Dave Just to confirm, we have no factory outlet in Windermere, only a small showroom in Wadhurst (as mentioned above). However, we do have some really excellent retailers in the Lakes and elsewhere. To find your nearest stockist, go to www.paramo.co.uk, and click on 'Where to buy' on the menu, and you can input your postcode to find your nearest stores, or look at the list of towns. Hope this helps.
I’ll get some real stick for this but here goes…. The reason Paramo availability and total sales are limited is quite simple – it’s you guys. Every person I have ever come across who has vigorously championed this stuff has been of a very particular type. Forty plus, bearded, CAMRA supporting and highly willing, nee eager, to explain at length the advantages of an externally framed rucksack….or Paramo. Long, shapeless cuts and a drab, limited colour range have done nothing to help this. Big brands like TNF cross into high street fashion, some like Patagonia, Rab and Arcteryx have cool, extreme images; Paramo also has a cult following but an unhelpfully sensible, mature (in years and attitude) one. The outdoor industry is a fashion and brand orientated industry like any other and Paramo is a “square” brand. That said they are trying, the new stuff looks (very important) better but I fear the image is permanently ingrained, for me Paramo will always be the waterproofs of choice of my, now late, grandfather.
ok des so I'm 34, mountain rescue , no beard, dont like real alee , don't own an external frame rucksak or indeed want one and all my paramo is in red, hardly drab.
So if you equate sense and expertise in actual use with beardy aged gits then fine, but in my experience for those who don't run hot and who are in the fells a lot paramo works.
It may not be hip or high street but who gives a toss if you are out in it, you want function not form.
If you value fashion over function on the fell then thats your perception and not age
ok des so I'm 38,member of a mountain rescue team , no beard, love real ale , don't own an external frame rucksac or indeed want one and all my paramo is in red, hardly drab.
So if you equate sense and expertise in actual use with beardy aged gits then fine, but in my experience for those who don't run hot and who are in the fells a lot paramo works.
It may not be hip or high street but who gives a toss if you are out in it, you want function not form.
If you value fashion over function on the fell then thats your perception and not age
'scuse the direct copy (with relevant changes) of your post Guy, but it does say all that needs to be said on the matter of Paramo
If you're going to ask why Paramo isn't fashionable, I think it's more down to the look of the kit - as opposed to its function - than anything to do with stereotypes of typical Paramo users.
Some of the older models, take the old Fuera Jacket or the first Alta for example, were pretty old fashioned in styling terms. The latest stuff is a bit more contemporary, but I don't think you're going to see Kate Moss in Paramo any time soon. Then again, the Paramo guys are aiming to produce functional hillwalking clothing, not high street casual wear.
It's also a bit of a two-edged sword. The North Face actually produces some very decent kit, however some 'serious' outdoor people view them as more of a fashion brand because they have high street penetration, whatever that is.
Anyway, Ventile is where it's at - if it was good enough for Scott, Mallory and WH Murray then it's good enough for me ;-)
Apologies, mid-afternoon reread had me realise the potential offence but moreover poor conveyance of point… The point was that Paramo had missed a trick by not making their early ranges (first impressions etc) appealing to both the astute, mountain hardcore as well as the more impulse and aesthetically led buyer. The fabric technology is excellent a reason alone to justify the brand but Paramo could be a darn site more common and simple to acquire had it been for the sake of sharper colour ways (present in new smocks) and some short – yes, impractical - fabric cuts. This would not have compromised the performance in any way, as the newer smocks demonstrate.
With Geoff on the tweed; from The Saddle to The Savoy in a change of footwear, splendid.
I'm 20 and I have only used their wicking range; walking shirts and trousers and I must say the colours are good and don't look glaring when out on the hills. One day I will try some of their "waterproofs" because I'm so impressed by their wicking layers. :)
Paramo are all over the place - they don't know what they are doing.
You can't find the stuff and you don't understand it when you do.
It costs a lot of money and looks ordinary -but I think it is good. It works well.
Now what are they doing with their marketing budget?
We have all heard of it but aren't likely to spend a day off driving to the outer reaches of Hertfordshire to buy the stuff. Nonsense!
Maybe they are turning over a tidy profit in current practices - that's the choice of management - if I owned shares in that company I would be furious.
It is really good and not available to try on at a shop near you. Some strategy.
If they aren't bust yet, they are on the right road.
I do a couple of days a week at an outdoor shop in the lakes and we stock the ful range with no problem getting hold of the stuff.
The Paramo do what most companies dont they pick one retailer in a specific area and use them rather than supply everyone and get little bits of their gear in all the shops , the way they do it you get a comprehensive selection in one retailer who knows what they are talking about.
If you cant find that retailer near you check out paramos web site, if there isn't one yet , I suspect they will be one soon.
I think the supply problem witht he likes of the gaiters is that retailers need to order well in advance in order to get the kit, and so it does take a bit of planning on behalf of the shop, but this too seems to be getting better.
Not sure about the marketing though , it could be clearer but i suspect their budget isn't huge
Basically Gwen has a damned good point. And certainly is correct in the case of Central London. What is it 10 Million people and not a single shop!
Elsewhere in the UK there are various shops near where you'd need to use the stuff.
* FORT WILLIAM - POOR RANGE I go up to the West Highlands quite a lot and there is just one shop at the very *far* end of the Fort William high street (if you arrive by train) that sells the stuff. "West Coast" something or other from memory. I try to use them rather than mail order simply because very much I appreciate being able to try stuff on and am happy to pay a quid or two for the privilege.
UNFORTUNATELY they dont have a very good range of stock. This is most irritating because Fort William - branded "The Outdoor Capital of the UK" - has about the highest rainfall in the UK (thanks to Ben Nevis) and if you cant get decent waterproofs in Fort William you wonder where the heck you can.
I strongly suggest that if Paramo are going to be picky about retail outlets then they really do need to make sure that their outlets *do* stock a decent range of stock. But also please bear in mind that it is rather anti-competitive having a small number of retailers and that this can lead to artificially inflated prices.
* INVERNESS BETTER Any Paramo fans visiting the Highlands would do well to checkout the shop in Inverness called something like MacPhersons (??) which flatly declare that they stock "absolutely everything" that Paramo make.
* FASHION/COLOUR
I almost totally agree about the criticisms regarding style. There is no good reason why stuff shouldn't *look* good, as well as work good!
Obviously as a small company in a function-driven sector, they shouldn't keep changing models all the time. I suggest that the key distinction is *style* versus *fashion*. In my view Paramo need to maintain their focus on performance as being absolutely top priority. Fine, but that is no excuse for having stuff that is ugly! As it happens, I dont think that the most of the cuts are *particularly* ugly (though they could be better). For me it's the *colours*.
I do a lot of bird watching/hill walking and very occassionally some stalking. I much appreciate the high breathability of their fabrics. Okay they ARE slightly heavy and slightly warm. [ASIDE: Hence they arent ideal for summer use - and I feel that Paramo do need to keep researching ways to improve water resistance vs weight. (Try using finer weaves?? And/or possibly research different fabrics such as PTFE/FEP finishes)... ]
But all Paramos trousers appear to be just *one* colour - dark navy blue! (Okay and yes in one instance black.) This is rather pathetic. What about GREEN?! Paramo are missing out on several massive markets: a) everyone interested in watching wildlife - birders, twitchers, etc b) everyone interested in killing wildlife - shouting, stalking etc c) Military use - (if they are so good how come the military dont ever use Paramo technology?)
Balaclavas? NAVY! Gathers? NAVY again "Unisex Cambia Long Sleeve Tshirt"? Navy and wait for it... "Slate"!
GREENS?
What about a *choice* of greens in the jackets (and ideally trousers?!) What about a couple of different shades of green with in one jacket. With the right styling this could look great! What about going the whole hog - camouflague even? The only green they offer seems to be a very yellow-ish green. Kind of insipid pale olive. Yuk! Personally it makes me want to chunder - but in the field I have to admit it does work *quite* well - because most of the hill is paler than you might think.
BRIGHT COLOURS? It would also be nice to have brighter colour for high-adrenaline activities such as bicycling and rock climbing where you (may) need to be seen! I commute to work on a bike. And it's very noticable that there is NOTHING on the market from *any brand* that is really, really breathable, cool running AND better than moderately showerproof.
If you are really desperate, happy to pay more and visiting Skye (or are happy to do mail order) then there is an outfit in Skye (I forget the name) that custome-make things based on the Paramo type waterproofing model. But it turns out that even they have a very limited range of colours.
T-SHIRTS Last weekend I needed some more wicking layers, so I bought some T-shirts in Fort William. But after some consideration, I refused to buy the Paramo version. Why? a) The colour (just NAVY again!) b) The *cut*! I wanted to wear it for casual use as well as using it as a base layer But it really was EXTREMELY ugly. The neck far was too wide and the hem was too small. The whole thing was - lets face it - *horrible*. You just would NEVER, EVER wear something like this as a fashionable/style item for casual use.
Interestingly enough it is EXTREMELY hard to get ANY visually appealing wicking base layers from any manufacturer. (IMHO). So Paramo arent actually all that far behind. But how hard can it be to make a reasonably attractive T-shirt!?
CONCLUSION Yes, Paramo make great functional clothing. But the choice of colours is shocking. The colours are at best *fairly* ugly. Paramo need to carve a niche around QUALITY. "The best that money can buy." They need to cultivate a little mistique. And they need to aim at style not overly transient fashion. Kindof *timeless* style!
And then they need to find a way to sell their kit in er that little place called London, UK.
i agree that the colour choice is horrendous and for the life of me can't even begin to comprehend why they chose some of the colours in the first place. (cheap material in awful colours so the manufacturer could clear out their warehouse?)
possibly, if the styling works then why change it. by being "fashionless" then your clothes don't show their age, and with paramo touting their long life then i would think that this culd be a reason.
Mustr be localised then becouse in the lakes you have
Wasdale = Us ( The barn door shop) nearly complete range
Keswick= Rathbones, complete range
Ambleside = SPort extreme
Patterdale = cant remember the shop name but it does the entire range
Kendal = Kentdale rambler, good selectio
And there are others, but like I say out of the lakes it could be worse
And I disagree with idea that resticting the wholesalers is a bad thing. If you give the range to every outdoor retailer you get cherry picking of the range so that in order to see aa good selection you need to hunt round dozens of shops, with the paramo system you get ( in my experience) a great selction in one place. WHich is good for the seller and the buyer.
Colour , well thats down to the indiviual and I agree in the Past there have been some awful choices, however I must admit I like the blue choice as it means that all their gear matches each other and you can pick you jacket and your trousers as you will knowing they will pair up, but hey I like blue :)
Wouldn't life be dull if we all agreed
incidentaly so far today I have sold two valez smocks , 3 cascarda trouser, 7 lightweight trouser, a base layer and 3 windproof smocks, so there are people out there who like the colours as well as me !
