Faulty Boots from Sports Direct

TELLIT01

Really from interest rather than anything else, are the boots still on the website?  How much did you pay for them?

Troytempest

The shoes were Karrimore and still in the shop. They were about £90 reduced to £45 which is a standard pricing strategy used by SD.
We knew that these days Karimore is a bit of a cheap and cheerful brand but thought they ought to last 10 weeks......

Aylesbury_Duck

Troytempest said:

The shoes were Karrimore and still in the shop. They were about £90 reduced to £45 which is a standard pricing strategy used by SD.
We knew that these days Karimore is a bit of a cheap and cheerful brand but thought they ought to last 10 weeks......

They never really were, though.  Other than one pair on an inaccessible shelf in a closed store in Dundee.

There's a guy on youtube that takes a bandsaw to walking and running shoes to get a good cross-sectional view of material type and quality.  These cheap shoes are pretty much made of compressed cardboard, so are hopeless in terms of cushioning and durability.  You can imagine therefore that they're not going to put decent quality laces and loops on them.  A 10 week touring holiday is a pretty serious endeavour, and £45 shoes were never going to be up to the job.

SpudGunPaul

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Troytempest said:

The shoes were Karrimore and still in the shop. They were about £90 reduced to £45 which is a standard pricing strategy used by SD.
We knew that these days Karimore is a bit of a cheap and cheerful brand but thought they ought to last 10 weeks......

They never really were, though.  Other than one pair on an inaccessible shelf in a closed store in Dundee.

There's a guy on youtube that takes a bandsaw to walking and running shoes to get a good cross-sectional view of material type and quality.  These cheap shoes are pretty much made of compressed cardboard, so are hopeless in terms of cushioning and durability.  You can imagine therefore that they're not going to put decent quality laces and loops on them.  A 10 week touring holiday is a pretty serious endeavour, and £45 shoes were never going to be up to the job.

I agree I bought a pair of the walking shoes years ago. Probably after SD bought Karrimore, thinking they may have been like the originals. I could feel every small stone I stepped on through the sole. Never again Slazenger, Dunlop and Lonsdale are now SD cheap own brands. 

TELLIT01

I didn't realise SD owned Karrimore.  With a list price of £90, irrespective of the selling price, I would expect a pair of walking boots to be perfectly OK for 10 weeks walking, assuming they weren't used for long treks every day.

comeandgo

TELLIT01 said:

I didn't realise SD owned Karrimore.  With a list price of £90, irrespective of the selling price, I would expect a pair of walking boots to be perfectly OK for 10 weeks walking, assuming they weren't used for long treks every day.

But the list price is meaningless as SD control that.  Karrimore are not a brand for any serious walking, they are for town use.  

Aylesbury_Duck

TELLIT01 said:

I didn't realise SD owned Karrimore.  With a list price of £90, irrespective of the selling price, I would expect a pair of walking boots to be perfectly OK for 10 weeks walking, assuming they weren't used for long treks every day.

But they weren't.  They broke, because they're rubbish.  OP might have had a case, but throwing away the shoes and expecting SD to honour their consumer rights is not realistic.  To be honest, given how cheap they were, I'd have thrown them away, too.  No point carting around a pair of broken cheap shoes for weeks and then taking space in luggage for them.

diinozzo

When did Karrimor become Karrimore?

Lavendyr

Karrimor or Karrimore or whatever are not good quality. If you're looking for a pair of walking shoes or boots that will last for an intensive period of use then this is not going to do it. I love my Salomon walking boots which have lasted well through some pretty heavy use. I think I paid about £60 (less than half price in a clearance sale) for them in 2017 and they are still functioning well. Next time I'd suggest looking at some online reviews before purchasing. I wouldn't say "don't buy from SD" but I would say "know the brand you're buying". Sportsshoes.com has a good range at good prices. 

Agree with others who have said that if you were unable to produce the product to demonstrate the fault, you are on a hiding to nothing. 

Troytempest

diinozzo said:

When did Karrimor become Karrimore?

Oh for Gods sake.......