The Pieps DSP and Pieps Freeride avalanche transceivers are now in stock.
Free Mountain Equipment Micro Zip T Fleece (RRP £40) with any Mountain Equipment product RRP £150 or more.
The Mountain Equipment Micro Zip T is a thin, warm, comfortable and hard wearing mid layer fleece. Classic insulation with luxurious Polartec® microfleece. Combined with a shell and baselayer you have the backbone of the standard layered clothing system. Fairly deep front zip for temperature regulation and small zipped chest pocket. It’s just a fleece, but it’s a good one.
Due to technical constraints it’s max one per order, so if you have 2 qualifying products you will need to place 2 orders to get 2 fleeces.
We are starting to add short video descriptions of products to the site. We are hoping that a short (max 3min) video plus good descriptions and good still images will make it easier for you to get the right product first time.
We are cutting our teeth on some Leatherman products because they are pretty straightforward but will add a range of videos both instructional and descriptive over the next few months. We are also happy to do requests so if you want something reviewed then send us an email and we will give it a shot.
Here are the first couple, comments, as always, welcome.
Me and my partner Tim Ashelford, at the start!
Oh the joys of a winter adventure race series! The first Open 5 of the winter was last sunday in Hawkshead, Cumbria.
True to form it rained for 4 and a half of the 5 hours that we were racing. The rain meant we couldn’t write on the map at the start and the map was all but useless by the end. But it is meant to be an adventure and it was the same for everyone.
The format is 5 hours of score orienteering. There is a bike course and a run course with a minimum of one control needed from each to score. It’s up to you how much of each you do and which you do first. The orienteering is not that technical by true orienteering standards but it’s hard enough to make it at least as much about brains as brawn. The Open 5′s are a great way of getting a work out and practising important skills.
The Open 5s are on the first sunday of the month Nov to April but excluding January. the next one is 6th December in Hope, Derbyshire. Hopefully see you there.
This winter we are selling Snowpulse ABS backpacks. Just about the most expensive backpacks you can buy, but probably the best line of avalanche protection after a good think and an avalanche transceiver.
There is a compact 10 Litre bag called the Prorider for resort skiers and a modular system called the Lifebag which has 3 sizes of zip off back so you can vary the pack volume depending on your objectives that day.
These packs are powered by a compressed air cyclinder that has been certified and approved as hold baggage.
The huge 150L bag will protect your head and chest from trauma plus lead to a shallower burial depth.
Stock should be with us this week.
We now stock Sealskinz waterproof gloves and socks. See the complete range.
Sealskinz are great value, fully waterproof gloves and socks. They use the Porelle membrane to ensure that they are 100% waterproof and breathable.
Many gloves use Gore-Tex or other membrane linings but the membranes are stitched in construction but not taped as jacket seams are, which means they leak a little bit at the seams. This is standard practise for gloves and the reason that terms like ‘waterproof lining’ are used rather than 100% waterproof.
Sealskinz are different. They use a seam free construction to avoid the issue of seam taping and a Hydrophilic membrane rather than a microporous one. They are 100% waterproof and individually tested. For more info read the Sealskinz Technology Page.
Sealskinz are a British brand and offer something different to our other glove and sock brands at very competative prices.
At the end of september I completed one of my season goals by doing both 3 Peaks races in Yorkshire. The 3 peaks fell race was in March and the Cyclocross race in september. The 3 peaks fell race is 24 miles and the peaks are done in the order Pen Y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. The 3 peaks Cyclocross race is 38 miles and the order is Ingleborough, Wherside and Pen y Ghent. The odd thing is that give the different distances and routes, both races take almost the same time. They do for regular winner of both (but not this year) Robb Jebb and for me, although he is around 3 hours and I am around 4!
The New Eagle ski touring binding from Diamir is now available. The Eagle replaces the explore but features an improved and more effcient walking system.
The goal was to move the binding hinge back under the toe of the boot. This would reduce the effort required for each step. The only downside with this is that on steep terrain the front of the binding hits the top of the ski. To overcome this problem, at a certain angle the whole Eagle binding slides backwards along the binding rail to give better clearance at the front. Diamir felt that this was a more robust solution the the problem that the double hinge used by Naxo. Diamir have a nice animatiion on their site HERE
The Eagle also has it own version of the Axion crampon
The New Eagle binding is in stock now, as are fresh stocks of the Freerides, Axion Crampons and Coll Tex CamLock Skins.
Everything you need except the snow!
Happy Touring.
Check out this vid on YouTube
Not only do you see the guy get avalanched and buried from a head cam but 5 minutes later you see him get dug up again.
If only it always turned out like that.
Took my new Tikka 2 XP out for it’s first test last night, a wet & windy run on Ilkley Moor. The Tikka 2 XP now has the same body as all the other Tikka2′s rather than the oblong that it used to be and is 7g lighter than the original. The new shape does make it bounce less on the forehead but it still needs to be used with the adapt kit head strap to eliminate all the bounce. The light was a nice white colour and the single button with no boost is much easier to use than the old Tikka XP’s 2 buttons. The new Tikka2 XP has an extra 20 Lumens over the original and was easily bright enough for night running on smooth trails (where I used the diffuser) but I needed to use the spot for rougher downhill trails and more technical ground.
The extra power and single button design make the Tikka2 XP a excellent revision of an already sound torch.
Below are some beam comparison shots, taken in my garage. Both lamps have fresh alkaline batteries.
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| High Power Setting. Tikka 2 XP on left, Original Tikka XP on right |
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| High Power Setting. Tikka 2 XP on left, Original Tikka XP in Boost Mode on right |
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| Tikka 2 XP High Power using diffuser |
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| Original Tikka XP High Power using diffuser |
