I've had a pair of Karrimor Cougar's for about four months, figured I'd give Karrimor a try as I've heard great things about their other products, unfortunately I was sorely disappointed.
I walk maybe 10-20 miles a weekend tops, and barely more than 5 a day during the week as I work a very sit-downy job unfortunately. If I'm gonna work down the paintball field, I have some knackered boots, so I've never taken my Cougar's there. So I really don't do that much walking...
The boots took about a week of wearing in, which is about normal I guess...
However, the tread on the Cougar's has already warn clean at the center of the boots, and cracked SEVERELY. I can fit my fingers through it with ease. They do not have solid rubber soles, but rather a diamond pattern of air pockets between the sole and the inside.
I haven't had them long enough to see if the interior will deteriorate, but the zip pulls on both boots have snapped off. The zips are also another point of annoyance. They unzip randomly. There's a little velcro tab designed to stop this, but with any decent amount of use the velcro disintergrates and becomes useless.
And for £30, thats £10 more than I paid for a pair of Apache boots which literally lasted me a decade.
This fox thinks, avoid Karrimor boots. I will be in the future...
Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
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Carrot Cruncher
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Thanks for the review. I have a few karrimor bits and pieces and most of it is fine, I wont bother with the boots
Regarding a decent pair of boots at a good price I got some Rohan Lightweight Waterproof boots from TK Max for £20 or £30 and they are the best pair of boots I've ever had. Some real bargains to be had there.
Regarding a decent pair of boots at a good price I got some Rohan Lightweight Waterproof boots from TK Max for £20 or £30 and they are the best pair of boots I've ever had. Some real bargains to be had there.
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EAprepper
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Funnily enough though I did look at the cougars when I bought my latest pair and decided against them on a purely aesthetic basis, now I'm definitely glad I didn't get them.
My experience of other Karrimor footwear is the opposite of Meyou's. I had a pair of Karrimor mount mids that lasted 18 months and the pair I'm on have been going for a year (they were both around £26 a pair)
Maybe it's a design aspect of the Karrimor high leg style boots that they use a hollow sole to try and keep the weight down? Either way I'm with Meyou on this one - solid soles every time.
My experience of other Karrimor footwear is the opposite of Meyou's. I had a pair of Karrimor mount mids that lasted 18 months and the pair I'm on have been going for a year (they were both around £26 a pair)
Maybe it's a design aspect of the Karrimor high leg style boots that they use a hollow sole to try and keep the weight down? Either way I'm with Meyou on this one - solid soles every time.
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Technik
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
I also have a brand to avoid (and a shop) - Timberland Mountain Gore tex boots.
I bought 2 pairs over here http://www.drjays.com/shop/P927088/product.html. My gfs' pair is fine so far but mine ripped along the stiching on our first light camping trip (!)
I've contacted the shop and they said they can refund but when I asked about shipping they haven't replied and I bought them in US so delivery isn't cheap. I've tried to contact them a couple times but no reply. Now I think I will need to contact my Citizens Advice Beurau and see if they can help me.
It was a good deal when I bought them - 2 pairs with shipping and tax came to £102. When you go to any shop and look at gore tex boots here in uk they are around £100 for a pair!
I bought 2 pairs over here http://www.drjays.com/shop/P927088/product.html. My gfs' pair is fine so far but mine ripped along the stiching on our first light camping trip (!)
I've contacted the shop and they said they can refund but when I asked about shipping they haven't replied and I bought them in US so delivery isn't cheap. I've tried to contact them a couple times but no reply. Now I think I will need to contact my Citizens Advice Beurau and see if they can help me.
It was a good deal when I bought them - 2 pairs with shipping and tax came to £102. When you go to any shop and look at gore tex boots here in uk they are around £100 for a pair!
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Meyou
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Figured I'd bring some pictures to the table...
I'm sure we can all agree, thats not what you want to see after four months. I can fit my fingers through those holes!
I'm sure we can all agree, thats not what you want to see after four months. I can fit my fingers through those holes!
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EAprepper
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Crikey!!! That's an enormous amount of damage considering the short length of time you wore them. I'm stunned
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Poledragon
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
I treated myself to a pair of Merrell Contiuum hiking boots in the January sales and have worn hell out of them since then. And they still look nearly as good as new. Very impressed, definitely worth that bit extra, and comfy as anything. I always used to wear Hi-Tec boots and they were pretty good, but I'm a convert.
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beefy0978
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Technik wrote:I also have a brand to avoid (and a shop) - Timberland Mountain Gore tex boots.
I bought 2 pairs over here http://www.drjays.com/shop/P927088/product.html. My gfs' pair is fine so far but mine ripped along the stiching on our first light camping trip (!)
I've contacted the shop and they said they can refund but when I asked about shipping they haven't replied and I bought them in US so delivery isn't cheap. I've tried to contact them a couple times but no reply. Now I think I will need to contact my Citizens Advice Beurau and see if they can help me.
It was a good deal when I bought them - 2 pairs with shipping and tax came to £102. When you go to any shop and look at gore tex boots here in uk they are around £100 for a pair!
I don't think you'll have much luck getting a refund as it's a foreign company that won't be governed by UK law in the same way.
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Technik
Re: Boots to avoid - Karrimor Cougar
Fortunatelly persistence paid off - I just spoke with their customer service dep and at first they said "no sorry, they were worn, can't get a refund". So I insisted and put a bit of trade law on the desk and they said "Ok, I've contacted my supervisor and he accepted a half refund for inconvenience". But I insisted that their product is not made for purpose and thus I'm entitled to a full refund + postage... 5 minutes later she replied:beefy0978 wrote:Technik wrote:I also have a brand to avoid (and a shop) - Timberland Mountain Gore tex boots.
I bought 2 pairs over here http://www.drjays.com/shop/P927088/product.html. My gfs' pair is fine so far but mine ripped along the stiching on our first light camping trip (!)
I've contacted the shop and they said they can refund but when I asked about shipping they haven't replied and I bought them in US so delivery isn't cheap. I've tried to contact them a couple times but no reply. Now I think I will need to contact my Citizens Advice Beurau and see if they can help me.
It was a good deal when I bought them - 2 pairs with shipping and tax came to £102. When you go to any shop and look at gore tex boots here in uk they are around £100 for a pair!
I don't think you'll have much luck getting a refund as it's a foreign company that won't be governed by UK law in the same way.
"Cynthia (05/19/11 16:31:42 ET): I have spoken with my supervisor and they have allowed me to issue you a refund for your defective item. So I will be refunding you for the amount of your item which is $58.99. "
So I thought I could push it a bit more and ask for full refund and postage and would send them the boots back OR accept it and mend the boots either myself and keep the money or take it to a shoe repair point. So at the end I've decided to leave it like this and take the full refund.
Considering that the other pair is fine, I'm not that bad with the postage and customs charges. So all in a happy ending
And here's my boot:
