New Products Now In - Black Diamond Climbing Gear, tents, Small Packs and Courier Bags

This is one of the deliveries I've been really looking forward too. The gear freak in my has always loved the Black Diamond Brand. I know its 'sad' but the quality, design and the way they have always been part of pushing the boundaries of the sport by being part of the culture holds a lot of sway with me.

I don't know whether its good or not that the first bit of kit I've pulled out off the shelf for me is a courier bag! Think it means I need to get out more :-S There are big cams in there, tents and trekking poles and I've been most looking forward to a courier bag :-S

But its great. Black Diamond through and through. Simple, designed to function well (it feels like it will be great for cycling backwards and forwards to work), the right amount of features to make it easy to live with while keeping nice clean lines and it feels built to last.

Click here for more info

We also have stock of the Tarp based Boulavard and Boulvardino courier bags. The silver ones look wild!

The courier bags and other Black Diamond gear will be available from the soon to open (15th may apparently) Adventure HQ store in Dubai's Time Square Mall. Other quality outdoor retailers will also follow suit I'm sure.

Need to go for a lap on my bike to try out my new bag :-)

L8r

MSR Reactor Stove Receives Alpinist Magazine Mountain Standards 5-Star Rating

The Alpinist Mountain Standards reviews apply Alpinist’s tradition of excellence and authenticity to gear reviews by providing unbiased, candid feedback and anecdotal commentary to equipment tested (hard) in the field. Only the gear they would actually buy themselves, at retail price, qualifies for the Alpinist Mountain Standards Award. The hard field testing of the MSR Reactor Stove was recently completed and published, measured by this five-star rating system. It was awarded the top 5-star rating, described as “nearly perfect.”

The Reactor Stove System was reviewed by John Race, co-owner of the Northwest Mountain School. His review is thorough, fair and glowing. Race notes that “for many years, stove inefficiency was a problem that was largely unaddressed by manufacturers. Finally, a new generation of hyper-efficient stoves hit the market, and MSR's Reactor is by far the best. In my experience, the Reactor reduces my fuel needs by 50 percent.” And ultimately described it as “…the best efficiency-stove on the market. Its heat transfer system makes the stove incredibly fuel-efficient and a strong performer in breezy conditions. The Reactor is successfully designed for stability and is exceptionally compact and durable. I can't help but give it a five-star rating.”

You can read the complete review at:

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web11s/ms-jr-msr-reactor

New Products Now In - MSR and Therm-a-rest lovelyness

Now I've been a self declared gear freak for as long as I can remember and right now the kit we have coming through the door gets me very excited. There is some real outdoor gear porn arriving :-)

While I was away a Cascade Designs shipment arrived and I've just been rooting through too see what was there. What I found is very niiiicccccccceeeeeeee :-p

Cascade Designs Gear Porn

The best sleeping mat in the world??

Mmmmmmm, new MSR XGK. This one is going to be mine I think

The Whisperlite International. The multi fuel stove that most people should own

MSR almost make taking everything including the kitchen sink possible

Intikhab has just left to pick up the Black Diamond shipment. Opps, I might have just weeeed myself a bit :-S

Back from Nepal

Just back from a truly fantastic 2 week kayaking trip in Nepal. Its my third trip there but my first in over 10 years. The place and the paddling has always left a huge impression on me and this time was no different.

Paddling the Loki Prototype on the Kali Gandaki

With low spring flows we opted for picking off lots of the classic short multi day trips and ended up doing the following:
2 days - Trisuli
3 days - Kali Gandaki
3 days - Marshyangdi
lastly
4 days doing laps on various sections of the Bhote Kosi including the big gorge below Last Resort

With a total of 14 complete days in country we spent 12 of them on the river. Not bad at all I think!! :-)

I apologise to anyone who bumps into me over the next couple of months. I'm so full of kayaking stories and enthusiasm for Nepal there is a good chance I'll go on about it all quite a bit.

I'll include some of the stories along with more detail on our itineray on my blog, goto http://ianganderton.wordpress.com/category/nepal/ for details.

A huge thankyou to Daz of www.purelandexpeditions.com whose advice and help along the way greatly contributed to the success of our trip. If you fancy joining a post monsoon Sun Kosi trip this autumn then check out http://purelandexpeditions.com/page8.htm for dates and information. Its one of the worlds classic river journeys and a must do for any kayaker or rafter. With the opening of the new whitewater kayaing and rafting facility later this summer in Al Ain all sorts of options become possible for those of us based in the Middle East.

For now I'll leave you a slideshow of pics from the trip