However, while it might be free to access most outdoor areas, and relatively cheap to camp when you get there, gathering together all the kit you need to fully appreciate the outdoors and everything it offers can often seem prohibitively expensive – especially if you’re trying to equip the whole family. But it doesn’t need to be that way. By producing great gear that’s as affordable as it is reliable and durable, Decathlon have been leading the way when it comes to making adventure accessible to all for over a decade
Now that we’re finally getting some warmer weather, thoughts are quickly turning to summer adventures and people are busy making plans, searching sites and dusting off their outdoor kit. Whether you’re into high hilltops and mountain peaks, or verdant countryside and surf-stroked coastlines, for many of us, the outdoors offers the perfect escape – a chance to reconnect with nature and explore wild areas, hiking, biking and sleeping out among the elements, enjoying a break from day to day stresses, and spending quality time with friends and family without the expense of flights and hotels. Hiking and camping in particular are activities that unlock a door to a world of extraordinary experiences.
Design Inspiration
Necessity is the mother of invention, and in the French Alps there’s an extraordinary design centre that turns the needs of everyday adventurers and nature lovers into affordable products that enrich everyone’s outdoor experiences. Based in Passy, in eyeshot of Mont Blanc, Decathlon’s Mountain Store is a unique place. Here – amid the snow-topped peaks of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – families, couples and outdoor explorers from all walks of life come to kit-up for a massive range of adventure sports and outdoor activities, from camping and hiking through to mountain biking and skiing.
But the same building also houses innovation areas, studios and testing rooms where over 550 product specialists and experts are constantly developing new gear and refining the designs of existing equipment to meet the requirements of the people who use it. In rooms right next door to the huge shop floor, newly improved hiking boots are being put through their paces, and backpacking tents and lightweight jackets are subjected to a deluge of waterproofing tests in purpose-built rain rooms, to ensure they can provide the kind of protection and performance Decathlon have promised people. Once new and revised products have been stress tested by machines, the prototypes are then thoroughly field tested by humans in the outdoors, to make sure they meet the requirements of real people doing proper outdoor sports.
And the people working on these products are uniquely tuned in to the needs of the adventure community, not least because they belong to that same tribe. Decathlon’s concept of co-creation during product development involves collaboration with outdoor enthusiasts, ranging from nature lovers and weekend warriors to elite adventure athletes, who are invited to contribute their hard-earned insights and be directly involved in the design process.
Everyone working at the Mountain Store is a passionate outdoor enthusiast, and they spend their free time out amid the mountains, hitting the trails and using the very kit they have been working on to ensure it is up to the task it has been made for. They visualise the natural world around them as an incredible playground, but also respect it as a fragile place that needs protection, and the environmental impact of the products Decathlon design are always given maximum consideration. Part of that process is improving the lifespan of the equipment, so whether you’re looking at a tent or a backpack, you can be confident it’s been built to last. The company even operate an innovative Buyback Scheme, whereby people can trade in used but still usable gear - from tents and camping furniture through to bikes, boats and SUP boards - in return for credit at the store, and the stuff is resold at a bargain price as a Second Life product to someone who will put it to good use.
Performance values
Sometimes, products positioned towards the budget end of the market can be sneered at, but in France, Decathlon is a byword for quality combined with affordability. The brand – and the massive range of pursuit-specific sub-brands that form the bigger Decathlon family – is built on a very simple principle: the outdoors is for everyone, and everyone deserves good gear so they can explore and enjoy the hills, mountains, coast and countryside wherever they might be. A waterproof jacket or backpack really doesn’t need to cost the equivalent of a week’s wages and it’s entirely possible to make a pair of hiking boots or a family tent that will provide excellent performance and last for many years without slapping a huge price tag on it.
Catering for the equipment needs of everyone from trail runners to scuba divers, Decathlon produce an incredibly diverse and wide scope of gear, but although the choice of kit might be massive, it’s easy to navigate your way through it and find exactly the piece of equipment that best suits your style of adventure, with sub-brand names signposting the activities the item has been designed for. Each product in every brand family has a number next to its name, and the higher the number the more specialised the gear is, with the 500 and 900 ranges being the top-performing pieces of kit (500 translates as Intermediate, and 900 as Advanced) . There are also letters, such as MT (mountain trekking) and FH (fast hiking), which further specify the ideal application for each piece of kit.
Many of Decathlon’s most popular outdoor products are made under the brand names Forclaz and Quechua. Forclaz equipment is aimed at the independent and slightly more experienced outdoors person, who enjoys multiday backpacking adventures in challenging terrain, and relatively hard hiking escapades and trail challenges in alpine environments. The stuff is built tough, but is also lightweight and easy to pack, to maximise performance. Quechua kit is no less reliable, but it is designed with families and car campers in mind, or for the everyday adventurer enjoying their first forays into the wilds, who is looking for good-value gear.
So, while the Forclaz Trekking Dome Tent MT900 is a fantastic lightweight shelter for adventure-seeking backpackers out exploring the hills and peaks in all kinds of conditions across three seasons, the Quechua 2-Seconds Easy (an award-winning and now iconic pop-up camping tent) is absolutely perfect for everything from casual car camping through to garden sleep-outs and festivals. These are very different products for different people, but both are priced to make them available to everyone.
For intrepid families, Quechua offers the excellent Inflatable Camping Tent Air Seconds 4.1, an all-in-one simple-to-assemble four-person shelter with a spacious living area and bedroom (complete with blackout interior so you’re not woken at the first hint of dawn), which is perfect for alfresco escapes with the kids. For some proper home-from-home comfort, you can score a 70cm inflatable bed base that will utterly transform your outdoor sleeping experience, and if you like to take everything except the kitchen sink when you go away, there are folding camping tables and chairs, and even a folding camping kitchen unit, which all easily fit in the back of a family car.
In terms of packs, the Women's Trekking Backpack 45+10L MT500 AIR is a great example of a fantastic piece of high-performing yet very affordable equipment designed specifically for women who want to take on multiday hiking adventures. By contrast, the Quechua Mountain Hiking Rucksack 22L Rolltop MH500 Light is an exceptionally functional daypack for those who prefer to do single-day sessions on the trails, or perhaps hike hut-to-hut instead of carrying their own tent and everything else a longer trek necessitates.
Another great option is the Hiking backpack 23L NH Escape 500 Rolltop from Quechua, or, to go really minimalist during summer hikes, when kit requirements are significantly less, check out the incredibly low-priced, all-season Hiking 10L Backpack - Arpenaz NH100.
To find out more, go and explore the Decathlon site.
