Alex’s Top 5 Best Items of Gear in 2019
A review of the best gear I’ve used in 2019. All the items have been well tested in variety of tough conditions.
Mountain Equipment Tupilak 45
I’ve owned a lot of …
Built to Send C1 Chalk Bag
There isn’t very much to say about chalk bags. You put chalk in, tie them round your waist and go climbing. a chalk bag is a simple item of equipment. …
Preparing for Less Daylight
Preparing for Less Daylight
Autumn is a fantastic time to be in the mountains. Colours erupt and flame across the landscape, light softens and shadows lengthen giving contrast and counterpoint to …
Master the art of belaying
Climbers get all the glory. They stand on the podiums,
feature in the climbing films and get the sponsorship deals. But don’t be
fooled; the true art worth mastering is not climbing, …
Getting into Rock Climbing Outdoors Part 3
Pulling on
You’ve checked RAD, packed your kit and walked to the crag, finally it’s time to get some real rock climbing done.
Hang on, where are all the holds? Which ones …
Getting into Rock Climbing Outdoors Part 2
The law of the crag
You’ve settled on your destination and you’re on the way to the crag. Sorted.
But before you rock up and pull on, make sure your crag etiquette …
Getting into Rock Climbing Outdoors Part 1
Part 1: Couch to crag
Rock Climbing outdoors is incredibly exciting and rewarding, and logistically-speaking there’s a little more to it than climbing at a purpose-built climbing wall. Working out where …
Emergency Shelter Review
Emergency Shelter review
The media loves a headline and “The bivy bag probably saved their lives” was a great one provided by Willie Anderson, leader of Cairngorm MRT, following a successful …
Top tips for night navigation
As the nights start to draw in, the chances of having to do some navigation in the dark increase. Far from being something to fear, night navigation can be great …
Expedition base layers
So much depends on getting the basics right and in this context the basics are what you wear next to your skin ie your expedition base layers. On an expedition …