Hot or scrap: Temu put to the test - How good is equipment from the Far East?

The Temu shop is gigantic. There are also hundreds of products for sailors - ropes, fittings, fenders, electronics, clothing. But that's where the problem lies: it's difficult to find out what you're actually buying. Material specifications are often missing, sizes are unclear, translations are confusing. For shackles, blocks and cordage, you search in vain for information on working or breaking loads. Things get particularly complicated with ropes. Many lines are made of polypropylene - a material that fishermen use for fish traps, but which has little use on board. The few usable products have to be painstakingly collected.

• Read here how we have rated other Temu products

Where is the best place to save? Five products put to the test

Bilge pump

The compact pump is designed for on-board 12-volt systems and should be able to pump 1,100 gallons of water per hour. The function test is positive, the pump works. The design is reminiscent of older Rule models, but at 8.32 euros it is significantly cheaper. The Rule bilge pump with a flow rate of 1,100 GPH costs 182.95 euros at SVB. However, there are also cheaper models for 23.95 euros.

The pump works

90 centimetre long cable

Comparatively low savings

Safety-relevant component

Cockpit shower

The scope of delivery includes the box with lid for mounting in bulkhead or duct. The shower head can be stored in it. This comes with a 2.50 metre long hose. A mixing valve for adjusting the temperature is not included, but was not promised in the Temu shop. The price: 22.96 euros. The shower makes a good impression.

Solid workmanship

Shower hose 2.50 metres

Comes with screws

Price saving is not so great

Fender plus cover

The fenders cost 17.42 euros in a set of two. They measure 58 centimetres in height and have a diameter of 16 centimetres. The high weight is striking. They are also very stiff when not inflated. The fender covers cost 17.71 euros in a pack of two. The material makes a solid impression, but the fit is not ideal. The cover is a little too long for the fender.

Processing and surface good

Cover is solid

The fender is very heavy

The cover is too large

Reading lamp with USB

The lamp worked in the test, but had a problem: as soon as a tablet was charged at the USB port, the circuit board in the base heated up. These electronics are only secured with a little hot glue and can potentially come loose if a lot of heat is generated. If the hot circuit board then comes into contact with a bulkhead, there is a risk of fire. We can only advise against buying this product. The price of 13.48 euros may sound tempting, but it is certainly not worth the risk of fire on board. In addition, the transition of the cable into the moving part of the lamp is not protected against chafing.

Fire risk

Electronics only attached with hot glue

Cable not laid properly

Visually unattractive mix of materials

Sailing jacket

The jacket was the most disappointing. Sure, there's no safety risk here like with the lamp. The product is basically the same as in the photos, but the fabric is super thin and can't keep out wind or rain. It also feels really cheap, more like a tablecloth. It's not functional clothing. What's more, there's a print on the chest that's supposed to look maritime but is probably from an AI. To make matters worse, the same print is also emblazoned on the back. The workmanship isn't particularly good either, with threads sticking out of the seams in places and the finish simply looks scruffy. The jacket therefore fails, an absolute bad buy. Even the favourable price of 13.78 euros is no consolation. The crew jacket from Gill was a good comparison, at least from the description and pictures in the Temu shop. This model costs around 140 euros, but protects against wind and weather.

Cheap-looking fabric

Does not protect against wind and rain

Defective processing

Kitschy maritime print

The big price comparison of the shopping basket

It's all about the price. Quality plays no role in this comparison.

In the end, you want to know exactly: How much money can you save by ordering from Temu? To find out, we compared the Temu products with similar items from the SVB range. The jacket was discarded because it was a complete bad buy. The result is hardly surprising, but is clearly three times the price of the German outfitter. One advantage of SVB is the very short delivery times. You usually wait much longer for the Temu consignment.

This is how we tested

To get an overview and put the products to the test, we ordered: a bilge pump, fenders with covers, stainless steel shackles, snap shackles, a 12-volt reading lamp, blocks with a 45-millimetre disc diameter, mooring lines, thimbles, a jacket, a rope shackle and a spool of thin Dyneema braid. The product photos were only of limited help; some of them were taken from other well-known shops. In the case of the rope shackle, for example, it was not immediately clear that it has a diameter of 35 centimetres and is made of twelve millimetre thick material. This makes it more suitable for forestry work than for a yacht.

After placing the order, emails arrive: "Your order is being loaded onto the aircraft. ... Your order has landed in Frankfurt." The goods arrive by air freight from China. That weighs on our environmental conscience. The delivery time varies from a few days to several weeks. In addition, the retailers in the shop are constantly changing. A product that is offered by retailer A today will be offered by retailer B tomorrow - possibly with a different quality.

From positive surprise to fire risk

The bilge pump and cockpit shower worked perfectly. However, a clear distinction must be made here between the convenience of a shower and the safety relevance of a bilge pump. If the latter works unreliably, this can become a problem. The buyer must carefully weigh up whether the price difference is justified. The fenders were extremely heavy and stiff - obviously a lot of material was used. However, the covers did not fit properly, they were clearly too big.

The 12-volt reading lamp was dangerous. Although the lamp works, it has a USB port. As soon as a device that requires more power (such as an iPad) is charged, the electronics become very hot. The components are only selectively fixed with hot glue. At high temperatures, this could come loose and the hot power electronics would come into contact with flammable materials on the bulkhead. A clear fire risk. We strongly advise against such products.

The jacket was clearly a bad buy. The material is reminiscent of tablecloth fabric, is thin, poorly made and neither water nor wind repellent. Also visually not a recommendation.

That is also interesting:

• Practice: This tool should be on board
• Test board shoes: New shoes for a secure grip on deck
• Lifejackets in the test: How good are 15 models with 150 newtons of buoyancy?
• Equipment: Eight sailing knives tested - which blade performs best?
• Apps for sailing: The 40 best apps for sailors

Everything cheap and bad at Temu?

The preconception that everything is cheap and bad was not confirmed throughout. Some things worked better than expected. But the downsides outweigh the upsides: The ordering process is cumbersome, product information is inadequate, delivery times are sometimes long. Above all, however, there is a lack of quality consistency. What works today may be delivered in inferior quality tomorrow. Dealers change and supply chains are not transparent. Products with safety relevance are particularly critical. A bilge pump that doesn't start is a risk. Even though it worked in our test, it remains unclear what quality assurance looks like at the suppliers. The reading lamp shows that some items are dangerous.

The buyer has to ask themselves: how much can you really save and is it all worth it? Quality, safety and environmental aspects have their price, and Temu's is certainly often too low. In terms of price, Temu remains unbeaten, as the test and the exemplary shopping basket have shown. However, quality often falls by the wayside.