A great guest blog from friend of the LD Mark Dak I can count on one hand how many times I have spent the night under canvass, and I wouldn’t be using all of my fingers! As a kid, I never camped out but we did have a tent, mostly used in the garden on sunny days. I am sure it gave my poor parents a break from looking after us little terrors, but it was never used in anger on a camp site. ... Read More
Have you ever wondered how outdoor kit is tested? Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to witness the testing of some Montane down and synthetic down insulation pieces at Northumbria University. Montane had arranged for Montane athletes, Andy Kirkpatrick and Marcus Scotney to attend the cold chamber in the sports science department at Northumbria University. First the athletes needed to be wired and probed. Temperature monitors were taped to the outside of the jackets, to the athletes bicep under the jacket and inserted into... Read More
Jon from our web team recently went to Voss in Norway, for 5 days Split Boarding and Camping, here is a gallery from his trip. Jon would like to thank, Amplid Snowboards for supplying his split board ark consults for the loan of a Nordisk Oppland 2 tent and Voss Resort for awesome powder. http://www.amplid.com/snowboards/ http://www.arkconsultants.co.uk/ http://vossresort.no/en/ any question about kit used on this trip email Jon at jonb@ldmountaincentre.com
Pinnacle Face VS 5a*** (Crag Lough) A one move wonder with a great feeling of exposure. Put some gear into the lip and pull onto a positive face – just watch out for nesting peregrines and enjoy the views! Delicatessen VS 4c*** (Simonside) A delicate unprotected start leads to a positive break, or positively broken bones if you come off! A fine crack allows for some fluid and rewarding moves with sufficient gear for peace of mind. Rothley Crack VS 5a*** (Rothley) Dominating the crag, Rothley Crack lies... Read More
Safe Safety Equipment Ortovox avalanche transceiver (with new batteries and spares). Mines becoming a little dated now so I will update when the new lines come out next year. A good resource I found is beaconreviews.com. BCA metal shovel – better without the ripples in the bottom so the snow doesn’t stick. Plastic ones aren’t great when going into ice so I’d go metal every time. Black diamond 260 probe. Deuter ABS on top 30 litre pack. The pack itself was decent and one of the better ones out there.... Read More
I’ve been involved with LD mountain centre for a number of years now and they’re a great bunch of guys and girls who genuinely know about and use the kit they sell. After returning from an epic (last minute) trip to the Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan with the 40 tribes crew a little over a week ago, we thought you may appreciate some kit info on touring in Central Asia so here goes. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had and involved meeting some great... Read More
We looked at the medium yesterday and you can see the results of the weigh-in here. For Number four in our duffel series we’re going to stuff the Extra Large North Face Base Camp with a load of kit for a trip to the winter climbing in Scotland North Face Base Camp Duffel – Extra Large Dimensions when fully packed (approx) W:48cm D:48 cm L:81 cm Capacity in litres: 155 Ideal for: weekend in the lakes , a trip to the snowdome, school trip, a days paddling,a weekend... Read More
https://www.ldmountaincentre.com/competitions/ We looked at the small yesterday and you can see the results of the weigh-in here. For Number three in our duffel series we’re going to stuff the medium North Face Base Camp with a load of kit for a trip to the snow dome. North Face Base Camp Duffel – Medium Dimensions when fully packed (approx) W:38 cm D:38 cm L:61 cm Capacity in litres: 72 Ideal for: weekend in the lakes , a trip to the snowdome, school trip, a days paddling,a weekend hostelling, a beach... Read More
Yesterday we launched part 1 of a series of blogs featuring the classic Base Camp Duffel bag from The North Face. To make it more interesting for all you lovely duffel dotées we’re giving you the chance to win an extra large Base Camp duffel by guessing the weight after we’ve filled it with kit. To enter the competition simply click on the link below and choose one of the 4 answers. If you’re unsure then you might want to stay tuned to our blog this week as we work... Read More
Duffel Love One of our all time favourite products here at LD is the Base Camp Duffel from North Face. We find ourselves recommending them a lot. Everyone who has ever worked here has got one. We’re pretty sure that extended family and friends of everyone who has ever worked here have all got one. The delivery guy who picks up our parcels every day has got one. You get the picture. Base Camp Benefits For outdoor folk like us (and our family and friends and the parcel delivery guy)... Read More