Karrimor began life way back in the 1930’s when Charlie Parsons, a keen cyclist, started making saddle bags for bicycles and selling them in his wee shop down in Waterfoot, Lancashire, along with bicycles and other cycling paraphanalia. Fast forward 40 years to the 1970’s and Charlie’s son, Mike, was producing a vast array of rucksacks, clothing and cycling equipmant from a 14000sq ft. factory in Haslington, not far from his dad’s original shop. Karrimor had become a major player in the UK/international camping and outdoor market, exporting to 18 countries from Japan to The Falkland Islands. There were makes and models for all sizes, box tents for the Himalyas, a ‘papoose’ for carrying your kiddy, along with clothing to complement the occasion. We’ve gathered lots of Karrimor rucksacks over the years and there’s a fine example here which at the time (circa 1970) was the largest, frameless version available with a 90 litre capacity. The red, pull out section was for use in an emergency as a crude bivvy bag, the idea being that you emptied the sack , put your feet/legs in it and pulled the red bit up around your waist – hopefully there was a spare jumper/ jacket for your upper body. The red bird is a Toucan, used by Guiness to advertise their beer and sewn on by Leem for fun.The MBA badge indicates that the previous owner, Leem Volwerk, was a member of the Mountain Bothies Association.