 Thought I'd resurrect this thread (much like karrimor itself) because I saw this pack: http://www.fieldandtrek.com/karrimor-ft-25-rucksack-716109 which looks really nice, but there is a little voice in the back of my head saying "it's too cheap! Karrimor are krap now!"
So what do you reckon, are karrimor getting better these days?
I think that particular pack I mentioned might be intended for the Japanese market, since google searches mainly turn up pages in Japanese.
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 As sportsdirect own both Field & Trek and Karrimor now I think the FT on the pack stands for Field & Trek. I wouldn't buy it without seeing it first,but if you can find one in a store either sportsdirect or Field & Trek it may turn out to be a well made pack and a good buy at £35.
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Yeah, I'd thought the FT might be field and trek. I'm a bit confused by the karrimor branding nowadays, is the whole company owned by Sportsdirect or do they just own the side that produces the rather bad shoes? Karrimor still seem to be bringing about some pretty good boots and sacks so I'm wondering if that is from a different company who are sharing the brand, or some other strange arrangement like that.
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 Yes, there seems to still be a smallish company producing some relatively genuine bits. (as well as whoever owns the brand name sticking it on random pieces of stuff.). No idea quite how that came about. Its certainly a bit confusing.
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Karrimor (as a brand) belongs to Sports Direct and just buy from whereever. What you may find is that there has been a change in branding policy and there be a development of Karrimor (cheap and) and Karrimor FT (higher end). Cant see there being two companies
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It is confusing as several different companies seem to have licences to use the Karrimor brand like PRI who make the Karrimor SF range for the military and police see here. If after trying it on you think the pack fits and is up for the use that you have in mind then it is a good buy.Most packs are made in China these days and many different brands are made in the same factories.
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Interesting. One lives and learns - I notice they have had the Karrimor SF brand for 10 years. Does this predate the liquidation of old Karrimor? Think it might - only just though...maybe, cant remember
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Intriguing this - there's also a set of people at karrimor.com who are doing rucksacks and footwear. They seem fairly genuine. (a touch of publicitly/reviews recently, and people like up & under/ultra light outdoors gear stocking some of the rucksacks.). Then there's a whole load of stuff on field and trek which well..... Confusing. Maybe some hints on this old thread. I guess field and trek may well just have the rights to stick the brand name on anything they want. Which can't be helping the more serious company(ies?) much. Of course the technical rucksacks thing is arguably confused fractionally further by OMM 
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Yeah the recently relaunched karrimor website certainly gives the impression they want to be taken seriously again. The range on there is quite different to Field and Trek or Sport Direct who seem to stick the label on anything (Karrimor spork!). The catalogues you can download from karrimor seem quite pro too, interesting they link to foreign distributors who seem to carry yet another different range of packs (the Japanese one does anyway).
All this confusion isn't helping the brand re-establish itself as a serious contender!
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Formosa man is right in his previous posting put only up to a point. If it features on the Karrimor website that he mentions then you can be certain that it is of reasonable quality and will be available in reputable outdoor retailers other than Sports Direct/Field and Trek. However Field and Trek shops/Website and Sports Ditect shops/website do sell some of the Karrimor Sacks and Footwear featured on the website. Where it gets complicated is that Field and Trek and Sports Direct also sell Karrimor branded products, including Sacks and Footwear that do not feature on the Karrimor Website. The "quality" of these products can be variable in particular the Cheap Trainers and Sacks. The products featured on the Karrimor Website prior to its recent "relaunch" used to be sold by a Company called Dragonfly who appeared to produce such Karrimor branded goods under licence from Lonsdale Sports who owned the Karrimor brand neme. Lonsdale Sports is itself owned or is at least a "sister company" of Sports Direct. Not sure who owned the Dragonfly Company. The "new" Karrimoor website indicates that it is owned and maintained by Sports Direct and the address given for Karrimor is the same address as the main office of Sports Direct. The above would suggest that all Karrimor branded goods are now produced by one Company and this Company is owned by Sports Direct.
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Speaking to a Millets employee last year he said that the karrimor stuff with brand names such as eVent and Goretex on it is still quality gear, but the trainers & boots you buy in sports direct are not. I owned a pair of the SD hiking boots and trainers and can confirm that they are truly rubbish. The best approach shoes I had were low KSBs which were also available labelled as Garmonts in Italy.
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