[Nails]

I know there are some very small scale makers. I'm also aware that there is the beginnings of a trend to move some manufacturing back to the UK. So who makes some or all of there clothing in the UK? I'm focussed on clothing specifically rather than climbing hardwear.

[Richie Crouch]

Think the dewerstone lads make their stuff down in Dartmoor? Good range of T's, vests and sweaters.

[Grubes]

blox? think they get there stuff made in barnsley

OCD - Is drew still doing his thing?

[tc]

PHD

[Nails]

Dewerstone make some stuff in the UK, and are moving more of their production to the UK.

OCD seem to have dissappeared.

Not sure where Blox get their stuff made.

Phd definitely do.

As do Buffalo

Other than that there's a few small bespoke manufacturers in Scotland:

Cioch Direct
http://www.cioch-direct.co.uk/

Firemore
http://www.firemore.com/index.htm

Hilltrek
http://www.hilltrek.co.uk/index.html

[Oldmanmatt]

Rory at Dewerstone says they will be moving all their production to the UK over the coming months. And it will be branded as such.

[a dense loner]

Who is the market for all the aforementioned clothes. I've only heard of blox, obviously I live in shef and it's a shef brand. Are the others known in their localities?

[Grubes]

I am sure blox website used to say made by virgins in Barnsley.
Guess that's a company not actual virgins

[Muenchener]

Who is the market for all the aforementioned clothes. I've only heard of blox, obviously I live in shef and it's a shef brand. Are the others known in their localities?

PHD's "locality" is big mountains and other places that are mostly covered in snow & ice.

Stands for Pete Hutchinson Designs; Pete is the original founder of Mountain Equipment and one of the world's top experts on down kit for people who will die if their clothes & sleeping bags aren't warm enough. Factory is in Stalybridge. Write-up of a factory visit here

[a dense loner]

Grubes virgins won't be the company. What I was more getting at was the marketing of these products. If I've, saying this as a (a)typical climber not heard of them then they must have a pretty small appeal, niche market whatever terminology they use these days. Or quite simply the products not aimed at me?

[Muenchener]

OK, I see what you mean. In PHD's case, definitely specialist/not aimed at you. They do no marketing whatsoever as far as I can see, only sell online through their own website, and are very well known among the small group of people who are interested in that sort of thing.

Buffalo is similarly more aimed at the mountaineering than the bouldering end of the scale, but is available in lots of major outdoor shops (Needlesports for example are big fans) and was very well known when it was a new company in the 90s. I guess less so now.

[tomtom]

I chatted to a couple of outdoor shops 5-6 years ago about Buffalo - and they all raved about the products and how people liked them. But they all (two) said that they were a useless company to deal with - late deliveries - wrong stock - always a bit random etc.. So they gave up on them. Maybe something a changed since?

[Muenchener]

I heard the same about Inov8 from a guy at a running shop. Great products, terrible company to do business with was his opinion.

[Jim]

I've still got my original buffalo coat from years ago, still in good condition (20+ years old) and still fits me! (must of bought it big back then)
great piece of kit

[tomtom]

I used to love their mits. Still have two RH ones somewhere (always lost the left!)

[dave]

Buffalo is similarly more aimed at the mountaineering than the bouldering end of the scale, but is available in lots of major outdoor shops (Needlesports for example are big fans) and was very well known when it was a new company in the 90s. I guess less so now.

Buffalo always had, and I assume continues to, a strong following in the military and survival circles. Not a trendy as the current softshell movement/fad but essentially the forerunner to stuff like the Rab vapour rise stuff, of which I'm personally a big fan.

[kelvin]

There's also Brenig, if you want Buffalo type stuff and they're happy to do one off stuff. Daftly, I bought a secondhand Polar Explorer jacket for £50. Awesome bit of kit but utterly useless to me...

[Muenchener]

Buffalo always had, and I assume continues to, a strong following in the military and survival circles.

Well yes. Hot, heavy, not especially comfortable, definitely not stylish (and proud of it) ... But just the thing if you're spending days on end outside in cold damp conditions and prefer not to get hypothermic