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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Are these LED torches better than my Petzl and Maglite?
Last night I added a selection of the best LED torches we can find to the outdoors shop. We were introduced to these a few months ago and at that time had never heard of Mellert torches. What makes them different from standard LED torches? I'm glad you asked! Mellert engineer these torches in Germany (where they know a thing or two about engineering) so that there is a lens in front of every LED bulb to manipulate the beam. What this means is that the intensity of light remains just as bright right across the illuminated area - there's no bleeding away towards the edges.
On top of the techy stuff, they are bombproof, and they feel kinda nice in your hand. The top of the range led headtorch that we stock is a step up on most headtorches, with 3 settings at different angles, and 5 LED's working with those high intensity beams. It really is something special. So, that's my Petzl and Maglite relegated to the cupboard (where they will continue be pulled out of as extremely worthy spares whenever I can't find my Mellert for years to come). Long live the Mellert torches. Posted by bigcrags @
11:21 AM 1
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 Friday, April 22, 2005 New walking in Scotland magazine
It seems there is a new magazine out about walking in Scotland. Called Walkwise, it doesn't seem to be aimed at the hardcore hillwalkers, more at the people who quite fancy going for a walk in the country but don't know where to start. Looks like it is produced in association with Scotland's Healthy Living campaign. Seems to be a publication we all should support.
http://www.walk-wise.co.uk/ Thanks to Bagger for telling us all about it. Posted by bigcrags @
8:46 AM 0
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Monday, April 11, 2005 How to Picnic in Scotland
I just posted this over on my holidays in Scotland blog, but realized some of it might be of interest to readers of this blog.
Picnics in Scotland You might think that Scotland is a relatively benign place to have a picnic. The weather should be kind of European, there are no bears roaming about looking to steal your picnic hamper and the insects are mostly tame. Er, yes and no. Picnics in Scotland require considerable preparation. 1. Protect against wind. Not the kind that comes from lentil soup and cabbage, but the howling gale that emerges from nowhere and turns your entire picnic set into a powerkite held down by you. 2. Keep your bum dry. The ground never dries out enough for a picnic, especially in good picnic sites. Plastic backed picnic blankets and cheap camping chairs are the order of the day for dry nether regions. 3. Using a public picnic table? Cover it. Get a table cloth over it, you have no idea what the local youth get up to on this table in the twilight hours. Oh, and ensure you secure the tablecloth with heavy rocks or clamps or something. The wind will try do do the magic tablecloth trick. Unsuccessfully. 4. Keep anything lightweight inside the picnic bag or box - see 1. 5. Dress warm, even in July. We might be attached to europe, but we're on the same lattitude as the south of hudson bay and moscow. it can get chilly here. 6. Protect against midges. These almost invisible biting insects will make your life hell - use midge repellent, midge head nets, etc. If they do appear, go somewhere windy and follow instructions about wind protection. 7. Sunscreen - yes, it's freezing, howling but it's still summer, and you just got home with a beetroot red face, and possibly a sunburnt bald patch. Wear sunscreen And above all, enjoy yourself... Posted by bigcrags @
1:07 PM 1
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Thursday, April 07, 2005 Outdoors gear catalogues & cheap tents
The new Trail Magazine came through my letterbox today and almost went through the floorboards as well. Seems we're into the season of delivering a giant new catalogue with every issue of the magazine. And of course we love looking through other people's catalogues to see what gear is coming onto the market this year. In particular, there are a lot of great looking tents. It's got me thinking that it's time to add some more tents to our range in the camping shop. Even though there's still a bit of snow on the hill, it really is time for camping to start in earnest. I was reading a book recently from an American climber who devoted a whole chapter to his economy dome tent and how it had survived trips to the Andes and all over the US, being flattened by wind and deluged by rain - it just goes to show that tent design these days is so advanced that even cheap tents will stand up to bad weather.
Posted by bigcrags @
11:02 AM 0
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