Asian import gear

[stevemac]

After asking a question last week about sleeping bags etc there has been some references to way cheaper chinese etc imports.
Does anyone have any great " oriental " buys they want to share for their price compared to quality against what we are expected to pay here?
I would normally try to support local business (KEELA is only a few miles from me and i love their products) but if you are lucky enough then i know the "oriental" market can be fantastic.
Anybody share any good buys?

[Giant Stoneater]

Although from 2013 it does make interesting reading https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/press.php?id=5183

[Hola]

On the Trek-Lite Forum, they all buy the Chinese copies.
Good workmanship for the prices they ask.

[davekeiller]

Also bear in mind that cheap Chinese knock-offs won't conform to European product standards.
I'd prefer to pay a bit more and get something from a reputable supplier.

[Sack the Juggler]

you can find loads of review on youtube, mainly from US campers but increasingly from UK campers.

They normally buy from aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/ which is a retail arm of alibaba which acts as a B2B (wholesaler), but you can also buy through ebay.

The key manufacturers are usually Naturehike and 3f UL Gear (for tents), Aegismax (for sleeping bags) but there are others and they all seem to do the same tents or bags.

They even do dyneema bags.

I've been tempted to buy, but you never know what they really weigh, what the fabrics will do, or whether the feathers are ethically sourced.

I'd suggest finding an item that you like the look of, then searching youtube for reviews of it.

[davekeiller]

I think it's also worth considering the ethics of buying cheap Chinese imports. Every so often, big name brands (quite rightly) get pilloried in the press because of the working conditions in factories in various parts of Asia, and I doubt it's any better in factories producing cheap camping kit.
Buying kit from the bigger outdoor brands might be more expensive, but part of that is because they take corporate social responsibility seriously by sourcing materials ethically, paying staff properly and trying to be environmentally responsible.

[DizzyVizion]

I bought a Naturehike Cloud Up 2 person tent from AliExpress a few years back. £48 total including shipping from China. It's a great tent, super light, but the quality is lacking a wee bit (it's had loose stitching and frayed material on the storm flap of the entrance zip since new). It's a cheap knock-off of a Big Agnes design (American outdoor kit manufacturer). I have a Big Agnes King Creek 4 tent and it's a high quality piece of kit which shows in the materials and the finish. Had it for about 6 years now and used it loads in that time, about 6 or 7 times a year at least. If you can't afford the price of an item that costs hundreds of pounds but can find something similar for a bargain, then why not? Not sure if we should get into the ethics of this (perhaps a discussion for a different thread?) but going by price and quality, buy the good stuff if you can. And buy the cheap stuff if you can't, it's that simple.

[regedmunds]

Do we really know in this day and age where anything really comes from? About three years ago I bought a down sleeping quilt 'made in' Poland but how would I know where the materials come from, or if they are 'ethically' sourced? If a company tells us that their products are ethical, do we just believe them?

I know a person who has bought and uses Naturehike tent and he thinks it's great. It's a copy of the USA tent, the Tarptent Rainbow. When compared to the USA tent price he could replace his Naturehike Targa 1 nearly three times! I think he bought it via Amazon.

[mrssanta]

Not sure if we should get into the ethics of this (perhaps a discussion for a different thread?)

Of course we should consider the ethics. It's complicated, but if we don't consider ethics then exploitation is bound to happen, that's what humans do to each other. And if we buy the stuff we are complicit. I realise that it is not always possible to purchase ethically or even to know what is going on, but that does not mean we should just pretend it isn't an issue.

[Alteknacker]

A few years ago I was thinking of getting some Romanian gear, and asked the company in question about their sourcing because there was nothing on their site about it.

I got a very grumpy response, asking me whether I asked the same question every time I bought a piece of clothing made in Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka, or Thailand. And the sign off was: "get over it!"

Needless to say, I didn't buy from them (I do think a bit of politeness with the customer is a good idea), but once I'd cooled down I did think they actually had a fair point....

But how one deals with it I just don't know.

[davekeiller]

Quite a few of the big brands (Patagonia and Paramo come instantly to mind) are very big on corporate social responsibility, and are actually quite open about their manufacturing and where things come from, although I do agree that it's impossible to completely trace everything all the way through the supply chain.
Obviously not everyone will be concerned about the ethics of where their outdoor kit comes from (and not every company's ethical claims are quite what they seem), but plenty of people buy organic food, fairtrade products etc. and protest about working conditions and environmental impact of industry in the developing world, and it's somewhat hypocritical if you do that and then buy cheap knock-offs that perpetuate the problem.