The Alpinistes get a little confused here as Karrimor previously had a Whillan’s Alpiniste and, for a while, Dougal Haston also seems to have his name attached having been involved in the development of the new version which by-passed Don and Dougal by simply becoming the Alpiniste. The legend did grow as the advert above implies and you could spot the Brits in the Alps toting their Alpinistes while the French stuck with their Millets (meelays).

Founder of our collection, Mick Tighe, was given an Alpiniste by owner of Karrimor, Mike Parsons, back in the 1990s and he still has it, battered and worn, in 2025. The one we have here was donated by Mick’s pal, Michael Blackburn.

The original Karrimor company got into financial difficulties in the late 1990s and went into receivership in 2004, a sad story which can be read on Wikipedia. The Karrimor brand survives under the aegis of Sports Direct, most of their gear is made in China. This one was made in the UK.