Price of modern kit

[rik_uk3]

Since joing the site, I've read a lot about the new kit that is available, and its struck me how cheap it is compared to when I was young.

I'm 52 now, but when I was 19, I worked permanent night shifts and was earning good money, but gear was really expensive. For instance, back then

Mountain Tent = 3 weeks pay
Boots = 2 weeks pay
Duvet Jacket = 2.5 weeks pay
Sleeping bag = 2.5 weeks pay

So in relative terms, kit is now cheap, there is not much out there that will cost you more than a weeks pay per item, so with this thought in mind, I won't feel so bad spending £500 on a Tipi and wood stove

 

[leon-1]

Rick, that's very dependant on wheteher you get £57 a week to survive on

 

[sam_acw]

It probably used to be made better

 

[rik_uk3]

It probably used to be made better

The Black's Mountain Tent was Egyptian Ventile Cotton
Weighed 20lbs

 

[rik_uk3]

Rick, that's very dependant on wheteher you get £57 a week to survive on

Your right mate, sorry, just talking in general terms

 

[addyb]

Hehehe in my case, I'm really bloody lucky. I'm a restaurant waiter so I make crazy money in tips. Gear is very easy to come by for me!

 

[sam_acw]

Depends were you are. I've done Bar work/waiting in Britain and Poland. In th UK it used to pay my petrol to and from work (about £25 a week) in Poland it would usually be enough for the taxi home (about £3 a day)

 

[Spacemonkey]

It's all relative. I would say that quality kit still costs an arm and a leg. When I bought my Danners 15 odd years ago they were £200 which for me was more than a weeks wages (worth it though, as they are STILL going very strong!). Now they are the same price and I earn more than that in a day, doing the same work, but I'm bloody, bloody lucky... A quality sleeping bag is still a fortune, ventile smocks are still very pricey etc... it's just that cheap kit from China has flooded the market so you can get reasonable kit for very little nowadays.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Another thing to keep in mind is that today there are more manufacturers - some good, some not so good. By the time you've spent your hard-earned on some cheap rubbish and got a dose of dissillusionment, the final cost of the "good value" kit has increased by the amount spent along the way.
Though the reviews that you folks keep posting, go a long way to redressing the good/bad balance!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[addyb]

Depends were you are. I've done Bar work/waiting in Britain and Poland. In th UK it used to pay my petrol to and from work (about £25 a week) in Poland it would usually be enough for the taxi home (about £3 a day)

Well, maybe it's a cultural thing. On a bad day, I might make $45 or $50 in tips on a four hour shift. On a good day well, it's really not important! Whatever though, we're not here to boast about how much (or how little) money we make at our chosen jobs. The point I was trying to make is that kit is still quite expensive today, and it can be quite pressing on the pocket book when we "Gear Junkies" see a new piece of kit that we simply have to have. I think most posters here will agree with that sentiment!

I can remember my old man telling me that his Ventile anoraks ran for about $30 dollars. But that was back in the dark ages. Now they're five times that amount.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Eric_Methven]

Since joing the site, I've read a lot about the new kit that is available, and its struck me how cheap it is compared to when I was young.

I'm 52 now, but when I was 19, I worked permanent night shifts and was earning good money, but gear was really expensive. For instance, back then

Mountain Tent = 3 weeks pay
Boots = 2 weeks pay
Duvet Jacket = 2.5 weeks pay
Sleeping bag = 2.5 weeks pay

So in relative terms, kit is now cheap, there is not much out there that will cost you more than a weeks pay per item, so with this thought in mind, I won't feel so bad spending £500 on a Tipi and wood stove

I'm a couple of years older than you, and know exactly what you mean. However, kit of the quality seen years ago will still cost an arm and a leg. Nowadays you have sweat shops in the far east employing children to turn out stuff that looks good, but lasts a season if you are lucky. It seems cheaper, but you get what you pay for as a rule.

Eric

 

[Tengu]

Its a lot easier to get second hand gear these days.

I certainly would have very little if I paid full price.

 

[Goose]

I think some quality clothing costs a lot because it is quality but when it becomes a fashion item too the quality drops and the prices stay high. While it is used by just climbers, walkers etc the price reflects the quality and the low(ish) quantities being produced, then it gets adopted by fashion victims and the demand goes up the numbers getting produced make it worthwhile to outsource to sweatshops the quality drops and so does the unit price(to the suppliers) but the price to consumers stays the same. I beleive this is how certain sport shops work, they buy out a brand name and drop the price right down offload the stuff that was made by the original company then take over production them selves. You can still get genuine bargains while they have the original stock but after this had gone they sell basically tat for the high street. I think it was karrimor that recently got took over by one of these shops, problem is now you don't know which stock you are going to get!

 

[pierre girard]

I see what you mean - and aggree.

Just recently I purchased a 1970s wool jacket at a thrift store. A jacket today by the same company costs about the same as this jacket cost originally. Trouble is, it isn't the same jacket. The quality of material and workmanship in the 1970s jacket is far beyond today's offering.

My new (old) jacket:

 

[Tadpole]

I see what you mean - and aggree.

Just recently I purchased a 1970s wool jacket at a thrift store. A jacket today by the same company costs about the same as this jacket cost originally. Trouble is, it isn't the same jacket. The quality of material and workmanship in the 1970s jacket is far beyond today's offering.

My new (old) jacket:

it's not really like for like though is it.

in the uk for example taking into account the factors that effect the World economy, inflation wages credit costs, money,
Something that cost £100 in 1970 would cost £687 today (well last year actually)
A house that cost £4800 would cost £172,800 (35 times more )
Bread was six pence a loaf now it’s 68 pence (12 times more)
Renting a house in 1970 cost £25 per month now it’s £680 (56 time more)

so if you are paying roughly the same price for a new jacket, as you would have back then you are really paying up to six times less. in real terms.

 

[rik_uk3]

I agree about the quality of modern gear, like most things these days, they are not built to last, its all part of the "throw away" society we live in I guess. Try and get a television thats a few year old repaired, not worth it, if you can find a shop to fix it, the cost of the spares means it often cheaper to go and buy a new one

Last year I advertised 2 17" computer monitors in my local free adds, £10 each, I did not get one offer, so I offered them for free, again no offers, its a crazy world we live in

 

[walker]

It's all relative. I would say that quality kit still costs an arm and a leg. When I bought my Danners 15 odd years ago they were £200 which for me was more than a weeks wages (worth it though, as they are STILL going very strong!). Now they are the same price and I earn more than that in a day, doing the same work, but I'm bloody, bloody lucky... A quality sleeping bag is still a fortune, ventile smocks are still very pricey etc... it's just that cheap kit from China has flooded the market so you can get reasonable kit for very little nowadays.

even the dear stuff thats well branded is made in china these days

 

[Spacemonkey]

Agreed, but my girlfriend was made in China and she's quality stuff...

My boots are US made, my ventile smock and strides are UK made, and my sleeping bag is UK made, as are my rucksacks, so I'm doing my bit..

 

[Tengu]

My money was made in China and it seems ok.

(Id like a job so I can make my own money...and invest in a GB property...)

I hear they have a man surplus in China, do you think they would let me have two?

 

[pierre girard]

it's not really like for like though is it.

in the uk for example taking into account the factors that effect the World economy, inflation wages credit costs, money,
Something that cost £100 in 1970 would cost £687 today (well last year actually)
A house that cost £4800 would cost £172,800 (35 times more )
Bread was six pence a loaf now it’s 68 pence (12 times more)
Renting a house in 1970 cost £25 per month now it’s £680 (56 time more)

so if you are paying roughly the same price for a new jacket, as you would have back then you are really paying up to six times less. in real terms.

There is that - but the POINT is - you can't GET the same jacket either. The one that is priced the same today is not near the quality. They don't make that kind of quality jacket anymore. I've looked at Filsons and Pendeltons - not the same quality as this older jacket - and they ARE many times the price.

An even better example is an old Navy P-coat I have. From the cut, I'd say it is from about 1918 - 1925. My grandfather bought it - used - during the depression. The wool is so thick, double layer on the shoulders, that it sheds rain for hours. Button holes are all hand sewn. Seams are all double sewn and whip-stiched, with perfect teeny tiny stitches on the other side. Gorgeous piece of workmanship, but the TIME that it must have taken to make...

My boys fight over who is going to end up with it.

PG