Bushwalking gear and paraphernalia. Electronic gadget topics (inc. GPS, PLB, chargers) belong in the 'Techno Babble' sub-forum.
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Bushwalk Inventory System can help bushwalkers with a variety of bushwalk planning tasks, including: Manage which items they take bushwalking so that they do not forget anything they might need, plan meals for their walks, and automatically compile food/fuel shopping lists (lists of consumables) required to make and cook the meals for each walk. It is particularly useful for planning for groups who share food or other items, but is also useful for individual walkers.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 6:29 am
i think a lot of the forum members here are already discerning buyers or makers of outdoor gear or they are fast becoming discerning, thts partly why they are here, they want to ask questions like, "what should I buy" because they don't automatically trust that massive chains like Kathmandu are selling the most appropriate gear for them.
but it seems the majority of the population are happy to trust those massive chains and spend their dollars there without shopping or asking around.
one thing i have to keep telling people unfortunately, is "don't trust anything you are told by a staff member in the big chain stores"
and "be wary of what any young staff member tells you in any store"
too many people make bad purchasing decisions based on bad advice and misinformaton from ill informed or uncaring shop staff...
i wonder if its a case of people are too busy to make the effort to learn more or they just arent that fussy.... or like a lot of people they are being fashionable by getting any old outdoor gear, witness the wearing of down jackets in summer by the young, they were everywhere when i was in queenstown nz in summer. shorts with puffer jackets...
then threres brand recognition, the top quality brands just arent recognised by the masses... a few years ago i'd never heard of montane or rab. they arent sold in nz. now i'm sold on montane gear. i coulnt tell the good north face gear from the mediocre. there were other brands i only knew of but didnt know about their reputations until i did my own research .
some of my gear that i bought i bought on a whim and it may or may ot have turned out to be good quality gear... kathmandu gear is pretty much confined to my regular day walks, the more expensive kit is more for the longer day walks or overnight walks until it started to fail then it will get migrated to the shorter day walks before its retired.
we all go through periods when we're strapped for cash, it would be nice to think when you're spending a lot of money on gear its going to be good gear that does the job you need it to.. and its pretty annoying and frustrating when thats not the case.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 12:15 pm
Wayno,
I'd suggest that 98% of people (obviously a 'HAP') who routinely shop at Kathmandu end up with gear that more-than-adequately does the job they need it to. After all, how many of the 'chain-store' shoppers do you think regularly do much more than the occasional day walk on local trails?
All the best.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 12:27 pm
yeah, but it cuts both ways. years ago, i was shopping for a rainshell in kathmandu....
and the salesman told me if i was tramping then i needed to get the stormfront jacket....
and i bought it, once apon a time i would have needed the stormfront jacket when i used to bushbash regularly, but something weighing a lot less than it's 900gms would actually have done me if i'd have thought it through and not listened to the salesman...
i hadnt really paid attention to the rise of lightweight gear and didnt realise now much lighter gear could be.... and the salesman had a black and white answer: trampers should by the heavyweight jacket...
i could have gotten away with a lot lighter since i wouldnt need anything that heavy that often.
often I was just carrying a rainshell in my pack as dead weight. so what i bought was total overkill and i could have saved money and got something more appropriate for what i do...
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:37 pm
Wayno,
How many faeries can dance on the head of a pin?
I said earlier,
"I'd suggest that 98% of people (obviously a 'HAP') who routinely shop at Kathmandu end up with gear that more-than-adequately does the job they need it to." What I
didn't say was,
"with more/better information such people perhaps would've purchased 'better', 'lighter', or more 'capable' gear." Consequently, for Kathmandu's
targetted demographic, a (for example) 900g Kathmandu 'Stormfront' jacket would
still more-than-adequately do the job, i.e. keep rain off on the occasional daywalk on local trails.
People who need only basic transportation to travel short distances from Point 'A' to Point 'B' would likely find a Toyota Corolla more-than-adequately meets their needs. So too would Kathmandu gear when it comes to those whose main use for such stuff is strolling through the Mall/park on a cold-ish day, in a light-ish rain.
All the best.
Last edited by
Spartan on Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:42 pm
kind of like buying a hummer to commute around town in....
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:45 pm
Wayno,
Lots of people who own monster 4-wheel drives
never take them off paved roads. But I'm left thinking that they're pretty happy with their purchases, none-the-less.
You and I would likely appreciate/feel envy when we see someone wearing the latest Arc'teryx hardshell down the street. Whether or not the person who is wearing the jacket has ever walked the OT, or trekked the Khumbu, is largely irrelevant; we appreciate the quality of the item becuase we appreciate what it can do. However, perhaps 98% (another 'HAP') of people strolling the same street wouldn't distinguish between the 'higher-end' Arc'teryx shell, and a 'lower-end' Macpac or Kathmandu 'equivalent'. Does it really matter, given that these people would never take the jacket to within an inch of their lives?
All the best.
Last edited by
Spartan on Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:54 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:51 pm
i always fancied taking an armoured vehicle to the shopping mall and try to park it...
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 1:56 pm
Wayno,
"i always fancied taking an armoured vehicle to the shopping mall and try to park it..."Been there, done that (although admittedly not in Australia). I simply parked it,
wherever the hell I wanted to!
All the best.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 6:01 pm
My take on Kathmandu... Buy it when it's true value and of a quality that suffice for the use. Browse at all other times. Come to think of it, the same rule should apply to most other purchases in life.
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 6:18 pm
GPSGuided wrote:My take on Kathmandu... Buy it when it's true value and of a quality that suffice for the use. Browse at all other times. Come to think of it, the same rule should apply to most other purchases in life.
I think your rule of thumb should be extended to everything in life, not just purchases
Sat 22 Jun, 2013 6:38 pm
Strider wrote:I think your rule of thumb should be extended to everything in life, not just purchases

Not quite. Or life gets a bit dull and nothing to whinge on forums...
Sun 23 Jun, 2013 10:01 am
Isn't it called dating?
Mon 24 Jun, 2013 6:32 pm
Back on thread though dating has potentially unlimited liability

The Kathmandu Power Stretch top gets full thumbs up for Tassie winter conditions. Top piece of kit so far. Packable day pack still going strong and found nothing better regardless of the price. I believe their kids range is probably half decent compared to other shops.
Though I agree with Wayno re customer advice. Kathmandu is not a store to visit for a newbie to be fitted out for the OLT. Sure with hunting you might get something reasonable from their range but you will pay way too much and be poorly equipped if you listened solely to the advice given. Sadly, I see Kathmandu man and women slogging along the OLT with sub size pack, and/or, too much gear handing from every strap, all labelled Kathmandu. I would not think that the likes of Paddy Pallin would allow that to happen.
The problem is not people knowing what to buy having issues but the genuine newbie that has been lead to believe that it is a complete outdoor hiking shop. Sadly such stores are a dying breed with probably Paddy Pallin and the independent Mountain Design stores the last of the big names that can do a complete fit-out. Hopefully a few local independents might still be knocking around.
It really is up to the customer to workout if they are traditional or lighter weight gear types. I have done the complete circle and back at looking at longevity but does not mean a well design item can not be light and work well, just not to expect that the rules of physics to be changed through marketing spin.
Mon 24 Jun, 2013 6:54 pm
Ent wrote:I would not think that the likes of Paddy Pallin would allow that to happen...
As for Paddy Pallin, whilst its one of the first into this market, it's also one of the most expensive. These days, I like to shop from one of the other competing stores along Kent St, Sydney for quality and value. The staffs in Mountain Designs, Mountain Equipment and Trek&Travel are all decently competent in a technical way. No real need to pay for the higher prices of Paddy Pallin.
Mon 24 Jun, 2013 7:06 pm
mountain designs ?
selling stuff like this? an outdated version of the helium selling for more than you can buy the latest model for from bivouac, far more breathable, stronger design..... at NZ$140
mountain designs looks pretty expensive to me...
http://www.mountainequipment.com/index. ... earch.html
Mon 24 Jun, 2013 7:40 pm
wayno wrote:mountain designs ?
Well, as for any shop, one has to shop. At least they have decent quality stuff. I have found many good value items, especially at their outlet store. And bear in mind, we are comparing to a base denominator of Kathmandu. Outside of these local stores, better value can be found from REI and other N American outdoor outlets, reserved for when I am over there.
Tue 25 Jun, 2013 11:11 am
my bad i was looking at the mountain equipment shop not mountain designs
Tue 25 Jun, 2013 11:25 am
No problem Wayno. Any shop may stock poor value items and I am sure Mountain Designs also have similar unworthy goods around. With the Internet, it's so easy to compare and know the true value of what one buys.
Tue 25 Jun, 2013 5:31 pm
Ent wrote:Sadly such stores are a dying breed with probably Paddy Pallin and the independent Mountain Design stores the last of the big names that can do a complete fit-out..
There are still independent Mountain Designs shops? The one in Canberra has been corporate since I can remember.
GPSGuided wrote:Ent wrote:I would not think that the likes of Paddy Pallin would allow that to happen...
As for Paddy Pallin, whilst its one of the first into this market, it's also one of the most expensive. These days, I like to shop from one of the other competing stores along Kent St, Sydney for quality and value. The staffs in Mountain Designs, Mountain Equipment and Trek&Travel are all decently competent in a technical way. No real need to pay for the higher prices of Paddy Pallin.
Paddy Pallin are having many more sales and specials than they used to, being forced that way because of the likes of Macpac and Kathmandu pricing strategies.
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