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In 1982, Hartmut Ortlieb founded ORTLIEB Sportartikel GmbH in Nuremberg, Germany. In 1997 the company relocated to the Middle Franconian town of Heilsbronn, in the regional district of Ansbach. The first ORTLIEB bike panniers were created in pure personal need for waterproof equipment – it wasn’t available at that time! The first products were hand-made on Hartmut mother’s sewing machine: dry bags …

La Sportiva was born in 1928 when Narciso Delladio hand-crafted wooden leather boots for many lumber-jacks and farmers of the Fassa and Fiemme valleys (Dolomites, Italy). After the war, the demand for boots increased obliging Narciso to hire new workers: the good name of "Calzoleria Sportiva" crossed the boarders of the valleys. Starting from here the La Sportiva’s history continued to grow. …

About EXPEDEXPED's history is closely linked to the life story of Heidi and Andi Brun, who set off to fulfill their common dream of experiencing solitude in the wilderness. The experience they gained turned them into extraordinary innovators. A honeymoon of a different kind began in 1980.After selecting a location, they embarked for northern Canada with the bare necessities and built a log cabin b …

Enlightened Equipment are experts in camping quilts; find out more about this relatively new brand on this page. ''We’re driven by a passion for making great gear that goes wherever you go. Our philosophy is to be smarter and lighter, eliminating useless extra features so you only carry what you need. We tirelessly test and update our designs to make them the best and lightest they can be''. …

Enlightened Equipment are experts in camping quilts; there's quite a lot to these alternatives to sleeping bags and we've reproduced their views and advice on this page to help you decide if a quilt could be for you. — A QUILT is an alternative to a sleeping bag that offers comfort, versatility, weight savings, and compressibility in ways that sleeping bags can’t. — Quilts allow the user …

You only have to go outside for ten minutes in cold weather to realise how important a decent pair of gloves is, if you go outside on a mountain for a full day out then your choice of glove could make or break your enjoyment of the day!Windy and wet conditions further exacerbate the problem of keeping your hands warm and comfortable because they rob your hands of heat.We look at the consider …

The  M30 map case is 295mm x 295mm viewable area which is basically A4 which fits with the size of Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure maps. It’s a welded construction with a double ‘zip-lok’ type seal at its opening, I’ve used quite a few of this type of map case over the years and the seal can sometimes be hard to close and very hard to open, especially in cold weather, and definitely …

Outdoor Research's VerticalX SuperStrand Synthetic Insulation is built to deliver exceptional warmth to weight ratio, it compares to 700-800 Fill Power down in terms of its softness, weight and lofting ability. On this page we explain how it works. — VerticalX SuperStrand is the lightest, softest, most compressible synthetic insulation available taking the best qualities of down and improving …

Mont-bell's Plasma series are highly advanced ultra-lightweight garments, on this page we explain the three key technologies used to achieve their amazing warmth to weight ratios. —  In simple terms, the benefits of our patented quilting pattern are straightforward construction, reduced seam weight, and improved thermal efficiency. By not forming traditional rectangular boxes or “skippin …

Mont-bell Seamless Down Hugger sleeping bags are cutting edge, eliminating relatively inefficient baffles from sleeping bag construction and incorporating stretch fabric to improve warmth without constricting the sleeper are two key technologies; on this page we explain those technologies. We asked ourselves, “Is there anything we can do to improve down's ability to insulate?” As ideas were b …

Blisters are usually caused by poorly fitting footwear, friction, warm or damp feet rubbing inside your shoes. If you are walking long distances then it’s likely that at some point you have experienced the discomfort of a blister. On multiday treks it can be a real problem not only due to the pain but also the risk of infection. Preventing blisters from forming in the first place is th …

Honouring our reputation as the masters of insulation, the new Mythic range have reached the next level. Achieving exceptional levels of warmth to weight and incorporating our cutting edge TILT technology for the first time, this collection features the lightest and warmest jackets we've ever made. Built for tackling high altitude ascents in sub zero temperatures. — What is TILT Technolo …