Friday, May 27, 2005
New synthetic sleeping bags

Back in October we were promised that these new synthetic sleeping bags would jump off the catalogue page and onto our shelves by January. The months went by and more and more of you were asking about these Highlander Echo sleeping bags that you could ogle on our site but were not able to buy yet. Well finally the bags have arrived, and it looks like they were worth the wait (actually, no we really could have done with them back in January). The 250 should suit anyone camping spring summer or autumn in the hills, the 300 sleeping bag is rated 4 season and will go that little bit further, maybe taking in winter at low levels, and the 400 is rated as 4+ seasons which presumably means a sleeping bag that will keep you warm all year round in the mountains? Anyway, they seem to be well priced, pretty cheap sleeping bags actually, starting at just £35.

Posted by bigcrags @ 12:20 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 23, 2005
Turn an LED torch into a lantern

I saw this tip recently and think it's genius. To turn a small led torch into a mini camping lantern you need to take the top/lens off the torch and place a ping pong ball with a hole cut in it over the end of the torch. This will spread and diffuse the light and give a warmer glow. I haven't tried it because I've got a big camping lantern. Could be good for backpacking though. Has anyone tried this?

Posted by bigcrags @ 3:31 PM 0 comments

Friday, May 20, 2005
Camping at Braemar

Another weekend approaches and as all my mates are off to Braemar for a spot of camping and a spot of hiking in the Cairngorms, I'm stuck at home decorating. I keep telling myself that it'll be worth it when I'm finished which of course is a big lie. I'd rather be up in the hills under a flimsy piece of polyester than up a ladder with a flimsy piece of wallpaper.

There are not many campsites around Braemar though, one official one in town, and apart from that it's wild camping. That suits everyone of course, except us with our huge family tent and requirement for somewhere to wash the baby. Perhaps it's time the National Trust for Scotland stick a campsite up in the forest at Linn of Dee. After all, they are charging for parking there now so they should put the money to good use, clear some trees and get a great little campsite going. No caravans though of course, keep it to tents and small camper vans.

Perhaps by sunday I'll be finished the wallpapering and can get up a hill. Perhaps not.
Ah, but it'll all be worth it when it's finished.

Posted by bigcrags @ 3:43 PM 1 comments

Monday, May 16, 2005
Perthshire camping and Dunkeld walks

This weekend we took away from base and took our baby camping for the first time. A new family tent and a carload of stuff later we arrived at the Blair Atholl Castle campsite and signed in. What a pleasant way to spend a weekend. We specifically wanted a family campsite so our neighbours might hopefully understand if the baby started screaming. We shouldn't have worried. He was an angel. Our biggest problem was trying to keep him out of the sun. Best weather so far this year.

A Scotland on Sunday supplement yesterday described a walk at Dunkeld going past the Dunkeld Hilton and up to King's Seat before dropping back to the Hilton and along to the river. It kept me confused for some time. The direction arrows on the map were in direct opposition to the way the path went in the description. The first part of the path was busy, but it's my guess that most people gave up and stopped at the Hilton for a cream tea or a pint in the sun as there were almost no people on the path over King's Seat.

We of course had to stop for a pint at the Hilton on the way back down.

Altogether a fantastic weekend and a chance to try out some more of our camping equipment from the shop.

Posted by bigcrags @ 12:29 PM 0 comments

Thursday, May 12, 2005
Best baby child carriers

I've been looking around this week at rear child carriers, but
1 - I can't believe the price of them
2 - Most of them are a bit crap

My large Karrimor Cougar rucksack has a great back system - what I want is a back system on a child carrier that is as comfy as the Karrimor rucksack. I am tall and need one with a long back.

I've tried Vango child carriers (take far too long to adjust when changing from one adult to the other), Littlelife child carriers were a bit short on the back. The sales assistant in Tiso's recommended I not even bother with Tiso's own child carrier. There was one other that I can't remember, but it was about 6 inches too short on the back.

I eventually tried on one that fitted prefectly. What's this? It's a MacPac sir. Ah. Cost? 190 pounds sir. So there you go, I'll just have a look around some more. 190 quid for a comfy backpack to carry the baby around in!!! Gotta be joking.

Does anyone know of any other packs that might fit the bill for a tall person? I know Macpac do one around 90 quid called the koala, but does it have the same back system as the Vamoose?
The search goes on...

UPDATE:
I've gone and found one that's perfect - The Kelty Kids Base Camp Child Carrier. Lightweight, superbly adjustable and it fits a tall person. Fantastic. Where did I get it? er, ebay. Shhh don't tell anyone (well, we don't have any child carriers in the shop anyway just now)

Posted by bigcrags @ 12:06 PM 4 comments

Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Skin friendly midge and mosquito protection

If you are outdoors in Scotland in summer, you'll see people looking like badly dressed bank robbers all over the place, and not an HSBC in sight either. These people of course are all sniggering silently behind their mesh head nets as they see you swat away another cloud of midges when you walk past them. The midge head net - this is what we're on about.

Instead of coating your face and hair in DEET or some other toxic potion that Skye midges will eat for breakfast, try this method and be kind to your skin. You'll still need to cover your hands and any other exposed bits but your pretty mug will be saved from the ravages of hardened chemical being applied every time you are sitting outside in Scotland.

Speaking of mugs though, that is the downside of these insect nets - no way to get that glass of red wine from your plastic camping mug to your piehole without some chin wetting hilarity as you sook it through the mesh. Someone needs to invent one with a valve you can stick a straw through.

Midge head nets - you'll look stupid, but you wont itch.

Posted by bigcrags @ 1:06 PM 0 comments

Thursday, May 05, 2005
Walking Poles with rubber tips for the Inca Trail

We recently had a question from a customer who is going on the Inca Trail. Apparently it is recommended that if you use walking poles on the Inca Trail, you use a rubber foot on them rather than the tungsten or carbide tip usually used. I believe this is to protect the rock underfoot from unneccessary erosion with the constant stream of trekkers on the trail.

Many walking poles have a rubber protector on the tip, to save you spearing other walkers and yourself. These tips are not meant for walking. The rubber feet we supply with all our Highlander Walking Poles are the right thing for the job. They are proper rubber covers intended for walking with.

So if you are looking for walking poles with a rubber end, look no further.

Posted by bigcrags @ 2:27 PM 0 comments

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