Pathetic Quality On Castore's RFC Range | Updated (Post #4,915) – My Football Shirts Are Falling To Pieces

[SSJack]

upload image website

Notice a different collar on this graphic might be a clue to next year's design

I see the 5 stars are still there sadly

 

[JD1872]

Hopefully there will be a big improvement next season. I’ve bought 3 items and would have bought a lot more but the quality of 2 of the items was very poor.

The home strip I bought was fine. I also bought a hooded top from the lifestyle range which must have cost them a couple of quid to make, it’s been on a hanger in the cupboard ever since. Also bought some joggers where the material started to bobble almost immediately

They have made a fortune from us, my concern is they are focusing on multiple other teams now and it won’t get any better

 

[Virgil Hilts]

How long was our deal with Castore?

And is there a clause to get out of it if there are quality control issues.

 

[Jose Calypso]

I’ve got the grey and orange training top and also the dark blue training top. Both are still in great condition. The material of the grey/orange top is excellent quality.

 

[B Ferguson 6]

I know a lot of people have had no problems with castore, but I won’t be buying anything else from them. This has been washed 3 times and as you can see it’s peeling already. I would return it but I can’t find the receipt. I wouldn’t want it replacing anyway to be honest. It was bought in the club shop.
I also bought the black beanie hat online delivered from Milton Keynes. Whoever stitched the stars on the hat must have been pished.

https://imgur.com/a/dUZ89DD

https://imgur.com/a/zoGfAvZ

https://imgur.com/a/OrJ9HAo

Aye mate, you obviously don’t have the right washing machine for the Castore “premium” products.

if you’re using deodorant make sure it’s it’s a gentle one I find the green capped sure for women works best.

a wee tip for next years top pay £80 keep it in the packet and don’t wear it, that way it will last at least the year. Probably.

 

[Brick Hithouse]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

 

[B Ferguson 6]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

There was a guy on here who wasn’t happy with a T-shirt or jumper he’d bought for golf.

one of my pals has a non rangers castore hoodie that’s a belter, it did cost him about £150 right enough.

 

[Anoldranger]

Everything I have purchased has been absolutely perfect

 

[Empire]

I would return it but I can’t find the receipt. I wouldn’t want it replacing anyway to be honest. It was bought in the club shop.

You can return/exchange items in the shop without a receipt. It keeps a copy of your order on their system using your bank card.

 

[Burgh-Ger]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

Yes - i have a few non-rangers items, all of it is good quality and I would recommend it. Not cheap though so keep an eye out for discounts or sale.

I have to say, the rangers stuff that I have bought is also good quality. No complaints from me

 

[rustybogard]

Looks like they’ve been washed far too high or possibly tumble dried tbh.

No issues with any of my tops and had them since release, seems you’ve just been the unlucky one.

I wash mine in with the normal 40 load as I’m pretty sure it gets tumble dried as well and I’ve not had an issue at all with my home top. Maybe just a bad batch?

 

[BN94]

You can return/exchange items in the shop without a receipt. It keeps a copy of your order on their system using your bank card.

Thanks mate. I never knew that. The problem is I’m not in Scotland. I’ll need to look into it as I could maybe post it? But then I’ve heard some terrible stories on here about deliveries etc.
I’d personally like to see us get shot of castore. We’re too big for them.

 

[Treble Kings]

It's well made retro tops for me from now on until Castore are binned. The stuff's rotten, and the choice is overpriced and bland.

 

[Valley Bluenose]

It's well made retro tops for me from now on until Castore are binned. The stuff's rotten, and the choice is overpriced and bland.

I see many references to the price, not just you own. Out of interest I had a look on some other club shops. Currently Spurs £70 for their Nike Home top. Arsenal's Adidas top is £60. Chelsea's regular price for their Nike top is £69.95 (though they have a sale on at present). Man Utd have a sale on at present also but their regular price for their Adidas top is £64.96. Liverpool Nike Home shirt regular price is £69.95. Newcastle United Puma Home top regular price is £69.88. They are not any different to our prices by and large, dearer in most cases.

Whilst I personally haven't had any issues with stuff I've bought its clear that others have and that supply has been poor. I'm not so sure the pricing is out of sync though.

Nike Spurs Home Kit 2020/21 | Official Spurs Shop | Free Worldwide Delivery

Shop Nike Spurs Home Kit 2020/21. Order the Spurs Home Kit today from the official Spurs shop! FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY AVAILABLE!

shop.tottenhamhotspur.com

 

[Treble Kings]

I see many references to the price, not just you own. Out of interest I had a look on some other club shops. Currently Spurs £70 for their Nike Home top. Arsenal's Adidas top is £60. Chelsea's regular price for their Nike top is £69.95 (though they have a sale on at present). Man Utd have a sale on at present also but their regular price for their Adidas top is £64.96. Liverpool Nike Home shirt regular price is £69.95. Newcastle United Puma Home top regular price is £69.88. They are not any different to our prices by and large, dearer in most cases.

Whilst I personally haven't had any issues with stuff I've bought its clear that others have and that supply has been poor. I'm not so sure the pricing is out of sync though.

Nike Spurs Home Kit 2020/21 | Official Spurs Shop | Free Worldwide Delivery

Shop Nike Spurs Home Kit 2020/21. Order the Spurs Home Kit today from the official Spurs shop! FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY AVAILABLE!

shop.tottenhamhotspur.com

Much better made, though. The likes of Adidas and Nike kit and leisure wear is really well made.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

I've got a pair of Under Armour jogging bottoms and the logo is all cracked. 4 weeks I've had them.

 

[JW1988]

Aye mate, you obviously don’t have the right washing machine for the Castore “premium” products.

if you’re using deodorant make sure it’s it’s a gentle one I find the green capped sure for women works best.

a wee tip for next years top pay £80 keep it in the packet and don’t wear it, that way it will last at least the year. Probably.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1297540847043518466

This video sums it all up

 

[Valley Bluenose]

Much better made, though. The likes of Adidas and Nike kit and leisure wear is really well made.

Is it though? I've recounted several times on here now that my two pairs of Adidas trackie bottoms have lost their plastic badges. One has no stripes instead of three on the badge, the other has just one. One pair now indicate they were made by 's' and the other by 'das' due to missing letters.

It seems much worse with Castore judging by reports on here - though its not my experience - but its not a problem that's exclusive to Castore.

 

[Roadrunner]

Everything I have purchased has been absolutely perfect

Have you actually washed/worn them though or just framed them?

I actually like the quality of the actual tee shirts I bought but the lettering/logos are falling off.

I won't be buying anything else until they correct it.

 

[JW1988]

I genuinely have had experience so far of myself, my brother, my brother in law and my cousin who've all had issues with Castore ranging from lettering being smudged on the inside of the collar to stuff peeling either at first wash or ages later (regardless of how they've washed it) my black shirt looks 4 years old rather than 8 months old. It gets washed with my kids clothes so its a 30 degree wash etc and it looks terrible now.

This is far more than a "bad batch" its widespread. If the issues continue into next season an already fractured relationship between the fans and the kit supplier is going to be irrecoverably damaged

 

[Enclosure Blue]

Is it though? I've recounted several times on here now that my two pairs of Adidas trackie bottoms have lost their plastic badges. One has no stripes instead of three on the badge, the other has just one. One pair now indicate they were made by 's' and the other by 'das' due to missing letters.

It seems much worse with Castore judging by reports on here - though its not my experience - but its not a problem that's exclusive to Castore.

I did a comparison on training gear a while against the top english clubs & it was out of whack (I can't re do the comparison just now as there's next to nothing on our website)

 

[Valley Bluenose]

I did a comparison on training gear a while against the top english clubs & it was out of whack (I can't re do the comparison just now as there's next to nothing on our website)

I'm not in the habit of looking at other clubs stuff mate but the easiest comparison was the Home kit as I detailed in post #5,121. We will be comparing prices of rubber ducks next ha ha.

 

[nemessis]

Grey training shorts with the orange RFC crest and stars are peeling off.
It's ok saying they will replace them but the postage from Australia back to them makes it not worth the effort for me, pretty poor though considering how they bum up their products.

 

[weevlad]

I've not had issues with mine, but to be fair, coz we arent at the football, I haven't actually washed them yet

Just put them on to check the size "aye these are smart" and took them back off

Quite disappointed to see the issues some people are having. Will be looking for assurances on next season's gear quality before I'm buying any

 

[willowbankbear]

I’m still not convinced with Castore , I always liked the hummel gear - just a pity it didn’t work out.

 

[OrangeLillyO]

Can't believe the amount of problems people are still having with them, everything I've ordered has been ok with the bulk of it being for my daughter. Waiting on the 55 top arriving and I'm hoping everything's alright with that aswell. If not it's getting taken back to the superstore.

 

[GarMckin]

Admin edit: Since I started this OP, I'm adding this post to my OP rather than creating a new thread.

I appreciate lots of people are delighted with the quality of Castore's Rangers products.
However, I've had the exact opposite experience, sadly.

I returned my home shirt for a full refund at the time because the quality was extremely poor – and my away and third shirts haven't held up well at all.

Please note: I know how to wash football shirts and I've never had a problem with any football gear prior to these Castore ones.

As you can see from the below images, most of the lettering is peeling off both shirts.
The back is the third kit is particularly embarrassing.

The away kit isn't as bad, but the colours of the sponsor have bled, something I've never seen on a football shirt before.

@Greg Marshall , as you were kind enough to chat to me at length about Castore previously, can you share these images with the club/Castore please and ask if this is the quality we should expect?

These two shirts will be going in the bin at the end of the season – but I've got massive concerns about the quality of our future merchandise.
If they make a mess of the 150 anniversary stuff, it'll be unforgivable.

View attachment 1864View attachment 1865View attachment 1866View attachment 1867View attachment 1868View attachment 1869

You’re probably going to roll your eyes mate, but are you sure you are washing, drying, and storing these properly? That’s quite heavy creasing on a football shirt and to me, as someone who worked in print and embroidery for six years and did hundreds of individual sport kit printing every day, there’s signs it’s not being treated properly. The bleeding of colour from the collar trim is another indication of too high heat in either washing or drying. In those pictures you’ve at least 3 different examples of too high heat.


The waving of the energy check logo is normal and is down to the thickness of the sponsor rather than Castore, there’s pretty much nothing they can do about that. If a customer had asked for that they would be asked to adapt their logo to drop the box or expect waving after a wash, which will need steamed, not ironed, to prevent the print being damaged. The front bottom corner Castore logo suffers the same problem and they’ll need to change that.

There’s a definite possibility that Castore just aren’t using the right materials to withstand heat, but the prints are good quality and anything else like this, where the vast majority are fine and a small percentage not only have a problem but the same problem with multiple items. Then it would indicate that it could be user error.

Add that to the fact that myself and anyone I known personally have been fine with the durability of Castore, including my two kids who wear their’s all the time, that just reinforces the opinion that when there’s hundreds of thousands of kits sold in a short period, the industry accepted 2.5% major and 4% minor fault rate is being amplified due to social media and everyone with a problem jumps on. 100k kits, around 2500 major or 4000 minor mistakes, then there’s a chance you’re unlucky enough to get a couple mistakes when you scale the sales up in the same customer base.
If you google pretty much any other major football team you’ll see the same issues. There’s hundreds of Reddit threads from Reading to Real Madrid. Folk need to realise these are £4.79, including labour and shipping, mass produced garments marketed as £60+ items, and that’s the same for every manufacturer.

And I’m not just defending Castore, the prints from my experience have been fine, the embroidery is another matter though and something that is consistent over every kit. The inside embroidery is a mess with seams sticking into the body, the badge is too thick a thread for the shirt fabric, and there’s stitching where there just doesn’t need to be causing pulling, the funny thing is this extra thread prolly increases manufacture cost. The whole Turkey/China debacle was a disgrace too.

 

[PunkScott]

This thread popped up as I’d ordered the away and 3rd junior kits.

quality ok so far, my main gripe is not getting the full kit for 4to5s like you do for other teams, however, I’m still a mug and I’ll keep buying

 

[Valley Bluenose]

You’re probably going to roll your eyes mate, but are you sure you are washing, drying, and storing these properly? That’s quite heavy creasing on a football shirt and to me, as someone who worked in print and embroidery for six years and did hundreds of individual sport kit printing every day, there’s signs it’s not being treated properly. The bleeding of colour from the collar trim is another indication of too high heat in either washing or drying. In those pictures you’ve at least 3 different examples of too high heat.


The waving of the energy check logo is normal and is down to the thickness of the sponsor rather than Castore, there’s pretty much nothing they can do about that. If a customer had asked for that they would be asked to adapt their logo to drop the box or expect waving after a wash, which will need steamed, not ironed, to prevent the print being damaged. The front bottom corner Castore logo suffers the same problem and they’ll need to change that.

There’s a definite possibility that Castore just aren’t using the right materials to withstand heat, but the prints are good quality and anything else like this, where the vast majority are fine and a small percentage not only have a problem but the same problem with multiple items. Then it would indicate that it could be user error.

Add that to the fact that myself and anyone I known personally have been fine with the durability of Castore, including my two kids who wear their’s all the time, that just reinforces the opinion that when there’s hundreds of thousands of kits sold in a short period, the industry accepted 2.5% major and 4% minor fault rate is being amplified due to social media and everyone with a problem jumps on. 100k kits, around 2500 major or 4000 minor mistakes, then there’s a chance you’re unlucky enough to get a couple mistakes when you scale the sales up in the same customer base.
If you google pretty much any other major football team you’ll see the same issues. There’s hundreds of Reddit threads from Reading to Real Madrid. Folk need to realise these are £4.79, including labour and shipping, mass produced garments marketed as £60+ items, and that’s the same for every manufacturer.

And I’m not just defending Castore, the prints from my experience have been fine, the embroidery is another matter though and something that is consistent over every kit. The inside embroidery is a mess with seams sticking into the body, the badge is too thick a thread for the shirt fabric, and there’s stitching where there just doesn’t need to be causing pulling, the funny thing is this extra thread prolly increases manufacture cost. The whole Turkey/China debacle was a disgrace too.

In interesting take on things from someone 'in the trade' so to speak. Many won't agree but its a useful input.

 

[sherbrook_loyal]

You’re probably going to roll your eyes mate, but are you sure you are washing, drying, and storing these properly? That’s quite heavy creasing on a football shirt and to me, as someone who worked in print and embroidery for six years and did hundreds of individual sport kit printing every day, there’s signs it’s not being treated properly. The bleeding of colour from the collar trim is another indication of too high heat in either washing or drying. In those pictures you’ve at least 3 different examples of too high heat.


The waving of the energy check logo is normal and is down to the thickness of the sponsor rather than Castore, there’s pretty much nothing they can do about that. If a customer had asked for that they would be asked to adapt their logo to drop the box or expect waving after a wash, which will need steamed, not ironed, to prevent the print being damaged. The front bottom corner Castore logo suffers the same problem and they’ll need to change that.

There’s a definite possibility that Castore just aren’t using the right materials to withstand heat, but the prints are good quality and anything else like this, where the vast majority are fine and a small percentage not only have a problem but the same problem with multiple items. Then it would indicate that it could be user error.

Add that to the fact that myself and anyone I known personally have been fine with the durability of Castore, including my two kids who wear their’s all the time, that just reinforces the opinion that when there’s hundreds of thousands of kits sold in a short period, the industry accepted 2.5% major and 4% minor fault rate is being amplified due to social media and everyone with a problem jumps on. 100k kits, around 2500 major or 4000 minor mistakes, then there’s a chance you’re unlucky enough to get a couple mistakes when you scale the sales up in the same customer base.
If you google pretty much any other major football team you’ll see the same issues. There’s hundreds of Reddit threads from Reading to Real Madrid. Folk need to realise these are £4.79, including labour and shipping, mass produced garments marketed as £60+ items, and that’s the same for every manufacturer.

And I’m not just defending Castore, the prints from my experience have been fine, the embroidery is another matter though and something that is consistent over every kit. The inside embroidery is a mess with seams sticking into the body, the badge is too thick a thread for the shirt fabric, and there’s stitching where there just doesn’t need to be causing pulling, the funny thing is this extra thread prolly increases manufacture cost. The whole Turkey/China debacle was a disgrace too.

Appreciate the informed post, mate, but the kits are cared for like every football shirt I’ve ever owned – and it’s only the Castore ones I’ve had a problem with.

They’re washed inside out at the lowest temperature, have never been tumble dried or ironed, and are hung to dry on a coat hanger.

The colour trim hasn’t bled. It was like that on day one. For some reason, they thought it was a good idea to have a red section behind the white colour. This is a design flaw and is present on every away shirt.

The heavy creasing is simply because when I saw the state of the third shirt after being washed, I threw it in the corner in disgust.
They’re normally crease free, well as crease free as a non-ironed top gets.

I’ve got years old Rangers kits that I’ve played fives in and giving them a right battering – all are still in far better condition that my Castore shirts that have only been worn in the house a few times.

The problem is entirely a Castore problem.

 

[W*A*T*P]

Got the home top for a birthday present last week. Not even out of the bag and it’s missing the r in Castore.

The quality control checks simply not good enough

I don’t hold out much hope for it when I wash it.

 

[sherbrook_loyal]

Can we keep the thread on topic please?

Feel free to debate the merits or otherwise of alcohol or gambling sponsorship in another thread.

 

[ross_mac]

55 champions T shirt just arrived, the printing isn't straight by about 15 degrees. My washing machine must be really shite

 

[sherbrook_loyal]

55 champions T shirt just arrived, the printing isn't straight by about 15 degrees. My washing machine must be really shite

Doesn’t bode well for next season then.

It’s really disheartening to hear how many of our fans have had multiple issues with Castore.

The number of people who’ve reported issues with their strips since my updated post is pretty damning.

 

[DylanGer]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

I've bought a lot of the tennis stuff whilst it is expensive it is top notch-washes fine and looks pretty good a year or so down the road.
I've also got the orange/grey training top from our range and it's also good.
In other ranges I have the waterproof Garcia hoody and again expensive but great quality.

The only thing I've felt from them was mediocre was their socks they are vastly overpriced.

 

[Hussar]

I got an order today. Mostly stuff for the kids but I got a set of gloves because of the following description “feature touch screen enabled material on the thumb and index” however the gloves I received don’t have it on. They clearly have them in the photo on the rangers store website but 100% don’t on the ones I received. On closer inspection if you look at the stitching and the position of the castore logo compared to the gloves I received it’s obvious that they are not even the same gloves!
I’ve ordered a few times off the castore site lately and the quality and service is second to none but when ordering off Rangers website it’s just one let down after and another.

 

[Japandroid]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

I have a hoodie that has the letter "E" peeling off. I also have the Carlos jacket which has a hole in the sleeve. I thought maybe I caught it on something when running, but it's on the inside just at the elbow so I don't know how that could have happened.

I have two pairs of shorts, another jacket and a t-shirt that are all fine though (so far).

 

[South Belfast Broxi]

I wear the 2016-18 puma tops a lot lounging round the house etc, a few years old and still in perfect condition, yet my Castore top is peeling like it has leprosy!

 

[CrocodileDundee]

Got the grey training too for Xmas, can’t fault it. You can tell it’s decent material and so it should be at £70.

 

[kilwinningbear]

All the wee man's stuff has held up well.

I got him the black quarter zip training top with the gold badge and the quality has been class.

 

[Bear72]

I have the mens home shirt and I can't fault it. I wear it for most games so its washed alot and is good as new.
I have had a problem with 2 junior home shirts. Both arrived without the Utilita logo. It's not the end of the world but with 2 boys, one 7 and one 8 excited for their new tops, to get them different to what's advertised is disappointing.

 

[Baloo72]

Has anyone bought any of Castore’s non-Rangers stuff? Would be interesting to compare the quality.

The only thing I've had an issue with was a non Rangers tshirt
Sent it back refunded

 

[Jules Winfield]

The point is that you shouldn't need to. If they can't produce a garment that can be washed at a standard 40° temperature and cycle then they're in the wrong game.

Also, it's worth remembering that it's a football shirt and is intended to be dirty, muddy and grass stained. A cool wash won't deal with that soiling.

Most clothes advise that they are washed no higher than 30 now

 

[sherbrook_loyal]

Admin edit: Since I started this OP, I'm adding this post to my OP rather than creating a new thread.

I appreciate lots of people are delighted with the quality of Castore's Rangers products.
However, I've had the exact opposite experience, sadly.

I returned my home shirt for a full refund at the time because the quality was extremely poor – and my away and third shirts haven't held up well at all.

Please note: I know how to wash football shirts and I've never had a problem with any football gear prior to these Castore ones.

As you can see from the below images, most of the lettering is peeling off both shirts.
The back is the third kit is particularly embarrassing.

The away kit isn't as bad, but the colours of the sponsor have bled, something I've never seen on a football shirt before.

@Greg Marshall , as you were kind enough to chat to me at length about Castore previously, can you share these images with the club/Castore please and ask if this is the quality we should expect?

These two shirts will be going in the bin at the end of the season – but I've got massive concerns about the quality of our future merchandise.
If they make a mess of the 150 anniversary stuff, it'll be unforgivable.

View attachment 1864View attachment 1865View attachment 1866View attachment 1867View attachment 1868View attachment 1869

@Greg Marshall , any thoughts on post 4,915?
That's a week since I posted it, bud.

Would've been good to know the club are aware of the continued, multiple issues our support are having with Castore and that there will be no repeat of this going forwards.

Guessing our support just have to accept that this is the level of quality we can expect from Castore?

Doesn't bode well for the coming season and the 150th anniversary

 

[Edd 1872]

My launch home top is looking really poor, my main issue is the discoloration of the white trims, always washed as recommended.

Bought the 3rd top and the difference in quality is unbelievable, much much better

 

[Bobby Russell's Perm]

I see the 5 stars are still there sadly

Why don’t you like the five stars? Just out of curiosity.

 

[.k.k.]

No issues with the home top

Orange training top now has "cas o e" on the back of the neck, everything on the inside of the collar has came off too

55 champions t-shirt going well so far

 

[EagleThursday]

Haven’t wore my black top much but the print inside at the back came off after the second or third wash. Noticed the other day that I’m now missing the T from Castore on the front and the box round the sponsor at the lower back has peeled off. Would’ve been fuming if I bought it but it was my boss that got it for me as a thank you for holding fort while he was off for a while so I’m not too bothered. They’ll be getting a strongly worded email next season though if there’s any problems!

 

[Bilkypark]

The quality is not present long term in Castore products.
I would like to see Rangers dissolve this partnership, our fans are being shortchanged.
it has become embarrassing

 

[DerekSSR]

My grey quarter zip is falling apart, but tbf I have had good use out of it.