Cadet Direct Reviews 

Ordered a bush hat nearly 2 months ago, website said that it would be shipped by September 6th as they were currently out of stock. 19th of September now and no word. I have sent two emails last week, 9th and 11th of September, asking for an update and no response.

Amazing customer service! - I make this review in place of a rather hasty poor review that I had posted regarding a pair of boots...... Yes there was a defect with the particular boots we received and I posted regarding the problem without first contacting the company. The reason being that in this day and age customer service in general seems to be at an all time low and I just could not be bothered with the expected emails back and forth to no avail. To the contrary, lesson learned, following my review I was contacted the next day by Andy via email who asked that I send photos of the offending boots, which I duly did. Andy then informed me that they accepted there was a fault and offered an exchange or proportionate refund. As it was we had already dashed out and bought an alternative pair of boots so accepted the refund.
This company really seems to care about their customers and as such I would have no hesitation in recommending them. To put things into perspective we have ordered other items from Cadet Direct without issue and we can not expect things to be perfect 100% of the time. As far as I'm concerned a company shows its worth in how they deal with you when things don't go to plan. I will certainly be using Cadet Direct again in the future.

***EDIT**** Since posting this review, I have been contacted by Cadet Direct and will be receiving a full refund for the shoes. I am glad that this matter was resolved quickly and am grateful to them for the quick response.

I bought a pair of female parade shoes at the end of March 2026 from this site, and I am quite disappointed with the quality of the shoes. The heels are already breaking and eroding, which after only having worn them twice over two weekends in June since buying them, is a sign of poor quality to me. I would not be too concerned with this if I had bought them a year ago, but this should not be happening 3 months after purchase.

1. Stop advertising 2-day estimated delivery when it takes 4-5 days to deliver.
2. These boots are of poor quality - My son barely wore these boots once and they've come apart on the back. Technical adviser is claiming boots have been stepped on multiple times to remove them. Even if that were the case, they shouldn't fall apart so easily!
The boots were only delivered on 26 June, how often could he have worn them in one week to cause such damage????

Great site and have bought lots from them. Keep it up

The website is user friendly, shows stock availability and now they also allow you to select a postage service based on how fast you need the order.

They are my go to store for my cadet gear

no point, you order they won't wait, they auto cancel it then keep your money after you inform them that the card you originally used has expired and a refund to it is nit possible. Your problem see you later thanks for the 20+ quid. If you require the email proof of this i have it. I was willing to wait for the goods as well.

Very good service. I ordered a pair of Combat Pro boots, they are well made and very comfortable. Shipping was faster that I expected too!

I tried to purchase multiple items they had in stock (over $300 worth) and the next day I get an email saying something wasn't in stock so we won't fulfill any of it.

Edit: they reached out to this review explaining quote "We do not convey flammable products anywhere outside of mainland UK. We would face severe fines for doing so."

Most of what I wanted was boot polish. Considering the higher delivery cost I would've assumed they would be able to meet the requirements but I guess not.

Having purchased several items over the years from Cadet Direct, I went to them to complete my camping needs. I ordered a fleece blanket (which arrived within 24 hrs), it was well packed and just what I needed. It is warm and just the right size for my back pack and tent.
I also ordered the enamel cup, dish and plate set, I had to wait a few days for the plate to come back into stock. It was despatched and again arrived in 24 hours. It was amazingly well packed and just what I need to finish all my kit. I fully recommend Cadet Direct.

Excessive postage fees.
Yet another seller springing Postage fees on at the checkout point. They're advertising a Shirt for £17.00 which they won't allow me to collect so I'm forced to pay their £7.00 postage fee. This makes the shirt £24.00. It was never going to be £17 as it's impossible for it to be purchased at £17. I don't think they should be allowed to advertise in that manor. It doesn't cost £7 to post a shirt they're just doing this to top up the profit margin. Evri charge £2.65.

A grim shopping experience I would rather forget, the attitude of some of the staff is shockingly incompetent.

Having purchased a pair of boots as a Christmas gift for my son, they suffered a split across the soles in the last week.
It took only one phone call to Andy on Wednesday 5th, which resulted in a request for a photo to confirm the failure. Within 5 minutes of sending this, I received a return email confirming dispatch of a replacement pair of boots immediately.
The boots arrived in less than 24 hours! Impressive service indeed. Many, many thanks.

The quality of the Combat Patrol boots we bought here was so poor that the insides disintegrated after only 13 days of wear (26 x half-days at CCF). Cadet Direct refused to refund or replace them as this was to be expected, apparently. Shoddy product, and then shoddy service.

Ordered some boots for my daughter who is in police cadets . Arrived promptly , appear good quality and the shine now they have been polished is amazing. They are apparently very comfy and I believe reasonably priced .

#1000403034 Iturri Boots, photos show a obvious visible split toecap/outsole, told repeatedly it was "normal" and "I have boots like this myself" Pure ignorance and denial by Andy Salmon of Cadet Direct (he is also mentioned here in other reviews) we went back and forth in multiple emails with him telling me I was mistaken

I was refused a refund on 2 day old split boots until I showed him the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and also mentioned a chargeback, so I officially rejected the boots by email, he then in his cowardice decided to refund me in full all of a sudden probably because someone stood upto him finally and answered back

I would never ever recommend or come back to this outfit. Look at the reviews yourself

Andy has flagged my review 2 times for damaging/defamatory comments! Trustpilot have stated it doesn't, trying to hide things I guess

He came on commenting here still telling me I was still mistaken just to save face!

I have photos of each boot 2 days old with faulty/questionable moulding and 1 visible split in the junction between the toecap and outsole

DONT WORRY ANDY, I KNOW YOU ARE READING AND FLAGGING OTHER COMMENTS BECAUSE OF YOUR ABYSMAL 2.9 OUT OF 5 STAR RATING,

THIS WILL GO RIGHT BACK UP THE SAME DAY SHOULD YOU TRY TO FLAG IT FOR THE 3RD TIME. 😊

I bought quite a few things from Cadet direct when my son first started cadets.

We also bought a pair of recommended for cadets. These are a year and a half old but have only been used for cadet meetings and a few times for camp.

He was blistering so badly we bought a pair of wellco boots for camp, which are much better, but didn't have enough ankle support so we went back to these.

The plastic used to make the heel look stif sliced through the boot liner, a sick and into my sons foot.

Now we know why he was blistering so much.

I think most people would just replace the boots due to blisters, but wearing these a few extra days showed the problem.

Spoke to cadet direct who disdained we didn't find out about the plastic for a year and half of was in us.

Just bought a pair of Altberg defenders...obviously not from Cadet direct. Will ship elsewhere in the future.

A little bit of goodwill would have gone a long way.

Keen price. Quick delivery. No problems at all

I have searched high and low for a smock small enough for my cadet son for his first camp. I came across Cadet direct and they had exactly what I needed. I placed an order for the smock and some other items and was delighted to hear that they had been shipped the same day. I received them the next day. The quality of the items is fantastic and the supplier kept me informed each step of the way by email.
I did have to return a tie as it was too big for my son and spoke to Andy directly over the phone about the process. He was lovely and professional and advised me on exactly what I needed to do, no quibbles.
I have found the whole experience very easy, no fuss. Would highly recommend Cadet Direct to anyone and will be buying from them again in the future.

I ordered the Stormpad weather book, Wednesday 2nd delivered on Friday 4th Quick and efficient no problems at all
Super Service Thank You