About Us
Ultralight Outdoor Gear was founded by Mark Richardson in 2006. Mark is a serial backpacker and wanted to bring the lightest and best backpacking products under one roof, we think he succeeded!
Most of our team share Mark’s passion for the outdoors and get involved in product testing just doing what they love, let me introduce you to a few of them:
Mark
Owner and CEO
Best Trek: John Muir Trail (probably)
Ambition: The Munros
Loves: Dogs, Australia and Science Fiction
Danny
Chief Operating Officer
Loves: Hiking, Biking, Red Wine, Smelly Cheese and Sunsets
Favourite Places: Cairngorms, Northumberland beaches, Durham Dales and France
Biggest Adventure: Rescued by Helicopter Winchman in Mallorca
Alexander
Core Operations Manager
Favourite Movie: Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Loves: Pepperoni Pizza
Biggest Adventure: Road Trip from San Diego to San Francisco
Joel
Purchasing Manager
Favourite Places to Visit: Lake District, Turkey, Spain and USA.
Loves: Hiking, Running, My Cocker Spaniels, Food and Music.
Ambitions: Run a Marathon and to Visit Japan and Patagonia.
Chris
Customer Service Team Leader
Favourite Activities: Trail Running, Hiking and CrossFit
Passion For: Tinned Fish
Ambition: To Complete the Bob Graham Round
Charlotte
Customer Service Advisor
Loves: Family, Red Wine, Rock Music & Festivals
Favourite Adventures: Roadtrippin' in Iceland, Backpacking around New Zealand and Gambling in Las Vegas
Favourite Season: Winter
Bex
Customer Service Advisor
Loves: Bouldering, Coffee and Cake
Favourite Activities: Bouldering, Yoga, Scrambling and Paddleboarding
Favourite Places: Lake District, North York Moors and Fontainebleau
Lois
Customer Service Advisor
Loves: Family always top of the list... closely followed by Pilates & Yoga, good Food, a good Book and a good Night's Sleep.
Favourite Adventure: Riding the Porcupine Rim Trail in Moab, Utah
Favourite Season: Any season when the sky is blue
Rob
Customer Service Advisor
Favourite Activities: Biking, Board Games and Live Music/Comedy
Couldn’t Live Without: Cheese, Chocolate, Ice Cream and a Good Nights Sleep
Favourite Places to Visit: Wales, Peak District and Yorkshire Dales
Sam
Web Team Leader
Favourite Activities: Hiking, Climbing, Snowboarding, CrossFit and Mountain Biking
Loves: All dogs, especially mine, he's the best!
Couldn't Live Without: Dogs, Pizza and Beer
Andy
Content Creator
Favourite Movies: The Wicker Man and Withnail and I
Ambitions: The Cape Wrath Trail & The Pennine Way
Loves: Hiking, Camping, Dungeons & Dragons and The Beatles
Fran
Graphic Designer
Loves: Baking, Basketball and Films
Couldn’t Live Without: Music, Coffee and Chocolate
Favourite Food: Pizza
Mathew
Assistant Buyer
Couldn't Live Without: Music
Favourite Food: Curry
Favourite Activities: Running and Football
Chloe
Warehouse Team Leader
Loves: My Pugs, Cherry Coke and The Arsenal
Favourite Food: Chicken Nuggets
Chris
Order Processor
Kris
Order Processor
Loves: My Family and My Dog
Favourite Activities: Hiking and Gaming
Favourite Takeaway: Chinese
We’re located in the North East of England on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, half and hour from the Yorkshire Dales and ninety minutes from the Lake District. We have hills, mountains, moors and sea-cliffs on our doorstep and the weather to enjoy it!
Have you heard of the TGO Challenge? A two week trek across Scotland carrying all your gear and camping in beautiful wild places? Not surprisingly we are the key sponsor for the event and a fair few of our customers participate. Check it out here: TGO Challenge
Charitable Support
We want to spread the love too, so we have our own charities which we support, giving on a monthly basis, the focus is on helping people and helping the environment:
European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, Unicef, Rainforest Trust, Oceana, Help for Heroes, Gift Your Gear, Against Malaria Foundation, The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association and WaterAid.
We wanted to offer some of the great kit from our brands that wasn’t necessarily 'ultralight' so we started our partner website BasecampGear. There’s some crossover with what we sell there, but you'll find gear that's for Car Camping, Bikepacking, Running, Travel, Van Life, and other Outdoor Exploits.
