There are few things I loathe more than copycat products sold at cut-rate prices. As J.A. Richards wrote: "There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.” Sadly, the practice is an unavoidable aspect of a free market for anything that cannot be patented.

Sometimes the issue of just what is a copy, rather than a development or an improvement of an existing product, can reside within a gray area. Friends who own series Land Rovers like to tease me by claiming that my Land Cruiser FJ40 is just a copy, despite its significantly different design and engineering; I respond by reminding them that the first Land Rover prototype was actually built on a Jeep chassis. More recently, Jaguar/Land Rover sued Ineos (unsuccessfully) over the styling of its Grenadier, which few people could deny is derivative.

Other copies are more blatant: the first example I remember noting, decades ago, was a Takamine guitar that not only mimicked the design of the legendary Martin guitars, but employed the exact same curved gold script for the name on the headstock. More recent and relevant examples include MaxTrax clones that replicate everything down to the exact color of the originals, shoddily made LED driving lamps that mimic the fine ARB Intensity lamps, and the Chinese-made Kodiak tent that is a blatant copy of the wonderful U.S.-made Springbar.

Recently I encountered another copy so egregious, and so tacky, as to beggar belief.

I was on a forum devoted to vehicle-based travel, and saw that someone had started a thread asking advice about camp chairs. I noted that several people had recommended the Kermit Chair, and I chimed in with my own tale of our nearly 20-year-old pair of Kermit Chairs, still functioning perfectly and comfortably.

The original Kermit Chair was designed 40 years ago by a BMW motorcyclist named Kermit Easterling, and is still made in Tennessee from locally sourced white oak. It has the unique ability to either fold flat instantly for transport, or to disassemble entirely and pack into a soft case no longer than your forearm. It’s easily carried on a motorcycle, yet optional leg extensions raise it to standard height. (It won the chair review in the Volume 1, Number 2 Exploration Quarterly.)

A few days later I checked back in on the thread. A couple posts down from mine, someone had written, “I like the wood and non-disposable nature of the Kermit, but $299 is a little rich for my wallet; plus the company charges $26 shipping. Really? Instead I found this for $129.” And there was a photo of a chair that looked so much like a Kermit that had I passed the owner sitting in it I would have greeted him as a fellow fan. Identical design, identical folding/disassembly procedure, indentical handsome oak frame.

Except this one, sold by Ironman 4x4, wasn’t oak. It was aluminum with an “oak-grain finish,” and had genuine wood caps (not oak) only on the armrests. Made in China, to no great surprise.

A subsequent poster had written, “Obviously a Kermit clone, but it looks like a nice chair.” Barely restraining my typing fingers (both of them), I replied, “Calling this a Kermit “clone” is extraordinarily diplomatic.” I was sorely tempted to write something much, much harsher, and only refrained from doing so because, given my somewhat authoritative stature on the forum, I didn’t want to openly insult the person who bought this utter ripoff of a product.

To be blunt, I find this product shameful thievery. Copying every detail of the original Kermit is bad enough; adding the fake oak finish so it will pass as the genuine article to a cursory look is just plain shabby. Shame on Ironman for offering such a thing. Please support the company that envisioned, designed, and built the original, here in the U.S., offers a five-year warranty, and maintains a stock of spare parts should you ever need any.

A cheap copy of a legendary camp chair

Inspiration—and pizza!—at the RGS Explore Week