Anything worth buying at Kathmandu?

[matagi]

Like any of those stores, if you look carefully you can find some worthwhile stuff.

[Lizzy]

I have bought or been given: Waterproof cards, fleeces, frisbee, tent led light, kids zip off hiking pants, salomon boots. I'd get the big gear elsewhere but lots of bits & pieces

[Venturer]

When I first started Scouts I bought a Lansan Light

Great little tent which was good for two of us when I was small and now light enough for me to carry by myself now I'm in venturers.

I have a picture somewhere of it in the Snowy Mountains when we went back country skiing and it did great for a 3 season tent.

http://www.kathmandu.com.au/camping/ten ... illow.html

I also own a navigator V6 and pathfinder, both of which are great.

[Ent]

Every so often Kathmandu comes up with a classic design or product that is the best of breed. The last was their packable daypack that for me has been on every mountain that I have climbed for four or more years.

After much searching I stumbled across the Faro top made out of Polartech Power Stretch. I like the fabric but on my Mammut the stitching is crap thus bringing to its end after a rather short life. I used the Kathmandu jacket almost continuously for nine days in cold conditions on the OLT and found it excellent so now have two more.

[Travis22]

I quite like their pants and shorts. Very good quality materials and YKK zips all round. Note, i only purchase them when they are 50-70% off

Travis.

[wayno]

yeah they are definitely better than they used to be if you choose carefully... fleeces are generally good. got a grid fleece nie and light, bit loose cut though, had to size down,, rainshells need to sort their hoods out. not really big enough for severe weather, flooppy brims on most of them,,,,

[north-north-west]

I quite like their pants and shorts. Very good quality materials and YKK zips all round. Note, i only purchase them when they are 50-70% off

I found what should have been the perfect pair of pants during one of their sales - design was spot on, proportions great, well made, good price (on sale). But they only had size 16 . . .

[roysta]

they only had size 16 . . .

16 ? seems small

[Joomy]

As many have already said there are some accessories which are reasonable quality and reasonably priced, but the rest is marked up 200-400%, reduced by half and still as much as the full price of other brands. It is puzzling how it's legal, but I guess you don't necessarily have to legislate against people making poor choices. It is certainly deceptive practice to make people think that your full price is anything more than a marketing tactic, but by now I think most people who care have cottoned on. Also you can bet Kathmandu's primary customer base are not reading Bushwalk.com!

[vagrom]

Never a truer word. Thus endeth the lesson...



Except: (dammit), they used to stock a choice (clever?) of regular and large silk, sleeping bag liners; about a $10 price difference.[mad not to take the larger of the two, of course.] Both quality rip-stop and stronger than what S2S offered at that time. Now they have just the one size. Normal price : $140, which plummets to $70 during the "big sales". Only other choice is still possibly S2S? (Price?)

A fellow walker said their best boots were very competitive on price, against the other big names- during sales of course. But there are some who are happy to get fresh boots every few years and others who may still prefer to hang onto and keep re-soling, their old worn-ins. I'd be interested to know if anyone still walks in a pair of boots they've had for 10 years or more. Do they still make 'em like they used to or does modern, lighter and "ergo dynamic (synthetic bits) features" mean long lived boots are a thing of the past?

[Ent]

Big issues with Scarpa's is the re-sole is almost as dear as new boots and the glue probably will not hold as well as the original job.

[vagrom]

I guess Kathmandu stock their own name brand of boot?

Another problem with these big, Euro-style boots is that they're designed for kicking out along the well manicured paths of the Dolomites. In Tassie's (NZ's?) boggy conditions, where boot water-proofness is a daywalks consideration only, they quickly add half their weight again in water. So don't buy leather unless you also buy a lighter (less robust..) style? Then the problem apparently is that synthetic "breathables" can't breath fast enough over the long haul.

[roysta]

I once had a low opinion of those high end European boots, until I bought a Scarpa Triolet and Scarpa Charmoz (mountaineering boots).
Yes, I've changed my opinion, fantastic.
Kathmandu on the otherhand, tourist material.

[Joomy]

Big issues with Scarpa's is the re-sole is almost as dear as new boots and the glue probably will not hold as well as the original job.

Of course, new Scarpas cannot be resoled anyway. If you're going to buy a new leather boot then Scarpa, Zamberlan or La Sportiva are the go. But why would you?

[Strider]

Big issues with Scarpa's is the re-sole is almost as dear as new boots and the glue probably will not hold as well as the original job.

Of course, new Scarpas cannot be resoled anyway. If you're going to buy a new leather boot then Scarpa, Zamberlan or La Sportiva are the go. But why would you?

Where are you located Joomy?

[Moondog55]

Vagrom; while almost worn out my current La Sportiva leather walking boots are close to 14 years old, and my old Scarpa SLs lasted 12 years and in the Scarpa the nylon lining , foam padding and the soles gave out before the leather. Fabric boots simply do not give me the life I demand from a boot.
I have resorted in the past to epoxy / fiberglassing the toes of my leather mountaineering boots once they were broken in, works a charm for protecting the leather from abrasion, one layer is enough in most instances and only adds a few grams to boot weight.
You do have to keep your feet in the boot and use toe caps while the epoxy cures though as it can change the shape of the toebox, but 5 minutes isn't a long time.
These days I would probably add Aluminium and Nickel/Stainless Steel powder to the epoxy to give even more abrasion resistance

[slparker]

Back to the original topic.... i went into Kathmandu last week, the missus bought some travel stuff and I got a pertex shelled insulated vest in the clearance section for a reasonable price.
I was gobsmacked at how overpriceed the rest of the gear was though... taped-seam softshells for $200+ when you can get an outdoor Research equivalent for $120 online or $200 from Bogong; shells with inadequate or ill fitting hoods; nylon trousers with high waists and awful boxy cuts.... who buys this stuff?

The only item I saw that looked reasonable was a Gore pro-shell jacket for $300... but then go to Macpac, amazon or campsaver.....

[wayno]

just shows you can make a fortune if you have a massive marketing budget , open a flash looking shop on the high street and tell people they are getting a deal.....

[Strider]

just shows you can make a fortune if you have a massive marketing budget , open a flash looking shop on the high street and tell people they are getting a deal.....

Just look at McDonalds - their business is not selling fast food, but marketing it. Second only to Coke (another marketer!) in terms of world domination.

[wayno]

coke , the second most popular drink in the world. second to ...... water....

[vagrom]

Friday aftrnoon in Adelaide: Kathmandu's the only camping shop on the strip packed with shoppers, shedding the hard-earneds before heading off to the Cabaret Fest for drinks. It appears to be sort of dash in and dash out . Speed shopping!

[wayno]

yeah looking at the no of people dressed almost head to toe in the gear.....
maybe thats it, those that want to speed shop with a recogniseable brand... people are more likely to buy heavily marketed brands if they can afford them....

[andrewbish]

Popped into Kathmandu for a look this morning and picked up a heavily discounted mid-weight fleece for winter walking. Great fit, pockets where I want 'em and build quality seems good (tho time will tell).

You may not like everything about a store, but that shouldn't stop you cheery picking the good bits.

[vagrom]

Vaggers: [ : seething with jealousy...] "So, yoooo.. got it on sale,I sup-pose ??"


[ Thinks: How do they do it? How do they know, just.. when to go. Curse you Moriarty! ]

[wayno]

stretchy fleeces are more forgiving than hardshell fabrics if you get the cut wrong....
they use good materials. but do they give their products to top outdoors explorers to thrash for months and get feedback on improving the design? or do they just walk up and down the design room in the gear or maybe around the local park and say. "yup she'll be right mate"

[wayno]

removed

[wayno]

assuming you can tell quality from mediocre brands, it can come down to pay through the nose for the best gear or go to the chain stores..... and it depends how much you are going to get iritated by mediocre gear as to whether you will spend the extra money if you can find it....
and down under you have to go hunting to find the places that are selling the good gear. so you're even less likely to buy it unless you know whats what.... kathmandu are just swamping the opposition by shop coverage and advertising....

[andrewbish]

Vaggers: [ : seething with jealousy...] "So, yoooo.. got it on sale,I sup-pose ??"


[ Thinks: How do they do it? How do they know, just.. when to go. Curse you Moriarty! ]

[Laughs uproariously]

[Onestepmore]

We get a fair bit from there, at their on sale prices/summit discount/members days etc blah blah. Recently stocked up on a few things when Scouting Aust members had something like 65% off. Light insulating black fleece pants were good, I have no problems with either their thin or their thick fleece tops. Both hubby and I wear various models of their pants walking and casually - fit is good (hey - I like the higher waists! they don't drop down and show brickie's cracks when you bend over), zippers haven't failed, some nice stretch lightweight summer fabrics. Got ski pants for son, we all got very nice thin merino glove liners. My son already owns a great rainjacket shell with a zip in synthetic insulation layer that can be worn by itself. I have a heavier 3 layer Goretex shell that's been really good, except the hood is a little large for my liking. I often like their colours - I really dislike the primaries like electric blue and fire engine red, banana yellow and leaf green. (I have XX cromsomes, so colour counts)
We use some of their wheeled luggage for general travel, I have a few useful packing cells and toiletry bags, and have their convertable travel packs as well, but would not use their packs or sleeping mats or tents etc for bushwalking purposes. We do have the light summer bags (7 deg C)Comet which we have found really good for it's purpse, and which were bought online for $99.
Their walking stuff is, on the whole, heavy and bulky. Much lighter options are available. (I confess I have subtly told some people looking at mats and sleeping bags to shop elsewhere, I feel sorry for them, and feel obliged to point them in the right direction, so they don't make the wrong purchases like us!)

Like many others I guess, we originally bought walking gear from here as it was accessible and available, and we had no knowledge of anything different . It certainly seemed much better than stuff available from Ray's Outdoors and BCF which, for us, was the only other option locally. It was only after research and reading forums such as this, and then exploring overseas supply options did we start to become more selective and educated.
So...the kids got the Kathmandu stuff passed down for scouting, and we 'upgraded'

[Joomy]

Big issues with Scarpa's is the re-sole is almost as dear as new boots and the glue probably will not hold as well as the original job.

Of course, new Scarpas cannot be resoled anyway. If you're going to buy a new leather boot then Scarpa, Zamberlan or La Sportiva are the go. But why would you?

Where are you located Joomy?

Canberra, but I don't think I'd even take heavy leathers to Tas again.