Several people promised me that I could get good quality hiking and climbing gear in Hong Kong for a fraction of the price in Australia. I held off purchasing the all important mountaineering crampons and brand new overpants in Australia just to see whether I could in deed get some good gear here.
After visiting no less than eight so-called professional hiking gear shops all around Hong Kong, I felt extremely disappointed that most of them simply stock want-to-be brands that make clothing for college students for them to look cool in campus and not in the harsh, unforgiving environments in Nepal, New Zealand or Australia. Up in the mountains, I would rather dress like an idiot and live than to be found dead dressed in designer clothing. So I gave up looking for hiking clothing and concentrated on getting a pair of crampons. In the end, the only thing remotely resembling what I wanted was a pair of dodgy looking Korean made crampons that is heavy, has the points at the wrong angles and has no anti-balling plates. I convinced myself in the end that if I use those in New Zealand this year or Nepal the next, I am most likely going to be killed. Oh well, back to the my trusted stores - REI and Backcountry - here comes my credit card! :)
You have a truly wicked sense of humour.
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