UKC

Any of you ever bought a cheap bit of kit from a sub brand that turned out to be really good ?

For me it was:

- Tesco Sleeping bag (20£) Light and small, warm enough for Scottish winter !
- Co-Op tent (10£): Price impossible to beat for a two man tent !
- Regatta heavy duty trousers (7£), perfect for cragging, absolutely indestructible.

In reply to RomTheBear:

Giant spork. No more spoons dropped into the bottom of a pot of pasta, and the best thing ever to eat yoghurt with.

In reply to RomTheBear:

an odd pair of wafer thin, weigh next to nothing, pair of walking trousers From Lidl or Aldi. Made with nanotechnology Apparently.

They Dry in a Flash, stay cool in summer, and warm in Winter, and have lasted for years. Quite unlike any Other trousers ive ever owned.

About a tenner they were years ago.

In reply to RomTheBear:
alpkit gamma headtorch, outperforms my petzl tikka xp2 and only a third of the cost

Peter storm baselayer, about 8 quid 10 years ago and still going

In reply to RomTheBear:

Argos Pro Action 1 man tent. £15. Just a fabulous tent and very wee.

In reply to Removed User:

I had one of those and always ended up soaked with condensation in the mornings

In reply to ow arm:

Was it the one with the mesh walls? Never had an issue wth condensation what you up to in there

In reply to ow arm:

Ha yes I got that one as well, still going after 5 years, also it seems to be the only baselayer I own in which my few extra pounds don't show too much which is nice.

In reply to RomTheBear:

Tesco do a really good "1000 mile" style walking sock. 2 Pairs for £5, can't fault them.

In reply to RomTheBear:

A really nice merino wool, long sleeve 1/4 zip baselayer. An Australian brand XT(something)? Picked up for £15 in TK Maxx.

In reply to RomTheBear:

£20 two way radios from Lidl. Thought they'd probably be a bit poo but proved not to be. Have proved there worth say many times climbing when the wind has got up or on a sea cliff.

In reply to RomTheBear:

Black regatta combat trousers. cost me a tenner and had them about ten years

In reply to RomTheBear:

£5 camp chair from go outdoors. Lives in my boot and has constant use. Even put it up outside the local wall when eating outside in the sun (in the car park) questioning why we were at the wall still and not on rock.
Had some funny looks off people heading in and upto the cafe. Cant beat hummus on baguette!

In reply to RomTheBear:

My Regatta Xert Performance trousers. Bought at the Go Outdoors in Hathersage about 8 years ago and still going strong. Stretchy in the bum and knees. Awesome bit of climbing kit. The search goes on for a replacement for when they wear out or I get too fat!

In reply to RomTheBear:

I noticed the seam tape on my goretex jacket is just starting to peel ever so slightly.

20 years of use and abuse plenty of times through the washing machine.

Bradsport made it as an own label value for the YHA shops. At a time when Gore tex was new and expensive, this was at the cheaper end of the market. It was a lot of money for me to find at the time but it has been well worth it.

In reply to RomTheBear:

aldi ski trousers for £17 which I use for winter climbing. no need for over trousers, theyre wa r erproof enough to sit in the snow. fleecy lining so Iv only worn thermals underneath when the max temperature was -10. last winter i brought a posh pair of winter trousers instead, but went straight back to the aldi ones!

In reply to RomTheBear:

army surplus shirt for 2 quid from a weekend market.
effectively been used as a quick drying sun/wind shirt on every mountaineering trip in the past few years

In reply to RomTheBear:

The hammock I bought for £15 in a generic outdoor shop in Derby five years ago. Haven't owned a tent since!

In reply to broken spectre:


I take it you heard about the break-in at NASA

Quechua Bionnassay 22 Rucsack. Euro 13 4+ year ago. Almost daily use and still perfect. Came with a free mini-torch - also still perfect.

In reply to RomTheBear:

Be interested in a bit more info about your Tesco sleeping bag...

In reply to MtnGeekUK:
Can't find the exact same one I have anymore, but these ones look similar enough :

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-mummy-300-sleeping-bag/215-8641.prd?pageL...
http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-mummy-200-sleeping-bag/215-1969.prd?pageL...

I looked at similar sleeping bags with the same temperature rating and same weight range from known brands in outdoor gear retailers, and they are all at least twice the price.

In reply to RomTheBear:

also just remembered my mountain warehouse softshell (£15) and mountain life fleece gilet (£10)

In reply to ow arm:

Ikea rope bag.

In reply to RomTheBear:

For me my best cheap purchase was a baselayer set from LIDL. $5 for top and bottoms. Snug, warm, breathable and perfectly suited to going up the crag for Climbing or hurtling down the mountain on my snowboard. Much better than my expensive stuff.

Other notable purchases are:
A pair of lightweight storm pants (£12 from Costco). Flexible, durable, somewhat water repellent and fast dry as well as detatching at the knees to make shorts.

A bunch of fleese mid-layers from Decathalon (£3 each). Limited colour range but warm and lightweight. Just don't stick 'em in the tumble dryer or they'll end up two sizes smaller

This may be stretching it a bit but a pair of Quechua Velcro binding climbing shoes (under the brand name Simond these days). £22 and perfectly adequate for starting out. Not a patch on my Red Chillis but they still see regular use and still perform better than I have any right to expect for the price I paid.

In reply to RomTheBear:

Definitely my Peter Storm shirt (Was bought for me, I was a bit snooty about their kit until this). Has an extra flap under the collar that keeps the sun off your neck, keeps the sun off (Important for that goth look) and keeps me very comfy. Wore it in Spain the week before last and didn't get bothered by the heat at all.
And also those little mesh bags soap powder tablets used to need. You can store prussiks and cordelettes in 'em.

In reply to Kevster:

Hipster

In reply to Kevster:

Oh yeah! I still do this too!