.jpg) I think it shows the profit there is in outdoors gear, that the "big boys" are now coming into the market
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 Hmmm......Wonder if we'll be seeing Adidas kit in shops like Cotswold Outdoor or Ellis Brigham.
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Aren't a lot of outdoor brands owned by larger sports groups anyway?
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I think that Mountain Equipment and RonHill are the same company, but they were both based just a few miles apart anyway, and karrimor was bought by the Mike Ashley chav group, and is now a poor reflection of its former self. I don't know that either could be considered major players in the same way as adidas or nike, both who have entered the outdoors market in recent years.
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| Edited: 11/08/09 15:25 |
I wonder who their target demographic will be, whether they are making serious gear for established outdoors enthusiasts or average gear for people with money who get all the kit for a single weekend in the Peaks and then don't really use it again. I'm guessing its going to be the latter!
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 Adidas used to own Salomon for a while, sold it around 3 years ago. Guess they are just trying to grab back some of that market.
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 Hmmm......Wonder if we'll be seeing Adidas kit in shops like Cotswold Outdoor or Ellis Brigham. More likely at TK Maxx at the end of the season!  Mike
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 They make some very good ski glasses/goggles, so if they could carry that sort of quality across to a range of outdoor gear I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
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 > More likely at TK Maxx at the end of the season! I've seen some Adidas outdoor stuff in TKM, and they're using decent materials (e.g. Polartec, Gore). The designs haven't been terrible, but they were all huge sizes. Otherwise I'd have been tempted to try them out; they were very cheap (e.g. Gore Soft Shell jacket £25, Paclite jkt £40). Most recently, the Snowa Gore Windstopper jacket for £30. It may turn out to be another ACG-type farce, though; decent materials handed over to fashion designers masquerading as outdoor gear designers, with the resulting functional gaffes.
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What I'm wondering is whether they're aiming to make the most of current popularity of outdoor hobbies, or whether they're just aiming for the chav market that's currently taken to wearing outdoor gear like Berghaus and North Face stuff.
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 Adidas Super Trekking boots return? That is the best news I've had for ages! Bought a pair in 1987, wore them next day for a 20 mile walk - no blisters, sore spots, nothing! Despite one re-soling, they've suffered the ravages of time and miles, so since 2006 I've since agonised my way through the purchase of three new pairs of boots (you know how it is!) by Brasher, Lowa and Merrell - none has come close to the Super Trekking. So much so, that when while leading a group this October I ran into Achilles tendon problems (but obviously had to keep going somehow), I dug out the old Adidas boots, split soles and worn uppers and all, and they literally got me through, still perfectly comfortable. I obviously tried to buy another pair but was laughingly told that they went out of production years ago. Just when I was wondering how many more times I could call on my old boots to get me out of trouble when my newer boots were giving me problems, I saw this announcement. Fantastic. Where do I place my order?!
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As a follow up to the post from Capt Paranoia a few months ago I purchased a pair of Adidas "Mountain" Trousers in TK Maxx. They are made of a combination of lightweight Goretax Windstopper fabric and a non membraine material Polyester or similar. Due to the mild weather I have not used them a lot but the design fabric and quality seem very reasonable, at least for the £25 I paid for them. My understanding is that Adidas have always made some outdoor gear but it has not been generally available in the UK.
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 It's still not easy to get. I was interested in the Primaloft vest in the range. Online I can't see anyone in UK stocking it. And I rang them and was told nobody in Belgium (where I live) stocks this item.
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Subsequent to my post above, I bought a pair of new Super Trekking Limited Edition Original boots. Had to order them from Germany as they're not sold in UK. When they arrived, huge disappointment: they've changed the foot last so that whereas size 9 was perfect for my feet, the current size 9 1/2 is still too narrow. Also, there now seems to be no reference to the Goretex lining of the originals. So I've sent them back - at a cost of £30 postage for both ways. Why Adidas changed them then advertised them as 'original' I can't imagine... I imagine they may be OK for people with narrow feet, but wide-footed people can forget them.
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The outdoor page on the Adidas website is a bit glitchy and quite confusing But I notice that as well as the Super Trekking Original Ltd, they also have Super Trekking Classic, Super Trekking Formotion and Super Trekking Formotion GTX so there might still be something to replace your old boots? But there still seems to be limited availability in UK for their outdoor stuff.
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Thanks for the thought, Ben, but I wouldn't risk another costly order to Germany in case Adidas' move to a narrow foot last is common to all their walking boots. So far, Salomon Cosmic 4D GTX are looking like the most likely replacement - another boot that uses trainer/running shoe soles and a high cuff (protecting the Achilles tendon) just as the Super Trekkings did in the '80's. But I'm getting off-topic here!
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I got some Adidas boots back in the 80s and they were amazing. I kept them for 15+ years. I lost one boot (must have fallen out of the side of the car) and was devastated. I wore those boots hiking in Switzerland, then brought them to the US, DC area, then Colorado 14ers!!! I like them beacuse they are all leather/suede, completely waterproof (you can walk through a stream and your feet stay dry), and excellent tread (for scree/loose rock). The new hiking boots out there are terrible. They are more like sneakers and just fall apart. The ones I have now - paid hundreds of dollars - are just disentegrating before my eyes (on sides and bottom tread) in just a few years!! I am trying to find anywhere that sells the Adidas Super Trekking Classic GTC women's hiking boot. It was listed on the main Adidas website (looks exactly like the boots I had decades ago), but the online store doesn't have. I called customers service and they were no help (basically the boots were never distributed to any retail shops in the U.S.) Guess I can buy them in a year when I go back to Switzerland next Fall, but if anyone knows how to get them sooner (international online store perhaps with inventory), that would be great!! THANKS!
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I got a pair of <a href="http://www.wildnissport.de/outdoor/top+marken/adidas/schuhe-2-4/adidas-super-trekking-ltd-Original.html" title="Adidas Super TREKKING LTD Original für Herren">Adidas Super TREKKING LTD Original </a> from Wildnissport in Germany. Very efficient service but when they arrived it turned out the shoe-last was different to my old pair in the 80's (which were for wide feet, the new ones are for narrow feet) and I had to send them back - see my post of 16th April above. The Wildnisport site only lists the limited edition "Originals" as being for men, but they do list these http://www.wildnissport.de/outdoor/top+marken/adidas/schuhe-2-4/adidas-super-trekking-classic-women.html which look like the same thing. You may be lucky! Might be worth asking them if the 'last' has changed - I kicked up a bit of a fuss, so they may have spoken to Adidas about any changes from the '80's originals.
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A quick google shows stores in Germany stocking the women's Adidas Super Trekking Classic GTX like here. You should be able to find one that ships to US. Edit:Tony beat me to it, but there were others.
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| Edited: 11/10/10 21:56 |
 Interestingly.... Arc'teryx, Salomon and Suunto to name a few are all owned by the same parent company.
Bedouin
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