Decathlon who are the worlds largest sporting goods store seemed to have started selling in SA if anyone has missed that. Store in Gauteng and online delivery elsewhere.
The big thing here is they do everything in house outside of manufacturing. So I have been really impressed by the features to price on a lot of their gear. They make a huge amount of stuff for next to any sport, so quality does vary of course and it can be pretty overwhelming to find things.
Figured I would point out a couple of things I have tried that have been great value so far in terms of hiking.
Mountain Trekking Padded Jacket TREK 100 - Light weight insulated jacket. Might be my favorite piece so far. Warm and breathable for its weight. Quality is decent. Would have appreciated an interior pocket and fleece lining to the hand pockets.
Mountain Trekking Down Jacket - TREK 100 DOWN - This has to be one of the best deals around. That is 800 CUIN ethically sourced down for half the price of anything else and with a hood. Lightweight and a good fit. Nice cuffs and adjusters, pockets at the right height for wearing a pack. Once again wish there was an interior pocket and fleece handliners. The stitching on mine is not perfect, but I’m willing to live with that at this price point.
NH100 men’s country walking trousers - Nice lightweight polyester hiking pants for hot weather. Like the half elasticated waste, gusseting and that it has some pockets but not a stupid amount. Will see how they hold up.
Unisex Touchscreen Compatible Mountain Trekking Liner Gloves - TREK 500 - Light woolen liner gloves with silicon grip and touch screen compatibility. Touch screen works surprising well, decent dexterity and good fit for me. Will see how they hold up over time.
Travel 500 Wool Men’s Long-Sleeved T-Shirt - 70% merino plus acrylic lightweight baselayer. This is another one that stands out as a great deal. Quality is decent, breathes well and I think will work well as a sleep layer which is what I picked it up for. At the moment I’m finding it slightly itchy, but will see if that softens up, also possibly just me. Sadly they don’t seem to have an equivalent bottom piece.
Apologies if this looks like a long ad! They have been around here for a couple of years, and I finally gave them a try and came away impressed price to performance. Thought a bit of a hiking guide to their overwhelming catalogue might help. There seems to be women’s versions of most pieces as well.
If anyone has any experience with them comment away.