UKC

I've had umpteen pairs of Karrimor boots/shoes and a number of sacks over a period of circa 25 years and they have always lasted well. I brought a pair of walking shoes last spring and the sole fell off one shoe after less than 50 hours wear and Sports Direct are refusing to sort it out. Why is it good companies with trusted products go downhill when they get taken over by bigger companies don't buy Karrimor !!!

Has anyone else experienced similar problems.

In reply to Eugetj:

Karrimor, alas, is only a devalued name these days, not a company that care about their customers.

In reply to Eugetj:
I believe that the Karrimor name is now owned by sports direct.
Karrimor products were great until they went bust around 2006. The administrators sold off the name and since then is has changed hands a few times and always got worse. The karrimor range is now just cheap tat with a label.
Good luck getting any sense out of sports direct. They depend on stupid people buying cheap rubbish that they will throw away when it falls apart, and not take it back or argue about it.

In reply to Eugetj:

..............................................And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

In reply to Eugetj:

About 3 years ago I was told their boots which have branded waterproof linings (eVent/Goretex) were still decent quality, but the other ones weren't. Certainly the ones you can buy in sportsdirect are shit.

In reply to Eugetj:

In my experience Karrimor kit for quite a few years has been that it is no better or no worse than similarly priced outdoor kit. So if you want a day pack, running top or cycle top without any frills, bells and whistles it is a good choice. If you want something better you need to pay more. Footwear is one area I personally wouldn't skimp though (having said that I have a really cheap set of Karrimor shoes I keep in my desk for the odd days I arrive in cycling shoes and they are perfect for that).

Bottom line is Karrimor and Sports Direct are a budget brand.

In reply to Eugetj:

Old Karrimor survives as Karrrimor SF and is unrelated to Karrimor/Sports Direct; they manufacture tough, high quality military rucksacks, webbing etc.

Karrimor/Sports Direct sells market-stall-grade clothing and footwear with after-sales service to match

In reply to Eugetj:

if you buy anthing off sports direct but online using a visa card

any hassle about quality etc then you can use distanc eseeling regulations and your visa guarantee to force the issue

but you must but online and must use a visa card to do this......

as above though SD is great for cheap bits and bobs......

In reply to Eugetj:

karrimor sell basic budget gear and as any experienced outdoor enthusiast will know, you get what you pay for. if your on a budget work to your budget but don't expect a cheap pair of shoes to perform and last like a pair of £100+ pair of Scarpa's. I work in the industry and the amount of people who want a cheap shoe and expect them to be as technical and durable as a good pair is phenominal. Moral of the story is ... in terms of technical performance, durability, material quality, construction, support, etc ... you really do get what you pay for, don't expect cheap gear to be quality.

eVent/Goretex would only refer to the brand of the waterproof membrane within the shoe and cannot be confused to account for the overall quality of the shoe, even Salomon's budget shoes such as the Escambia (which has a GTX membrane) is a pile of shite shoe and will not last so dont be fooled when buying a shoe just because it has a GTX membrane in it. People go mad for this shoe because of the low price point and they think they are getting a great shoe for their money because they see the branded Salomon and GTX written on the shoe and think its great for £70.