Karrimor. What went wrong?

[bod]

Nice jackets, you’ll like it. When did “need” ever come into it!

Got my Hydron today, and walked the dog in it this afternoon.
Pretty much a perfect product, and what I have been after for a while now.
Love the grid pattern liner, the easy to reach pit zips, and the hood is just spot on.
A nice touch that only the moss colour has leather zip pulls.

Obviously, the real verdict comes when it sees some actual conditions .... but I just know it will do fine!

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Got my Hydron today, and walked the dog in it this afternoon.
Pretty much a perfect product, and what I have been after for a while now.
Love the grid pattern liner, the easy to reach pit zips, and the hood is just spot on.
A nice touch that only the moss colour has leather zip pulls.

Obviously, the real verdict comes when it sees some actual conditions .... but I just know it will do fine!

They do look as if they’re a good quality jacket and one for me to look at when I need (or merely want) something new.

Anyway, going back to the original subject which was my desire to buy a new rucksack of approximately 40l capacity.

In the end practicality and admitting to myself that at my time of life when the likelihood is that I’m going to be walking up hills and carrying the rucksack rather than dragging it up rocks or ice on a rope led me to buying a Deuter Futura Pro 36.

I wasted a lot of hours reading reviews plus went and tried a few on and decided that having secure attachment for axes and crampons comes second to more useful features like being able to shove a water bottle in and out of an elasticated side pocket and for the price point they seem to be pretty good quality. You get a decent air gap between back and bag which should reduce that nasty clammy feeling, it’s got a separate pocket at the bottom for stinking damp clothes or a warm dry sleeping bag and overall they seem to have resisted the urge to build in pockets that you forget are there and lose items in

Futura Pro 36 - Hiking - deuter GB

www.deutergb.co.uk

No, I didn’t pay list price.

 

[steve hughes]

Been wearing Buffalo smock for around 30 years now, still using my original one and it is my go to smock for cold weather walking. The whole family use their smocks. Have never worn anything but a T underneath and never been cold - https://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/

Regret to inform you but you have been doing it wrong for 30 yrs

A certain Scotman when he founded Buffalo developed the Pertex / Pile arrangement to be worn next to the skin.
Dont believe me? , here straight from the horses mouth!

What to wear Archives - Buffalo

www.buffalosystems.co.uk

My Buffalo mountain smock is getting on for 30 years old now and I have to confess the only time I wear it next to my skin is whilst mountain biking as the exertion on cold days causes a lot of perspiration to get wicked away. Whilst walking I would wear a wicking base layer, if only to be able to remove the smock in a cafe without looking like a berk

 

[bod]

It makes me smile when the blokes at work show up with about 10 layers on ... and to kick off the show is always a cotton T- Shirt.
They always remark "aren't you cold"? And never "how come you're not cold?

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Regret to inform you but you have been doing it wrong for 30 yrs

A certain Scotman when he founded Buffalo developed the Pertex / Pile arrangement to be worn next to the skin.
Dont believe me? , here straight from the horses mouth!

What to wear Archives - Buffalo

www.buffalosystems.co.uk

My Buffalo mountain smock is getting on for 30 years old now and I have to confess the only time I wear it next to my skin is whilst mountain biking as the exertion on cold days causes a lot of perspiration to get wicked away. Whilst walking I would wear a wicking base layer, if only to be able to remove the smock in a cafe without looking like a berk

I always wear a merino top under mine because it wicks away any sweat and I’ve always been told you’re taking away the primary benefit if you wear cotton clothing under their mountain smocks.

I’ve also got one of their windcheater jackets which are made exactly the same way with the same materials (the grade of Pertex might be different, I can’t remember) and guess what, nobody suggests you wear that next to your skin.

 

[steve hughes]

, I can’t remember) and guess what, nobody suggests you wear that next to your skin.

Apart from the company that makes them you mean ?

 

[casbar]

Regret to inform you but you have been doing it wrong for 30 yrs

A certain Scotman when he founded Buffalo developed the Pertex / Pile arrangement to be worn next to the skin.
Dont believe me? , here straight from the horses mouth!

What to wear Archives - Buffalo

www.buffalosystems.co.uk

My Buffalo mountain smock is getting on for 30 years old now and I have to confess the only time I wear it next to my skin is whilst mountain biking as the exertion on cold days causes a lot of perspiration to get wicked away. Whilst walking I would wear a wicking base layer, if only to be able to remove the smock in a cafe without looking like a berk

Yes I know you should wear it next to your skin, but I prefer to wear it overt a T shirt, although it doesn't work over a base layer. 30 years in the military and have worn the Buffalo the same way and it works for me, but thanks for the advice.

 

[steve hughes]

Yes I know you should wear it next to your skin, but I prefer to wear it overt a T shirt, although it doesn't work over a base layer. 30 years in the military and have worn the Buffalo the same way and it works for me, but thanks for the advi

Yes I know you should wear it next to your skin, but I prefer to wear it overt a T shirt, although it doesn't work over a base layer. 30 years in the military and have worn the Buffalo the same way and it works for me, but thanks for the advice.

I attended a military presentation many years ago talking about their mission statement “ 3 layers from Pole to Equator !! This was when British forces where wearing cotton base layers. They had a project using stomata fabrics eg they had pores that opened when moisture levels were high and closed in conditions of rain.

 

[casbar]

I attended a military presentation many years ago talking about their mission statement “ 3 layers from Pole to Equator !! This was when British forces where wearing cotton base layers. They had a project using stomata fabrics eg they had pores that opened when moisture levels were high and closed in conditions of rain.

I'm sure it was enlightening, but no idea what that means. All I know is, I like a T shirt underneath and worked well during my service and now only using my Buffalo for walking the dog, all is good

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Apart from the company that makes them you mean ?

Nope, they say wear the mountain shirt under the windcheater or to keep it in the car in case you need it for a snow drift but they don’t say wear it next to your skin.

I normally wear it for walking the dog or if I’m going to be stood around outside in the cold.

 

[Wapping]

Five pages. All from ‘Tell me about a new rucksack’

 

[jonnie comet]

Five pages. All from ‘Tell me about a new rucksack’

.....and ending in an argument about T shirts..........

 

[Wapping]

.....and ending in an argument about T shirts..........

That is indeed the icing on the cake….. UKGSer style.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Five pages. All from ‘Tell me about a new rucksack’

But I have bought a new rucksack and somewhere back near the beginning Deuter were recommended.

There is a bit of relevance to mentioning Buffalo products in any discussions regarding the demise of Karrimor because in my workshop is an old Karrimor pile & pertex smock which to all intents and purposes is a direct copy of the Buffalo one. It’s very battered but I put it on under the jacket of my overalls if it’s very cold when I walk in there.

 

[Wapping]

Chill, bro….. as they say, in some circles.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Chill, bro….. as they say, in some circles.

Chill? I’ve just looked outside and decided I’m staying in my nice warm office all day.

 

[bod]

Five pages. All from ‘Tell me about a new rucksack’

To which I got myself a nice new jacket I didn't need.

 

[geotim]

AlpKit…

Good and reasonably priced.

 

[Neil W]

There used to be a local company in Northumberland called Pheonix and they produced some suberb quality goretex kit ( we got issued it at work in our department). A few years later they were bought out by Karrimor and within a year the Pheonix brand was dropped and then they closed the factory moving production abroad.

Lost interest in buying anything that was Karrimor branded around that time.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

Sadly sometimes a company name is worth more than the actual business as it stands so the owner sells up, the buyer dumps the existing stock at the first available opportunity and starts having cheap shit made elsewhere.

I know the owner of a relatively large outdoor pursuits shop and was with him at a trade fair when he spotted someone advertising that they were having a closing down sale with everything having to go so he walked over, introduced himself and wrote a cheque for the business and all stock on the spot. This was done the evening before everything started and stands were still being set up so by the time visitors started arriving the next day I was on that stand selling the gear with no mention of a closing down sale and 10% off all normal list prices.

The product was a very early fleece one piece suit designed for winter climbing which he modified slightly and proceeded to sell to a wider range of markets then eventually moved production to Bangladesh