there are some bargains to be had

Still have a Karrimor Jaguar rucsac from 1986 I think. I suspect my kids will be using it in a couple of years – still almost perfect.

Also have a fair amount of the cheap Sport Direct gear, mainly for running. It’s OK, but some of the fit is a bit odd.

Mike Ashley is the king of stack um high and sell um cheap. This is from his wiki page:

Ashley has made his money by buying brands. The first major brand he bought was Donnay. In February 2003 Ashley bought the Dunlop Slazenger brand for £40 million, followed up by acquiring outdoor gear manufacturer Karrimor in March 2003,[10] Kangol for £10 million,[11] boxing brand Lonsdale, most of these brands were bought from distressed sellers. After considering a takeover,[12] Ashley took a £9 million stake and signed a long-term deal with Umbro.[13]

He has mastered the model of, buy an established sportswear co, close it down and apply the branding to far eastern tat. I would stay away from all of it although he might still be selling some decent Karrimor boots etc by just continuing the production of the old lines. I still have gore tex ksb boots that are c10 years old and are going strong but I won’t be buying more.

My last 3 pairs of “walking shoes” (the shoes I wear all the time, as opposed to walking boots) have been identical Karrimor ones. Really like them.
Haven’t had any issues with my bag either.

Really old Karrimor = good. Exhibit A being my (Purple) 1991 Alpiniste exped rucsac still in regular use.
Slightly old (95-2005) = poor, very poor, avoid.
Now = ok, especially at the price they are. They are budget, but not any worse than any competitor IMO.

Karripor: Buy cheap, buy twice.

In the way we have the phrase BSO, Karrimor is ‘outdoor effect’ equipment. I’ve had some things in the past, the drybags were ok but I wouldn’t trust much else. Walking poles failed on 2 friends in Scottish Winter and I definitely would not buy cheap walking boots (unless they’re in a sale!).

I’m also one of those who used to regularly visit the factory shop in ClaytonLM on my way home from work. Most of my kit from the nineties and early 2000’s is still going strong. I’ve just retired some KSB’s that must be 25 years old, altho I generally used sturdier boots for most mountain stuff. Was a really sad day when I turned up at the factory and it had all gone.
Think I read somewhere that the guy started the company in his garden shed, making saddle bags for touring bikes.

I still use their cheaper boots to ride with. Almost disposable at those prices; that said my current boots have done two winters and one very wet and muddy alps visit.

Same experince as others…..Still using a mid 80’s hot route 55 sac as one of my climbing gear sacs. Current stuff isn’t the same quality, but then the price reflects that. Recently bought some trail shoes from sports direct, they aren’t bad for 15 quid.

I’ve got a Karrimor Rush camelbak style pack that i must have had for ten years. Still like new…newer stuff is just rebranded stuff…

They used to be good. Didn’t they get taken over by Benetton, or another one of the High St chains?

I thought the rucksacks and bags part was separate from the clothes and shoes part of Karrimor and that the rucksacks were still OK.

Had some approach shoes that were cheap and didn’t last wont be buying any of their shoes again.

Had a day sack fairly recently (last 5 years) that’s been OK though.

I thought the rucksacks and bags part was separate from the clothes and shoes part of Karrimor and that the rucksacks were still OK.

Indeed I think they are (having a trade account for the bags at work and all…) But, they are still not brilliant IMO – design is ‘table top’ it seems, not real world…

The army-type (Sabre) rucksacks are a separate brand

I’ve just ordered a down jacket at £25 and a down gilet at £18 – would have been rude not to at those prices.

I’ve just ordered a down jacket at £25 and a down gilet at £18 – would have been rude not to at those prices.

Brely half a chicken’s-worth in them at those prices.

The KSB boots are exactly the same quality as they used to be.

Also have a pair of the leather ‘Coniston’ boots from 3 or 4 years ago, have been great in the mountains, lasted longer than my last pair of Brashers.

Brely half a chicken’s-worth in them at those prices.

Do chickens have down?? 😕
If they’re really crap, I’ll be sending them back.

Their cycling shorts don’t last as long as Lidl ones IME

I’ve just bought one of the eVent jackets (£10 cheaper on the Karrimor website than the SD site btw) and its fantastic especially at £89 for the same stuff that £200-£300 jackets have. The cheaper models, even the supposedly £100 rrp ones are terrible though; poor fabric, poor fit, poor zips etc.