BUYING BRITISH?

do you even know?

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poo nonga
05/08/2003 at 10:58
I support british companies when i buy my outdoor gear, you soon realise when looking at the lables that we only have a handful of manufacturers left in the UK. What are your thoughts? Do you care?
i use Snugpak sleeping bags, Bufalo clothing, Altberg boots. I find that i get better after sales service and a quality product.
Name the uk manufactured companies that you use so that we can all support them
John Corteen
05/08/2003 at 11:19
I use Rab because they make the best sleeping bags.

I have given up trying to buy British, most of the British companies' manufacturing operations are in the Far East anyway. I make my decision on how good the kit is rather than where it’s from.
Jon Doran
05/08/2003 at 11:23
Interestingly Rab has just been bought by outdoor designs and there's some talk in the industry that production may end up getting moved offshore, though whether that actually happens remain to be seen.

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com 

Jon Doran
05/08/2003 at 11:25
Also, if you're into British companies, then check out Freestyle: www.freestyle.co.uk

They manufacture in the UK, use Gore fabrics and started off with mountain biking kit, but are now moving into the outdoors market as well. The stuff I've seen has been good.

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com 

poo nonga
05/08/2003 at 11:40
cheers Jon ,,, i got a freestyle pertex windtop some time ago, i just like the idea of the british quality thing, still some things are just not made here any more,,,it would be a shame if rab went overseas
although snugpak make the best synthetics, rab are the lords of down.
oby one
05/08/2003 at 11:57
buying british?

John

I would not say rab make the best bags! i would say they are one of many fine bag producers - What about Mountain Equipment and Western mounternering.

John Corteen
05/08/2003 at 12:02
I'd say ME sleeping bags don't come close to Rab ones.

No experience of Western Mountaineering so I can't comment.

I do have experience of ME, MHW, Rab and Vango.

Who DO make the best bags then?
steve collins 1
05/08/2003 at 12:11
don't know about the best sleeping bag make, i use a snugpac softie6, i've also got a buffalo special 6 shirt and a rab down smock (in bright organge - hangs head, well it was only 50 sov's)
thats about it really as far as i can remember, not sure where craghoppers are from. probably the sweatshops of indonesia
poo nonga
05/08/2003 at 12:14
ive used the western mountaineering bags and they are as good as the rab bags,, maybe because you dont see them much over in the Uk i forgot all about them.
The ME stuff is nowhere near im afraid.
do we all have jobs where we play on the internet all day??
my answer Rab= down# Snugpak= synthetic
But maybe
poo nonga
05/08/2003 at 12:18
good on yer steve. grab yourself a shiney. (urmm its from some kids tv program that my daughter watches...seemed like a good time to use it)
Hedgehope Aztec
05/08/2003 at 12:35
I've got a Softie 3, but I have to say I didn't buy it because it was british, I bought it because it was the best one for my use.
Jez
05/08/2003 at 13:03
Even if they manufacture overseas, its still a British company (and lets face it, most British companies have their products manufactured overseas whatever they make.

Always look for British brands first though.
Guy...
05/08/2003 at 14:28
made in Britain we stock :

Mardale which is superb pile pertex, pertex and running gear

Troll harnesses and clothes ( base layers, bottoms, jackets t=shirts ect.......)

DMM hardware

Wildcountry hardware...

Terra Nova (not all made in the UK but a lot is)

Vanda waterproofs

Bridgedale sock (made in Ireland)

Buffalo gear

Cicerone books printed in the Lakes

Wainwright books printed in the lakes

Wasdale water, bottled in the Wasdale.......

if I think of any more I'll post again :)
ben brockway
05/08/2003 at 16:24
A few others, made in or based in the UK and made overseas:

PHD down equipment. Even better than Rab (allegedly).

Crux packs and tent. Lightwave tents.

Mardale clothing; Montane clothing (IIRC)

Aiguille and POD rucksacks

Antarctica tents; Saunders tents.

Plenty out there. I'd suggest (and from a position of absolutely no specialist knowldge - even though my name isn't DG :-) that per head of population the UK supports more kit manufacturers than any other country, including NZ. Especially if you include publishers as well.
Marcus Crompton
05/08/2003 at 18:35
Cioch in Skye make their own gear.

I like Glossop's very own Mountain Equipment very much and have never been disappointed by anything of theirs that I've owned - not sure if its all made here though.
Marcus Crompton
05/08/2003 at 18:36
...and did anyone say "Brasher"?
Evil Genius Darren
05/08/2003 at 19:08
Guy. This Wasdale water? It isn't you filling bottles from your tap is it? A-la 'Only Fools and Horses'?

lol
Dan G
05/08/2003 at 22:17
I'd never buy something just because it's British. I only buy what's the best product I can afford, wherever it's from or who ever made it. Do own a Rab down jacket though, as I reckont they're the best. Oh and a Endura biking top, made from a fabric made in the same factory which built the Gloster Javelin fighter (my fave post-war jet), which is a nice thing. But again, the main reason I bought it was because it was unbeatable for the price.

(Ronhills too)

But buying something just because it's British could be a bad thing. It could keep them going when really they should be under financial pressure to build a better product
Hedgehope Aztec
05/08/2003 at 22:53
Like paying their workers sh!t wages as in the Far East. It's at this point I have to sort of agree with Alex about Nike, but then how many others do the same?
Hedgehope Aztec
05/08/2003 at 22:57
I'm as guilty as most for buying 'cheaper' gear without a thought for the working conditions of the labour force, but I couldn't come out with such a crass statement as that dan.
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