The worst quality issues are with hiking boots
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—how can you hit the trail without a good pair of hiking shoes? But unfortunately, reporters found that exposure to low-quality hiking boots was the most common issue in forum posts.
“I wore out two pairs of hiking boots from a domestic brand in one year—the quality is terrible.” “Bought hiking boots from an overseas brand for over a thousand yuan, sigh… unforgettable experience, the shoe upper split in less than two days!” Such replies could be found on nearly every other page, with no brand—domestic or international—spared.
Even more thought-provoking was a revelation by netizen Wulinglang: “I bought a pair of GTX hiking boots from a certain brand for over 1,300 yuan. They broke after just a few uses, and the brand said they wouldn’t provide warranty service because it had been over a year—even refused to repair them for a fee. Absolutely outrageous. I only use them for high-altitude trekking and climbing, just once or twice a year. Do I need to wear them every day in scorching Guangzhou? The worst part is, they won’t even repair them. I tried contacting their official Weibo account, but all I got was a reply saying it was past the warranty period and there was nothing they could do. I just had to eat the loss.”
According to 3·15 reports from various regions, sports shoes and hiking boots accounted for 69.9% of counterfeit and substandard goods destroyed in centralized operations—making them the most confiscated category, involving multiple well-known domestic and international brands. The quality issues of these small hiking boots reflect widespread problems in the entire market. Many brands that originally focused on sports design products under the guise of outdoor use, yet fail to meet the professional demands of outdoor activities. The complex and ever-changing outdoor environment also leads to various potential damages. Without strict standards and timely professional after-sales service, it’s difficult to ensure the healthy development of the entire market.
No national standards for outdoor clothing
In addition, as the outdoor products market continues to thrive, various functional clothing items suitable for outdoor activities—such as windbreakers and thermal underwear—are emerging one after another. But for novice hikers, or even those who have only gone hiking a few times, product quality remains largely a mystery. Colorful windbreakers may look similar on the outside, but prices can vary by several hundred yuan.
Veteran hiker Wang Xinyi said that outdoor activities involve high physical exertion, profuse sweating, and occasional encounters with wind, snow, rain, fog, as well as frequent trekking across mountains and rivers—all of which demand that outdoor clothing excels in breathability, ventilation, windproofing, waterproofing, and warmth retention, while also being lightweight, stretch-resistant, tear-resistant, stain-resistant, antibacterial, and odor-resistant. He believes that given the nature of outdoor activities, the quality standards for equipment such as clothing and footwear should logically be stricter.
However, in reality, China has not yet established national standards specifically for outdoor sportswear. There are currently two types of standards for textile quality: one is a voluntary standard, or recommended standard, which is not mandatory—any organization has the right to decide whether to adopt it, and violating such standards does not incur economic or legal liability. The other is a national mandatory standard, which must be strictly implemented once issued. Otherwise, organizations or individuals causing serious consequences or major losses will face economic sanctions or legal responsibility.
Businesses decide what materials, dyes, or styles of clothing to use—that’s entirely up to them. We only step in to supervise whether they adhere to the standards they claim to follow. For example, with a piece of clothing, we check if it exceeds formaldehyde limits, has any unusual odors, or if dye fastness and pH levels meet national requirements—but we can’t control whether the clothing is made of cotton or synthetic fibers.
According to statistics from the Outdoor Products Branch of the China Textile Commerce Association, in 2011, China’s outdoor products industry achieved shipment and retail sales of 5.43 billion yuan and 10.76 billion yuan respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 69.16% and 50.91%. However, at the same time, regions such as Shandong and Henan have repeatedly reported a lack of standards in the outdoor products market, with many manufacturers engaging in deceptive practices.
“I wore out two pairs of hiking boots from a domestic brand in one year—the quality is terrible.” “Bought hiking boots from an overseas brand for over a thousand yuan, sigh… unforgettable experience, the shoe upper split in less than two days!” Such replies could be found on nearly every other page, with no brand—domestic or international—spared.
Even more thought-provoking was a revelation by netizen Wulinglang: “I bought a pair of GTX hiking boots from a certain brand for over 1,300 yuan. They broke after just a few uses, and the brand said they wouldn’t provide warranty service because it had been over a year—even refused to repair them for a fee. Absolutely outrageous. I only use them for high-altitude trekking and climbing, just once or twice a year. Do I need to wear them every day in scorching Guangzhou? The worst part is, they won’t even repair them. I tried contacting their official Weibo account, but all I got was a reply saying it was past the warranty period and there was nothing they could do. I just had to eat the loss.”
According to 3·15 reports from various regions, sports shoes and hiking boots accounted for 69.9% of counterfeit and substandard goods destroyed in centralized operations—making them the most confiscated category, involving multiple well-known domestic and international brands. The quality issues of these small hiking boots reflect widespread problems in the entire market. Many brands that originally focused on sports design products under the guise of outdoor use, yet fail to meet the professional demands of outdoor activities. The complex and ever-changing outdoor environment also leads to various potential damages. Without strict standards and timely professional after-sales service, it’s difficult to ensure the healthy development of the entire market.
No national standards for outdoor clothing
In addition, as the outdoor products market continues to thrive, various functional clothing items suitable for outdoor activities—such as windbreakers and thermal underwear—are emerging one after another. But for novice hikers, or even those who have only gone hiking a few times, product quality remains largely a mystery. Colorful windbreakers may look similar on the outside, but prices can vary by several hundred yuan.
Veteran hiker Wang Xinyi said that outdoor activities involve high physical exertion, profuse sweating, and occasional encounters with wind, snow, rain, fog, as well as frequent trekking across mountains and rivers—all of which demand that outdoor clothing excels in breathability, ventilation, windproofing, waterproofing, and warmth retention, while also being lightweight, stretch-resistant, tear-resistant, stain-resistant, antibacterial, and odor-resistant. He believes that given the nature of outdoor activities, the quality standards for equipment such as clothing and footwear should logically be stricter.
However, in reality, China has not yet established national standards specifically for outdoor sportswear. There are currently two types of standards for textile quality: one is a voluntary standard, or recommended standard, which is not mandatory—any organization has the right to decide whether to adopt it, and violating such standards does not incur economic or legal liability. The other is a national mandatory standard, which must be strictly implemented once issued. Otherwise, organizations or individuals causing serious consequences or major losses will face economic sanctions or legal responsibility.
Businesses decide what materials, dyes, or styles of clothing to use—that’s entirely up to them. We only step in to supervise whether they adhere to the standards they claim to follow. For example, with a piece of clothing, we check if it exceeds formaldehyde limits, has any unusual odors, or if dye fastness and pH levels meet national requirements—but we can’t control whether the clothing is made of cotton or synthetic fibers.
According to statistics from the Outdoor Products Branch of the China Textile Commerce Association, in 2011, China’s outdoor products industry achieved shipment and retail sales of 5.43 billion yuan and 10.76 billion yuan respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 69.16% and 50.91%. However, at the same time, regions such as Shandong and Henan have repeatedly reported a lack of standards in the outdoor products market, with many manufacturers engaging in deceptive practices.