Aldi Outdoor Gear - First Look

You may remember last week we told you that Aldi - the German supermarket group - are going to be stocking a range of outdoor gear at frankly ludicrious prices from 4 April onwards...

Well, yesterday a man arrived with a big box full of Aldi outdoor gear and, to put it bluntly, we are flabbergasted. This stuff has to offer the best value for money of any outdoor kit we've come across. We're talking £17.99 for a pair of nubuck walking boots, £14.99 for a waterproof, breathable jacket, £9.99 for a pair of zip-off nylon/cotton mix walking trousers - that's right, zip-offs for a tenner...

Okay, it's not top end stuff, but in a Pepsi-challenge scenario, you'd take the jacket for being priced at least around the 50-quid mark and the boots much, much more than their meagre 18 quid or so.

Unfortunately the boots aren't around in OUTDOORSmagic foot size, but we took the jacket for a stroll around the Lake District yesterday for a quick idea of how it would cope. Here's some quick first impressions, but the bottom line is that this stuff is a bargain. Sure, you can buy better, but at these prices.

Aldi Outdoor Jacket

Price: £14.99

Weight: 779 grammes (men's M)

Features: Nylon micri-porous coated material, mesh drop liner, taped seams, roll-away detachable hood, double storm flap over main YKK zip, adjustable drawcord at waist and hem, ziped handwarmer pockets with storm flap, interior and exterior chest pockets, Velcro cuffs.

Dirt cheap and surprisingly well detailed. Costs less than my shades... No peak on hood, no OS-sized map pocket.

'No peak on hood'? How churlish can you get. The bottom line here is that we'd have trouble picking the differences between the Aldi - badged Crane Sports - and a 50-quid budget jacket from elsewhere. It fits well, feels well put together - the main zip is YKK for example - and has a surprising spread of features like double storm flap over the main zip, draw cords, detachable but basic hood, protected pockets etc, etc, etc. At 780 grammes, it's even quite light.

It fitted well and looks surprisingly good - what we're saying is that people won't point and sneer as you go by. We haven't had a chance to use it in really foul weather, but we will. A quick shower confirms that there's enough DWR to make the water bead. A quick walk up a hill confirmed that it's not that breathable, but then again, no waterproof jacket is. Just about the only weak point in the spec is the lack of a peak on the hood, but hey...

The bottom line is that this jacket is a bargain. You can pay 15 quid for a CD. We're not suggesting you buy one to go high altitude mountaineering, but for spring/summer use by someone who wants to try on the outdoors without spending a load of dosh, you can't really argue with this...

Aldi Boots Price: £17.99 Weight: 1130 grammes (size 7 / 40) Features: Nubuck leather uppers, TenTex breathable / waterproof membrane, padded collar and tongue, Duratex insole, shock-absorbing mid-sole, rubber outsole. Dirt cheap and surprisingly well detailed. Erm, nothing really.. First things first, if there's an OM member with size 7 / 40 feet, drop us a line and you can be a boot tester. Unfortunately they won't fit on our feet, so no wearing impressions, but again the specification is astonishing at the price and we were astonished at the value for money. The uppers really are nubuck albeit panelled with quite a lot of exposed stitching and there's a reasonable heel cup and a decent amount of internal padding. To be brutally frank, the mid-sole stiffness is a bit low and they are bendy, though to be fair, we've seen more expensive boots with less torsional rigidity so they're unlikely to be happy on rocky mountain trails. At the price and accepting their limitations though, they look like a bargain for cheapo introductory summer or occasional walking.

Aldi Outdoor Trousers Price: £9.99 Weight: 390 grammes (size M) Features:36 / 64 cotton rip-stop fabric, built-in sun protection factor, zip-off legs, six pockets including zipped change pocket. quick-clip webbing belt. press-stud fastening waist. Dirt cheap and zip-off for a tenner?. Cut on the large side, leg zips intrusive More price war lunacy... Honestly, for £10 these are an absolute bargain and spot on for summer walking on a budget. The detailing is great and you get a combination of zipped, un-zipped and cargo pockets, the fabric feels good being soft and comfortable. Unfortunately they fall into the classic zip-off trap and the YKK zips that attach the legs to the rest of the trouser are too chunky and tend to run uncomfortably against the thigh. Try before you buy. A shame as a non zip-off version would the a surefire winner.

The Rest

Also in the range are an outdoor gilet (£9.99), Shirt (£6.99), Shorts (£7.99), Walking Socks (£1.99) and a baselayer tee (£4.99) which is basic but a much better option than cotton. You can also.

The Bottom Line

If you're a very occasional walker or wondering whether to take the plunge, the Aldi stuff is fantastic value for money. We can't pretend that you won't want to upgrade to better kit in time, but you could pay a lot more and get stuff that's not a lot better.

Where to Get 'Em

The Aldi range goes on sale from April 4 at all of the UK's 262 Aldi stores. It's a 'Special Buy' which means they're only on sale while stocks last. For details of your nearest Aldi outlet see the Aldi UK web site where you can also read about the frankly rather disgusting sounding Choco Pillows - 'Crunchy chocolate flavoured wheat and rice cereal with chocolate and hazelnut flavoured filling. With added vitamins.' Yum...