Re: More weirdness from local walking shops...

Judith <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I went in there a few months back and asked if they had any "wicking
underwear". The youngster suggested I try Ethel Austin or BHS.

They thought you said: "Wicked underwear". ;-)

I don't recognise those Black's employees, I find the Stockport shop
staff quite helpful, and they have only ever recommended Millets when
they don't stock stuff themselves.

I always buy my Bridgedales from Blacks, and they are the most
comfortable and durable socks I've worn.

Of course there are shops with fancy names like Base Camp or Alpenstock
or Rock and Ice if you absolutely *have* to spend more money..... ;-)
--
Gordon Harris

Gordon said:

Of course there are shops with fancy names like Base Camp or Alpenstock
or Rock and Ice if you absolutely *have* to spend more money..... ;-)

Alpenstock have the best published prices for Hilleberg tents I've come
across in the UK...

Most shops tend to stick with RRPs, including Blacks AFAICT, so I don't
think you're particularly better or worse off if you're buying a Brand X
Thingummy outside of a sale.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Gordon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I always buy my Bridgedales from Blacks, and they are the most comfortable
and durable socks I've worn.

I bet it didn't take Blacks to tell you that though. In my experience,
Blacks, Millets and Mountain Warehouse are to walking what Dixons are to
hifi. For those not in the loop, that's not a compliment.

Quoted message said:

Of course there are shops with fancy names like Base Camp or Alpenstock

Nothing wrong with Alpenstock, sensible knowledgable staff and certainly not
top end on price.

Quoted message said:

or Rock and Ice if you absolutely *have* to spend more money..... ;-)

The top end shops are well worth a visit when they have a sale on. Always
overstocking.

Roy.

In article <[email hidden]>, Runningfox
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Alpenstock have the best published prices for Hilleberg tents I've come
across in the UK...

Alpenstock might have the best 'published' prices but when I tried to buy a
Nallo 2 advertised at £296 on their website they'd conveniently gone out of
stock and the salesman tried to 'hard-sell' me the latest 2005 model at £40
more. Exactly the same thing happened to someone else I know who phoned up
about a Nallo 2. It appears the prices advertised are quoted to lure you
into phoning, then they try to sell you something more expensive. Or has
someone actually bought a Nallo 2 at their quoted price?

Not a Nallo 2 but they had to order my Spacepacker for me and it was the
same price as on their website.

If the manufacturer / importer puts the price up for this years model
and the shop are slow to update their web page to the new price that is
not great. However it is also not very unusual for a shop that only use
the website as a brochure to be slow in updating the website.

--

Dominic Sexton

Roy' roy said:

"Gordon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Of course there are shops with fancy names like Base Camp or Alpenstock

Nothing wrong with Alpenstock, sensible knowledgable staff and certainly not
top end on price.

That's my experience, too. It's also very easy to get 10% off, and prices
for outdoor gear rarely seem to vary by much more than that anyway.

--
When we can't dream any longer we die

"Roy" wrote after

Quoted message said:

"Gordon" wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I always buy my Bridgedales from Blacks, and they are the most
comfortable and durable socks I've worn.

I bet it didn't take Blacks to tell you that though. In my experience,
Blacks, Millets and Mountain Warehouse are to walking what Dixons are to
hifi. For those not in the loop, that's not a compliment.

That's a little unfair those shops do stock some proper walking gear whereas
Dixons (or Currys etc ) salespeople have no idea what real Hi-fi is let
alone stock any.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

Roy <roy@?.?.invalid> writes

Quoted message said:

"Gordon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I always buy my Bridgedales from Blacks, and they are the most comfortable
and durable socks I've worn.

I bet it didn't take Blacks to tell you that though.

No - I tried a few different pairs before I settled on them, although
most loop-pile socks are comfortable to me.

Quoted message said:

In my experience,
Blacks, Millets and Mountain Warehouse are to walking what Dixons are to
hifi. For those not in the loop, that's not a compliment.

Well, the real Hi Fi shops have all but disappeared these days, it seems
to me, and two Dixons stores have disappeared from Stockport and Ashton.

Choosing walking gear isn't quite as complicated as choosing electronic
equipment though, I generally use my own judgement.
--
Gordon Harris

"Runningfox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Alpenstock have the best published prices for Hilleberg tents I've come
across in the UK...

Alpenstock might have the best 'published' prices but when I tried to buy
a Nallo 2 advertised at £296 on their website they'd conveniently gone out
of stock and the salesman tried to 'hard-sell' me the latest 2005 model at
£40 more. Exactly the same thing happened to someone else I know who
phoned up about a Nallo 2. It appears the prices advertised are quoted
to lure you into phoning, then they try to sell you something more
expensive. Or has someone actually bought a Nallo 2 at their quoted
price?

I bought a Nallo 3 at their quoted price a couple of years back. It was
just after they changed the shape slightly, so I know I got the latest shape
too (I did ask them and they promised the latest shape, which they
delivered). They had to ship me the ground sheet a week later (at no extra
cost) as they only had the old ones in and didn't want to ship me that just
in case the footprint of the tent had changed slightly.

They struck me as a good company to deal with at the time.

YMMV.

Regards,
Paul

Gordon said:

Well, the real Hi Fi shops have all but disappeared these days, it seems
to me

You have to look more carefully, but the good ones continue to thrive
because people seek them out for the excellent products and services.
Robert Ritchie in Montrose, for example, to plug my favourite a little.
Robert has customers in /Norway/. But with service like wangling a
crossover upgrade out of naim free of charge for me and coming and
fitting it for nothing when he had a job near me in Dundee you can see
why, and I don't represent anything like a Big Spender there.

Quoted message said:

Choosing walking gear isn't quite as complicated as choosing electronic
equipment though, I generally use my own judgement.

It's all you should be using to select hi-fi. To select good hi-fi all
you have to do is sit and listen to it, preferably in an environment as
close to that you'd listen at home, with a good selection of your own
favourite recordings[1]. The gear that makes them sound most like music
is the right one for you. Nothing complicated about it.

Pete.

[1] not possible with a tuner, obviously...
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

But with service like wangling a crossover upgrade out of naim free of
charge for me and coming and fitting it for nothing when he had a job near
me in Dundee you can see why, and I don't represent anything like a Big
Spender there.

As opposed to big Spendor?

Roy

Peter Clinch <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Gordon said:

Choosing walking gear isn't quite as complicated as choosing
electronic equipment though, I generally use my own judgement.

It's all you should be using to select hi-fi. To select good hi-fi all
you have to do is sit and listen to it, preferably in an environment as
close to that you'd listen at home, with a good selection of your own
favourite recordings[1]. The gear that makes them sound most like
music is the right one for you. Nothing complicated about it.

Pete.

I did something close to that in a Hi Fi shop in Stockport, but I simply
couldn't afford their prices, and when I bought a Thorens Deck, Leak
Stereo70 Tuner/Amp, and two Leak Sandwich speakers, the saving I made by
buying from Comet would have bought a replacement for any of the three
main components which failed. They actually lasted over 25 years
before the Amp became flaky, and I still have the Thorens deck and the
same speakers, 35 years later. I did have two replacement HF units
in them before I learned not to blow them.... ;-)
--
Gordon Harris

Peter Clinch said:

[1] not possible with a tuner, obviously...

I hear Paramo have a new design on the way soon ...

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

To mail simply put back the dots ...