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Topic Date User

Who shops at Kathmandu? 23-Mar-2012 At 8:36:33 AM pecheur

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On 23/03/2012 Batey wrote:
>On 22/03/2012 bobic wrote:
>>Macpac isn't what it used to be but it's still a million miles from Kathmandu.
>
>
>
>That is basically my rason for buying things from there at the moment.
>But yeah it has gone down hill and i wont buy anything unless its on sale.
>I guess the moral of the story is shop around and you get what you pay
>for.
>
>I think Kathmandu certainly makes things for its market and does a good
>job of it. Its just now many of us on this forum are not in that target
>market like 20 years ago.

But this is part of the general cycle, as soon as things become mass market and "trendy" quality goes downhill. Northface used to be awesome at just about everything they made, now only a few things are good (their high end gear, shoes, tents?). Kathmandu was okay 10-15 years ago, a lot of my Kathmandu gear from back then is still going strong. I still buy the occasional fleece and pair of pants from there (when they are over 50% off).

I'm tipping Mountain Hardwear is probably next to go, they are becoming popular. Currently I love their gear, but I think the clock is ticking. Brands come and go I think we'll just have to deal with it.

PS I saw a lot of Arc'teryx on my last trip, hopefully they are properly Canuck enough to maintain the high ground.