Cheap Karrimor stuff

For anyone living in the Orpington/Bromley area, I stumbled across some incredibly cheap Karrimor clothing in Sports Direct at St Mary Cray last week.

Now, I don't normally shop at these types of sports stores, but I was passing and what with it getting a bit nippy I thought I'd take a look. Once I'd waded through rack upon rack of crap downstairs, I headed upstairs to the "sports" section, and along with the usual suspects was a rail of Karrimor running/outdoor wear.

Among the splendid finds was a gilet that was reduced from £40 to £8. Yes, £8. In total, I bought said gilet, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and two pairs of socks for just over £20, but could (and should) have honestly bought a lot more. All looks pretty good, although I did look like a walking ad when I tried it all on at home.

Thought I'd share.
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Comments

  • I got a hi-vis Karrimore Gilet as well SD - its great!  I also use the Karrimore trail socks (3.99) and the karrimore running socks (3.99 for 2 pairs).

    Sports Direct does sell some crap but they are always worth a look - you can always get end of line Asics shoes at least £20 - £30 cheaper than elsewhere but don't expect the 12 year old sales assistants to know anything about running!

  • Nick LNick L ✭✭✭

    Id be wary of Karrimor now....once the bastion of the UK outdoors, since it was sold or whatever happened several years ago it is not what it once was.

    Their stuff used to be expensive for a reason - it was bloody good.

    Now it isnt. I bought a kit bag and it literally fell apart in months, whereas I have old rucksacks that are still in good order. The stuff just doesnt feel as sturdy now.

    Granted some items might be ok - and clothing is probably one of those (i mean how badly made can a t shirt be?), but I wouldnt go near their bags or shoes.

  • Have seen this stuff in the store in Dundee as well, but had just bought some hear at Aldi so find it difficult to justify more running stuff to my OH.  Have bought Karrimor boots from them in the past, so I presume they have bought the Karrimor name.

    X-post there, the boots I bought several years ago now, probably when they first took over the name.  The quality might have declined since then.

  • According to Wiki, Sports Direct is the parent company of Lonsdale which bought Karrimor in 2004.
  • I bought a Karrimor rucksack from Sportsdirect a while ago. It was reduced from £35 to £4.99. An absolute bargain I thought, but I guess the old saying, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is" rings true, as it began falling apart after the first time I used it. Having now been used on little more than a dozen times, it's now been put in the dusbin after completely falling apart. On closer inspection it became evident it's actually a flimsy piece of rubbish. I didn't expect much at £4.99 but I feel sorry for anyone that may have been duped into paying the full retail price.

    I heard a lot of talk on various internet forums how Karrimor has gone completely downhill regarding the quality of their products. I thought I'd give them a wide berth after the experience with the rucksack, but recently whilst browsing in Sportsdirect I too came across their running gear. One item that caught my eye was the Karrimor HViz Running jacket, supposedly reduced from £44.99 down to £14.99, I was in desperate need of a lightweight jacket and decided to take a chance on one, not a lot to lose at that price anyway.Thankfully it appears to have been quite a good buy. The jacket has only been worn a dozen or so times, but it seems to do the job admirably. I guess running clothes don't take an awful lot of abuse, so perhaps this is one area where the cheep and cheerful Karrimor stuff is worth buying.

  • as others say, Karrimor is not the name it was when you could rely on ALL their products to be well made and quality..........

    but since Mike Astley of ChavDirect and Newcastle Utd fame bought the brand from the receivers, he has taken the name downmarket. It's a clever marketing ploy to be fair as the name still has a good reputation but underhanded imho as he is playing on people's brand loyalties - eventually it will backfire as the products lose credibility

    granted that some of their clothing isn't bad, but avoid things like boots or ruscksacks like the plague
  • I have a Karrimor rucksack, nearly as old as FB but looking a whole lot younger and going strong.
    A sprightly 34 years old. image
  • i use karrimor tops and shorts with no issues whatsoever-sports direct offering tops for £4
  • My Karrimor stuff is great
  • I bought a Karrimor Zodiac ruck sack for general use last year. I use it for work everyday, it's been on holiday a few times including skiing where my usual effortless style on the slopes meant my falling over loads and the bag still looks like new. Perfectly happy with it.
  • have just binned a karrimor lightweight jacket, cheap crap is all i can say. reduced from thirty odd to 19odd and now less than a tenner. looks like they are having trouble shifting their rubbish product.

     sizing was out, didnt breath at all and the zip was terrible. shame i lost the receipt.

    to be fair i also bought their runnning tight at the same time and it is adequate, but again the sizing is out.

    on balance though i would rather pay a little more and buy a quality product.

  • i have nike shorts-adidas shorts at four times the price of Karrimor and for the life of me I can't tell the difference. The only thing I would spend more money on would be my running shoes the rest is not important.
  • touie2touie2 ✭✭✭
    I bought a pair of karrimor running tights and a top, the top is nice but the tights are poor quality! Really thin and baggy around the knees!
  • I've got this  Karrimor lightweight jacket a few months ago and have had absolutely no issues at all.

    http://dreshki.eu/images/Karrimor%20Hi%20Viz%20Running%20Jacket.jpg

    Fits well and is comfortable and breathable. I cant remember what I paid, but it was under £20.

    Good ol' Sports Direct ! image

  • I've got the same one image I paid £15 from SportsDirect but they can be had for £12 with a Google search.

    You can't go wrong for that price, especially when you consider you would pay that for a decent pair of socks.

    I'll probably get the florescent one too at some stage for cycling.

  • No probs with a Karrimor Tech T Shirt that I got about a year ago.
  • I have the above jacket too - I actually prefer it to the Asics one I also have.

    No probs with the top or tights I bought either - perhaps not as good as the Nike and New Balance kit I have, but as good if not better than good 'ole crane sports

  • Beware of Sports Direct!!  A friend of my daughter's bought a pair of running shoes and before wearing them found out from a proper running shop that she needed a shoe for pronation.  She took them back to Sports direct and they refused a refund, saying they would have given her the right advice and their staff were trained in running shoes.  When we wrote to complain, they said they said they don't offer advice on running shoes???.  So a bunch liars and cheats sadly, at least at the Northampton Riverside branch.

  • Grendel3Grendel3 ✭✭✭

    Have bought named brand trainers at Sports Direct - (normally via Amazon it has to be said and normally New Balance) Have bought shorts, T Shirts and a running Jacket - probably the same one as the picture above, (can't say for sure as I can't open the image!!)  All OK. I'm lucky I don't need advice re running shoes - years of pounding the streets means that I know what I need.

    I wouldn't expect advice from the store anymore than I would from JD Sports etc.

  • as others say, Karrimor is not the name it was when you could rely on ALL their products to be well made and quality..........

    but since Mike Astley of ChavDirect and Newcastle Utd fame bought the brand from the receivers, he has taken the name downmarket. It's a clever marketing ploy to be fair as the name still has a good reputation but underhanded imho as he is playing on people's brand loyalties - eventually it will backfire as the products lose credibility

    granted that some of their clothing isn't bad, but avoid things like boots or ruscksacks like the plague

     

    I think this is Ashleys business model. 

    • Look for a brand that is just slighltlypast its best
    • Buy the rights to the name from owners
    • Gradually drip feed into Sports Direct as the higher quality end of their range
    • Eventually flood the stores with reduced quality versions with the same brand name
    • Repeat with new brand

    I may be wrong but I seem to recall a similar strategy with

    • Donnay
    • Fila
    • Lonsdale
    • Ellesse
    • Everlast

    Seems to manage a fair bit of value from a brand by dropping through various price points till it is squeezed dry.

     

  • Chris.52Chris.52 ✭✭✭

    Fila is an independent company.

  • Nose NowtNose Nowt ✭✭✭

    Interesting theory Magic R. It makes sense

    I didn't know they'd brought rights to those brands -  do you mean that any Lonsdale / Ellesse / Karimor stuff sold in other shops means that sportsdirect will get a cut?

  • Run Wales wrote (see)

    Interesting theory Magic R. It makes sense

    I didn't know they'd brought rights to those brands -  do you mean that any Lonsdale / Ellesse / Karimor stuff sold in other shops means that sportsdirect will get a cut?

    essentially yes as SD own those brands (bar Ellesse and Fila). the Karrimor brand was bought by Lonsdale Sports when it wnet into recievership in 2004 - Lonsdale is in turn is owned by Sports Direct.

    these are the brands/outlets owned by SD

    Current brands
    • CyclesDirect.com
    • Field & Trek
    • Golddigga - acquired by Sports Direct in 2008.
    • Lillywhites
    • Republic
    • SheRunsHeRuns
    • SportsDirect.com - internet and high street retail.
    • Firetrap
    • USC (clothing retailer)
    Previous brands
    • Bike Clearance
    • Gilesports - merged into SportsDirect.com
    • Hargreaves Sports - merged into SportsDirect.com
    • Original Shoe Company - sold to JJB Sports in December 2007.
    • Streetwise Sports - merged into SportsDirect.com
    • Sports Soccer - merged into SportsDirect.com
    • Sports World - merged into SportsDirect.com
    • JJB Sports
    Clothing and equipment
    • Antigua
    • Carlton
    • Dunlop
    • Donnay
    • GoldDigga
    • Everlast
    • Kangol
    • Karrimor
    • Lonsdale
    • No Fear (outside North America)
    • Slazenger
    • Voodoo Dolls
  • As for Sports Direct I've had no problems with their accessories. I bought gloves, hydration belt and the illuminated armband which they sell (all Karrimor) however I wouldn't touch them for clothing as I'm a self confessed fashion victim.

     

    @paulfromwire on twitter

     

  • FB,

    You can add a 'significant stake in Sweatshop' to your list of Sports direct enterprises.

    Speeling terrible today sorry !

  • I have several items of karrimor clothing and its all fine.

    Just as I have several items of crane clothing which is also good!

  • I buy their running socks, very good value for money. image

  • Quick tip: went through my running gloves last week, and wanted a cheap replacement.

    Was about to splash out on some luminous Karrimor ones for £6.99, but then by the checkout there was a display of bobble hats and earmuffs, and there I saw a pile of black Karrimor "liner gloves" for £2.99.

    There's a stupidly placed label inside, but 5 mins of picking and sewing later they were absolutely perfect for what I wanted.

    For training kit they're generally fine, but just a bit shoddy and ill-thought out round the edges at times. For instance on their running shorts, the rear zips aren't great and have a stupidly placed flap of fabric which very easily catches. Not ideal when you're about to hit the wall and have a gel stuck in there right by your tailpipe.

    Also, I got one of their hi-vis running top, which is fine with a baselayer underneath, but the seams inside are like scratchy draught excluders. God knows what they'd do to flesh after a 10 mile run.

    Tried on a pair of their cheapest running shoes for a laugh incidentally, and it was like putting a pair of clogs on. Not good to see them doing the hard sell on that line at the minute.

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