Alpkit News

Pre-order your new PipeDream sleeping bag

2012-01-23T17:07:59Z

This years PipeDream sleeping bags are on the way and we are now taking pre-orders. To reserve your bag just visit the shop and order your bag now. We will have PipeDream 400, PipeDream 600 and the PipeDream 800 which has just been awarded Best Lightweight down sleeping bag in Trail magazine.

January stock updates

2012-01-31T10:05:58Z

We had a few items come in during January the you may of missed, so here is a quick summary. Our lightweight best selling, best value, best in test Rig 7 tarp is back in 3 juicy colours and kelp. What are you going to carry your Rig in.. how about one of our multi-use drybag rucksacks: Gourdon 20, Gourdon 25 or Gourdon 30.

Still on time are our popular Gamma headtorch in March and of course we are currently taking pre-orders for our PipeDream sleeping bag delivery in February.

Keep up to date with other stock updates.

Trail product of the month Alpkit Monster Mugs

2012-01-24T13:59:17Z

Trail magazine has a keen eye for cool stuff, so we were chuffed to see our Monster Mugs appear as product of the month! There are four in the set which feature explorers and mythical creatures in far away lands. Credit has to go to Andy Smith for the great illustrations, check out his work on Andy Smith Illustration. Monster Mugs are available now in our shop, so go on treat yourself.

Winter Down Jackets now online

2012-01-06T16:37:31Z

Our January delivery of goose down jackets has arrived which means we are now back in stock of all colours and sizes. Filo is £95 and available in both mens and womens styles.

New Dozer thick camping mat

2011-12-21T17:07:08Z

Great news for fans of fat mat camping. The Dozer ‘Chimera’ is a limited edition Dozer with a NEW upper and base fabric and all the fantastic oversized proportions you expect from a regular Dozer.

AK MegaSlide 2000 Prize Draw Results

2011-12-19T21:54:11Z

And so the Alpkit 2011 Christmas competition has finally drawn to a close. It may have felt like it would never end, but fortunately there are only 12 days of Christmas. Along the way 12 people have picked up some small prizes, some people hadn’t won anything since they were like 12, others had boyfriends or girlfriends who were more excited than they were, but as special as all these were there is only one main prize.. the exclusive AK MegaSlide 2000.

We had well over 2000 entries, with a handful of devotees who managed to get all 12 answers correct.. well done if you are one of them. Ben stepped up to make the final draw, all of the correct entries were randomised in a spreadsheet, and 4 numbers were taken from the stockings. The resulting number was matched up with a row in the spreadsheet and out popped… Matt Morton!!

http://youtu.be/4Bq6VQAN7M0

Good job Matt, fingers crossed you get snow this Christmas. Finally a big thanks to everyone who played from the whole team here at Alpkit. We hope you have a very merry Christmas.

Christmas comp day 12 results

2011-12-19T11:36:43Z

With less than 10 days to Christmas we thought it was time to get the Christmas tree up. The scene was taken from the animated Charlie Brown’s Christmas, and the keyring we were after was Sledge. Well done Chris Brain who got the answer correct. And what about the main prize.. The MegaSlide 2000!! We hope to make the prize draw later this afternoon when we get all of the weekend orders out of the door. Stay tuned!

Christmas comp day 11 results

2011-12-16T12:21:39Z

Our delivery of Fuga hoodies arrived yesterday evening and included the new Fuga Boy Alpkit Armee. Well done to Al Briggs for getting the answer correct. The short sequence was taken from another Christmas favourite Home Alone. The last episode will run through the weekend with the grand prize draw sometime Monday afternoon.

Junior team on crushing form

2011-12-15T17:38:01Z

The Nottingham Junior Climbing team are on crushing form. Team Captain Naomi Tilley sums up the teams recent activity.

Christmas comp day 10 results

2011-12-15T10:03:28Z

The chips were down for James and Mr Dimitrius in this high stakes scene from Casino Royale. The props team used our stem caps for the chips, the blue one is called Play Outside. Sarah Hicks knew this, and her postie will be dropping one through her letterbox shortly. Episode 10 live now.

Drytool Style final round report

2011-12-14T12:14:31Z

Gaetan Raymond report from the final round of this year’s DTS series.

The third and final round of the DTS tour took place on Saturday December 3rd on the mythical site of L’Usine at Voreppe (near Grenoble). For the occasion a new route (D5) was set to allow the weaker competitors to attempt a new route. The top eight at the end of the qualifications also had the right to climb a new route in a final.

About 50 people were present for the occasion; one Austrian and one Russian even made the trip! Nicolas Raynaud and Christophe Moulin were also there representing the FFCAM.

This round is always the most important since the cave is really impressive; routes are now everywhere, even in the roof and at the side of the cave. For the occasion, two sofas and two generators are started below the cave to feed the sound to set the mood with good music and also to power the lights for the famous night time final!

The day started at 9am and already there were a lot of climbers well motivated to try the 12 routes available for qualifications (D5 to D10). The concept is still the same; each route is 1000 points and is divided by the number of climbers redpointing the route. It is therefore necessary to climb the most difficult routes, but also to accumulate the most points in order to have the chance to qualify among the eight finalists. The end of qualifying ended at 4 o’clock, 7 hours of climbing in all, ending with tired arms but the motivation was always there.

A route made of resin holds was built to test the Alpkit FigFour drytool training aids on a speed contest. During the qualification phases each one tried this route. The fastest was 20s for Olivier Brun. For the FigFour final at 4:40 the timers were reset and the finalists could make two attempts. The best time of the two was chosen. Guiguonet Benjamin won the final with 22s, he won a pair of FigFour and a Vertical jacket.

At 5pm darkness fell and the cave was illuminated by lights. The eight finalists were announced and received their rewards. That’s the DTS spirit, no competition but a hard-friendly event! Jeff Mercier, one of the organisers and route-setter (with Jonathan Joly) of the final route (D9 +) made a demonstration of this route for the finalists. The final route allows everyone to fully express themselves with the start less difficult and the end more and more difficult. Stephanie Maureau won.

First: Stephanie Maureau, four time champion is ready for the World Cup!
2nd: Yann Gerome, still going strong
3rd: Jehan-Roland Guillot, for once he has not zipped
4th: Benjamin Bucci who lost an ice axe
5th: Benjamin Guigonnet, a strong climber makes dry!
6th: Pierre Boucher
7th: Anthony Klock, a hope that progresses
8th: Frederick Degoulet always present!

The 2011 DTS series was supported by:
Vertical
Asolo
Petzl
Montania Sport
Alpkit
Hitachi
Yogi Tea
FFCAM
Community of Municipalities Dévoluy

The standings after three stages of the DTS 2011 tour:
1st: Yann Gerome, 22 points and won a pair of ice axes Petzl
2nd: Benjamin Bucci, 20 points and won a jacket Vertical
3rd: Jehan-Roland Guillot 14 points and won a pair of shoes Asolo
4th: Stephanie Maureau, 12 points
5th: Pierre Boucher, 11 points
6th tie: Antoine and Frederic Degoulet Klock, 8 points
7th tie: Gregoire and Benjamin Guigonnet Delloye, 4 points
Eighth tie: Xavier Gaillard and Kevin Peyre, 2 points
9th: Jurgen Christmann, 1 point

Christmas comp day 9 results

2011-12-14T10:53:15Z

Tasked with sorting out the Alpkit decoration, Ben visits the factory vending machine for some of our multi-purpose Sugru. And what was written on the factory wall.. Happy Christmas of course! Well done David Livesley, you will be receiving some Sugru to hack your own stuff.

Christmas comp day 8 results

2011-12-13T18:11:20Z

There is tension in the cutting room in our little homage to the film ‘Short Circuit’. Well done to Nathan Hewitt who wins the ever useful Gamma headtorch, hopefully it will be better at guiding you around in the dark than it was on Robert! Play our MegaSlide 2000 draw again today!

Christmas comp day 7 results

2011-12-12T20:18:59Z

Festive spirits hit Alpkit in a big way last Friday and the whole team joined in for a game of pass the parcel to our most favourite version of Jingle Bells by The Puppini Sisters. Luckily the parcel was a Crimbo Combo pack so everyone went home with a prize! Well done Alison Barr who will now be getting her own pack. The rest of you who knew it was the Puppinis are in the draw for the MegaSlide 2000.

Islands climbing film showing on UKC

2011-12-09T11:45:09Z

Islands. Traditional Tales of Lakeland Climbing, a film from Land and Sky Media’s Dom Bush, is currently being screened on UKClimbing in its separate 3 parts. Chapter 3 will be live today as their Friday night video and over the weekend. Islands… Chapter 3 is beautifully understated as it follows one man’s story and passion for creating new routes on a popular Lakeland crag and how climbing allows him to gain peace and meaning within his life.