Electronic Mountain Leader

DMM's new products for 2012 - part 1

2012-01-31T21:43:00.000Z

Fresh from its 30th anniversary celebrations in 2011, DMM enters 2012 combining its technical engineering capabilities with an expansive knowledge of all things climbing to showcase an
awesome collection of new products.

They have a new range of ice axes, new winter protection, a modern leash system, colour coded screwgate carabiner packs, and a whole new range of camming devices. As always, fulfilling the requirements of climbers throughout the world has been DMM's primary motivation.

The new DMM axe range is the result of 30 years of technical knowledge combined with valuable feedback from a broad range of climbers. The underlying requirement was to make a set of tools that offer exceptional performance and are built to withstand the rigours of modern climbing by being ‘bombproof’ - sturdy, strong and dependable.

They have engineered the light, balanced, and supremely strong ‘T Rated Integrity Construction’ method using full strength, T Rated components throughout, double riveting and high quality materials. We have encased the hot-forged handles with a highly insulated, durable, grippy, fully integrated moulding.

The new designs see the classic best-sellers being brought into the present with full strength ergonomic handles, fresh colourways throughout and handrests on the Fly. In addition they have introduced 2 new axes at the top end: The Apex and The Switch - modern tools for modern climbing. The range is an ‘all-mountain’ offering, covering everything from mountain walking and glacier work to Alpinism and modern test pieces. The initial impressions being that they are very similar to Petzl's Nomic and Quark but without getting my hands on them I can't say for sure. They do however look amazing and very smart.

In order to provide more racking options in our active protection range they have combined some of the favourite features from their two existing cams: the tried and trusted 13.75°, single axle head unit of the 4CU, with the justifiably popular stem assembly of the Dragon with its patented thumb press and extendable sling design. The result is a lightweight, versatile, and functional device that caters for climbers who prefer single stem ergonomics, for those who are used to our traditional sizing system, and for those who want to double up their cam racks to offer even more placement options.

The range covers placements from 13mm to 100mm in nine colour coded sizes. The colours follow the same sequence as the 4CU, but we’ve reversed the cam lobe colouring to the opposite to the Dragon for easily identification.With the Demon in the DMM range, we offer the worlds premium range of protection, both passive and active, for all climbers and all climbs.

Keep looking for the next parts of this series where I will detail each item.

New DMM ice axes - teaser video

2012-01-27T22:13:00.001Z

Apex and Switch axes from DMM

Released today was a teaser video from DMM showing glimpses of their new range of ice axes that are due to be released on the 29th at ISPO in Munich.

The video confirms remakes of the DMM fly, raptor, and cirque, and 2 new names to the DMM axes range; the Apex and the Switch. More to come over the next few days but for now just a short video! Stay tuned for more as it appears!

Video and more information here: http://dmmclimbing.com/news/2012/01/showing-at-ispo-munich-2012/

Electronic Mountain Leader - 3rd birthday today!

2012-01-20T17:47:00.002Z

3 years, 10's of 1000's of views, and over 52,000 words, I'm still here! Whilst I didn't publish my first article until August 2009, I published a series of smaller articles which I deleted, my first ever post on the blog was 20th January 2009 making today the 3rd birthday of Electronic Mountain Leader! These days there is a website, a blog and (launched today) the new DofE blog, not to mention a Copyright on the name, tonnes of web space, and not forgetting a new contributor in Simon.

Thank you to everyone who's visited Electronic Mountain Leader over the last 3 years, and I promise I will continue writing articles as often as I can, once again anyone who wants to contact me with feedback, comments or questions please feel free! Many thanks also to the companies who have supported me by providing products to test!

New Duke of Edinburgh's Award blog and mobile app

2012-01-20T17:05:00.005Z

You may or may not have noticed the "DofE" tab that has been sat on the pages bar for the last couple of weeks, it had originally been my plan to integrate what I want to write about DofE on this blog, however it rapidly became clear that a separate blog was needed and so here we are click

There have been 4 major influences in my life which have lead me to become the man I am today; my mum,dad and family, DofE, Air Cadets and my education, all of which have been important to me (family more so than any other). DofE has always been something I have been passionate about, and I been involved in it since the age of 14 - both as a participant and as a leader, the whole idea of the DofE blog is to bring my passion for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to people who might need some help, the new blog will feature DofE specific articles on all aspects of the expedition section of DofE including kit reviews, video guides and much more. The aim being to try and spread the DofE resources I have spent many hours creating to people who need them! It's still under construction so definitely watch this space and stay tuned!

Scan me (Android only)

I also knocked up a quick Android mobile app using an online app maker, I do have a full app in the works that will hopefully feature a simple GPS feature, as well as articles and exclusive content. The app available through the barcode to the right is just a simple strip down version of the website, the content will update when connected to WiFi or Mobile internet, it's not graphics heavy so it's easy to view the latest posts! It also has Google maps with basic GPS functionality. Any feedback welcome!

Petzl NAO - the future of head torches?

2012-01-20T13:05:00.012Z

RRP: £135

Petzl's latest headtorch has been announced; the Petzl NAO will be available from July 2012....but what is it?

Petzl's new NAO headtorch features a heads-up sensor at the front that adapts the light output of the headtorch according to what is required. For example scanning the horizon will result in the headtorch adapting to maximum output and maximum concentration, whilst looking at a map will cause the torch to reduce output and increase beam width. From Petzl's website:

"REACTIVE LIGHTING technology is a revolution in hands-free lighting. A built-in light sensor adapts the headlamp's beam pattern and light output instantly and automatically to suit the user's needs. This means the user gets an ideal amount of light with minimal manual adjustment required. This self-adjusting lighting mode also results in longer burn times, due to more efficient use of the rechargeable battery"

The diagram to the left from the Petzl site illustrates how the torch functions. The light sensor on the torch detects what light level is required, close range wide beams where needed and long range concentrated beams where needed. The result? Minimum adjustment needed, and maximum battery life. The torch weighs a respectable 187g - not the lightest but definitely a good power/weight ratio. The Nao also picks up where the Petzl Core left off - with USB charging (2300mAh Lithium Ion battery), however this can be supplemented with AAA batteries if required. The official Petzl press release is below:

The Petzl NAO is a new-generation head torch that represents a genuine step forward in hands-free lighting.

The NAO uses Petzl's innovative Reactive Lighting technology, providing light that automatically adapts to your environment. A sensor constantly monitors reflected light from your direction of vision and adapts the head torch output accordingly. This means there is no need to manually adjust brightness when switching between close or distant objects. The dual benefit is automatic optimisation of battery output, giving extended burn times. The Petzl Nao gives you the right light when you need it – automatically.

One of the big problems with today's head torches is the relationship between high-performance LED power consumption and battery capacity. The choices are limited; either unregulated light, giving rapidly diminishing light output, or regulated output where maximum power is only available for relatively short periods.

Petzl's Reactive Lighting technology allows your battery to optimise its output, only providing the power you need for the environment you are operating in. The result is that battery life can last at least three times longer than it would do under constant full power*.

The Petzl Nao features a front headset with twin LEDS and sensor, linked to the rear-mounted battery by the new Zephyr cord-lock headband. The battery is a 2300 mAh lithium-ion unit, rechargeable via an integrated USB plug. There is a belt kit version for the battery, plus a detachable top strap for additional stability when running.

Lighting is controlled via a large rotating on/off switch, which can be locked in the 'off' position. The switch allows the user to choose between Reactive Lighting or Static modes, with high/low output options in each. Static lighting gives a fixed output (non-reactive).

In Reactive Lighting mode the headset uses a single high-output LED in a wide-angled beam. In Static mode the headset uses both the wide-angled beam and a second high-output LED configured for a focused beam. Maximum power output is 355 lumens. Performance profiles can be customised via Petzl's OS 2.0 on your computer.

For 'emergency use', the battery pack will accept 2 x conventional AAA batteries. UK RSP will be £135.00.

*Required output will of course depend on ambient light and the pattern of your usage, ie how much you switch between near/far objects.

So what do I think? I think this looks really cool, Petzl have produced a new unique system that really does have potential for being a useful addition to a climbers arsenal. A torch that can adapt to reduce output when looking close to the crag placing gear, then increase output as you look up the route, all without fiddling around with dials and buttons, is a genuinely useful idea! However Petzl have included an override function for those people who prefer to be more in control! The Petzl OS 2.0 software can be used to fine tune the unit making it even more efficient, this is another nice little feature included by Petzl. Lets hope that it lives up to expectations! But thumbs up to Petzl for a unique and innovate idea!

Petzl also released a short video accompanying the press release, (see below) enjoy!

Source: http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/headlamp/nao

or check out the NA) on Tribevine.com http://www.tribevine.com/product/11824/Petzl/NAO%20headtorch

Memory Map Adventurer 2800 - great unit at a great price

2012-01-08T00:12:00.000Z

GPS technology has rapidly increased over the last 2 years, with the introduction of more and more phones that feature GPS, the outdoor industry has seen massive strides taken in the outdoor GPS handset category. Memory Map have always been at the forefront of electronic mapping, with their software arguably being the most popular and most advanced out there. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that they have ventured into the GPS handset market and produced their own range of handsets that not only integrate with existing maps but also come pre-loaded with 1:50k maps. In this category it is certainly up against some tough competition with units like the Garmin eTrex 30, Dakota and Montana, Satmap Active 10, and other high end sets. So how does the Adventurer 2800 compare?

First things first, straight out of the box this unit feels great. It's solid feeling - the kind of unit you want to take out into the mountains with you. It's also very light (135g with battery), so the unit isn't a huge amount of extra weight to carry. Switching the unit on reveals the vibrant high resolution screen. It displays the maps with beautiful clarity, if you look at other units available it's easy to see why the Adventurer really dwarfs the competition. Below are the stats compared to a couple of other units:

Adventurer: 96,000 pixels, (400 x 240)
Garmin Dakota: 38,400 pixels (240 x 160)
Satmap Active 10: 76,800 (320 x 240)

Looking at the above you can clearly the see the adventurer boasts a far superior screen, and it really does show when looking at maps especially zoomed in. So far so good!

Memory Map software is great for route tracking,
and as a teaching aid.

Onto the technical side of things, the adventurer comes with a couple of options for maps, you can buy the unit with either 1:50k national parks or 1:50k entire UK (for a small price difference). In addition to this if you own memory map and have your own maps you can add them on as well on the MicroSD (various sizes available) expansion card. For me this meant I could have 1:25k detail as well, which is a real bonus. The maps are really clear and detailed and show all the data on a 1:25k map not just vector mapping details that are found on some mapping systems. The GPS antennae is very powerful, gaining a fix quickly and efficiently. It maintains this fix even in thickly wooded areas, and inside. I compared the speed of the fix against my Garmin eTrex 10, and the eTrex was faster, however not by much, and considering the Adventurer is able to acquire the fix and place your position on a 1:25k map, it's worth waiting the extra minute!

The touchscreen is easy to use, but does require a bit more effort if wearing gloves, this could be an issue in colder conditions, however you can buy "e-tip" gloves (various shops and brands that mean operation even with gloves on is easy.

Overall I love this unit, it's great value, it's easy to use, its powerful and quick to get a fix, and worth the money bigtime especially if you have Memory Map already and want to use existing map

Magellan eXplorist - neat little GPS handset

2012-01-07T23:59:00.002Z

After the OutDoor show 2011 I was keen to get one of these to test. Thanks to my friends at the Outdoors Company I was able to get one of these for a few weeks to test.

The version I got was the GC (geocache) version, however I am going to ignore the geocaching functionality of this unit as it is not something that interests me in a GPS, but I will add that if you are into geocaching (I'm not) there are a lot of features on this GPS that you will enjoy!

Right so the unit; it's well built, and substantial feeling when you hold it. The loop on the bottom I mentioned in my first impression review below, but it is a very useful feature, and I immediately added a cord lanyard onto it to make sure I didn't lose it. But I really like the feel of the unit.

When you switch it on you are met by a nice looking menu screen that, (in contrast to the etrex 10) is in full colour. The unit is easy to understand, I like to gauge ease of use based on what I can pick up instantly without having to consult the manual, and in this case I was able to pick up everything I wanted from the set without needing the manual at all.

The unit acquired a fix quickly, and maintained this fix both in dense wooded areas and also inside buildings which is unusual for a GPS.

However when looking at this unit I had to compare it to the eTrex 10 that I was testing at the same time. The eTrex 10 uses both GLONASS and GPS - something that the Magellan does not do (the SiRFstarIII antenna in the GC isn't able to receive GLONASS, Magellan's GNSS receiver is their only current antennae that does this). Because of this the eTrex is quicker to get a fix, and maintains the fix to a higher accuracy for longer than the Magellan. Aside from this both units function in the same way, accept that the Magellan has a colour screen and the eTrex is monochrome.

To get back to the Magellan, I like it, it's a nice GPS unit and definitely worth considering if you are looking for a basic GPS that doesn't have OS mapping. The eTrex 10 is also worth looking at, but the Magellan has a few features including the geocaching functionality for which it was designed that might make it better than the eTrex 10.

Jetboil Flash - update of a great piece of kit

2012-01-07T23:52:00.000Z

Jetboil have had a lot of success with their Jetboil stoves, and now with several on the market and selling well they are looking for ways to improve designs, and lower the weight. The jetboil flash does 50% of that!

First off in terms of weight it's no different to the original Jetboil PCS (now called Jetboil Classic). It's exactly the same weight, with exactly the same power output, and boil time. For those of you who aren't familiar with Jetboil, the concept of the system is a small, lightweight, efficient stove unit. It can boil water very efficiently and quickly (under 2 minutes). The stove unit attaches to the cup (called the companion mug), and makes a very stable unit. A number of accessories are available for the system including a hanging kit (which isn't brilliant), a coffee press, and a stabiliser set (included with the Jetboil Flash). The stabiliser consists of a small tripod type affair that attaches to the bottom of the gas canister to stop the stove from over balancing, the set also includes a metal attachment for the top of the stove that turns the Jetboil into a more traditional stove that can have a pan or mess tin on instead of the companion mug.

Jetboil Flash (left) Vs PCS (right)

After you finish cooking you can pack everything away inside the companion mug which saves space, and means you aren't scrambling around for everything when you want to make a brew!

So whats new with the Flash? The Flash has a couple of new features which I feel are a real improvement on the original PCS. The first change is the gas regulator valve on the side. On the PCS this was a small knob that could be really fiddly, especially in gloves. This has been changed to larger wire frame, glove friendly adjuster - a significant improvement on the original. The second (albiet minor) change is the lid and bottom cover - these have been adjusted to an opaque plastic, this is a useful change as you can look into the stove and see how you cooking is progressing. The third change is a good one - the igniter on the previous unit was quite far away from the burner, this meant that in wind you often had to result to the backup lighter to get it working, on the Flash the piezo igniter is closer to the burner which seems to provide a much more consistent ignition! The final change is the sleeve of the unit. The sleeve now features a heat indicator that turns yellow when the contents of the stove are hot, in practice this means you can keep the lid on the stove until the sleeve turns yellow, removing the lid then will reveal the boiling water, and because you had the lid on the whole time the efficiency is maximised.

Jetboil Flash with stabiliser

Overall I'm happy with the Flash and glad I got one when my PCS needed replacing, don't go out and buy one if you have a working PCS, as the new features are that significant, but if you want a jetboil, definitely get this one over the Jetboil Classic!

Jetboil really is one of my favorite pieces of kit, it's lightweight, it's efficient, and it does the job I want it to do quickly, no messing around! The flash is an improvement on the original and comes with the stabiliser (previously £15 with the PCS) so that's an extra bonus! Worth shopping around for too it can be found at prices between £60-£112 so a big difference between retailers!

Blacks: How a phoenix could rise from the ashes?

2012-01-06T16:40:00.006Z

"Now is the winter of our discount tent" UKC 2012

I have made no secret of the fact that I have never been that impressed with Blacks, why? My main gripe is that the choice of brands present in the store is reflective of fashion rather than function. In addition the staff are varied; some are excellent, and really know their subject, and some are woeful and couldn’t tell the difference between their arse and their elbow never mind a softshell and a hardshell.

It is therefore not entirely surprising that Blacks have ended up at deaths door, bargaining for a last minute reprieve. If we take Stoke on Trent as an example; Blacks in Stoke is middle of the park as far as I’m concerned. Some of the staff there are great and know their stuff, but the brands sold there are what I would consider ‘form over function’. But non the less Blacks in Stoke has had somewhat of a monopoly in recent years, with the minor outdoor shops (Mountain Fever and Hi Peak leisure) closing down, one through lack of business, one through the owner emigrating. However a recent GoOutdoors store opening, meant that Blacks was always going to struggle, introduction of a price promise, and various offers failed to achieve the required sales (nationwide also) and Blacks finds itself in administration. But why?

Price matching is great....if you sell things that people want to match. The fact is that when the high street fashion trend of having outdoor jackets went away, Blacks continued to stock items that qualified as neither fashionable (by current trends) or functional (by outdoor standards). It would be unfair of course to accuse Blacks of stocking brands that nobody liked. The range of rucksacks was always quite good, featuring top brands like Osprey, Deuter and Lowe Alpine. However I always found that the choice of brands for technical garments was found wanting. North Face and Berghaus were the 2 main options available. In my opinion they are both brands that suffered from a drop in popularity during the “outdoor fashion boom”; by this I mean that as a community we outdoorsy types are quite protective of our image, it’s our thing, and when it becomes fashionable to plod around town in Berghaus and North Face, we don’t want it. Partly because we want to be different, and partly because these brands had a noticeable refocus in purpose from function to fashion, meaning a drop in the quality of the kit; something that they are both only now recovering from. Fact is, nobody wants to go wearing the same kit on the hill, as a 15 year old chav stood smoking by the corner of the local shop, with their Burberry scarf up over their face. Even though this trend has long since passed, there is still a perception that this is the case, and that North Face and Berghaus (to a lesser extent) are too high street.

This can’t be put down to a simple case of the outdoor retailers having a hard time in general, Cotswolds, GoOutdoors even to some extents the smaller and less well known Mountain Warehouse all seem to be doing well.

Bidding is ongoing for a takeover of blacks in a pre-pack deal after going into administration this morning (6^th Jan). So when a new owner emerges how will they get Blacks back on it’s feet? Here’s what I think:

1) Get Blacks back to selling the TOP outdoor brands, I don’t want to walk into Blacks and have North Face thrust in my face from every angle, by all means sell North Face and Berghaus kit, but give you consumers a range of choice. Get Mountain Equipment, Mammut, Rab, and other top outdoor brands in there, and Blacks will once again begin to appeal to the outdoor enthusiasts. As a consumer I want a choice of the best, if you stock only a couple of brands in a given category, I will go elsewhere.

2) Climbing hardware, Blacks had a brief flirt with climbing gear last year and did a crap job of it, why? Because they stocked only CAMP gear, and at shockingly high prices, with staff who didn’t have a clue. They were uncompetitive, and the staff knowing nothing about the kit is unforgiveable, If they were to stock DMM, Wild Country, Black Diamond and other top notch hardware brands, and get the staff some training on how to use them, the store would appeal to climbers and mountaineers, as well as walkers and hikers.

3) Staff training, get the staff trained on their product. If I ask a sales assistant about a jacket, I want to know their opinion, their thoughts based on their experiences, I’m not interested in hearing a pre learned speech about how gortex work – I know already, I want an enthusiasts opinion of the kit.

4) Ditch the surfware, Animal, O’Neil etc, let Republic and other high street shops stock that kind of stuff, fact is, it’s not in fashion, and no outdoorsy types want it, it’s just dead weight.

5) Loyalty scheme, get a loyalty scheme, similar to GoOutdoors card perhaps, or even Cotswolds Explore More card. Make Blacks feel like an outdoor shop, get some good offers, deals, and rewards for shopping there.

Start stocking better gear, with more knowledgeable staff, and the fact is people will flock to Blacks. It’s the most well known and widespread brand in the UK for outdoor kit, it’s about time it started acting like it.

A phoenix from the ashes.....we can only hope.

Brits to attempt Snow Leopard...

2011-12-30T19:36:00.002Z

In July 2012 British mountaineers Jon Gupta &; Nick Valentine will attempted to complete the world’s hardest high altitude mountaineering challenge: The Snow Leopard Award – 5 x 7000m peaks. Not only this but they are planning to climb the 5 peaks back to back in Alpine Style in just 40 days!!

This will be a British First completion of the award and should we climb them in 40 days...a world fastest - which currently belongs to legendary climber Denis Ububko

Their aim is to inspire and motivate people, young people in particular, to believe that anything is possible and that they too can achieve their wildest dreams.

My friend Nick and his friend Jon are both incredibly passionate about the outdoors and both live and breathe climbing and mountaineering for fun and for work. They are both working towards becoming IFMGA Guides. This expedition is so exciting and will give both Nick and Jon the chance to climb together to their full potential and hopefully achieve something great for British Mountaineering and inspire young mountaineers to get out there and keep climbing!

What is the Snow Leopard Award?

The Snow Leopard award was a Soviet mountaineering award, given to very experienced climbers, knower days It is still recognised in the Commonwealth of Independent States. To receive this award, a climber must summit all 5 peaks of 7000m and above located in the former Soviet Union.

In Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains there are 3 Snow Leopard peaks, Communism Peak 7,495 m (24,590 ft), Peak Korzhenevskaya 7,105 m (23,310 ft), and Lenin Peak 7,134 m (23,406 ft) on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border. In the Tian Shan there are 2 Snow Leopard peaks, Peak Pobeda 7,439 metres (24,406 ft) in Kyrgyzstan (divided by the border with China), and Khan Tengri 7,010 m (22,998 ft) on the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border.

In order of difficulty, Peak Pobeda is by far the most difficult and dangerous, followed by Khan Tengri, Ismail Samani Peak, Peak Korzhenevskaya, and Lenin (Ibn Sina) Peak

So as you can see they have quite a task ahead of them, I look forward to seeing this trip progress!

To follow Nick and Jon's progress visit:

ESL12 Twitter

ESL12 Facebook

Macpherson Mountaineering - brilliant customer service

2011-12-28T23:04:00.001Z

Just a quick bit of praise for Macpherson Mountaineering for excellent customer service. My mum ordered a pair of Paramo salopettes for Simon for christmas in size XXL. The gentleman from Macpherson Mountaineering took the time to ring my mum to discuss the sizing of the salopettes, he measured the XL to give my mum an idea of the sizes available, and allowed my mum to make an informed decision about the size to get.

An example of an independent shop going the extra mile for customers, and definitely worth considering if you are looking at buying some kit for winter! Well done guys!

Macpherson Mountaineering can be found at http://macmountaineering.co.uk/

Do the letters G, P, and S make you too confident? A simple how-to of GPS

2011-12-27T23:02:00.006Z

These days the acronym GPS has become synonymous with the simplification of navigation, sadly it has also been the cause of a number of incidents where people have wrongly assumed that carrying a phone that has a GPS built in will miraculously come to their aid should problems arise. People start to believe that because they have a GPS they are suddenly immune to the problems associated with bad weather, poor conditions etc

For me this whole issue was illustrated on a recent trip to Snowdon. "On our approach to the summit the weather had taken a turn for the worse, cloud had come in, wind speed had increased dramatically, and on top of that it had started to rain. While descending the ranger path with the group I met a couple coming up towards us. This couple were both dressed in ¾ length jeans, t shirt and jumper, wearing trainers with trainer liners. Not knowing what else to say I asked one of them “you guys ok there?”. I was met with the following reply “yeah we’re find, do you know where the train station is? We were just going to take the train down”. When I explained they were nowhere near the train station and that the weather further up was worse than where we were, the guy I was talking to replied “it’s ok mate I got Google maps on my phone”. At this stage I said they should come with me back to the car park, a suggestion to which the freezing cold girl of the pair was most agreeable too. After giving both of them a spare jacket from my kit we descended to the car park.”

First of all let me assure you that the above story is completely 100% true, and no detail has been made up, it does however neatly illustrate my point; GPS has become a false safety net for many novices who want to get out. The purpose of this short article is to offer some simple advice to those people who are new to the GPS, and perhaps believe that their smartphone, iPhone etc will save them in an emergency. This is also the time of the year where novice walkers (or even more highly experienced) may have bought themselves a shiny new GPS unit, and, instead of learning to use it, stash it neatly on their belt for an emergency. I really do not mean this to be offensive to anyone, and by no means is the tone of this condescending, I really just want to offer simple advice to help keep people safe J

Part 1: Smartphones

The fact is that a smartphone could possibly help in an emergency on the hill, the GPS antennae’s on modern phones are often highly advanced and can offer detailed fixes. However in order to this you need to understand a few things about GPS on your phone.

Firstly the GPS is only any use to you if there is software (an app) on the phone that can use the GPS antennae to give you a fix on your position in a Latitude and Longitude format, this is the standard GPS output format and can be given over the phone to Mountain Rescue who will be able to quickly locate you based on this information. Some pieces of software will be able to use the GPS to find out where you are, and display this on a map. Whilst this may be useful in a town or city because you will be able to relate your position to other roads and buildings, in the mountains this is not the case, and programs like Google maps that do not have topographical maps will not show anything around your location.

On this basis the first thing you need to do is check that the software on your phone shows Lat/Long fixes. If it doesn’t then download an app that does, many of these are free for example; GPS essentials on Android. Once you have your app, practice using it, make sure it functions without a mobile internet connection, since many times in the mountains this type of signal will not be available. If you have software on your phone, that can display Lat/Long, without an internet connection, then you have a useful feature on your phone, provided it has battery enough to use it, and you are aware of how to do so. When you get the software on and working you are looking for a figure that looks like:53^o34.544N 13^o54.1346W this is the full Lat/long reference and you will need to provide the whole set of numbers in order for people to find you.

Part 2: GPS handsets

Many would be walkers buy a GPS handset but have no idea how to use it. It’s often one of those gadgets that people buy because it seems like a piece of gear they need. The fact is (cliché I know) GPS is not a substitute for good map skills. So do not go out into the mountains without a good knowledge of map and compass, and the appropriate equipment.

That said, if you do have a GPS it is a piece of gear that can really help in an emergency, and the good news is that regardless of the brand of GPS you have the approach to finding your location is very similar, and the below is a general overview of how to get that information.

Step 1: Turn the GPS on and wait for it to get a fix. This will be quicker if the GPS has already had a fix during the day, you can find your progress towards a fix on a screen that will be called “satellites” (or something similar). This will display a bar graph of signal strengths, and will usually indicate if you have a fix by saying “4 metre fix” or something similar.

Step 2: Once you have a fix, you need to find the location data. On some GPS sets for example the newest Garmin eTrex 10, this information is found on the satellites page so there is no need to scroll around trying to find it. On other models this may be found on a dashboard screen or home screen. You are looking for a figure that looks like: 53^o34.544N 13^o54.1346W this is the full Lat/long reference and you will need to provide the whole set of numbers in order for people to find you. You may also find the data is provided as a grid reference and will look like this: SJ 04566 78534 and you will need to provide the whole number including the letters at the start.

Above: Examples of GPS position screens, the red arrow marks the where you can find location. In the first screen it is shown as a grid reference, whilst in the other 2 it is shown as Lat/Long.

I close with a quote from Brecon Mountain Rescue team's Mark Jones, regarding a couple who were rescued by a smartphone when they were directed to download an app to the phone in order to be able to provide the team with an accurate location:

“Technology saved us all a night on the mountain, but it can never take the place of a traditional map and compass and being properly prepared.”

So there are the basics; if you want to know anything about your GPS, feel free to email me directly, I’m always happy to help.

Chris@electronicmountainleader.co.uk

Christmas Crackers!!!!

2011-12-27T19:30:00.002Z

So, this year for christmas I only asked for two things; a Podsac Alpine 50 and a pair of Paramo Aspira Salopettes. I had been worrying about the Salopettes sizing as I have rather long legs; I had heard the salopettes are rather short, but the XXL has a slightly longer leg by an Inch or so. A few weeks of wondering went by and then that lovely crisp white winters day came around - oh wait, the weather was warm and wet.....awkward.

But under the tree were two large parcels mith my name on.....a Podsac Alpine 50 in Blue (the colour i wanted) and a pair of Paramo Aspira Salopettes. Happy days!!! I havent had chance to use either in action but I have packed the rucksack with everything for a Winter day and it looks superb. First impressions are everything and this really does look and feel amazing. It is very comfy and I can actually look up whilst wearing it, a big plus for climbing. I have paraded around the house sporting my salopettes somewhat like "a fisherman" as my sister put it. But first impressions again show these to have superb build quality and they are fantastically comfortable.

I will endeavour to use both items as quick as I can, but that may not be till the end of January, so keep your eyes peeled. I will however put up some product information on here and on my favourite gear review site Tribevine. See earlier posts for info on it, but it is the one place you can go to find info on nearly every bit of outdoor gear before you go "splashing the cash".

Visit Tribevine here

Podsac Alpine 50

Its a lightweight pack that has been specifically designed to be at home in the alpine environment. Its functional, fairly water resistant and it can be stripped down to suit your needs i.e. take off the lid, straps, frame etc...

Fabric: 210D Cordura Ripstop, 420D Ballistic Cordura. Roll top closure provides weather resistance and gives secure closure when the lid is stripped. Tapered profile allows good freedom of movement and easy packing. Extendable/quick release lid with internal and external pockets. Thermoformed back panel with closed cell foam shed snow and does not absorb water. Removable internal framesheet and alloy stave for support. Removable load bearing hip belt with gear loops for racking. Internal light grey PU coating increases weather resistance and aids viewing of contents. Ice axe/walking pole/ski pole carrying system. External wand pockets constructed from ultra-tough leno mesh. Rope carrying loop. Front and rear haul loops. Internal pocket and hose outlet for hydration system. Seams triple stitched and bound. Internally bar tracked stress points. Size A - Designed to fit females and small males. Size B - Designed to fit medium/large male

Paramo Aspira Salopettes

Designed to fulfil the needs of the mountaineer and outdoor professional, the Men's Aspira Salopettes can be worn continually throughout the day and night! With unbeatable temperature control, you can comfortably walk, climb and even bivi in them without taking them off!

Storage from two increased volume chest pockets. Increased abrasion resistance and security through new stronger reversed zips. Easy to operate venting and access via zip on bib. Temperature control and improved fit from integral belt. ‘Access all areas’, even during harness use, via drop seat and zip fly. Unrestricted leg movement due to increased knee articulation and diamond gusset. Added protection and insulation via our unique slimline removable knee foam inserts. Increased abrasion resistance to the seat, knee and ankle area through re-inforced fabric. Rapid temperature adjustment via full length reversed side zips with new internal single storm flaps. Maximum articulation and minimal risk of ‘crampon tripping’ through calf adjust cords. Easily zipped on or off without removing boots, poppered ankle adjustment secures hem. Secure but unobtrusive tape loops for optional underboot elastication. In extreme low temperatures, Stretch Pants can be worn underneath for extra comfort. Now made without snow gaiters for use with modern leather boot/gaiter combinations.

Soto Micro Regulator Stove - UKClimbing freebie

2011-12-26T18:35:00.000Z

Luck shined on me in the recent round of UKClimbing.com competitions and I won a £75 Soto stove - a good early Christmas present! The stove was couriered over to me and arrived on the 22nd December.

The Soto Micro Regulator stove comes highly recommended from a number of companies, websites and bloggers, so I was happy to get my hands on one for free!

So what is so special about it? Well the Micro Regulator Stove (here on MRS) is designed to provide a constant output regardless of the internal pressure of the fuel. What this means is that the stove will provide a constant output in the cold (or hot), making it ideal for alpine climbing or expeditions. Sounding good so far huh? At 73g the stove is very light indeed, and comes with a small duffle bag to carry it in. The stove uses

standard screw fix gas canisters, which come in various sizes allowing you to carry as little as you need. On to the stove itself; the arms of the stove fold away to make it slim for storage, I found these a little fiddly initially and they could come undone, however I would put this more down me not being used to it as I don't have these problems any more. The MRS has a stealth igniter making it easy to light. The output is controlled by the small adjuster (also folds away) on the side. It is a very powerful little stove, quickly and efficiently boiling water, ensuring that making brews and boil in the bag meals is a simple and quick affair. At £75 the MRS is not cheap, but so far I have been very impressed with, and the ability of the stove to perform at a consistent level regardless of temperature is something that interests me a great deal.

...but overall, great stove, little on the expensive side, but worth it if you want an uber lightweight, consistent and powerful stove that won't let you down!

Mountain Equipment Titan 850 - don't let it be said I don't take my own advice!

2011-12-26T18:10:00.000Z

A little while back I reviewed Mountain Equipment winter sleeping bags (here). Recently decided that my life was lacking a warm sleeping bag, especially when I lay frozen in a tent in the backside of beyond assessing a DofE group. So I took my own advice and opted for the ME Titan 850. I will only be providing a short first impressions review today, but will give a more in depth analysis when I have used it for a bit longer!

First impression; wow. The feel of the bag is great, the lining is soft, making it comfortable to lay in, the outside feels tough, and it is light for a -12 comfort sleeping bag. The sleeping bag comes in a standard and long length which is ideal for me since I often find that at 6ft2 I'm slightly too tall for some bags, so nice to see that there is a longer bag out there! The sleeping bag includes both a stuff sack and a mesh storage bag so you can keep it uncompressed when it's not in use.

The Titan 850 was featured at the OutDoor show, as it is the first sleeping bag to adopt the "down codex" a system of ensuring that down used in equipment was sourced ethically, ensuring high standards of animal welfare, and environmental friendly production.

The titan is a 4 season sleeping bag, rated down to a comfort temperature of -12, with an extreme temperature of -31. Coupled with the water repellant finish to the sleeping bag , this makes the bag ideal for winter camping, mountaineering and bivying. It comes in at a reasonable 1.5kg, giving it a good warmth to weight ratio.

I will post a more in depth review when I have had this bag out in the field for a bit longer!

Overall nothing more to say about this bag other than it is an excellent bag, at a great price, and definitely worth considering if you are looking for a 4 season bag!

Garmin eTrex 10 - old yella'

2011-12-26T17:23:00.001Z

"Out with the old in with the new". When I saw Garmin's new range of GPS sets at the OutDoor show, I was in 2 minds; happy that Garmin were looking to improve on the already excellent eTrex systems, but worried that nothing could measure up in terms of simplicity, value and function. However from what I saw at the show I was impressed enough to get one.

At around £100 the etrex is cheaper than it's Magellan equivalent, and with a similar level of functionality. The box comes with a USB cable, and manual in the box, along with the unit. First things first, the unit is light, and comfortable to hold, the buttons on the sides are simple and labelled, the small joystick on the front is a new addition from the old etrex. The unit feels rugged, solid feel, rubberised sides, just the kind of feel you want in an outdoor unit. The batteries are easily inserted by means of a small D ring on the rear of the unit, rotating it pops the battery compartment open. 2 AA batteries later the unit was on, and acquiring satellites.

The unit acquired a 4m fix very quickly, and after a couple of minutes updated this to a 2m fix. On the previous etrex I always found it seemed to take an eternity to get a fix from cold, but with this unit it was quick and efficient. The menu system is simple and easy to navigate, the buttons on the side can be used to scroll up and down if needed, however the joystick on the front can be used to scroll through the menu, and by pressing it you can select the highlighted option. There are a number of options that I personally won't use, fishing, moon and sun etc. However after 5minutes I had the unit configured to British National Grid, the datum's are selected automatically which is useful if you are new to GPS sets. The Map screen is initially blank and only begins to be useful when you are moving, as you move your track is recorded, you can then add waypoints along the route, zoom in or out with the side keys, or move around with the joystick.

In addition the unit has a backlight, which is activated by holding the power button, a pack including a case and belt clip can also be purchased for those who are looking for a more stylish way to carry the unit. The etrex 10 is completely waterproof and dustproof to IPX7 standards.

One new feature of the etrex 10,20 and 30, is that it boasts the fact that it is the only GPS set on the market that can connect to GLONASS and GPS at the same time, decreasing the time it takes to get a fix. For those who don't know, GLONASS is the Russian Federations answer to GPS, which will provide a collection of satellites that can be used by the Russians in a time of war (when GPS is restricted to US use only). Garmin states that by using both systems simultaneously the speed of a fix is increased by 20%.

The only down side about this unit is that it is not capable of accepting expansion maps, however this is not something I care about - if I did I would have bought the etrex 20 or 30...The Garmin 10 can however have waypoints from Memory map or other mapping software uploaded to it, as well as GPX files for Geocaching.

Great unit, great price, great addition to Garmin's range of GPS, and an ideal unit for anyone wanting a cheap, functional, and up to date GPS unit, at a cheap price.

The shivering mountain - 1st route of the season

2011-12-17T23:16:00.002Z

So I arrived back at home for Christmas break festooned with kit for rock and winter climbing with the hope of getting out. Having eagerly been watching Baggy's blog and other similar, I was disappointed with conditions; I had hoped they would be like last years. None the less, there is no use crying about it, you have to make the most of a bad situation....

So when I received a text from Matt on Friday, my spirits picked up - "there's snow in the peak district, let's do something". Having confirmed there was indeed snow, I excitedly gathered my kit and packed...We decided on Mam Tor Gully (below), much revered for its poor climbing, but as it was the only decent route in.....we gave it a bash.

The first thing I grabbed being my Crux AK47 rucksack; a fantastic pack, a little over priced for me, but having only paid a small amount 2nd hand, I'm chuffed about its performance. It's a Kevlar reinforced bag that is supremely waterproof in driving rain or snow and is spacious enough to hold a full winter pack including rope. However, when climbing with it, it is hard to look up! Not exactly a selling point. But, you can change this by removing the titanium frame from inside. Yes, this doesn't give you as much support, but I find it slightly more comfy and much easier to climb with.

Into the crux went my first aid kit, harness, slings, nuts, hexes, nalgene and all the other assorted items needed. But clothing wise, I had a decision; hardshell, softshell or paramo. Each has its own advantages. Hardshell is more waterproof than the others, but I overheat in it too quickly especially if the weather is wet but not too cold and the Gore-Tex reaches saturation point mighty quickly. So then you could choose softshell, not as waterproof, but if it's not going to rain and is just snow then it would be great, but we all know that the weather craps out on us when we don't want it to. So I opted for my new favourite - the paramo. It's warm, breathable, light, quick drying and fairly waterproof. I get a lot of stick from my mates about this, but if they could afford it, I'm sure they'd buy it...because it aint cheap. I've got the Velez Adventure Light Smock, and at around 180, it's the cheapest smock they do! Worth every penny. More on paramo to come.

Setting off from home at around 6am we were climbing by 7.30. The conditions were good, plenty of snow and just cold enough while we were climbing to keep everything together. The climbing was tricky...not technically but mentally. It's like something out of a nightmare, the whole mountain peeling off as you climb, each footstep sliding down a bit more. But with perseverance and brute strength we made it to the top at around 11am.

Major bonus points to my Rab Powerstretch balaclava, which kept my head and face warm all morning. My DMM Xeno axes which played their part well. But most of all, my Mountain Equipment DJ. My Lightline jacket is amazing, so comfy, cozy, cuddly, warm.....comfy (oh wait i said that). I use it just about every day now and it's awesome on the hill and off the hill. I stuck it on for the walk in then took it off to climb and put it on again at the summit and even the driving snow didnt wet this baby out. The Dri-Lite outer shunning of all the weather could throw, whilst keeping me toasty warm. Another fantastic day out on the hill with Matt, and I enjoyed

wearing the amazing hat his girlfriend knitted for me (right).

QR code orienteering - a change from the norm?

2011-12-17T18:03:00.001Z

Recently I have spent time at school trying to develop new ways for staff to build small amounts of outdoor education into their lessons. After drawing up an orienteering map for geography department, I started trying to come up with a way that I could update the concept of orienteering for the modern generation of tech savvy young people. The answer came to me when I was messing around with the bar code reader on my phone while waiting a criminally long amount of time for a shop assistant to perform a return on a christmas present Claire had bought, but changed her mind on. You see some products have both a bar code (in the traditional sense), and a "QR code" For those of you that don't know, a QR code are those funny looking squares of dots (see left) that you may often see on products, business cards. Anyway a QR code can store a lot of data, from contact cards, lines of text, phone numbers, emails and more. There are a number of websites out there that can generate QR codes for you, the one I used was http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. So how does this relate to orienteering? Simple; the QR codes are laid out on the course according to the map. Each card is laminated and hung at each of the control points. The group then go out, scan the code at each point to receive the location of (or directions too) the next point. I should say that this system requires the group all having a bar code reader on their phone. The data enclosed with the QR code can be suited to the type of course, in the example below the

code includes a collection of text specifying a unique code to denote the group arriving at the point, directions to the next point (these can be as complicated as you want), and a clue to help. The good thing about these codes are you can easily build your own to various difficulty levels. Starting the group off could consist of a "start sheet" with a collection of QR codes leading to each point. Each group would scan a different code, meaning that they would start by going to a different point and would therefore not spend all the time following each other around!

QR codes can also be programmed to direct users to a map location based on a lat and long. As a more complicated exercise,the QR code could provide the group a location or grid reference that they then need to look up on a map (or GPS), to continue. The last thing a QR code can do, is (when scanned) create a text message that will be sent to a specific number. For example I could have a message saying "We are currently at XXX,XXX, please provide the location of the next point". This provides me with a groups location (as I would know who's number was who's), allowing me to track their progress.

This idea could be expanded to include things like treasure hunts, each QR code would reveal part of a puzzle, all the codes would then have to be collected to be able to solve the puzzle. This would be a fun activity for an outdoor centre group looking for a simple evening activity. The issue here would be the lack of smartphones for the group to use, easily solved by using a laptop or computer with a free downloadable barcode scanner for the web cam, the computer or laptop would then be left at a "base" where the group would come to, in order to decode their piece of the puzzle. Geocaching may also be an example activity to make use of QR codes.

The simplicity of these codes make them ideal for a multitude of applications in the outdoors.....now off to bar code my gear :)

Wet, Windy and Cold weekends....

2011-12-04T18:23:00.002Z

Following on from my last post: I've just got back from North Wales a little down about the weather. I knew it was going to rain, but didnt realise how hard. Yesterday was quality, although it started off wet, so me and matt spent some time in Eric's cafe at Tremadog, we were able to get up and do some routes. We started off on 'one step in the clouds' (VS 4c) and then ended on 'christmas curry' (S 4a). At that point (16:20) it had got dark and we abseiled in the dark (thankfull for putting head torches in our pockets'). We cooked up in Eric's car park and headed to the Brenin for a pint, we had planned on going to the evening lecture, but it was on Kayaking, so didnt fancy it. After getting comfy and warm in the bar, we headed out into the rain and wind once more to seek a place to kip for the night. After some deliberation, we decided the Llanberis Pass would be good, so we went and made ourselves at home in a secret spot.

Waking up this morning to pouring rain and hail was depressing and neither of us wanted to get up. But after 2 cups of tea (with a little baileys, to warm us up), we decided that a trip to Pete's is only natural. With it still pouring down after having a fry up each and visiting Joe Brown's and V12, this showed us that the weather was not going to change. So we headed home via the shops at Betws-y-Coed.

A miserable end to a good trip. However, this will not discourage me as i'll probably be there again next weekend.

Weekends away...

2011-12-02T12:52:00.001Z

Students everywhere will agree with me when i say "university is depressing". All that spare time when you dont have to be in lectures and it's not the night to go out - you're generally faced with two options; do some work or play Xbox. However, with a bit a intrepidness, you can add a third option - tie in and get climbing

No matter where you are in the UK, you are always within 3 hours of a climbing/mountaineering venue, why not put that student loan to good use and get out there. For all you outdoor students and aspiring outdoor instructors out there, use this time (and money) to you're advantage and work on your NGB pre-requisites!

I've just come back from a cold, wet and windy weekend of climbing in the Peak District, it was awesome. We had two full days of gritstone climbing at Stanage and Castle Naze, both unusually empty. The weekend was spent in Belay jackets (Arran & Tom on the left), but everyone had a great time and it only cost £10 per person for fuel contribution and campsite.

If you've got the right kit and the knowhow, why sit around when there is a whole other world out there waiting for you. It's fun and great training.

I am as i type this, packing my kit for a third weekend of climbing in a row, this time in North Wales with my friend Matt. I've tidied out my car and shoved a heap of stuff in the boot, not to mention, charged my camera. The weekend looks to be ok weather wise, but it is N.Wales after all so it'll probs be quite nasty. I should say that typing this was a good thing as it's made me remember that i do actually need to take a sleeping bag! (oops). So stay tuned for an after trip report in a couple of days.

Getting ready for Winter pt.2: Fitness

2011-11-20T15:03:00.001Z

So, those that have done some climbing will know you dont have to be mega fit; you can do no activity, park at the base of the crag and still haul yourself up the rock. Although, being fit is a major advantage for trickier and longer routes. For Winter it is completely different; this is due to the fact that you have the added faff of the walk in. If you're planning on heading to the Ben, you're looking at a 3 hour walk in.

So when it comes down to training, you've got to think - theres no use being able to do one-armers if you cant do the walk in! Yes, work on upper and lower body muscle training, but put plenty of time into cardio for those long days and walk ins. For me, i have put a decent amount of time into getting fitter for this winter; i was alright last year, but i felt absolutely chin strapped on the descents and on the walk ins we were trying to do quickly (sneachda). But its not all fitness, its what you eat. In my house, we all try to eat plenty of fruit and veg, take vitamins and dont drink too much beer. If you do want to drink alcohol, try spirits like vodka as they dont contain many calorie (unlike beer).

Runs: Every couple of days i will try to go for a short run, this is usually round the racecourse, which is about 2 miles. I dont do these at a particularly fast pace compared to the people who usually blast past me. But it is right for me, which is what counts.

Circuits: These are great for climbing training as you can work on various muscle groups as well as your cardio. For winter this is great as ice and mixed climbing is renown for giving full body pumps. I do the circuits once a week with a bunch of other people from the University of Worcester Climbing and Mountaineering Club (UWCMC). We start at the uni, run to the racecourse (1/2 mile), run to the end gates (1 Mile) and into the park. The lovely council have put a load of exercise machines around the park which have been ruggedised to prevent chavs from trashing them. There is around 7 'stations' but we add things too like, burpees, press ups, sit ups etc.... We try to sprint to each station which are around 50m apart. Then we do bear crawls up and down small slopes, planks and then run back to uni via the racecourse (1.5miles). So along side the circuits, we have also done a 3 mile run!

Stair runs: Once a week i pack a rucksack with a few bits and bobs to add some weight and get down to the racecourse stands and go running up and down them. This is great for developing leg muscles and general cardio fitness for getting up and down those hills. It's pretty hard, and if i dont feel tired at the end i go for a bit longer, i try to build up the weight and pace each time i go.

Indoor Climbing: Every tuesday the UWCMC try to run a climbing wall session for members where we instruct on belaying, tying in, harnessing up and general climbing stuff for new members. These little sessions are run by SPA qualified and trained people from the club. When i'm there i try to use a pair of fig fours on the hardest route i can get away with. This is great for muscle training. If no fig fours, then i climb with ankle weights, this is something i think will be good to get used to having heavy boots on...not to mention how knackering it is! We have now been given permission to use the wall's indoor dry tooling wall, so watch this space an update on that.

Hill walking and climbing: As much as i can i try to get out into North Wales for some hill walking, scrambling or climbing to see if my training is paying off, but i havent been for a while , so watch this space.

I've tried to talk about the stuff i do each week, but you should try and come up with your own training programme that works for YOU.

Getting ready for Winter pt 1: Kit

2011-11-19T21:28:00.001Z

Hi there,

Havent posted in a while, have had a lot on at work and now back at university. Just thought i'd do a post on how im getting kitted up and preparing for winter.

Firstly, i've got a wonderful beard 'on the grow'. For no other reason than to have some fantastic pictures of a frozen face!

Kit wise, ive replaced my DMM flys with a pair of old school DMM Xenos (left), replaced the picks and bolts on them so theyre in full working order now. They also came with triggers pre-attached which i was pretty chuffed about. I was going to buy some of those Cassin X-Grips for the shafts, but i didnt fancy paying £20 a piece for them, so i just bought some skateboard decking tape which is basically glorified sandpaper which should give a bit better traction when going for a high grip. I also bought a Grivel Springer Leash for when im leashless.

Last winter i used my Mountain Equipment Kaniq as a belay jacket, however, although it was warm, it was HUGE! Because its a Gore-Tex insulated jacket, it doesnt pack down especially small and therefore takes up half a pack! I was looking at an ME Fitzroy as a replacement, but i opted for a down jacket over another synthetic purely for warmth. I went for the Mountain Equipment Lightline, but the newest blue version with orange zips - which worked out cheaper than a fitzroy anyway. This packs down redonkulously small for such a chunky jacket. But it also retains a somewhat fashionable appeal, so just as suitable for the apres-ski as in the mountains. It is supremely warm too, these cold, hungover mornings walking to lectures are so much easier in it. Cannot wait to try it out properly.

I replaced my aged Scarpa Mantas back in May with a pair of La Sportive Trango S Evos, which are superb. The comfort of these boots is beyond words. They are just as at home on grade III scrambles as on gentle walks in the Peak District. However, as these are a B1 boot, they are not suitable for winter mountaineering; so i had a problem. I have massive feet. So finding a pair of winter boots that fitted me properly was a challenge. However, after a bit of internet research, i found Outside in Hathersage stocked my size in all the boots i was looking at. I dropped in on a day off from work and got sized. I tried Asolo AFS8000, Scarpa Vegas, La Sportive Nepal Extremes, Scarpa Phantom Guides, Scarpa Mont Blancs and the brand new Mammut Nordwand TL.

The AFS8000s were too small and i couldnt get my foot in the shell with the inner boot on, so they were crossed off. The Vegas were stupidly cumbersome and heavy, so they were crossed off. The Nepals didnt fit my foot shape due to them being very narrow at the back. The Guides werent as confortable as i'd hoped and for the price i wanted a pair i immediately liked. The Nordwands were amazing; comfy, supportive and good looking. But due to the price, the were crossed off the list. Which left me with one of my favourites from the off, the Mont Blanc (left). They were supportive, comfy, very agile and not at all cumbersome, plus; i love the orange. They are a brilliant boot and at £360 RRP, rather pricey. So having found them cheaper elsewhere after buying them, Outside refunded me the difference. The experience of boot shopping there was very good, the staff were so professional and had great knowledge.

I have more articles coming....so watch this space

"Outdoorising" your Android smartphone

2011-10-02T17:55:00.001+01:00

2 years ago I reviewed the Airo A25 at the time the idea of a unit that could view ordnance survey maps, send and receive emails, view word documents, and make calls seemed like a dream come true for any outdoor instructor. Technology has come a long way in 2 years, and the technology that was once available in a few elite pieces of hardware like the Airo, has now spread to smart phones owned by many people world wide. Thing is, many outdoor enthusiasts are simply not aware of the potential the smart phone has to assist with their activities.

I recently upgraded my phone, loving technology as I do I was desperate to escape the Landrover S1 and its complete lack of features. When it came time to upgrade I chose the most up to date, feature packed, gadget full phone I could find; The HTC sensation. The sensation appealed to me for a number of reasons; 1080p video camera, high speed internet, solid aluminium construction, to name but a few. Having had the phone for a week I have been slowly getting to grips with how it works and what it can do. Through downloading a few apps, transferring data, and buying a few accessories I have turned the humble smart phone into a toughened outdoor unit, and this is how...

Toughening up the phone

One problem with Smart phones is that they are so expensive you just don't want to break them. The smooth glass screens, and delicate feeling body means you worry even putting the thing in your pocket, never mind jamming it in a rucksack for a day on the hill. After a bit of research online I settled for a "CaseMate Tough" case. This case was the most reasonably priced, and most easily available on the market, and comes with specialist versions for most phones. What I would say is that you should do some shopping round for a case that suits you. Most tough cases (Trident, Otterbox, CaseMate etc), come with 3 layers of protection. The first layer is a silicone skin that fits close to the phone, this takes the shock out of an impact should you drop it, the second layer is an ABS plastic layer that protects against damage from the impact. The 3rd layer is a screen protector that goes over the screen to prevent scratches and damage to the phones screen. Buying one of these cases will provide damage resistance to the phone from drops and impacts. It does not provide any waterproofing however. There are a number of companies that make waterproof phone cases for some models, Krussel being a key example, albeit providing expensive options. For me; I just about a small dry bag. So after a new case, and a dry bag, but phone is armoured up and waterproof, great!

"Outdoorising" the software

Getting software for your Android phone can be a potential minefield, with every Tom, Dick, and Harry trying to get a piece of an ever expanding marketplace by designing (and charging for) apps that they feel fill a gap in the market.

Fortunately I have navigated this minefield for you! Below are a few apps that will turn your phone into a lean, mean, outdoor machine!

1. OS Atlas for Android

OS Atlas for Android comes in 2 versions; a free one, and a premium one, the latter costing £1.99. From the outset I will say this app requires a data connection so is not ideal for anywhere not in range of a 3G data connection, however what I would say is that you will struggle to find any application that will provide offline OS maps (Believe me I tried!). This app provides OS mapping at 1:10000 (streetmap), 1:25000 (explorer), and 1:50000 (pathfinder) scales. It also uses the phones GPS to locate you accurately on the map. If your phone doesn't have GPS then don't waste your time and money downloading this as the accuracy can be anywhere from 10m to 40m. With this app you can zoom and pan easily with the phones touch screen, changing the scales as and when you want. There is a daily data limit on the free version, meaning you can't download infinite amounts of maps, if you pay £1.99 for the premium version however this is not present, and neither are the annoying adverts at the bottom of the page. I have downloaded various apps that do the same thing and this is my favourite and most accurate one, it also caches the maps you use making it much faster, others I have downloaded don't seem to do this. £2 well spent!

2. MM Tracker

For anyone who already has Memory Map, this is a god send. This app allows you to install your Memory Map maps onto the SD card of your phone, meaning you can navigate, track routes, download tracks, and view saved files from your PC, and the best part? It can all be done offline, meaning no data connection is required. Naturally this has the huge drawback of having to own Memory Map map files to begin with, however if you already have them (like I do) this app means you can have all the features that Memory Map pocket edition does, but on your Android phone. At present Memory Map are creating an Android version of the pocket edition (see this)however so potentially it might be worth saving the £6.99 this app will set you back, and just get the free version for the time being....Still at the moment this is the best navigation app out there, provided you already have maps!

3. iGeology

For any outdoorsy types out there that have an interest in geology, whether you are a student, mountain leader, or just have a passing interest, this is the app for you. First of all it is provided by the BGS (British Geological Survey) free of charge, and provides full UK geology coverage, at a variety of scales down to 1:50,000. Tapping an area on the map will bring up a small box detailing the type of geology shown, as well as linking to any geology reports online. The geology mapping is overlayed on OS 1:50,000 mapping, making it an amazing tool for outdoor instructors wanting an "in the field" guide to geology. You can search for places by postcode or grid reference, and using the phones GPS the app can track your current position, allowing you to check the geology as you go. The main problem (as with many mapping apps) is that it requires a data connection to download the maps you need. Outside of that this is a truly brilliant app, which provides a wealth of information on UK geology, and all for FREE! Brilliant!

4. GPS essentials

Another nice little free app, albeit with annoying adverts at the bottom. This one does what it says on the tin. It provides a number of screens which provide useful GPS tools. On the left is the most useful screen, providing data on a number of things. There are other screens the coolest of which is one that uses an augmented reality view from your camera to display you current waypoints (http://www.appbrain.com/app/gps-essentials/com.mictale.gpsessentials). It can also provide charts of speed, elevation and other data, which can be useful for analysing your route on the go. Using waypoints you can easily track a route, and get back to a location in the event of an emergency!

This really is a useful little app, and as a bonus it works offline and doesn't require a data connection. Overall it's a great app to have, it's free, and doesn't need internet! Go for it!

5. Mountaineering by SusaSoftX

This last app is pretty much just an eBook. But it's a useful one, some of the information in it isn't necessarily the most up to date or modern, but for information such as weather, avalanche testing etc, it's a useful free reference tool, and well worth a free download!

Well that is it for now, hope this has been useful! Any feedback on this would be much appreciated, Android is new to me as well, so if anyone has any hidden gems out there then please drop me a line! Chris@electronicmountainleader.co.uk

Long time no post!

2011-10-02T16:12:00.000+01:00

So I haven't posted anything for a couple of months. For me it's been a busy period, and a lot has gone on. Firstly and most significant is a change of job. I did my last day at Stanley Head on Friday, and will be starting a new teaching role on monday. I will still be doing the odd evening, weekend, and holiday work at Stanley, but for the most part I won't be around there much. I will be keeping my DofE award officer job alongside the new one, so I won't be completely apart from the Outdoor Education scene. Being in teaching will give me a) more money and b) more holiday to work towards my MIA and winter ML. I will miss Stanley, in particular the awesome kids who come through each week, but it was time for me to move on with my career.

Anyway I'm back, so time to get some more articles up.....watch this space.

Polartec NeoShell vs Gortex Active Shell

2011-07-27T10:55:00.007+01:00

At the OutDoor show 2 new fabrics were being shown. Polartec was demonstrating their new waterproof and breathable fabric, whilst Gore-tex was showing their latest addition; Active Shell. Naturally it is difficult to give a detailed review of a fabric I haven't worn or used on the hill, however this review contains my personal first impressions of both fabrics.

Polartec® NeoShell

As I mentioned in the Mammut Eiger Extreme review below, I was very impressed with NeoShell for a number of reasons. NeoShell represents a very odd combination of feeling and performing like a soft shell, but bringing with it the waterproof qualities of a hard shell. In particular my favourite jacket with this fabric was the Mammut Gipfelgrat jacket (see review further down). I can already see the benefits of this fabric for winter climbing, the fabric has stretch in it to give great comfort and freedom of movement, it's warm like a soft shell, but gives protection from the weather like a hard shell. On the Polartec® stand was a short demonstration of how the fabric works:

As you can see the fabric is fully breathable; allowing oxygen to pass through it into the liquid, however non of the water above gets through the fabric into the container below. The fabric in the right hand container was not named, so could be anything. NeoShell also claims to be machine washable without any loss of waterproofing on the jacket - another big claim that can't be substantiated at this stage. The other thing about NeoShell is that it seems like more of a 'beefy' fabric, it's not designed to be super light weight, so from an adventure racers point of view this fabric could be less that ideal. Full details of NeoShell can be found on the website: http://www.neoshell.com/
Overall I was very impressed with NeoShell, the neat little demo on the stand, the substantial feeling fabric, the proof will be in the pudding, but if NeoShell delivers what it promises then this could represent a real step forward in terms of performance fabrics.

Gore-tex® Active Shell

Active Shell is the latest fabric from Gore-tex designed to provide a high degree of waterproofing and breathability. From Gore-tex;

"Ideal for all weather fast forward athletes seeking durable protection and comfort during highly aerobic, done in a day activities such as trail running, mountain biking, and fast alpine ascent."

(Left) Mountain Equipments new Firefox jacket uses Active Shell

My first impression of Active Shell? It felt like Paclite crossed with ProShell. It felt very thin, and light. I found it hard to get very animated about Active Shell, because from my point of view it is just another Gore-tex fabric that is waterproof and breathable. I also had to sit through a lecture one morning that was supposed to be about outdoor gear targeting the ageing market, however when the Gore-tex woman appeared to do her section, she just talked about the various fabrics available instead of staying on topic, however listening to her all the fabrics made the same claim: waterproof and breathable....so what exactly is new about Active Shell? From Gore-tex website:

"combines extreme breathability and durable wind- and waterproofness with minimum weight and pack volume."

Sound familiar? Thats because the above was taken from the description of Gore-tex Paclite. My point is that Gore-tex new fabric just seems to me to be "just another waterproof fabric". 4 of the 5 fabrics on the Gore-tex site claim to be waterproof and breathable, and on feeling and trying on Active Shell jackets, it feels like another one for the collection; an updated version of Paclite, that perhaps provides slightly more breathability and waterproofing, however once again the proof will be in the pudding. Website: http://www.gore-tex.co.uk/remote/Satellite/content/product-technologies/garments/active-shell

In summary; I am finding it very hard to get psyched for Active Shell, I'm sure it will be a step forward in terms of producing a shell that is; lightweight, breathable and waterproof. But to me it just seems like it's nothing new. NeoShell on the other hand seems to be exactly what I have been looking for in a soft shell, but with the added bonus of being as waterproof as a hard shell. I was impressed with NeoShell to the point that I gave V12outdoor an email this morning to see about pre-ordering a Mammut Gipfelgrat in September.

OutDoor show Friedrichshafen 2011 - New electronics

2011-07-21T10:35:00.004+01:00

Naturally I was keen to get some info on the latest GPS sets out there. I focussed on getting info on the main 3 GPS brands available in the UK; Magellan, Garmin and Satmap....

Magellan eXplorist series

The eXplorist series are Magellan's latest GPS handsets, as well as being available to view and trial at the Magellan stand it was possible to borrow one and test it out. The eXplorist series comes in several models; GC, 310, 510, 610, and 710. All the models

have a loop at the bottom to attach a lanyard (useful feature), waterproof to IPX standards, and include some maps (varies depending on model.

The GC version is designed for Geocaching, and comes with a preloaded database of 1000's of Geocaches. It also comes with a 30 day premium trial on Geocaching.com. It can hold around 10,000 Geocaches. However it does not come with any maps included. The 310 and 510 include world mapping (roads, river, some relief shading, land use worldwide), however the 510 has a larger 3 inch touch screen, and a 3.2 mp camera built in. The 610 and 710 are the 'big daddy's' of the series and both include topographic "summit series" mapping. The summit series mapping is 1:50,000 and includes all the detail you would expect from a map of that scale. The 710 includes turn by turn navigation (US only at moment).

So all in all I liked the eXplorist series, the signal was very constant (even inside the centre), navigation was simple enough using the buttons, I would imagine the touchscreen versions with larger screens would have been even easier to use! Overall, good range of GPS sets, some good features, and the price point is also pretty good.

Garmin eTrex 10,20 and 30

So having visited Magellan the next stop was Garmin and their new eTrex revamp. The eTrex has been a stable GPS in terms of sales and popularity for some time, most likely due to it's ease of use and cost (the eTrex basic model can be picked up for around £50). However Garmin obviously decided it was time for a change around, so their new eTrex series was created. There are 3 models; 10 (£100) ,20 (£130) and 30 (£150). All models have the same interface which consists of a small scroll stick in the top right, and a number of buttons on the sides which control various functions. They all also feature waterproofing up to IPX7 and have a 2.2 inch screen. The pricing is very good, and with only a 33% difference between the top and bottom model's it would definitely be worth considering getting the eTrex 30 for the additional features. The eTrex 10 is a basic model featuring no maps, the 20 comes with a colour screen and expandable memory to allow new maps to be added. The 30 comes with a barometric altimeter for more accurate height readings, a worldwide basemap and a 3 axis compass, as well as wireless sharing for sharing routes between other compatible units. Overall I really liked these units, they were a good size, had good features, good ease of use, and most importantly the price point was excellent (much cheaper than the Magellan units). It should be pointed out however that the Magellan sets include maps where the Garmin sets do not, so factoring in the cost of expanding the maps brings the costs up to around equal. The new eTrex series will be appearing in the UK soon!

The other unit that caught my eye on the Garmin stand (and OutDoor industry award stand) was the Garmin Montana. The Montana is another big daddy unit and comes in 3 versions (600, 650 and 650T) each with slightly different features. The Montana has a massive 4 inch colour touchscreen. The top version is the 650T, which includes a 5meg camera and 100k topographic mapping. It can be expanded to include 1:25k mapping, and is waterproof to IPX7. However at £500+ this is not a cheap option! And when you consider that £500 does not include any 1:25k mapping it starts to look like a very pricey option, especially when units like the Airo A25 are now dropping in price. Despite the price I did like this unit, it felt incredibly solid, the touchscreen was easy to use, and despite the glare from the sun outside, the screen was very clear thanks to the sunlight readable screen. Overall, if you have he money then this unit is great, however not many people would spent £500 on a GPS set!

Last on my tour of electronics was SatMap. Whilst there were no new products from Satmap this year in terms of GPS units, there were a few extra bits that may be of interest to anyone who has, or is thinking of getting a Satmap set.

First up is the ProShield. The proshield is a rugged case with a belt clip. This is designed to bring the Satmap up to IPX7 standard for waterproofing. It protects the unit from drops onto concrete, water and dust, as well as protecting the screen from scratches and damage. It comes in 3 colours (left) and is very easy to fit. The belt clip is also large enough to fit onto a rucksack loop or strap for ease of access. The second thing is that all 1:25k maps from SatMapSatMaps now have new software which increases their efficiency and reduces the chances of the unit freezing. I guess from Satmaps point of view they have decided "if it ain't broke don't fix it!".

So there you are, new releases and updates on the top brands of GPS available in the UK, some good stuff on the way!

OutDoor show Friedrichshafen 2011 - Crazy lightweight gear

2011-07-21T07:55:00.007+01:00

Personally I have never been huge on "Super Doopa ultra lightweight" gear, of course I am not adverse to having gear that is lightweight, however I feel the next 3 products will be most suitable for those crazy trail runners who want to carry as little as possible while retaining functionality. The first product is the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. This one really does have to be seen to be believed. At 48g this wind shirt is made from 7D nylon fabric which provides a good degree of water resistance. The jacket is incredibly minimalist and has a simple zip at the front. The jacket does come in green which makes it look a little less like a sandwich bag! Very cool product, not for me, however ultralight hikers, back packers and trail runners will love this product.

Speaking of Ultralight; Terra Nova recently announced their new Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1 tent. A 1 man tent that weighed only 495g. The interesting thing about the Laser Ultra was that despite it's lightweight, the fabric used in the tent boasted a high level of water resistance that most other tents. The ghostly clear fabric is so opaque because the fabric is too thin to be dyed. I was impressed with the Laser Ultra, firstly because I like Terra Nova, but secondly because it represents a leap forward in the design and build of tents. When I got to the show I was keen to get my hands on the Laser Ultra, however when I reached the Terra Nova section I was greeted with something even newer....The Voyager Ultra. The Voyager has long been a cracking 3 season tent in Terra Nova's collection, but they have taken it a step further by following in the steps of the laser and creating an ultra light version. The voyager Ultra is much lighter that the Voyager superlite, but just as strong, which is amazing when you think about it. The Voyager Ultra weighs in at 880g (120g lighter than the superlite and 1.1kg lighter than the original Voyager), and is built of the same highly waterproof fabric as the Laser Ultra. Considering the Voyager Ultra is a 2 person tent, the weight of it is just incredible!

As well as their range of ultra lightweight tents, Terra Nova have produced a range of lightweight
packs. The Ultra 20 (left) is a 20L lightweight pack that weighs a mere 136g (111g without waist belt). Despite it's light weight it still has generously padded shoulders and drawcord closures. This pack is very cool indeed, the fabric feels tough considering how light it is, but at £120 you are paying a lot for the luxury of less weight!

OutDoor show Friedrichshafen 2011 - New climbing hardware

2011-07-20T21:23:00.004+01:00

So one of the things I was looking forward to most about the OutDoor was the new climbing hardware, and I wasn't disappointed! Walking into the show on the first day a giant poster informed me that Black Diamond were showing their new Magnetron karabiners; definitely worth a look! The Magnetron system is currently in 2 different karabiners; the grid lock and the rock lock. The concept is simple; 2 small magnets hold the gate closes in the same was the screw does on a screw gate. When the user squeezes the green pressure points on the gate the karabiner can then be opened. Simple concept, very easy to use, and very innovative. Really liked the karabiners, they felt very solid and the Magnetron system was very easy to use! 10/10 for something new!

Next up is Mammut's new via ferrata set; the Tec Step Bionic. The system builds on Mammut's previous climbing hardware "Bionic" products. The karabiners look great as with other products from Mammut, titanium grey and electric blue karabiners, and black lanyards. The karabiners use a new locking system where the back bar of the karabiner needs to be depressed before the gate will open. This is not a unique system, and similar products where shown from a number of other companies. But out of all the similar sets shown, I liked this one the best! See short video below on how this product works.

Petzl demo'd the new Reverso4 also. The Reverso4 is not very different to the Reverso3, it has the same function and design at the 3, the braking grooves etc are all the same. However the 4 is an ultra lightweight version, 25% lighter than the previous version. However all in all there isn't anything different! One product I was impressed with was Climbing Technologies Alpine Up. This is a new version of CT's Click Up assisted braking device. The new version is capable of providing the same function as the Click Up, but with double or half ropes. The device is multi purpose and can be used for belaying on a single rope, belaying on double or half ropes, and abseiling. While not a huge brand in the UK climbing technology continue to produce innovative new gear, and the Alpine Up is no exception.

The last product that caught my eye was Beal's Diabolo rope. Chatting to one of the sales rep's on the Beal stand, he explained that the rope used a unicore system. What this does instead of being a traditional rope with a core and a sheath, the 2 parts are bound together. The idea of this being to illeviate rope slippage and increase the rope lift. Another example of a great new product!

There were a number of other climbing related gear releases including new DMM rebels (they have different handles in the 2011 version), a new climbing helmet from Edelrid, and many many more.

OutDoor show Friedrichshafen 2011 - Mammut Eiger Extreme

2011-07-20T20:46:00.003+01:00

One of the things that caught my eye most at the show was Mammut's new range for Autumn 2011 called the Eiger Extreme series. The range has been constructed to celebrate 150 years of Mammut, and I have to say I was very impressed. The range features a number of items; jackets, boots, hard shell's, soft shells and more. The whole range uses every fabric and technological advance available to create a no holds barred set of technical clothing. First off I love the colour scheme, I think the orange/blue/black combination looks incredible, if a little similar to Adidas's new gear...

The first product that really impressed me is the Gipfelgrat Jacket. (right). The jacket is one of the first to use the new Polartec Neoshell fabric, I was very impressed with the demo going on at the Polartec stand, which showed the waterproofness and breathability of the fabric. The jacket itself feels incredible; the fabric feels tough and is exactly what I expect from a softshell jacket. There are 2 large front pockets that are high enough up that wearing a rucksack shouldn't reduce the effectiveness of the pockets for hand warming. All the zips in the jacket are waterproof. At nearly 800g this jacket is by no means a lighweight option, however it is my idea of what a perfect softshell should be, and if the claims Polartec have made about Neoshell turn out to be true then this jacket could represent my dream of a perfect jacket! At £390 this jacket is very expensive, but compared to Arcteryx for example...this is fast becoming the standard price tag for high end technical jackets.

Next in the series is the Nordwand TL boot. This boot was nominated for an OutDoor industry award, and when holding it I can see why! The boot is very well designed and includes an integrated gaiter similar to that in the Scarpa Phantom. It has a strap around the top of the boot to give addition security, a diagonal waterproof zip, and loops inside the boot to aid with putting it on. Of course these are first impressions, but to me the boot felt like an excellent B3 mountaineering boot, however I expect the price tag will reflect the quality of the build! But overall I really liked the Nordwand TL and hopefully will get chance to try them on at some point in the not too distant future!

The last item from this series that I liked was the Felstrum smock. The jacket uses the new Gore Tex fabric ActiveShell. The jacket is a lightweight alpine smock, featuring a half zip, a helmet compatible hood, pit zips, and a bright orange colour ideal for use in bad conditions. The fact that Mammut have constructed a jacket that uses ActiveShell as well as one that uses Neoshell really does show they are making uses of all the current innovations to create a varied collection of technical clothing. I spent around an hour looking at the whole series, and I have to say that in my opinion there wasn't a "weak link". All the collection has been built to an incredibly high spec, and there have been no compromises on quality at all. However they are likely to have high price tags attached. Do I care? No, I have already started saving up to get a Gipfelgrat jacket, as it was without a shadow of a doubt my favourite piece of gear from this years show.

OutDoor show 2011 - wow

2011-07-20T17:24:00.001+01:00

Well me and Si are back grom Germany. We actually got back early tuesday morning (2am). However I then went out again at 8am on expedition. Having successfully guided another 85 talented young people through their DofE I am now back, brew in hand, and I finally have some time to reflect on my few days in Germany.

First of all, it was everything I had hoped and more. The whole atmosphere and buzz around the place was incredible, and it was amazing to be a part of it. Not only did I get to see the latest gear months before it will appear in the marketplace, but I also got chance to meet Ueli Steck and Dave Macleod, both cracking guys! There were climbing compeitions to watch, movie nights, parties, lectures, breakfast meetings, and tonnes of gear!

Over the next few days I will be putting together all the information I gathered so stay tuned!

The OutDoor show 2011

2011-07-12T19:54:00.000+01:00

The time has come, bags packed, camera charged, German revised, and tickets printed. Simon and I will be making our way down to Gatwick tonight at around 11pm. Simon has only just arrived back from the Alps so our journey down to London should be interesting! Our flight leaves the UK at 0700hrs, and gets into Zurich, Switzerland around 0950hrs. We will be meeting Juho at the airport and making our way accross the border into Germany. We will be spending the duration of the conference camping, and hopefully making some new friends. Needless to say both of us will be involving ourself in as much of the show as possible. From a personal point of view I will be attending some (not all) of the main lectures, the Polartec party, the movie nights, climbing competition, as well as visiting as many of the stands as possible! I will be adding as much content onto here as possible, me and Si are hoping to do some blogging while we are there, but the majority of content will be added once we get back. A big thanks to Juho and Tribevine for making this possible, hopefully we will contribute enough content to Tribevine to repay the kindness we have been shown. A big thanks also to Mark and Paul Dix at the Outdoors Company for providing me, Simon, and Juho with high quality North Face polo shirts embroided with the Tribevine logo. To everyone who reads this blog; watch this space....

Outdoor centres: making local walks more engaging

2011-07-06T19:48:00.003+01:00

Outside of DofE work I often lead groups on short local walks and expeditions around the centre as part of their week long residential. The format for these days is usually;

Brief group

Walk to lunch spot

Cook and eat lunch

Walk back to centre

From an instructor point of view there is a huge variation in the skills and level of understanding of the groups that come to the centre each week. Some of the young people grasp the fundamental concepts of map reading, navigation, and cooking very quickly and easily. Some however often see it as “not their cup of tea”, at which point it’s up to the instructor to engage them in any way possible. New technology can provide an additional tool in the instructors “toolbox” when teaching local expeditions and walks. If we look at each of the above 4 sections:

Brief: I have seen a number of briefs on expeditions over the time I have worked in the outdoors. These range from a long droning speech from an instructor steadfastly standing at the front of the room, to an animated and concise brief that captivates the attention of the group with ease. Modern technology can be an instructor’s friend when carrying out a brief. Many centres now have smart boards and projectors equipped in their teaching rooms. This provides the opportunity to use a well-designed PowerPoint to assist with the brief. It is essential that anything that you use is not just simply text on a plain background, there are a number of ways you can “jazz up” a PowerPoint;

1. Animations: these vary from text flying from one side, to using “Motion paths” to create moving diagrams. For example, I created a diagram to show how to pack a bag. The slide consisted of a black rucksack outline with pieces of equipment round the outside. When you click the mouse 1 piece of equipment would “fly” into the bag in its correct space.

2. Colours and pictures: using expedition pictures from personal trips that might peak interest in the day. Creating a real expedition feel is important, and well selected pictures and backgrounds can help.

3. Videos: A short video to talk about something is a good way to keep attention focussed for a short while. These can be filmed yourself, or taking from YouTube or other sites.

Memory map is also an excellent program for teaching map work. The 3D view allows the group to more clearly visualise the route, and also get some data on the route when they get back.

Walk to the lunch spot and back: So you are packed and under way, the key now is to keep interest in the day. Obviously there is a certain degree of teaching and learning to be done during the expedition. However the rest of the time the group will be plodding along, perhaps glancing occasionally at their map. So how do you now keep them interested? One thing I have learned from my time working with groups is this: “Kids LOVE gadgets”. So, on that basis here are a number of ways to keep kids engaged:

1. GPS sets with real time OS mapping. The lads especially love this. To them the GPS handset becomes some kind of Call of Duty style satellite tracker. However to the instructor it’s a way of getting the group to think about maps, orientation, speed, distance and route planning. MemoryMap adventurer, Garmin Oregan, and Airo units are ideal for this.

2. Geocaching: The US hobbie of Geocaching made it across the pond a few years ago and has been growing in popularity ever since. From a groups point of view, introducing the concept of geocaching whilst still at base can be a rewarding activity for the group. Using the smart board to visit a Geocache website and choosing a few (pre checked for suitability) caches to hunt can ensure a rewarding and interesting activity. If needs be you can set your own geocaches with small rewards for the group.

3. Walky talkies: Allocating a few young people to be a “leader team” and giving them a set of radios can really give the group a sense of control over their day. Whilst it doesn’t have much in the way of educational value, it does really keep them interested especially when the leader group can go “recon” a path to check it is right.

4. Simplified maps: Anyone with basic Photoshop skills can knock up a quick map trace to simplify the OS map for younger groups. (See picture below) this map took me around an hour, not finished, but gives you the idea:

Cook and eat lunch: On expeditions, normally a group get the chance to “cook their own”. This usually involves the group (who have been trained to use a stove the previous night), cooking tins of food for the group. This phase of the expedition can be made more interesting in a number of different ways:

1. Taking a collection of stoves, not just the traditional Trangia units. Personally I take along my jetboil, a hexi stove, and a small gas stove. This gives the group chance to see other expedition stoves, and feel more “in the know”.

2. Taking expedition food: dehydrated and boil in the bag food gives more of expedition feel. It also gives the group chance to taste “specialist food”.

All in all I think what I am trying to put across it that these local walks form the foundation of a young person’s attitude towards hiking. Ensuring an enjoyable and fun packed walk can provide a positive image of schemes like DofE, and encourage young people to get involved, without the negative memories of “that rubbish long walk they had to do”.

Alpine sunshine

2011-07-06T16:03:00.001+01:00

Greetings from the alpine town of argentiere la besse, its around 25degrees with a light breeze and I'm sitting in the sun with a glass of wine. Just had a fantastic day sport climbing on some of the local crags and then a swim in the lake. My tan is coming along nicely.

Have been wearing my La Sportiva Rock Jock shoes all day and my feet have been comfy the whole time. They stick to the rock perfectly and the technical toe and sides has been a god send on some of the 6a's. The rock has been warm and beautiful the climb on.

I've been using my longer DMM phantom quickdraws for the over hanging routes and have been good as usual, I feel however, that something lighter may have been better.

The Petzl meteor helmet has been fantastic in the 35degree heat and has kept my head well ventilated and cool (unlike my grivel salamander). Its light design and vents on the side, front and back allow you to be comfy in it all day if necessary.

My oakley straight jackets have been superb, no glare at all. The sun over here is extremely bright even from early morning.

A quick visit to the supermarket yielded an impressive bounty of 24 beers and 5 litres of wine all for 10 euros. Happy days.

Au revoir for now
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

More expeditions

2011-06-30T21:36:00.000+01:00

Haven't had chance to write anything for a little while now (saving myself for OutDoor perhaps!). Sadly I haven't spend my time absent from writing on here doing anything other than work! I have been on a total of 3 expeditions over the last month, so busy times! Last weekend was the practice expedition for a group I have worked with since September, and they are excellent guys and girls to work with!

This was also Si's first expedition in the DofE world so a chance for us to team up away from the centre for a change. We packed pretty heavily taking a mountain of equipment including multiple stoves, 2 climbing racks (incase we got a bit of spare time to sneak off to Windgather), and tonnes of other gear. We were lucky enough to have a well equipped Landrover Defender as our vehicle for the weekend. After loading the gear up we headed into Leek to get some food for the weekend, then headed out to the Peak. We met with our group at the agreed start point (the Winking Man pub) and then headed out. The weather held until we reached the campsite when a gentle drizzle descended, soaking everything. Not to be discouraged we set up camp and waited for the groups to come in. After everyone was safely in camp we set about cooking the most ambitious meal I have ever attempted on a camping stove; a lamb tagine with cous-cous. The end result was very tasty!

Day 2 rolled around and overnight the winds had all but destroyed a tent being shared by 4 of the lads (see right). The tent had been well pitched however the problem with large family tents like the one in question is they act like a giant wind sail, and sadly this tent came away the worse for wear. During day 2 I was walking with a small group for half a day then leaving them to it. All of the group were students I had taught previously at bronze level, and I was impressed to see how their skills had developed since they first started. They confidently navigated from Gradbach to Three Shires Head, and over to the Cat and Fiddle. At this point I rallied up with Si and left the group to continue on for the rest of the day alone (having been satisfied of their navigation skills). The remainder of the expedition was spent making our way to checkpoints and checking the group were ok. The rain stopped on the 3rd day, and gave way to some nice sunshine for a change. A brief emergency at Goytsclough quarry meant me and Si had to drive a guy to his car at Pym chair as he had recieved a call that his father had been taken into hospital and needed to get back home asap. Aside from that there was no major drama!

All in all pretty standard stuff, and nothing exciting I'm afraid, I do however promise that in a couple of weeks time there will be a wealth of interesting content fresh from OutDoor!

Eco Gear: Given the green light?

2011-05-31T12:50:00.003+01:00

This is my first article on here, so i thought i would do an article on green outdoor gear.

The easiest and most effective way to be a greener consumer is to buy less stuff. Yes, many of us are gear junkies who love to try out the newest equipment and clothing, but before making any gear choice (green or not) you should consider whether you really need an item or if you already have something that does the job safely and effectively.

When you do need a piece of clothing or gear, look for items that contain environmentally-friendly materials, like recycled polyester and plastic and natural fibres such as bamboo, modal, hemp, coconut, and organic cotton and wool. Some environmentally-friendly outdoor clothing brands to consider include Patagonia, Prana, GoLite, Marmot. Finding environmentally-friendly technical gear is still very difficult; with clothing, look for products that use recycled materials and fewer chemicals. The outdoor industry is talking collectively about eco issues and will hopefully develop product standards and ratings for the benefit of concerned consumers.

If you can’t find a green version of the clothing or gear you need, remember that buying a high quality, dependable item that will fit you and your needs for years to come is preferable to buying a low quality piece that you’d need to repair or replace sooner. Read our reviews, visit sites such as Tribevine and think your purchases through before rushing into buying.

Also, whenever safely possible, have gear professionally repaired rather than buying a brand new version. Tents, backpacks, clothing, and footwear can often be repaired, altered, or resoled by experienced specialists such as Tundra Repairs in Washington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Still usable gear, clothing, and footwear also can be bought and sold second hand on eBay and my personal favourite, UKClimbing. You could also donate to a charity shop, or pass it on to a mate or family member.

Some companies will take back old garments, such as with Patagonia’s Common Threads Garment Recycling with which they recycle worn out fleece, both Patagonia and Polartec, and also their own organic cotton t-shirts.

However, according to Mark Held, Secretary General for the European Outdoor Group, the cost of our equipment is set to rise due to the growing environmental crisis. This is apparently due to manufacturers passing the cost of environmentally friendly fabrics and fabric recycling onto its customers.

What "green" gear is on offer?

Here is a select few.

Patagonia R1 Full Zip Fleece

Made from Polartec Powerdry, which is

made from 60% recycled fabric from

Patagonia’s Common Thread Recycling

Programme. RRP £100

Paramo Velez Adventure Light

Made from Nikwax’s long lasting

Analogy fabric which won’t leak, even

when punctured. It is also stitched by the

Miquelina Foundation, which provide ethical

production in Columbia. RRP £190

Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover

Windproof and water resistant with the shell

and lining being made from 100% recycled

fabric, again from Patagonias CTRP. RRP £130

Watch this space for more on this topic in the near future.

Budget Hill gear.....false economy?

2011-05-30T22:22:00.006+01:00

Budget hill gear has been around in supermarkets and pound shops for years, but is it any good? Once upon a time I would never have considered buying anything that was considered 'budget'. Budget outdoor gear was discussed in hushed tones throughout the outdoor community for fear of being branded a 'cheapo'.However times have changed, and after recently purchasing a small trowel for my wild country toilet kit at a cost of £1, and it actually being good, I decided to investigate further. Over the last few months I have investigated and researched a number of products, and produced a list of my top 10 items;

10: Poundland “Camping Kit bag” From Outdoor Solutions

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/camping-kit-bag/

RRP: £1

The camping kit bag, is a large 10L stuff sack with a drawcord closure. For £1 it is constructed from tough material and certainly not thin and flimsy. This might be of some use for someone looking for a small stuff sack to store kit separate from the rest of your gear, e.g: stove and cooking bits. Available in your local Poundland.

9: Lidl “Flexible camera tripod”

http://www.lidl-pageflip.com/uk.html?kid=CjTNeL

RRP: £5.99

Whilst not strictly hill gear, this little tripod seemed worth a quick mention. This small unit is essentially a flexible tripod for those people who do not want to pay £30 for a Gorilla-pod. The flexible legs mean you can wrap it round trees, railings or anything else you want. This is suitable for small cameras only, I definitely would not recommend anything bigger, for example a large digital SLR or video camera. It has a standard tripod screw fit so should be compatible with most digital cameras, if in doubt check underneath your camera, and if your camera has a tripod attachment it will have a small indent with screw threads inside.

8: Wilkinsons “Deluxe Compass”

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/camping-accessories/wilko-map-compass-deluxe/invt/0299735/

RRP: £2.28

This compass is well built and surprisingly solid given that it only costs a couple of pounds. The bezel has a smooth action, and the notches in the bezel make it easy to grip even with gloves on. The compass has basic features including; a roamer, and glow in the dark points for easy use in low light. Definitely worth looking at if you want a very cheap backup compass.

7: Aldi “Polarised Sunglasses”

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_19106.htm

RRP: £3.99

These sunglasses are definately good value for £3.99, and polarised lenses mean no glare. These are actually designed for use while fishing to protect from reflection off the waters surface, however they would work just as well for use on the hill if you were after a pair of polarised sunglasses on a budget. What I would say is they seemed quite a tight fit round my head so definately don't buy these blind. Worth noting however that I have a big head.

6: Tesco “Micro-lite Mummy Sleeping Bag”

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-2384.aspx

RRP: £14.67

This little sleeping bag is ideal for anyone looking for a lightweight summer sleeping bag. With an extreme rating of +1^oC they were perhaps a little optimistic, I would estimate around the 5^oC mark is a more sensible rating. However at 800g it is light, it packs down very small, and is ideal where you are looking for basic functionality and minimal weight. I would be willing to use this in sub zero temperatures if worn in conjunction with a good set of thermals.

5: Poundland “waterbottle and karabiner”

URL unknown

RRP: £1

This item is not currently available online, however a quick browse in your local Poundland and you should be able to find them. It is a metal 'sig' bottle with a small karabiner included. Ideal for fuel or for water, and at £1 they are a good solid little bottle. The bottles hold 500ml so they are huge, but for £1 you could buy a couple!

4: Poundland “karabiner washline”

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/outdoor-solutions-karabina-bungee/

RRP: £1

This is a good little addition to any outdoorsman's kit. The karabiners on each end of the elastic allow for easy attachment to tree's, tent's or car's to create a makeshift washing line to dry wet kit.

Now we come to the top 3 budget hill gear items. These 3 items I feel are the best cheap pieces of hill gear out there.

3: Tesco “65L rucksack”

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.200-1498.aspx

RRP: £25

This rucksack is the most expensive of all the items in this test. However I believe the higher cost is reflected well in the features the bag has;

Firstly the bag is very well built, it feels tough. Whilst the website says it is made of polyester, it is actually reinforced with cordura at several important points throughout the pack. This makes all the difference in the quality of the bag, as the main areas where the bag will recieve wear and tear.
Secondly, it is a very simple design but includes all the features you would want from a basic expedition sack; compression straps on the side, central taped seam zip for easy access into the bag, good padded straps, and a good waist belt. I recently assessed a Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition where all the candidates were using these bags. This gave me a chance to 'test drive' one and see how it felt, I have to say, it’s a good rucksack especially for £25, well worth looking into if you are trying to kit yourself out on a tight budget.

2: Poundland “Camping pillow”

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/outdoor-solutions-camping-pillow/

RRP: £1

This has proved to be the best £1 investment I ever made! You aren't buying a pillow, far from it, your £1 investment will reclaim hours of lost sleep, and save you the discomfort of a stiff neck every time you go camping. Gone are the days where I am forced to loosely stuff clothes into a stuff sack to try and make a pillow. This beauty inflates in a couple of breaths and is unbelievably comfortable and really does make all the difference. It has a velvet feel meaning its very soft to lay on. It even has a little notch that lets your head nestle into the pillow for an excellent nights sleep. For £1 you will not be disappointed!

.....and the number 1 item on my review is……

1: Aldi “Altimeter Watch”

URL not available

RRP: £19.99

And here you have it, a watch with all the features of a Suunto Vector, at 10% of the cost. The Aldi expedition watch has the following features:

Large easy to read LCD display showing:
- Time (12/24hr format)
- Month and day
- Alarm with snooze function
- Altimeter with trip timer
- Electronic compass
- Temperature (°C/°F)

In addition the watch comes with a spare battery and a 5 year warranty. The materials on the watch feel really good, and not at all cheap. The altimeter is usually off by around 100m, and needs recalibrating during the day to ensure accuracy. The thermometer follows the trend of other expedition watches by not functioning correctly whilst on your wrist. And the compass is ok, not accurate enough to walk on a bearing with, but good enough to give you a general bearing when walking. What I would say is the gadgets on the watch and the cost of it, means that they are like gold dust to find. Aldi sell these twice a year (from experience) and when they do, they sell out quick, so keep checking in, sign up to Aldi’s newsletter, do whatever it takes, but if you are looking for a budget expedition watch, you can’t argue with £20 for all the features this watch provides.

In conclusion, some cheap gear out there is better than you think. I’m not sure I would rely on essential kit like waterproofs just yet, however there are definitely some great products out there for very cheap. Well worth looking into. It is however worth bearing in mind that to bring you these 10 good quality products, I had to trawl through a number of useless bits of gear, so treat everything you buy in the budget range with a bit of caution before trusting it fully!

Next time: high quality gear at low prices.....is it possible?

A new contributor...

2011-05-29T18:50:00.001+01:00

After writing his own blog for a while, I have asked my brother Simon to join me on Electronic Mountain Leader. It seemed kind of stupid that with both of us writing our own blogs on gear we shouldn't join together and write 1 blog together.

From this point on Simon will be contributing to the blog with his own reviews and take on gear. We will also be attending OutDoor together, so will give us a chance to really write some great stuff.

Simon is also writing his disertation on environmentally friendly outdoor gear so this will give him a chance to publish some of his findings! Overall this should mean more diverse and more frequent content on here, and gives me and Si a chance to discuss content as it gets written.

Simon can be contacted on Simon@electronicmountainleader.co.uk

Good times.

New website online!

2011-05-28T21:15:00.000+01:00

New website! Woo! Spent quite a while developing some content for a website (as a pose to just a blog). However I never really got into making the site....until today. With it being a wet(ish) weekend I got into doing it and just kept going! The result (I think) is quite impressive. Going forward this blog will still form the basis of my website and will be updated most often. The website will feature additional content in the form of equipment guides, resources and videos. This blog is also part of the website in the form of RSS feeds, and is also linked from the website. The website is still not 100% complete, however over the next few weeks it will be heading towards something like an end result! Website can be found here www.electronicmountainleader.co.uk (Flash enabled browser required!). Any comments appreciated, and thanks for the support!

The Outdoors Company

2011-05-19T18:52:00.001+01:00

I have been working with the Outdoors Company for a while now, both in my centre based work, and in my work with DofE. I highly recommend the guys at The Outdoors Company, and have always found them to be the kind of staff that go the extra mile for their customers. Mark and Paul have supplied equipment to DofE groups I have worked with for some time and I have always found their customer service excellent. The company does excellent deals on DofE kit, and works closely with companies like Vango and North Face to provide only kit suitable for the needs of DofE groups, there is no upselling kit that is too technical or expensive for the groups. They also customise gear with logos and badges, and have provided high quality work gear including top notch North Face jackets for my places of work for the last few years. I think what sets this company apart from others I have used, is the fact that they not only know their stuff, but also that they enjoy being outdoors and are passionate about what they do. If you are looking for kit for a DofE group, or custom work gear, or anything else, definately check these guys out www.theoutdoorscompany.co.uk

Tribevine

2011-05-18T20:21:00.001+01:00

I've made a point of not advertising on my blog. However anyone reading this blog should definatley look into joining Tribevine (www.tribevine.com). Tribevine is a free online community based website which allows users to review, rank and discuss outdoor gear. I joined the site a couple of days after it went live. Since then I won the first monthly competition, winning an awesome collection of gear. Tribevine holds a monthly gear competition rewarding the most active users on the site. For me, Tribevine has provided an outlet for my gear passion, and also an opportunity to represent the company at the OutDoor show (see below) I would highly recomend the site as a starting point for any gear hunt. For me Tribevine As more users join the site gears stronger and stronger providing more detailed analysis and review of gear. Get yourselves on there!

The OutDoor show 2011 - Friedrichshafen, Germany

2011-05-18T18:34:00.003+01:00

Well it's official, I am going to the OutDoor show in Germany (http://www.outdoor-show.com/od-en/visitors/news.php). For those of you who might not be aware of what this means, the OutDoor show is the biggest OutDoor gear industry conference worldwide (Nothing like the UK Outdoor show). All the biggest companies worldwide bring their latest innovations outdoor gear. It also hosts the Outdoor industry awards 2011 - one of the biggest competitions for the latest gear innovations. The guest list is closed and available only to trade customers and outdoor journalists. For the last 2 years I have looked longingly at the website and wished I could somehow get there. Well this year is different....
After chatting to Juho at www.tribevine.com , he asked if I would attend on behalf on Tribevine and (along with him) tour the show checking out new gear, and spreading the world about Tribevine. Still after excepting this once in a lifetime offer I didn't believe it until this morning when my tickets arrived!

I am so unbelieveably excited about this I can barely contain myself as I write this! This will be the biggest opportunity to check out the latest and future releases from the biggest outdoor gear companies in the world, as well as a chance to take in the environment, and be around fellow gear junkies. A big thanks to Juho at Tribevine for making a dream come true for me! Hopefully will be joining him for a few days climbing beforehand! I think the website summary of the event covers it perfectly;

Once a year, the outdoor community convenes under one roof.
It comes together at the OutDoor in Friedrichshafen – the point
where the individualists’ trails, the mainstream’s routes and the
specialists’ super tours converge. Be part of it when the branch
gets together to decide where it is going. And experience for
yourself what moves the market outside. On an exhibition area of 85,000 sqm, more than 850 exhibitors from
39 nations present all the relevant brands and a comprehensive range
of services unknown anywhere else in the world. This year’s main
theme – Business Turbo “Fundamental Needs” – demonstrates
how the branch can benefit even further from the boom in outdoor
pursuits. High-tech and design trends are presented by the OutDoor
INDUSTRY AWARD, which is being held for the fifth time.

Awesome gear, top gear professionals, famous OutDoor show parties, What an opportunity.....

Stubai Atomy screwgate karabiner - first impressions

2011-05-14T13:47:00.000+01:00

Another prize in the competition I won on Tribevine was a bunch of Stubai's Atomy karabiners. Since they arrived this morning I have been playing around with them, and I have to say my first impression is "solid". They feel great, one problem for me with lightweight screwgates has been that they don't feel strong enough. This karabiner is billed my Stubai as being one of the lightest screwgates out there. At 60g there are several lighter than it, the DMM Phantom, and Black Diamond vaporlock to name 2. However having held both of them neither feel as good as the Stubai Atomy. Stubai themselves have been a company I have never seen much of, they aren't widely available in the UK, however in Europe they are much bigger, and with products like the Atomy it's easy to say why. Stubai make the point that they could have made this karabiner lighter:

"We could have gone even lighter with an aluminium castor, but we couldn’t compromise on the top performance of brass"

The Atomy is also much stronger in tests that the lighter karabiners out there, making it a good choice for people like me who enjoy having lighter kit, but also enjoy the reassurance of strong kit! The Atomy has an anti snag nose, a smooth screwgate action, and is anodised red (which just looks cool!).

Technical data:

Breaking strain 26 kN / 8 kN / 10 kN
Gate clearance 16 mm
Exterior dimensions 101 x 54 mm
Weight 60 g
Tested to Norm CE EN 12275, EN 362, UIAA 121

Overall I like them a lot! They feel strong, but also lightweight. Not quite as light as my current Zero G Neutron karabiners, however they feel so much more solid, and I definitely think these will find their way onto my rack!

Petzl Ange Finesse - First impressions

2011-05-14T13:27:00.001+01:00

I recently won a set of 5 Petzl Ange Finesse quickdraws (amongst other things) in a competition on Tribevine , they arrived this morning from Finland and I excitedly opened the package! The Ange Finesse is Petzl's latest innovation in climbing hardware. The Ange is Petzl's latest karabiner, and is combined with the Finesse; a 10 mm wide Dyneema® sling. The Ange comes in 2 different sizes the Ange "S" (Small) and the Ange "L" (Large). The different karabiners can be combined with the Finesse to provide a quickdraw tailored to your needs as a climbing. For example:

Ange S on top and bottom, combined with the Finesse sling would provided minimalist weight

Ange S on top and Ange L on bottom with the Finesse sling would provide a good balance of weight and functionality, as the Ange L on the rope end would provide maximum gate opening size.

Ange L on top and bottom, combined with the Finesse sling would provide maximum usability with the large gate opening sizes.

However at a price of over £110 for a set of 5 these are not cheap! But are they worth the money? I guess time and a day at the crag will tell! One thing that strikes me about these quickdraws is that considering how light they are (63g each) they feel quite substantial. The gate opens very wide due to the single strand/post gate, and it has a gate opening size of 23mm (Ange S). The Ange Finesse has some other good features; A small groove in the karabiners keeps the sling in the correct position, Petzl's MonoFil Keylock ensures snag free clipping, and the rubber clip at the rope end ensures the karabiner stays in the correct position.

The Ange S (28g) is not the lightest karabiner out there, is it 2g heavier than the DMM phantom (26g), 5g heavier than the Camo Nano (23g), however the clean nose, and snag free clipping does make it a smarter choice than both of the above.

Overall, the Ange Finesse seems to be very well designed and built, and I look forward to taking these out for a day to see if they live up the expectations! And definitely incredibly chuffed to have won these!

Petzl Meteor III ....what's all the fuss about?

2011-05-13T21:49:00.001+01:00

The Petzl Meteor III is a helmet that seems to have become synomymous with hardcore climbers and mountaineering instructors, but why? What makes this helmet better that the others? And more importantly why is it £70; much more than other high end helmets. Well luckily a friend still hasn't picked his up from my house where it's sat for ages, so in order to discover why it's so good, I thought I would leave my trusty Grivel salamander in the locker and spend my 4 hour climbing session today wearing the Meteor.
The helmet itself is very ventilated; perhaps one of the reasons it's so popular with world class climbers and instructors. The helmet comes in one size (53-61cm),

and is easily adjusted via the clips at the back. Personally I found these buckles dig into the bag of my head a little bit when first putting the helmet on, however it's fine after that. The shape of the helmet is odd, it comes down very low on the forehead (lower than I would normally have my helmet). The thing with this helmet is that when you are wearing it you feel cool, you feel like a real pro. Perhaps it's because of the helmets reputation for being used by the pro's, or perhaps it's because is does actually look pretty cool when it's on. I did also find it keeps my head nice and cool. In the past I had found other Petzl helmets make my head sweat because of the daft foam they insist in padding out the front of the helmet with. The Meteor III however has foam inside more like cycle helmet foam, and at 235g it's incredibly light. I wore it the whole 4 hours with no problems, and barely noticed I had it on!

So in summary.....yeah its cool, and if you can pick it up on offer, definately worth getting, £70 is a bit steep, but it will keep your head nice and cool - a rarity in climbing helmets!

Mountain Equipment Sleeping bags - new purchase....

2011-05-11T18:50:00.002+01:00

So the current focus of my time is finding a new winter down sleeping bag. I have wanted a decent one for a while, and I am determined not to spent another winter season shivering through with 3 season sleeping bags. Sometime ago I settled on a Mountain Equipment down bag, purely because I love Mountain Equipment kit and I am yet to be let down by a piece of gear I have bought from them. So based on this I have been looking into various options and currently have a choice of 4, below is a summary of my research into the bags:

ME Titan 850: Comfort limit: -12°C, Extreme: -31°C, £220 RRP, 1495g
ME Zero 750: Comfort limit: -13°C, Extreme: -32°C, £330 RRP, 1190g
ME Snowline: Comfort limit: -17°C, Extreme: -37°C, £370 RRP, 1510g
ME Dreamcatcher 850: Comfort limit: -10°C, Extreme: -29°C, £240, 1685g

So quite a selection and all around about the same (ish) ratings. Looking more closely, the fill weight of the Titan and Dreamcatcher are 850, whilst the Snowline and Zero are 750. The pack sizes are pretty much the same within a couple of cm, so not enough to make a difference. So why are the Zero 750 and the Snowline so much more. Well it comes down to features, the Zero is designed to be lightweight, and has a 300-400g weight saving on the other bags. For someone looking for maximum performance and minimum weight this would be ideal, but I have to ask myself is the 400g (max) weight saving worth the extra money, in my opinion not at this stage of my career, weight is always an issue but I can't justify £90 more than the Titan for a bag that is so similar in other specs. So in this case, the ~~Zero 750~~ is out. Next looking closely at the Snowline, at £150 more than the Titan and the most expensive option of the group, it has some additional features that justify that price. The Snowline features a drilite outer to help protect from moisture and snow. It also has higher temp ratings (slightly) than the others. At this stage I am not discounting the Snowline, as it does justify the extra money. The dreamcatcher however will be joining the Zero, as whilst it is the 2nd cheapest, its heaviest, with the lowest temp ratings, therefore ~~Dreamcatcher~~ is out. Then I come onto the Titan. At £220 it's the cheapest, with good ratings, and decent weight. Definately a contender.

So with 2 options that have got through the "interview phase", we come onto the next stage; best price. After lengthy research the best online prices are:

Snowline: £295, http://hillanddaleoutdoors.co.uk/productDetail.php?productId=240&brand=11

Titan 850: £178, http://hillanddaleoutdoors.co.uk/productDetail.php?productId=313&brand=11

Curiously both sleeping bags are cheapest on the same site: Hill and Dale Outdoors Ltd. Good discounts however. The question is; is the discount on the Snowline enough to justify buying it over the Titan? The price difference is £120, and the Snowline price is discounted by £75, and the Titan by £40. The weights are the same, the difference in comfort temp is 5°C, and extreme temp is 6°C, with the Snowline being the warmer bag. The Snowline does have the advantage of the Drilite outer protecting from the moisture of Snowholes, and damp bivi's. The fill power is less on the Snowline however, it uses goose down which provides 20-25% more insulation than duck down. The Snowline also has a higher ratio of down to feathers (Snowline: 93% down/ 7% feathers, Titan: 85% down/ 15% feathers), so is a much higher quality bag.

There is no doubt that the Snowline is the better bag, and for the extra £120 you get a lot. But it is an extra £120....the Titan is a good bag at a great price. I think I have a dilemma now!

MLTE training books

2011-05-10T09:58:00.000+01:00

The MLTE training books have been a stable fixture on my shelf for some time now. While doing my ML and SPA I found myself daily referring to both "Hillwalking" and "Rock Climbing" for answers to nagging questions in my head. "Winter Climbing" is an excellent reference point for winter mountaineering of all types. All 3 books are well written, and full of useful guides, diagrams and information. In my opinion these books are ideal for outdoor instructors working towards qualifications, or just climbers who want a good reference guide. The MLTE also produced a DVD with all the diagrams from "Hillwalking" in order for instructors to use them in training. Each book is broken down into logical chapters, and covers all the aspects of the MLTE mountain qualifications as shown below:

Hillwalking: Mountain Leader Summer (ML-S) and Walking Group Leader (WGL)
Rock Climbing: Single Pitch Award (SPA) and Mountain Instructor Award (MIA)
Winter Skills: Mountain Leader Winter (ML-W) and Mountain Instructor Certificate (MIC)

Great series of books and well worth investing in.

CAMP Air Cam failure - conclusion

2011-05-10T09:33:00.003+01:00

A while back I wrote about a friend who had experienced a problem with the CAMP air cam - see below. Andy sent back his set of 5 cams to CAMP for testing. 2 of them failed the strength test and were replaced by CAMP. The 2 cams that failed the test had a batch number of cams that were recalled. These should therefore have not been on sale by Black's in the first place, as they (as all retailers of these cam's) were contacted to inform them that this batch was faulty and should not be sold. Pretty piss poor on Black's part if you ask me? So please if you have any CAMP air cam's, get them checked out, even if you just email CAMP with a batch number to check yours are ok, last thing you need if your cam to collapse half way up a route. Good service by CAMP, and good that they followed this through and tested all the cam's replacing were needed, appalling work by Blacks. Thanks to Andy for passing on this info.

Climbing games book - Paul Smith

2011-05-08T20:59:00.004+01:00

From a climbing instructors point of view, when working with groups it is very good to be able to make the session as fun as possible. Incorporating games into a session can be a great way of warming up, coaching, and building on a "toolbox" of skills that the group can draw upon. When I first started leading sessions I knew a few games, but always found it useful to try and pickup more. One evening I googled "climbing games book" and found this. The book is excellent, and was exactly what I was looking for. Each game had different symbols indicating what the game focussed on (e.g. Balance, core etc). It also clearly explains each game. The book is also split into different sections for reference. I have passed this book around all the other instructors at work and we all agree this book is a cracking piece of literature for an instructor. It is especially good for anyone going for an SPA assessment and looking for a few coaching games, I personally used games from this book on my assessment and the guide running the course was very impressed. The book can be picked up on Amazon.co.uk for £5.07 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=climbing+games&x=0&y=0), and is definately worth investing in!

An example of the books format and layout can be found here (pdf. Format)

Alpine dreaming....

2011-05-08T20:01:00.000+01:00

Whilst I have spent a decent amount of time in other countries, I haven't actually headed to the alps. This September will mark the end of that. Looking like I will be heading to the alps, the objective (amongst others) will be Mont Blanc De Cheilon. At 3870m the Peak is a famous for being a great beginners peak. The route we are looking at is an alpine PD, including glacier crossing, basic snow and ice climbing, and some scrambling/rock climbing. Personally I am in no rush to "push my grade", and rush into this. I am looking forward to a nice, chilled few days with a great peak at the end. The peak has a lot going for it from my point of view, not least of which being that the area is German speaking, and I have a decent amount of German! I have been doing

some research into this, and have come up with 3 good points of interest for anyone looking at first time alpine routes in this area.

1) http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en ; this website gives free access to 1:25k mapping of the Swiss alps. Very useful, and can be printed out in pages.

2) http://www.aacuk.org.uk/membership.aspx the Austrian Alpine Club (UK branch) is worth joining. For £32 (if born 1986 or before, £42 if born after), you get discounted rates at huts, alpine rescue insurance, access to a Bergsteigeressen (Climbers meal), and many more benefits.!

3) http://www.summitpost.org/mont-blanc-de-cheilon/150218 ; summitpost is awesome, and provides excellent information on routes/peaks etc

In the next few months I will produce a detailed equipment guide of what I'm taking (time to revive the cut away photoshopping methinks....)

Sun, Sea, Sailing......and free gear!

2011-05-08T19:15:00.003+01:00

Well it's been a month since my last post, and to be honest it's been a quiet month for me. Headed out climbing to windgather to help a mate get ready for his SPA training. Lovely evening for some climbing and we got in 6 routes over the time we were there. This last week just gone I headed out to Mallorca with my beautiful lady for a spot of yachting. It was a cracking few days, with awesome weather, I also got plenty of experience around the boat which has made me even more determined to get my RYA Instructor course done this summer. On returning to the checking my email yesterday I recieved an email informing me I had won the first competition on Tribevine, winning quite a haul of free gear, including a full set of Petzl Ange Finesse quickdraws and Stubai Atomy karabiners, both of which I am very excited about! Reviews will appear soon! The competition involved contributing reviews to the website over the month, at the end of the month the user with the best reviews and contributions would be awarded the

prize haul of gear from around the world. I was in competition with users from around the world, but came out victorious, something which I was very chuffed about! From Tribevines website:

The selection of our competition winner proved to be difficult. There were two winner candidates clearly above others; Machiavelli and Chris Holloway, but between them? After detailed review, we came to the conclusion that the winner is Chris Holloway

For those of you who don't know or haven't heard of Tribevine, it's a new "hub" for gear lovers, allowing you to search, review and compare gear, and network with users worldwide. The website is www.tribevine.com, and it's well worth checking out! Who knows you could end up winning big like I did!

So a quiet few weeks, but heading into the busy period at work, coupled with heading into the summer, I will no doubt have much more to post in the coming months!

A busy few days of expeditions

2011-04-05T20:06:00.002+01:00

So it's been a while since my last post. Had a very busy couple of weeks, with 4 seperate expeditions out and about. Sadly this has taken its toll on me and I've contracted some kind of plague that has caused my asthma to flare up. Highs and lows certainly!

First 2 expeditions, were practice walks around the Roaches and white Peakarea. Fairly straight forward couple of days to be honest, involving quite a bit of walking along the Roaches ridge. Took the liberty of getting a bit of bouldering in while I was there too. Overall it was short and sweet, decent weather, not sunny but overcast and dry! Had a couple of the group suffering with the cold a bit, but aside from that all good.

The second expedition was more of a trudge. A group from a university outdoor education course wanted a 3 day expedition during which we would cover all the skills involved in ML training, prior to them doing their ML training in a couple of weeks. I was really looking forward to this, as I have helped out a bit on ML training courses, so was really looking forward to working with some older groups on more technical navigation.I really enjoyed the expedition, albeitthat it involved carrying a big pack and wild camping. The first day involved moving from Gradbach, over to Goyts Moss, where we would wild camp in Goytsclough Quarry. The day got off to a 'brilliant' start as soon as we left the bus at the dropoff and it was slinging it down! It rained constantly until we made it to the campsite, and thankfully the rain stopped long enough to pitch camp.

The second day was dry but VERY windy. We headed over Axe Edge where I would estimate the wind was 20mph gusting 35mph. At one point I almost got completely cleared out. From the Buxton Road we headed down into the maze of footpaths and made our way to our campsite at the base of Chrome Hill. After pitching tents we heading up Chrome Hill for a cheeky summit. After getting down the wind got faster and faster, and the forecast didn't look brilliant either. During the night the wind was battering my small Macpac Microlight to the point at which it was little more than a bivi bag. I got out of my tent around 11.30pm and found most of the group sitting in the back of the Land Rover. After a brief chat we decided to get the hell out of there, we struck camp in 10minutes and drove back to the centre, to doss down in one of the classrooms. On the friday morning I ran an ML ropework session for the group. Then promptly slung my kit in the minibus and headed over to Snowdonia for a weekend of DofE gold training.....

The weekend involved 2 mountain days. One group day in the Moelwyns, and one leader training day in the Glyders. The Cnicht day was awesome, great weather, great group, and enjoying being out. We headed up and over Cnicht, and then down to Llyn Y Adar, and continued over finding small

features on the way. Sadly my plague developed overnight and I spent the 2nd day on Anglesey with the group rather than on the Glyders. I was very proud of the guys and girls from my DofE gold group, having trained them from Bronze level right the way up to Gold level.

Overall my kit performed very well over the course of the expeditions. Didn't have any problems at all. There were some valuable additions however....

1) My new Adidas "Predator" Boots. They were comfortable throughout all the expeditions, and definately worth the money! I found them great whether on damp Peak District footpaths or on grade 1 Snowdonia scrambles.

2) Sealskinz socks; brilliant on all expeditions, kept my feet dry and toasty the whole time.

3) Kongur MRT; incredible jacket, kept the wind and rain out very well.

4) Jetboil; brilliant as always, so simple, light and easy for cooking boil in the bag meals, and making brews.

However there was one kit "loser"....

Macpac Microlight; brilliant for warm summer nights, useless in winds or if you on expedition and carry a big pack. Sleeping in it felt like being in a coffin, and had to store my bag in a survival bag outside the tent. That said it did survive where a Terra Nova and a Vango didnt (the groups tents broke in the winds).

Overall a tough but rewarding few days!

CAMP air cam failure

2011-03-22T18:59:00.000Z

I said I would post this up for Andy. Basically he went to place his cam for the first, and as he retracted the lobes the 4 wires came free. Andy has personally contacted CAMP for an answer on this, so will post up anything new as and when I hear about it. My advice would be if you have one of these to contact CAMP directly. In addition I would be interested to hear from anyone who has had a similar problem to this. UKClimbing.com have said they will look into it. Personally when I looked at these cam's in Blacks I wasn't that impressed with them!

A quiet day at Harborough - a short climbing video

2011-03-05T17:27:00.001Z

A short video composed of footage from my video camera and helmet camera.I focused on trying to create a short story of one climb from start of the day to completing the route. I created it with Windows Movie maker (I do have other software but prefer the simplicity). Enjoy!

Harborough Rocks: Helmet cam footage BETA

2011-03-01T19:24:00.002Z

Finally managed to get out to a crag today, and test out the helmet cam. If you read the article 2 below this one, you can see how I mounted the helmet cam to a Petzl Meteor. Atko is currently gaining a few leads for his SPA training, so offered to lead a few routes on cam. Overall during the day the camera collected over 1.5gb of HD footage, totaling 45mins. I have uploaded a small section to youtube (below) in low resolution, however you get the idea. One thing I hadn't taken into account was the orientation of the camera in the mount, so you will see from the footage that I had to rotate the footage on its side to get it the right way up. In future I won't make that mistake again! Atko lead a few climbs, they have all recorded very well and we can consider this a successful test! More to come over the coming months! Enjoy!

Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAd_Ayw6UTw
And here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56QJukR49k
Download short vid here: www.electronicmountainleader.co.uk/helmet cam small.wmv

I also can't resist talking about DMM Offset wires after a crag day, anyone who has used these will understand why! They are incredible, they just fit everywhere! Throughout the day all of the wires were placed at least 3 times each! I would seriously recommend that anyone starting the build a rack at the moment take the plunge and spend the £40 on these. Or better still wait until the outdoor show and blag a set for £20! Well worth it. All in All a good day at the crag today, took some HD footage on my video camera, and helmet camera which I will be compiling into a video over the next few weeks, just need to learn to use Adobe Premiere first......

Adidas walking boots......no wait hear me out!

2011-02-27T18:35:00.000Z

I've been looking for a decent pair of walking boots for some time. At present I have B2 and B3 boots, but no B1 walking boots for scrambling etc. I have looked and tried on a number of boots, but non I have tried looked good enough or fitted well enough to justify splashing the cash. I liked the look of the Salomon Quest, and they fitted well too, but they didn't have that something extra I like to have with anything I buy. Anyway long story short I was mooching around Manchester to day with Claire (where it turns out there is 100 outdoor shops....). I went into the Blacks there, where there was (for once) a helpful lad working in the boot department. While Claire was trying some approach shoes I clocked a pair of cool looking boots. These turneed out to be Adidas Terrex GTX hi FM. I instantly liked the look of these boots, and whats more

I'm sure I recognised the shape as being the same as the Salomon Quest I had tried on before. A quick chat with the guy in the shop revealed they were in fact the same boot (albeit with some reworking by Adidas), as Adidas and Salomon were owned by the same parent company. So now I was very interested, a boot that had already fitted well, but a cooler looking version, and at half price (£59.99) I invested. They look awesome, they fit brilliantly, and more importantly they shatter the stereotype that many of us have that Adidas can't make outdoor kit. Indeed the emergence of sports companies making gear, is

part of an ongoing trend started by Nike with their ACG (All Condition Gear). Looks like Adidas has hopped on the band wagon, and I am very impressed! These boots remind me of being young and when the "must have" football boots were Adidas predators. Therefore from now on these boots will be known as my Adidas Predators :) The next few months will reveal whether thesee are everything I hope for from my boots!

Helmet cams, Metoffice and Twitter

2011-02-26T11:32:00.001Z

So for Christmas my beautiful girlfriend Claire got me (among other things) a small camera designed for recording outdoor pursuits. Naturally (and lets face it this is true), everyone has thought about using a helmet camera to record them doing something cool, so for me this was the ultimate piece of coolness for my kit collection. The camera included a 4gb microSD card, a mount for bike handlebars, and a mount for webcam use. Sadly the mount supplied didn't fit my bikes handle bars, and the transfer cable seems to be a bit dodgy. So eBay provides! £4.98 got me a new mount (helmet compatible and an SD card adapater). The new mount arrived the other day and is 1000x better than the one that was included. This one had flexible rubber straps to attach the camera, and to attach to whatever you want to. This means you can attach to a helmet by passing the straps through the holes in the helmet (see picture). Sadly this doesnt work on my grivel salamander due to the lack of vents in the helmet. However it was fine on Petzl Meteor and a Giro Indicator.So I fitted the camera up last night,

and with a planned trip to Harborough rocks tommorow, I figured it would be the ideal chance to get some good BETA footage. Sadly the Metoffice had other ideas. When i went to bed (11pm) the Metoffice was forecasting overnight rain, but dry from 4am, then sunny from early throughout the day. Sadly (in truest form with the Metoffice), when I got up it was slinging it down. The 'forecast' had then been updated to say rain throughout the day. Now honestly, what use is that? The past 3 times I have relied on the Metoffice they have let me down, as a geography graduate, and dabbler in meteorology, I appreciate the finer subtle details of weather forecasting, but HOW do they keep getting it wrong, there is a huge difference between "Sunny all day" and "wet all day", as Reynolds said "it is the only job in the world where the can get it wrong everyday and not get fired". So instead of being at the crag today I am sat updating my blog. The last thing I wanted to mention was

Twitter. I have heard "tweeting" talked about a lot recently, and it wasn't something I had ever done. However I decided to give it a go, and actually it seems very cool. All the major gear companies, mountain centres, and organisations seem to be on there. So having "followed" all of them, I can now access their tweets about latest releases, competitions etc. Seems very worthwhile. I can also update my tweets by texting a number (at no charge), which updates my profile. I have also added a gadget to my blog which allows a display of my current Tweet, so anyone who is interested can see what I am up to/working on. (I don't expect many people will be, but I think it's cool!). Thats all for now anyway, I will get some helmet cam footage up soon, and also update on whether Sonim's 14 day replacement quote is accurate!

Landrover S1 - Not as invincible as advertised?

2011-02-26T11:04:00.000Z

I have had the Landrover S1 for some time now, and this is the second time it has broken. The first time was not a hardware issue - the phones software stopped working causing the phone to freeze up. In fairness to Sonim the phone was replaced with no questions asked, however I did miss having the phone when I was in Morocco.

This time however I dropped the phone to the ground by accident (baring in mind the company claim the phone can withstand 2m drops onto concrete), the resulting damage can be seen in the picture (left). The screen has a giant crack in it, whilst I should point out the phone has continued to function fine despite the screen being mangled, I decided to (for the second time) take advantage of Sonim's "3 year unconditional guarantee". A short phone call to Sonim later and I had an address to send my phone to in order to recieve a replacement, no questions asked; except "what is wrong with it". Can't say fairer than that I suppose.
My issue is that the phone broke in the first place, surely a phone that claims to be literally bomb proof should be able to withstand damage from impacts on the screen? However credit where credit is due, Sonim really do follow through on their guarantee to replace the phone, no questions asked, if it breaks, so in this regard, I can't fault them as a company, great customer service. Overall I still like the Landrover S1, I had been having a few problems with the Microphone when calling people, as my voice came accross very quiet. So hopefully this will be fixed with the new one. The waterproofness of the phone however is still outstanding and is yet to let me down, even when I dropped it in the lake the other day! 14 days until the Landrover S1 Mk 3 arrives.....

A week of orienteering.....soggy sarnies and too much running

2011-02-06T17:29:00.002Z

So this week at work was a GCSE orienteering group. I like to get involved with this each year, as the group are usually good fun to work with, plus I get the constant reassurance that my navigation is better than a 15 year old novices! We used a number of venues away from the centre to increasingly test the students over the course of the week. I lead a number of evening training sessions throughout the week aimed at helping the students develop skills, copy of the powerpoint I put together for a quick contours introduction can be downloaded here. From my point of view the courses involved me running around as quickly as my legs would carry me in order to avoid the inevitable "Sir, you suck I beat you", chants from the group. We used 2 parks in Leek, Knypersly reservoir, and Buxton Country Park. The week got off to a bad start for me when I forgot my water bottle, not a huge issue I took one from the staffroom. Upon reaching lunchtime at the first site, I reached for my "gourmet" sarnies I had been gloating about (BBQ chicken and cheddar in cheesey rolls), I discovered the water bottle had leaked everywhere ruining my delicious food! Needless to say the water bottle received an apt reward for its betrayal...

And while we are at it Thermos Hydro Active Sports Bottle, best price: £4.99 from Amazon, is the worst designed water bottle I have ever seen, I mean the thing has a flimsy cap with a weak rubber seal which, if knocked will come undone instantly, do not ever buy one of these water bottles!
The week progressed very well, with my evening lectures seeming to make a difference to the group, the teachers seemed impressed, and the group were doing better than any previous year, so I was feeling pretty chuffed! I managed to get hold of a copy of the map for Thursday, and calibrated it using a product called OziExplorer (useful piece of software for calibrating .jpg files into geo referenced maps). This was very effective during the thursday, especially for getting the control points in exactly the right place! All in all I was very happy with the orienteering, once again (as usual) my Osprey Talon 33, proved the most comfortable bag I have ever owned, even running up and down hills all day it didn't chafe or hurt at all. Once again highly recommended!

My ME Fitzroy also kept me toasty warm whilst waiting around in the wind and cold for the group to come and collect various orienteering points around the place! Enclosed is a small JPG of the orienteering map of Buxton Country park, well worth a visit! Excellent park with decent toilets etc, worth a walk over to solomons temple as well, with a good view across the quarries.

Summer rock climbing rack

2011-02-06T16:58:00.000Z

I recieved a message today (via my contact me on my blog for the first time woop!), asking what is in my summer climbing rack. So this a brief response for Dave Harrison (thanks for you mail) and anyone else who is interested, as to what I carry on my summer trad rack:

10 x wild country oxygen quickdraws (various lengths)
3 x sling draws (60cm slings)
4 x D shaped screw gates (Zero G neutrons)
2 x DMM/Mammut Boa
1 x Metolius nutkey (saved me £24 to date!)
1 x Petzl Reverso3 belay plate + DMM Fatboy
1 x Petzl Reverso + HMS
7 x DMM 4CU cam's sizes 0.5-4
Black Diamond wired hexes
DMM Wallnuts 1-11
Zero G Spectrum wires 5-13
Zero G Spectrum wires 1-4
DMM Offset wires

1 x 60cm sling + karabiner
4 x 120cm slings + karabiner each
2 x 240cm slings + karabiner each
1 x 400cm sling +karabiner

2 x prussik loops

+ Harness, helmet, rockboots and chalkbag

All the above won't come on every route, but this is what I have, however I customise what I actually carry depending on the venue and route.

Why old style pierce top stoves are bad!

2011-02-06T16:09:00.000Z

As the title suggests really, I witnessed an incident a Peak District campsite a few months back that highlighted to me the reason these stoves should not continue to be used for expeditions with young people. Whilst waiting for my DofE group to arrive I was sat in my tent observing another group cooking (no idea where they were from). As I watched, one of the young people busted out an old style pierce top stove. These were replaced a number of years ago with the safer, more reliable, resealable stoves. Curiously I watched the events that unfolded next, where the young person mounted the gas canister, and lit the stove. Before I had chance to shout to them, the whole stove had gone up in flames, I ran in and grabbed the stove hurling it away from the tents into the empty camping field, I quickly extinguished the stove, and turned the gas off.

I promptly headed over and gave the leader of the group an earful. It should be noted that in these cases I do not blame the young people, I blame the leader who allowed them to use the stove in the first place. Pierce top stoves are too dangerous, and too easy to use wrongly. So this is a plea to any scout groups, cadets, dofe groups, schools or anyone else who still Show Allhas these stoves squirreled away somewhere......Bin them now! Afterwards I collected the stove and took some pictures for instructional purposes, so that others can see the results of using these stoves incorrectly. The main issue is if they ignite, it is very difficult to deal with as the stove becomes a fireball, something that for a young person on an expedition will be very scared of.

The issue occurs when the arms securing the canister are not placed correctly, when the canister is is punctured a leak occurs, and when the stove valve is turned on and lit, the pressurised gas sprays out of the canister and lights instantly, and continues to flow. The best case scenario is that the canister remains attached to the stove, the worst case scenario (something that I have seen before), is if the canister becomes detached from the stove, the pressurised canister then blasts off like a rocket with a trail of fire behind it. Obviously this represents a huge hazard, not least of which hitting another young person, or a tent, or vehicle. The question we have to ask ourselves is "is it worth the risk", when resealable stoves are available from £9.99?....Food for thought.

Fig4 Drytooling....very good!

2011-01-30T19:59:00.002Z

Further to my previous post on dry tooling with Fig Fours, I decided to head to Awesome Walls to have a play on their dedicated Fig Four/Schmoolz routes. Had a good hour and a half at the wall, and have to say I really enjoyed it! The tools are great to play around at the wall with and really get you pumped quick, but more importantly there's a real focus on technique and thinking moves over. The only problem with the Fig Fours is a lack of bottom horn, without leashes this makes them hard to use without gripping much higher up on the axe. Outside of that these were great, myself, my brother and my best mate had a great time, and enjoyed pushing each other with new routes, overhangs, corners and tricky moves, and I will definitely be heading out again! But we all agree the Fig Fours are definitely a great piece of kit, will be including some Fig Four training in my training from now on and looking to push my grade a bit when I head to Scotland in Feb! So there's something to aim for! Other than that I'm more motivated for getting out winter climbing a couple more times before the end of the season!

Atko was very fluid with his climbing and hopefully we can really build on our team work for Alpamayo 2012! Also hoping to head to Awesome Walls Stockport to test the Fig Four's out on top rope and leading to see how they function going vertically instead of just traversing! Also going to aim to climb in B2 boots in the future rather than rock boots, and may also consider wearing a helmet (I cracked myself on the head twice and it hurts!!). Also watch out the axes slipping off and hitting you in the face!

The video below shows Simon playing around on a Schmoolz route given the grade V3-4. Enjoy! Download available here: www.electronicmountainleader.co.uk/DSCF5121.AVI

Fig4 Drytooling....any good?

2011-01-24T21:05:00.000Z

I have been meaning to write this for some time now. Managed to pick myself up a set of Alpkit's latest innovation the "Fig4" second hand for a respectable price of £25. Have been meaning to get down to the wall, but after missing several chances to do it, I decided this evening to have a play on the wall at work before my evening climbing session. So I headed down a little early to test them.
First things first, I kitted up climbing with my B2 boots, gloves, and helmet. I had a mess around for 30mins or so traversing around the wall. The first thing I will say is that it certainly gets you pumped! After 30mins I was knackered! The small loops on the axes fit all the holds in the wall at work, and are strong enough to easily support my weight dead hanging.

These are very cool to climb with, something very different to enjoy at the wall, and I imagine with sustained practice would facilitate a marked improvement in winter climbing strength. One cool thing about them is the fact you can hold the axe in different ways as the wood is shaped to mimic triggers and rests and various points on the shaft. Mine also cam pre fitted with cord so that when climbing upward should you fall the axe doesnt plummit onto your belayers head!
The one problem I encountered is that many of the holds around the wall were no use what so ever for these, the loops simply slipped off. In one way this adds another dimension, in another (more accurate way) it just means certainly sections of the wall are not climbable.

Alpkit sell these at £65 a pair ( http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16500&category_id=252 ) are they worth it? From my point of view no. However the amount of mixed climbing I do in a year wouldn't warrant such an investment, however for hardcore winter climbers looking to train in the wall, I would highly recomend these bad boys. Many climbing walls are now stocking these for borrowing during sessions, so worth a play! Alternatively if you can pick them up on the cheap second hand go for it! Definately fun! And I am looking forward to heading to the wall again soon!

A dream of white mountains?

2011-01-18T20:40:00.001Z

I had a dream a week ago now, in my dream I was clawing my way up the final snowslope of a big mountain. That mountain was Alpamayo. Alpamayo is located in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru and stands at 5,947m, as is widely considered the worlds most beautiful mountain, and looking at pictures it's easy to see why.

Why Alpamayo? Ever since I first saw a picture of Alpamayo I have wanted to climb it, it is an inspiring target for any young mountaineer. Today I was mulling over a couple of options for a 2012 expedition, and have come to the conclusion that Alpamayo is what I want to do, following in the footsteps of my friend and mentor John. Alpamayo is a small amount higher than my previous highest climb, and the French Direct route goes at Alpine "D" which is slightly harder than my toughest route to date.

I have a guidebook on the way "Classic Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca" by Brad Johnson, and have already started a wealth of research on the mountain, I am incredibley psyched for this, me and whatever team choose to accompany me will be looking at July/Aug 2012 as a date, giving me 1 year and 7 months to get my fat ass in gear and train for this, but with the level of motivation I'm feeling right now, that shouldn't be a problem!

This will be the toughest and highest climb of my life, and also the most inspiring.

Sealskinz – waterproof uber kit? Or wet flannels?

2011-01-05T18:40:00.000Z

I have been using Sealskinz products for over 3 years now, this includes; gloves, socks and hat. These products boast a high level of waterproofing and breathability but is this the case? And are they worth the money?

The first piece of kit we will look at are the Sealskinz Ultra grip glove (approx £25). These gloves appealed to me as they were a close fitting, waterproof glove. Useful for maintaining dexterity, whilst remaining warm when wet. I have used these now in Scottish and Welsh winter, high altitude climbing in Morocco, glacier work in Iceland, climbing gritstone HS 4b at Windgather, and many more trips, and can honestly say these bad boys live up to their reputation. They are comfortable and warm, but close fitting enough that tying knots, boot laces and other tasks is simple and doesn’t require them to be taken off. They are also thin enough that they can be worn under a larger pair too. As for the waterproofing on the gloves, you can test this for yourself, stick a small bit of tissue paper in the glove, submerge your hand in a sink full of water, then check the tissue. For me this test left a piece of bone dry tissue!

So far so good Sealskinz!

The second piece of gear is the Sealskinz beanie (£15 approx). This has been a faithful companion of mine for a number of years now, and has accompanied me all over the place. It is comfortable, waterproof, and cozy. It also comes in tactical olive green for military use. The hat itself does tend to rustle a little bit, I imagine this is due to the waterproof layer including in the hat. I have never liked wearing a hat on the hill, but this one is ideal for me, keeps my head dry and warm all day!

Last but not least, Sealskinz socks (approx £20 a pair!). I have 2 pairs of these and have used them extensively all over the place! They are a great sock on their own, what I particularly like is the fact that they come quite high up the calf. This means should your foot plunge into a dreaded Kinder Scout peat bog over the ankle, your foot will avoid the “over the boot” misery many of us have experienced, and keep your foot dry! I tend to wear these with a second pair of socks underneath, this keeps my foot comfortable, dry and warm, whilst protecting against blisters. Again they have a bit of a rustle due to the waterproofing, however they are great socks and really do what they say on the tin with regards to waterproofing so can’t complain about a bit of noise when putting them on!

So overall what would I say about Sealskinz? Great products, and they keep you dry. Certainly at £20 per pair the socks are not cheap, but they are an ideal piece of kit to keep feet dry on those naff days on the hill and certainly worth investing in! The gloves at £25 are excellent, and better/cheaper than other gloves out there that claim to do the same thing.

In a nutshell: Give Sealskinz a go, you won’t be disappointed!

Mountain Leader: My leader kit

2010-12-14T21:33:00.005Z

This is the last of my "xray" diagrams for kit lists. This one is a typical(ish) ML leader pack. Containing a variety of items essential for leading groups in the mountains. This is by no means an exhaustive list and any ML or aspirant ML should pick their own kit based on their experience. My equipment listed below is everything I would take (although not everything is shown on the diagram)for a standard group day on the hill, any specialist items are not included, however these could include things like GPS, any books or guides for the area as required, I also list a sling in the equipment, if going for you ML assessment it is worth noting that some ML assessors do not allow the use of a sling and biner and some do. If you do have one, make sure you know how to use it correctly! Kit list:

Camelbak
Spare water
30m Confidence rope - Set up for easy use
240cm sling and HMS karabiner
Hardshell
Spare warm jacket
Food and emergency rations (in yellow stuff sack)
Headtorch
Phone
First aid kit
Group shelter
Penknife
GPS handset
Walking poles
Thermos flask with warm drink
Map

The above list is not exhaustive, but is generally what I carry when with groups, I add or take away items depending on time of year, group size/age/type, and the nature of the day.

I hope you have enjoyed the series of little diagrams in the last couple of posts, feel free to use these in any presentations etc, but please reference me or let me know if you do :)

Next post: FigFour Dry tooling....any good?

Expedition loadout

2010-12-14T21:01:00.013Z

Really enjoyed messing around in photoshop and creating the winter loadout image below, so decided I would do one for expedition loadout and mountain leader day sack. My expedition equipment varies a huge amount depending on length of expedition, time of year etc. In the diagram I have not included items like penknive, gps, phone etc, as they are too fiddly to edit in photoshop! Kit shown:

Tent (or part there of)
Sleeping bag
Thermorest (right side)
Poles (left side)
Hardshell
Insulated jacket
Spare clothes (red stuff sack)
Food (yellowy stuff sack)
Stove
Gloves
Camelbak
Spare water
Group shelter

Other kit can be added or taken out as needed. If wet weather expected then thermorest should be covered in a drybag to prevent it getting sodden! Additional kit like: scrambling rope, ice axe (and other winter gear) etc can be added also depending on the nature of the venture.

Bag in picture is my faithful Lowe Alpine Frontier 80+15L. Fantastic bag, present from my parents for my 20th birthday.

Winter Loadout 2010/2011

2010-12-13T13:53:00.010Z

So last year I spent some time doing a cut away style diagram to detail my winter kit. I thought I would do the same kind of idea again this year. The diagram to the left shows a standard winter day pack. The only changes being that my crampons are not covered and the axes shown are actually strapped to the outside of my bag not the inside as it may seem. As you can see the packing is a little tight, but largely whats included is:

Roughly half a winter rack
1 x 60m half rope
2 x DMM Fly
Helmet
A small group shelter
A water bottle
An insulated jacket
Goggles
Phone
Crampons
Headtorch
Spare gloves
Harness

Naturally that is quite a sparse kit and would only be useful as a daypack. Other things could be added or taken away depending the type of trip/length of trip. It also makes the assumption that I would be wearing certain kit like my hardshell jacket and trousers, gloves etc

Overall I usually pack my bag as shown, with items like helmet/harness and goggles towards the top. I might also add things like GPS, first aid kit (if partner wasn't carrying). My bag of choice is my Osprey Mutant 38, however in some instances this is often not big enough.

Clipper Leashes!

2010-12-08T17:02:00.007Z

After the hardcore failure of my chokehold leashes at the weekend I vowed to sort out my leash system. This is my story....
Prior to hitting the first ice of the season at the weekend I had been looking into how best to "mod up" my axes for winter. Having struggled with my chokehold leashes previously, I decided I needed some form of clipper leash. I contacted DMM regarding a fitting kit for my DMM flys. The good thing about my axes is that I have a slightly older version of the DMM fly featuring hollow bolts on the shaft, these can be fitted up for a clipper leash. Simon from DMM very helpfully sent me 2 fitting kits for my axes to enable me to fit these leashes.

Having shopped around for the clipper leashes I found Joe Brown offering them for £35 each! http://www.joe-brown.com/outdoor-equipment/winter-mountaineering/climbing-tools/dmm-clipper-leash.html, V12 offering them for £40 a pair, and www.theoutdoorshop.com offering them at an incredible £32 a pair. I immediately put in an order with the outdoorshop.

Quick plug for www.theoutdoorshop.com - this is a brilliant site, great customer service, online BMC discount (if you mail them your membership number), and most of all cheapest prices on everything! incredible! Never had bad service from them yet! Worth a browse with christmas coming up!

The leashes arrived today (8/12), I fitted up the fitting kits (simple enough), and attached the leashes. Job done!

The leashes themselves are simple enough, I was very surprised to recieve 2 DMM phantom karabiners as the "clippers". At £8-9 each these were a nice bonus to have with the leashes (not that I will use them for climbing!). The leashes are very padded and comfortable, and have a small buckle for keeping the leashes in place on your wrist. I imagine when I use these I will simply attach them at the start of the day, and take them off at the end!

Overall for the time and cost investment, I think these will be an excellent addition to my axes! Stay tuned for my next trigger modifications!

Early season winter climbing

2010-12-05T16:58:00.007Z

Reynolds text me last week asking if I fancied heading over to Wales for a spot of early season winter climbing. The idea appealed to me and over the course of the week we decided on a plan to bivi out in Devils kitchen in Cwm Idwal, and hit the ice early in the morning to avoid the queues. A great idea...until you consider the temperature will be below zero. That said we went ahead with our plan and headed into Idwal around 11pm on Friday night. We bivied out and heading for the ice in the morning. After some pleasant climbing we headed back down and back to the car. Based on crap weather reports we headed back saturday night. We both carried a large amount of kit with us, but which kit did well? And which didn't do well?

Champion kit:

Mountain Equipment Fitzroy:

A cracking jacket, I wore this all day climbing, during the walk in and in the morning in the bivi. It held up to everything Wales threw at us, snow, rain, wind, cold, not only that I didn't overheat in it (often a problem I get!)

DMM Fly:

A cracking all round axe, comfortable to use and ideal for UK winter climbing!

Jetboil:

I love the Jetboil - simple as. Nothing better for making a brew and cooking up boil in the bag meals.

Vilified kit!

DMM Chokehold leashes:

Whilst I love the DMM fly, I HATE the standard chokehold leash, they are uncomfortable to use, hard to get off, and generally not user friendly. Fortunately the good folk at DMM sent me a free fitting kit for my DMM fly axes (I have the slightly older version that have follow bolts for clipper leashes). And I will now be buying some clipper leashes!

Leki walking poles

Titanium poles my ass! One of my poles snapped during the walk in to the first climb, not impressed in the slightest, I will be contacting Leki to try and get this fixed, details to follow!

All in all it was a cracking day! Good nick climbs, good company and ok weather!

Writing my book - good times

2010-11-20T22:19:00.004Z

Hiya guys,

Sorry for the lack of posting as of late, as the title suggests I have been writing my own DofE training manual lately, I have just finally finished off the chapter 2 of 8: navigation, word count sitting at 8217words, I am so psyched for writing this at the moment, really enjoying making the book the way I would want a training manual, it has taken me a while to write what I have so far, however quality is an issue so slow and steady is the best way. Little sneak peak in the picture there! More updates soon!

Jbel Toubkal 2010

2010-09-26T16:05:00.010+01:00

So the day came for Morocco, weeks and weeks of planning, worrying, and packing all came to a finale! Overall the trip was a great success with all of the team summiting on 17th September at 11.05am. Whilst the trip was a slog and a half, and wasn’t without it’s issues, it was very enjoyable, and a trek I would definitely recommend.
The trek consisted of a long day from Imlil (1600m) at the edge of Toubkal National Park up to Refuge Du Toubkal Les Mouflons at 3207m. So 1600m in 35-40Degree heat, with full expedition packs on....what a day huh? The day went smoothly until exiting the small village of Amround via a dry river bed when Ruth tripped and dislocated her knee.

However being the hardcore adventurer type, we promptly relocated the knee and continued on. This leg of the climb just goes on and on and on, the most annoying part of the trek was seeing the large groups of amateurs on the backs of mules heading up with no effort on their part what so ever. While on the subject of mules if you ever do this trek be very careful of the mules and muleers, they make the broad assumption that no matter what the circumstances they have right of way, and will quite happily egg their mules on along the track knocking you out of the way, crushing you against rocks, and generally not considering trekkers along the trail. After continuing through the small shrine of Sidi Chamarouch the path zig zags upward and continues up toward the hut. Eventually we arrived at the hut.

The summit day began up a steep scree slope in poor weather. After reaching the col we continued on upward and up to a false summit before moving along the summit ridge to a giant Iron summit cairn. After enjoying being at the highest point in North Africa we heading back down and to the hut. The following day we descended back to Imlil thus completing our trek.

Equipment wise a brief look at the best bits of kit I had with me;
Leki Makalu Ultralite poles: Brilliant, simply brilliant, I have always highly recommended poles for mountaineering of all kinds, for descending they came in particularly handy really helping to take the weight off my knees on descent.
Marks and Spencers Microskin Boxers: Mark and Spencer boxers eh? Might seem like I’ve got mad but good god these are the best shreddies I have ever worn, so comfortable all day long, I highly recommend these for all outdoor activities!
Camelbak Unbottle 1.5L: Did very well up until I lost the valve for the drinking tube in the scree field. However when I did use it, it kept the water so cool in my back and was refreshing to drink from.
Scarpa Manta: My boots once again proved they are perfect for anything from winter climbing to high altitude trekking in high heat!

Big shout out to the rest of the team, a climb like this is what the team make it, and the our team made the trek for me. Cheers guys.

Toubkal preparations – First aid kit

2010-08-17T21:48:00.005+01:00

Continuing on my theme of Toubkal preparations this post will focus on additions made to my first aid kit to accommodate issues we may experience at altitude. I will be sticking with my standard Mountain Leader kit by Lifesystems, and making some modifications and additions for stuff that I may require for altitude related issues. Also past experience of this type of trek has taught be carrying certain medications is very useful, below is a summary of the kit I will be carrying in addition to my standard gear:

Acetazolamide – Anyone who has done any altitude work will be familiar with Acetazolamide (aka Diamox). Diamox is a drug that is used to treat the initial stages of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It is one of 2 drugs usually carried on expeditions the other being Dexamethasone (something I would never use or carry). Essentially I carry Diamox for use to treat initial AMS, I do not take it as a preventative measure. Diamox is a prescription only drug, and you should consult your GP in order to get this prior to a trek. The drug works by acidifying the blood, this means the blood functions more efficiently in its removal of CO2. In this way it minimise the effect of high altitude on the body.

Co-codamol – Co-codamol is the strongest pain killer available without prescription. It is essentially codeine combined with paracetamol. I carry it so that in a worst case scenario I have a strong pain killer to mask any discomfort I may be feeling. This came in particularly handy when I broke my collar bone at 18,000ft. This is available over the counter at most pharmacies.

Imodium – Imodium is an over the counter drug used to treat diarrhoea. I carry this because more often than not changing to a local diet when abroad can mean your body struggles a bit. Personally I try to avoid this my changing my diet over about 2 weeks before I go to help me. I am usually ok (touch wood), others I have been on expedition with have not been so lucky....

Oximeter – I carry a small oximeter. This allows me to accurately check my own (and others) oxygen saturation rate (SP02). Oxygen saturation is a measure of how much oxygen is in the blood in a given sample. It can be a useful tool in an emergency as an indication of weather altitude is hitting someone hard.

You should always consult a medical professional when using/buying any of these drugs. I have been revising all my expedition medicine skills by using the Royal Geographic society expedition medicine book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Expedition-Medicine-Royal-Geographical-Society/dp/1861974345/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282077807&sr=8-2 very worthwhile if you aspire to learn first aid abroad.

I have been on a number of courses that focus on first aid and emergencies in remote areas, in particular I can highly recommend High Peak First aids expedition medic and wilderness level 2 courses http://www.highpeakfirstaid.co.uk/. They really helped increase my existing first aid skills to include remote care and emergencies.

More prep to come.....

Toubkal 2010 trip preparations

2010-08-01T00:21:00.012+01:00

So there is a month and a half until I head out to Morocco. The main objective is obviously Toubkal (4167 m) via the North Col route (PD*). However hoping to tick off 2 other 4000m+ peaks in the area; Timesguida (4.089 m) via the East ridge route (F***) and Ras n'Ouanoukrim (4.083 m) via the North Col route (PD*). Ambitious perhaps to climb North Africa’s 3 highest Peaks in 7 days but I’m confident it’s very achievable.

Naturally my thoughts have been running over what equipment I should take, and what equipment should stay behind. I have made a number of purchases lately which should hopefully allow me to adapt to the climate in Morocco a little easier. First off I have bought 2 new pairs of trousers:

The Mountain Hardwear Canyon trousers and Craghoppers Kiwi convert trousers. I bought these specifically as they were lightweight, light coloured and UV protective. My current trousers are (for the most part) heavier weight trousers more suited to UK climate. I have also bought a Mountain Hardwear Canyon Long Sleeve shirt. I chose this shirt as it will make a happy change to the base layers I usually wear, and because most of my current set of base layers are short sleeve. These recent Mountain Hardwear purchases are the first of this brand I have bought, hopefully they will perform as well as I’ve heard they do!

I have also bought an MSR miniworks water filter. This will be ideal for providing me with a clean source of water throughout my trek. Review will be coming soon! However a number of features appealed to me about this filter over the many others on the market including the ease of maintenance in the field due to its simple design, and it's efficient filter unit that gives around 2000 litres of water before needing replacing

I have also finally completed my Memory Map Morocco file. It is now fully georeferenced and good to go. It is also working fully on my GPS so that should be ideal for emergencies and the like!

Other preparations have not been going so well, my eating habbits that had got much better have now disapeared and returned to the ways of old, my fitness has not really changed, and my lung training to help my asthma hasn't been moving at all. However from today (1 Aug) I will be resuming all of the above more positive than ever. I have set myself the goal of losing another stone and a half before I go. I have also been continuing with my French training so we will see how that progresses!

More information soon...

SPA assessment

2010-07-06T19:07:00.002+01:00

So it’s been a while since I posted anything. So I guess I should start with a post about my SPA assessment at Plas Y Brenin.

First of all...I PASSED! Woop! I am incredibly chuffed, but equally I can honestly say I deserved it, I have put so much effort into my climbing lately, working hard on the coaching side of things as well as pushing my personal leading. I came away from my assessment with a huge feeling of pride in myself, my skills, and my ability as an instructor. The guide who was running the course gave me a lot of positive feedback about my experience and said long term I should be looking towards my MIA. He also commented on my passion for climbing and working with kids, and that being a centre based instructor was an ideal place for me.

The assessment itself was straight forward, I lead 3 climbs, rigged a number of top ropes, bottom ropes, and abseils, at 2 different crags. There was also a climbing wall session. But how did my gear help? What gear did I take? Anything I would recommend? Any lessons learned?

Firstly, if you do not own a set of DMM offsets, buy a set now. The DMM offsets were the best bit of kit I carried with me, they just fitted so well. The assessor commented on how every time I used one it was a bomber placement. They were just excellent all weekend, and for the sake of £40 I think they are perfect for any rack!

Secondly, DMM Boa’s are ideal for top rope rigging, Italian hitch’s and setting up belays. If you do not own at least one Boa, then buy one, they are excellent for a number of things.

Gear I took on assessment:

1-11 DMM Wallnuts
1-11 Zero G Spectrum wires
5-11 DMM Offset wires
Black Diamond Hexcentrics 4-10
DMM 4CU cams: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4

3 x 120 slings
2 x 240 slings
1 x 400 sling

8 x Wild Country Oxygen Quickdraws
3 x Slingdraws
1 x Screw draw

10 x Screwgates
2 x DMM Boa
1 x Reverso3
1 x DMM Fatboy locksafe

So standard rack really. I racked slings round my chest with a screw gate. I had wires racked on 2 biners (small wires and large wires).

Lessons learned that might help people going for SPA assessment:

These are points of discussion raised on my assessment that may be useful for anyone going for their assessment. These were either things I did, or things others on my course were pulled up on!

1) Italian hitch, ensure you are well below the Italian hitch and when lowered have both hands on the dead rope!
2) Larks footing slings as safety sling; I was told by the guide that larks footing through the belay loop is the best way to do this. Apparently over time larks footing through leg and waist loops (as per tie in) can erode away the loops and weaken them. He reference an accident in which a climber was killed by a weakened harness in this way.
3) Extending wire placements with a second wire. Using a second wire to extend a placement out is very useful to prevent rubbing on the wire.
4) Simple! Keep everything simple examples include:
Q: Climber stuck on a top rope system, you are in the system
A: Tie off, get out of harness, get a harness from group, abseil from above

Q: Climber stuck on bottom rope system, won’t budge
A: Abseil from above pull climber off, tell group to payout.

Q: Solo’ing climber cragfast
A: Abseil from above with a accompanied abseil setup

Q: Stuck client on group abseil
A: Tighten up safety rope to remove weight from abseil (note: I was asked on second time to tie off and release ab rope!)

5) Rating anchors out of 5, 5 being bomber, 4 being good, 3 being average etc this helps decide how many anchors to put in.

Ultimately consider that the assessor wants you to pass, you just need to demonstrate you are safe, quick, and simple. Don’t over complicate anything! Anyone who wants any info just message me!

LifeSystems Mountain Leader First Aid Kit

2010-06-13T16:44:00.009+01:00

RRP £45

So it’s been a while since I posted anything, I’ve bought a few things lately, but I prefer to field test things before writing a review. However I have recently upgrading my first aid kit.

Having a good first aid kit has always been important to me, especially with the amount of group work I do. Also I hold the REC level 4 first aid qualification and I am going for my REC level 5 and Expedition medic qualifications in August, so having a kit with the tools appropriate to my skills is important to me.

By this definition my previous kit was pretty useless, so I set about researching dedicated expedition kits for multi day expeditions with big groups, and eventually I concluded that the kit I wanted was Lifesystem’s Mountain Leader kit. I managed to track the kit down for £30 with free next day delivery from Amazon of all places! I have now been using the kit for a month or so, and I have to say I am a huge fan of this kit! Although (touch wood) I haven’t had to use anything from it really except for the odd cuts and bumps to kids at work, I have am very impressed with the layout of the kit and ease of use.

What I like most about the kit is the thought that has gone into it. For starters the kit uses the same system trauma kits Army medic use; the kit is compartmentalised into different sections. For example; Bleeding and wounds, Breaks and Fractures etc. This means in an emergency (or in the event someone needs to use the kit) everything is laid out simply and it is very easy to identify the section you need (see pics). In addition to the ease of use the kit comes with several very useful things:

A small roll of duct tape
A small working mat
A 12 hour light stick
Emergency shears for removing clothing
Tweezers

I know that reading this doesn’t sound like much, but to me the extra thought to include such items and also dedicated and labelled slots for them in the kit is just excellent quality.

To finish the kit off I added some bits of equipment I commonly use and would think need to be in a kit of this size:

Small GPS handset
Foil blanket
Spray plaster
Individual plasters
Casualty card and notebook.

I guess the above items are self explanatory, however I should point out the kit does include plasters, however they are those annoying rolls of plaster which you have to mess around cutting to the correct size, personally and in my experience it’s easier to carry both, along with spray plaster. The GPS is easy to keep in the kit and be there when you need it, and it weighs nothing, the unit I use is a Garmin Geko, not one I would use as my primary GPS set however it does the job of an emergency unit very well.

The kit also has plenty of space for expanding with your own items without having to remove anything. Waterproof sealed seam zips also ensure the kit stays dry.

Overall I love everything about this first aid kit, it is ideal for any outdoor professional, mountain leader or outdoor enthusiast looking for a great first aid kit, and what’s more £30 is a great price for everything you get with the kit, so if you are looking for a new kit check this one out on Amazon!

Morocco trip - Toubkal 2010

2010-05-06T01:21:00.003+01:00

Well I've put off writing this post until I was sure this was going ahead, and I'm now sure it's going to happen :)

Myself and 5 others are heading off to Africa to climb Toubkal 4200m (13,700ft). It's the largest Peak in the Atlas mountains, and a mountain I've wanted to climb for a while now. I was sat with Atko the other day and we said "lets just do it man". So having rounded up our team for the trip (which we capped at 6 people) we are now in the planning phase.

Now for me that means letting all my current tech take a step up. I've already scanned and Georeferenced a map of Toubkal, which has intergrated fully with my PDA. To do this was a bit fiddly to be honest. I had to install Memory Map navigator (which I discovered was different to memory map OS5). This allowed me to scan in my new Toubkal 1:50k and calibrate it for use with GPS. To do this I tried taking GPS lat/long co-ordinates from Google earth however this was less than effective, and the first prototype of my map informed me it was 200miles to the summit of Toubkal. So I scoured the internet and eventually found a GPS track of the route. I managed to identify various points in the track and put the co-ordinates into memory maps calibration system. Time will tell if it works but I'm optimistic!

All in all watch this space, I've got a few new bits of kit on the way, reviews up soon!

Overall I am so psyched for this trip, back to high altitude with a great group (including my baby bro) on a peak I've wanted to do for months!!

WOOOOOO

BD Ice clipper problems

2010-04-26T16:44:00.005+01:00

Well I've read/written quite a bit about these, and I think it's only fair/right that I explain the circumstances under which I have become part of the "Ice clippers broke on me" club.

Today I was climbing at the Roaches, while rigging the belay I heard the depressed clink clink of gear falling. I looked down to see my trusty reverso3 had fallen down to a lower ledge of the climb I had been on (only about 2 metres). Confused I looked down at my Ice clipper (where I always rack my belay plate) only to see the gate had fallen completely off onto the floor. I looked around and eventually found the gate. I am confused as to how this happened, the route had been a techical slab climb, no trutching or scraping involved, so how did it come off?! Luckily in this case I didnt lose anything important, and nothing was damaged. Would I trust these with a full rack of £40+ ice screws....Probably not.

I fixed the ice clipper no problem, and then belayed with an italian hitch, however if I had been climbing something longer and dropped something more important this would have been an issue!

.......Disapointed and confused.....

DMM Alloy Offsets

2010-04-26T16:29:00.006+01:00

Well a little later than planned I finally got around to writing my review of these. They have now accompanied me on 4 climbing trips, three times on grit and once on limestone. There really is nothing to say about these except they are pure magic. They fit so well, I find myself wanting to save them for later in the route and refusing to use them! Climbing at the Roaches today on a route called Captain Lethargy, only HVD, but figured it would be a good outting for the Offsets. The route itself is a winding crack in the "into thin air" section at the far right of the lower tier. I used 3 offsets during the route, and the placements were perfect, the unconventional shape of the offset wires meant they slotted perfectly into the cracks. As an experiment I also tried placing standard DMM wallnuts in the same placements, and they were less than convincing!

The offsets are ideal for complimenting an existing set of wires (I carry wallnuts and/or zero G spectrum wires), as they fit into tapered cracks very well. My climbing partner today (Paul) also commented about the excellent placements the Offsets seem to allow for, turning seemingly appalling cracks into bomber placements.

Brilliant piece of kit, 10/10!

DMM Alloy Offset wires- first impressions

2010-04-06T18:28:00.004+01:00

RRP: £45
I paid: £20
I had been after a set of these for a while to compliment my DMM wallnuts and Zero G spectrum wires. Finally settling on buying a set I had planned to head over to the new V12 at Awesome Walls in Stoke, however by chance I gave my bro a ring who was at the Outdoors Show, he said they had them on offer at £20 for a full set. At that price how could I say no!!
Will be testing these in the Peak tommorow (Stanage?), so hopefully some details on how they fit then.
However they look and feel cool and well built, so I guess we shall see!

Black Diamond Ice Clipper problems??

2010-02-23T18:31:00.005Z

Following my review of Black Diamond Blizzard accessories, it has been drawn to my attention that with moderate use the ice clipper experiences a terminal issue whereby the clip malfunctions and stays open outside the clip. (See pic). A number of users have complained about these on UKC, indicating a common problem resulting in the loss of ice screws.

Comments taken direct from UKC:

"The screws were nowhere around and the wire gate on my little plastic Black Diamond ice clipper krab was on the wrong side of the gate. One to watch out for."

"I threw my ice clippers away because of this happening, though I did it before I lost any screws. The petzl caritool is better."

"lost a screw for the very same reason! The worst BD product ever!"

So for those of us who use Ice clippers, just be aware of this issue! I myself still love the ice clippers, but will keep a close eye on them from now on! However I should point out I have been using these for 2 years and had no issues.... Mr Reynolds has similar opinions of the ice clippers, so until one of us has this issue, I'll continue to place my faith in these!

Jetboil PCS – The coolest stove out there?

2010-02-21T18:21:00.011Z

Of this there is no doubt, but is it any good? I've had one of these for a while now, so I thought I might as well review it!

Now for those are you who aren't familiar with the Jetboil, let me explain;

The Jetboil is an ultra efficient, lightweight, cooking system. The stove is designed to take up as little space as possible in a rucksack by storage for all the components (including the gas canister) being inside the cooking pot. At the moment there are 3 Jetboil systems on the market;

Jetboil PCS (Personal Cooking System)
Jetboil GCS (Group Cooking System)
Jetboil Helios

The PCS and GCS are designed to be modular, by this I mean if you purchase a PCS, you can buy additional components to have a GCS as well. The main difference between the GCS and PCS is the type of pot used for cooking. The PCS uses a 1 litre companion mug, where as the GCS uses a 1.5 litre cooking pot. Both systems uses the same burner self igniting burner system which is compatible with screw top canisters. The GCS also features a stabiliser kit so that the unit can be a standalone stove and will have additional stability on the floor rather than just the base of the gas canister. Essentially though if you buy a Jetboil PCS, you can buy a stabiliser kit and a 1.5 litre pot and have a GCS as an additional option.

On to the review. . .

I bought this stove to use when I am short expeditions. It appealed to me because it was efficient, light and easy to use. My stove combination consists of the Jetboil PCS and the stabiliser set, along with a gas canister this weights in at 670g. The addition of the stabiliser kit means my stove is more "team friendly". Without the stabiliser the Jetboil can only be used the jetboil accessories, by carrying the stabiliser kit I can share cooking with other team members as the kit converts the stove into a more universal setup (see pic)

I did a quick test to check the units specs listed on the website:
The stove should be able to boil water in 2minutes (0.5L), and boil around 12 litres per 100g canister. I bought a new canister and boiled as many 0.5L cups as possible, whilst averaging out the time taken on each. The average time taken to boil 0.5L of water was 1min 53.4secs, and I got 17 Litres of water from a single canister. Personally I think this is excellent for a small canister. All Jetboil pans use Jetboils patented Fluxring technology to increase efficiency, it functions in the same way a radiator works, by providing a larger surface area to heat up while cooking, as a pose to the flat bottom of a pan or mess tin. The same system is used on the 1.5L pot, 1L mug, and Frying pan.

In terms of cooking with the Jetboil a lot of people have said you are fairly limited in what you can cook. You can cook any kind of ration pack style meals. This just involves rolling the meal up and cramming it into the cup! Other than that anything that you would cook on a hob you can cook on the PCS. Which is ideal for short term expeditions.

The Jetboil is very well thought out, after you have finished cooking there is a plastic cover to protect you from burns while you are eating. There is also a sewn handle on the companion cup so you can move around while the stove is cooking.

In additional to being quite stable when fitted with the stabiliser kit, the stove is also fairly windproof, and is fitted with a small piezo electric igniter meaning there is no need to fiddle with matches in poor conditions.

Drawbacks? Well I'm yet to find one, however I have enjoyed shooting down some common Jetboil gripes lately which I thought I'd share....

Moan: "You can't cook big meals like you can with other stoves"
Owning: Purchase the 1.5 Pot, or purchase the stabiliser kit and a mess tin so that you can switch to that when you are out for longer

Moan: "The cartridges are so small"
Owning: Purchase a bigger screw seal canister....Idiot

Moan: "You have to hold it while it's cooking"
Owning: Put it down? Or better still buy the stabiliser kit and put it down

. . . You get the idea, any other gripes feel free to email me for an owning...

In addition to the various components in the GCS and PCS, there are a number of other accessories to customise your Jetboil kit:

Coffee press (£17.50)- turn you Jetboil into a coffee brewer
Frying pan (£44.99)- Fluxring frying pan, for efficient frying of tasty goodness
Hanging kit (£27.50)- a kit for handing your jetboil when big wall climbing, snow holing or whatever other use you could think of!
Jetboil cutlery (£13.50)- Highly temperature resistant nylon cutlery, light and tough, personally I'll stick with my titanium spork!
Additional coloured sleeves for companion mug are also available for further customising of your set (£5.99)

All in all you can't go wrong with a Jetboil, brilliant, customisable, efficient, not overly cheap but consider it an investment! RRP is £85, but browse around and you can get one for around £60! Stabiliser kit around £17.50 is also a must have!

Landrover S1. . . how tough is it really?

2010-01-25T20:01:00.006Z

Well how tough is it? I've had this phone since december now, and whilst I did some initial testing to check general toughness (throwing in water etc) I'd been wanting to push it a bit further. I was working this weekend, and one of the kids I was working with spotted my phone clipped to my belt. This sparked off a series of "Sir can I smash your phone on the ground" and "Sir can I tip my drink on your phone". Now whilst not keen on letting a group of lads from Stoke boot my phone around part of me was curious to see what would happen. And given it had a 3 year guarantee on it with the tagline "you break it for any reason we replace it" I was tempted. Later on in the day we were up in the high ropes tower doing the "parachute jump" (very cool indeed and worth checking out www.stanleyhead.org.uk, weekend bookings available :) )and one of the kids said "Sir if your phone is that tough then proove it".

Never one to back away from a challenge, I looked over the edge of the tower to check for people below(see pic) then promptly dropped it over the side of the tower. If nothing else this achieved a loud gasp from the group of lads in question. But what was even more impressive was when I got back down to the ground and inspected the phone, not only did it work fine, there was not even a scratch on it! Impressive!

During the weekend I did a number of other tests on the phone, including dropping it out of the bouldering room abseil hatch onto concrete, dunking it into my tea, leaving it in the freezer, and various other horrible things, and it still works perfectly.

The only problem I experienced is that if you drown it in water, water can get into the speaker hole, best way I've found it to leave it upside down for a short period to allow water to drain out. I should add this doesnt damage the phone just water getting stuck in the the hole!

Awesome piece of kit!

Black diamond Blizzard accessories

2010-01-16T19:05:00.020Z

RRP £5.99 (Clipper) & £8.00 (holster)
I have a black diamond blizzard harness, and I've always loved it for it's comfort, good fit and quality build. Black diamond also do 2 accessories for this harness to aid the budding winter climber. I now have both of these;

Black Diamond Blizzard Holster:
This small webbing holster attaches to the blizzard (or any other harness) and allows the user to holster one or both of their ice tools whilst placing gear etc. I would say its a nifty little accessory, but can be a little bit fiddly holstering 2 tools, however to holster one tool at a time is very easy! Overall, nice addition to my harness and easy to use.

Black diamond ice clipper:
This is the best few quid ive ever spent! It is such a great bit of kit. It allows you not only to rack your ice screws easily, but also when trad climbing its very easy to stow gear when seconding, or clip you belay device to avoid fannying around at the top of route finding it. The ice clipper will fit to any harness, however the BD blizzard has custom slots to slide these in, making them even more secure! My friend Matt Reynolds also loves these:

"BD ice clippers. These little plastic 'biners are simply like the most innovative idea ever (not just BD ones, I mean the whole concept). For those that don't know then they are little plastic 'biners that are held sort of poking out from your harness so you can rack screws (or anything you want) on them. I brought 2 initially as I was trying to expand my summer harness with more gear loops (I just brought a DMM Renegade in the end, another quality piece of kit)."

Taken from http://www.lifeattheendofarope.blogspot.com/ (worth a read for some of Matts Crazy Stories!)

Overall Black Diamonds 2 cheap accessories make a good harness even better, and for the few quid involved its very worth investing! I now have a holster for my axes AND an ice clipper on the left and right of my harness for ice screws and anything else!