Blog

Drink Dilemma – the facts about water treatmentThe DangersDrinking water directly from streams and rivers can be hazardous because such sources could contain Pathogens; a Pathogen is a disease causing organism commonly referred to as a germ.There are four types of water-borne pathogens that are of concern: Protozoa – single cell organisms often transferred through human and animal faeces. They ar …

What Size and Shape Sleeping Bag?The sleeping bag is a vital piece of kit in any camping set up but choosing one can be difficult. After you've decided on how much you want to spend, how cold you need it to be able to go down to and how much weight you're happy to carry there are still a lot of aspects to consider. Here we have tried to show some of the things you might want to consider in terms o …

Most mosquitos, including those that carry malaria, are active when it's dark. A mosquito net not only keeps malaria mosquitos away but also other insects, such as lice, bed bugs and fleas. So contributing to a good night's sleep.A Mosquito net only offers extra protection against mosquitos and other insects if it is sealed off all around and has a mesh size of no more than 1.75mm. Nets may be imp …

The intention of this page is simply to provide guidance and advice to those with limited winter mountaineering experience. It is not definitive piece and is based solely on our experiences in the mountains. The aim is to simply help customers understand differences and focus on what they might need from the options available when considering buying an ice axe. We hope to provide some general advi …

WickiUp 3The WickiUp 3 is a special shelter so we've given it a special page just to explain how good it really is! The quality of materials and the high standard of construction are self evident however the modular approach to the WickiUp 3 components offers great flexibility in how the shelter can be used, by buying two or more parts you can configure various shelters at various weights for a va …

To understand the purpose of the softshell jacket is useful to talk about the performance of 'hardshells' focusing on the potential problems with them, problems which boil down to breathability and stiffness. Creating a waterproof fabric is relatively easy but if the fabric doesn't breathe then you'll get just as wet from sweat build up as you would have done from rain if you hadn't worn it. So, a …

Down is the natural plumage that forms the undercoating of waterfowl. It forms in tufts, or plumules, and consists of fluffy, wispy filaments. It is an exceptional insulator, prized for being light, easy to compress, durable and breathable. It excels in cold, dry conditions. Down is more expensive than synthetic fill, but it maintains its loft (which provides its heat-trapping ability) at a near-o …

The EN13537 Standard - EN13537 requires a thermal manikin test which produces four temperature results — upper limit, comfort, lower limit and extreme.These Interpret as:Upper Limit — the temperature at which a standard man can sleep without excessive perspiration. It is established with the hood and zippers open and with the arms outside of the bag.Comfort — the temperature at which a standard wo …

Power Stretch Pro is one of a range of fabrics from Polartec, we explain what the fabric does and include our opinion of it.

Generally the more down in a jacket (fill weight), the warmer it is going to be but this assumes the down is the same quality. However, down quality can vary significantly and is measured by its fill power. A higher fill power down will keep you warmer than a lower fill power. To make matters worse there are two widely recognised methods of measuring Fill Power - the 'US' Method and the 'EU' Metho …

When it comes to clothing there is often a dizzying assortment of options so one of the simplest ways to make your choice is to think about what you will be using them for most of the time. Rather than trying to get an item that does everything in all conditions, it is much better to be realistic and get something that performs brilliantly for the activity you get out and do most. We have tried …

Rectangular versus Mummy shapes - Most sleeping bags you will see on our website are Mummy shaped, this is because a close-fitting bag will be warmer for a given weight because there is less volume of air to move around carrying heat away with it, and a close-fitting bag weighs less than other shapes because there is no waste of material.Some people feel too restricted by a mummy bag and would r …