Best Outdoor Gear Posts

One of our favourite bits of outdoor gear this year is the Vango Helium Superlite tent. Available in two models, the 1 man 100 model and the 2 man 200 tent, both are lightweight, rugged and ideally suited for mountain marathons or solo walking. Our review looks at the Vango tents in detail.

Given the amount of rain we get in the UK, its no wonder that we love our breathable waterproof fabrics. To get the most out of our outdoor, our essential guide to caring for breathable waterproofs fabrics is a must read post.

Best Walking Post

We all enjoy being in the outdoors and going for a hike through the countryside. In the UK there is plenty outstanding scenery and we are certainly spoilt for choice. One good hiking option is the Anglesey Coastal Walk.

Outdoor Interviews

This year we have posted some outstanding interviews. From the world of Adventure Racing, Ian Adamson is the most successful athlete. Why not read our interview to find out more about the six times World Champion Adventure Racer and world record holder for endurance Kayaking.

Last summer Stepping Lightly and User Scott hit the headlines with their covert ascent of the famous Blackpool Tower. In our interview with Stepping Lightly you can find out more about the world of climbing man-made structures and Urban Exploration.

For walkers and hikers, the spectacle of a bird of prey circling in the skies overhead can be the highlight of the walk. Unfortunately birds of prey are the victims of shooting, poisoning and land mismanagement. In our interview with RSPB Campaign Officer, John Loder, we found out how the RSPB Bird of Prey Campaign is bringing to the light the plight of these magnificent birds. A big thank you to all our readers who signed their name to the 200,000 strong RSPB petition that was handed into the government in February.

Light Hearted Walking Blog Posts

What can possibly be more cute than teddy bears? The Wasdale Mountain Rescue Teddies! Watch the video of their heroic cliff rescue in which they scale diamond crag to save two stranded climbers.

The future of mapping and the future of hiking have also been discussed. With the invention of Sherpa-cam, we will soon be able to walk up Mount Everest courtesy of Google Street View. We also reveal how urban hiking will become a major pastime for city dwellers with advent of vertical farms.

Best Outdoor Blog Posts 2010

That concludes our round up for another year. We can only speculate about what outdoor related gems we will publish in the next 12 months, but we are sure that there will be a fine selection for next year’s best blog post post!

Let us know what you think of these apps, or suggest some other apps

Before we start, don’t forget Google Maps on the Android is also an amazing app and is really quite powerful.

Google Sky Map

If you’ve ever found yourself staring up at the night sky and pondering the names of the various stars and constellations then Google Sky Map is just what you need.

The application is incredibly simple to use, when you switch on the app it finds your location and the direction the phone is pointing (using GPS or cell location, the digital compass and the accelerometer) and displays a real-time annotated map of the night sky. As you move around the sky map moves with you, providing an augmented reality view of the sky, showing the brightest naked-eye stars, planets, sun and moon, constellation lines, horizon, cardinal points, and Messier Objects

Sky map also provides you with a search tool, simply type in the name of the object you are looking to find. An on-screen pointer then appears and leads you to the object you were looking for. Sky Map does not require a data connection which is definitely an advantage when out and about in remote locations where 3G coverage is limited. Layers? You can toggle viewing modes for day/night as well.

Peak.ar

Peak.ar is a fun augmented reality app which annotates the names and relative heights of mountains onto a live camera feed.  Again this application doesn’t require internet connectivity except for the first time the app is used when it downloads a database with the peak information. The database has reasonably good coverage of the UK with most major areas being well covered.  You can also set your line of sight distance to only display peaks within a certain range as well as being able to get a map view of the locations of surrounding peaks (although this requires data connectivity as it uses google maps) . Overall its a fun, very well made application although its probably not of that much real use to any serious outdoor person.

Kinomap

This is a really fun app that basically geotags video. Kinomap is really simple to use you just press the record button and start filming your, walk, bike ride or anything else you want. Press stop when you are done recording and then click the send button to upload.  You then have to select the video and gpx track you want to upload. Here you can add the title and description to be displayed alongside the video on the website as well as setting the mode of transport from which there is a long list to choose from including kayak, skateboard, bob sleigh and model plane alongside more conventional modes of transport.  You can also set the video to be private so that it is not publicly displayed. Then all you have to do is upload the video. This is obviously best done over a wifi connection as it will take a very long time using mobile internet. After the upload is complete you will receive an email with a link to you video when it is ready to be viewed on the internet.

The website itself presents you with a view of the video, the GPS track overlaid on google maps and a graph of speed and altitude along with some other statistics. Clicking on a position on the video, map or graph will then update the others to the same point making navigating through the timelines a fun interactive process.

Overall I think this is an absolutely brilliant application the only downfall is that the supplied instructions are rather poor but considering its so easy to use it isn’t really a big issue.

myTracks

myTracks is a GPS mapping and performance analysis app for android. My Tracks plots runs, cycles, kayak trips and anything else to custom Google Maps or a Google docs spreadsheet.  Using the app couldn’t be easier you press a button to start recording your activity and another to stop. The app also displays live statistics of your current speed, total distance and time and elevation along with your current location on a map. When you’ve done recording you can easily upload the route details and statistics to a google document, create a google map for your route and share all the information with friends.  My Tracks is a great tool for analysising your preformance especially when training but also can be used to let you easily create records and maps of walks and hikes. The only problem with mytracks is that it will quickly use up you battery.

Don’t forget if you’ve an app suggestion or have a comment about an app mentioned above, leave a comment below.

Green Bridges

When the A21 Lamberhurst bypass was constructed in Kent a unique green bridge was built to cross the carriageway. The green bridge carries the access road to the National Trust’s Scotney Castle. It was the National Trust which insisted that the bridge must have banks of vegetation right across its span. This might seem to be a strange design feature. The reason behind it was one of conservation. Whilst providing a fast route for traffic, the new A21 Lamberhurst bypass would effectively separate colonies of dormice and many other species of animals. The remaining dormice colonies on either side of the bypass, cut-off from each other and only remaining in small fragments, would quickly become too small and collapse. By creating a wide bridge with embankments planted with low growing trees and shrubs, dormice are able to cross over the Lamberhurst bypass and interact with other colonies. This will hopefully help to ensure survival of the dormice and other animals. So far at the Scotney Castle approach road bridge there has been evidence that foxes, rabbits, wood mice, common shrews, squirrels, badgers and even a mole have used the bridge. According to the People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ Mammals UK magazine, Spring 2010 issue, the vegetation will need to reach a more mature state before dormice would be tempted to use the green bridge.

The bridge was originally constructed to reduce the effect of habitat fragmentation, but it is very beneficial to people as well. It is a much more sensitive way to build new roads instead of just bulldozing swathes through the countryside and the wildlife that lives there. It shows that we can reconcile the need for new roads with the needs of wildlife and some consideration of landscape quality. Mammals UK, Spring 2010.

The green bridge allows dormice and other animals to cross the Lamberhurst bypass. Source www.geograph.co.uk. © Copyright Nigel Chadwick and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence

Hiking and Green Bridges

Vertical gardens like this one could become widespread in the urban environment. Source: Flickr by pdbreen.

What does the green bridge have to do with the future of hiking? In the near future the addition of planted verges on bridges could improve the quality of walks where footpaths or roads cross dual carriageways or motorways. Instead of walking over a grotty concrete structure spanning an equally grotty bypass, the trail would take you seamlessly across the main road without spoiling your immersion in the countryside. Perhaps the success of the Lamberhurst green bridge will inspire more green bridges to be built in the UK. The green bridge design would fit in especially well in our National Parks.

In the more distant future perhaps the countryside and the urban environment will become ever more fused together. Vertical gardens have been created as show pieces in various cities. These could be fused together with green bridges, parks and other open spaces to create a swathe of greenery. Linked together with towpaths and disused railways the creation of long distance hiking opportunities within the urban environment would be possible. With a large increase in the amount of greenery on man-made structures the whole city could become a type of countryside environment in its own right!

Fill That Hole! A mini-garden in the street. Source: Flickr by ©thepotholegardener

Before...a pothole	After...a mini garden
Photo credit: ©thepotholegardener

Potholes are a menace to cyclists. We are likely to see a proliferation of pothole gardens with the cycling community joining the campaign.

In a bid to support the Pot Hole Gardener’s direct action, cyclists across the nation are said to be planning to plant pothole gardens too.

Cyclists are joining the campaign to highlight the lack of action on potholes. Source: Flickr by saragoldsmith

Tents

Tent Flysheet or Groundsheet protector

- sail for a sailing boat
- curtains

Tent Poles

- wind chimes

Tent pegs

- cooking / kebab skewers

Tent mesh inner

- bee keeping hat
- light boxes for photography

Rucksacks

Rucksack

- flowerpot, as illustrated by BestHike editor Rick McCharles in the photo below:

Outdoor gear can be re-used for many purposes. Source: Flickr by Rick McCharles.

Rucksack Cover

- emergency parachute

Sleeping Bags

Sleeping bag

- elephant’s trunk warmer
- enormous Christmas stocking
- thief’s swag bag

Outdoor Clothing

Waterproof Jackets and Trousers, Fleeces, Softshells…

- cut them up and use them as rags
- make a (waterproof) patchwork quilt
- take them to Oxfam where they can be recycled as part of the Fabric4Life Campaign.

Socks

- sock puppets
- put a tennis ball, cricket ball or baseball in the sock and peg the sock to the washing line, ideal for practising your swing

Gloves

- cut off the fingers to make egg cosies for Quail’s eggs

Climbing Gear

Climbing Helmet

- when held by the chin strap they can be used as a basket

Karabiner

- rucksack decoration

Rocks On Wire

- Christmas Tree Decorations

Walking Boots

Walking Boots

- pen holder
- door stops, you may need to fill them with something heavy
- plant pots
- cut the leather into little squares to make a decorative bed head (as seen on The Discovery Channel’s “The Salvager”

Walking and Camping Accessories

Trekking / Walking Poles

- cleaning gutters and drains, by leaning out of the window (yes I do actually do this)
- growing runner beans (in place of garden canes)

Crampons

- turned upside down they would be ideal for serving olives or even cheese and pineapple squares at dinner parties

Ice Axe

- assassinating Bolshevik revolutionaries
- back scratcher

Camping / Sleeping Mattress

- kneeling mat for gardening, praying or any other activities that require kneeling

Orange Survival Bag

- sledge
- cut side and bottom edges, open it out and use it as a tarpaulin

Dry Bag

- bucket, water carrier or water butt

Platypus Hoser

- a distillation still for making liqueur

Trangia Bowl / Cookset Bowl

- World War One soldier’s tin hat
- hairdresser’s basin for basin haircuts
- plant pot
- dog’s bowl

Ordnance Survey Map

- wallpaper, you can plan future hikes next time you find yourself staring at the wall

Camping Stove

- attach them to the back of your car to make people think you have jet fighter plane style afterburners

Your Ideas for Re-Using Outdoor Gear

Think you can do better or worse? Let’s us know your ideas for re-using outdoor gear, just click on “comments” below…

For most of the year the fjords on Baffin Island are filled with frozen sea ice, but for a short period in the summer the ice melts and with 24 hours of daylight the area becomes a climbers paradise with mile high granite walls and amazing scenery.

Last year, sponsored climbers Leo Houlding and Carlos Suarez tackled the Asgard Project, an ambitious expedition to climb the mile high Mount Asgard (named after the realm of the Norsk gods) on Baffin Island in the Arctic Circle, and then BASE jump from the top.

Berghaus has captured essential elements of this trip and turned them into a fun, addictive, virtual  climbing game. As each stage of the game is completed and you progress, new content is unlocked, such as Berghaus downloads and video clips from the Asgard expedition. You can also challenge your friends and compete to lead the league table.

The aim of the flash game is simply to get to the top! The gameplay itself is straightforward, you have to choose the best route to take and which belay points to aim for while keeping an eye on your balance and stamina. There are also plenty of obstacles to avoid on the way, such as falling rocks, snow storms and extreme winds.

If you feel up to the challenge then why not grab your virtual climbing gear and give the game a go:  www.climbmountasgard.com

The idea of a universal, constructed language is not a new one. Esperanto is fully fledged language developed in the 1870s and early 1880s by Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof. It has as many as 2 million speakers in about 115 countries. Esperanto is phonetic language with simple pronunciation, largely consisting of root words that can be expanded into tens of thousands of words with prefixes, suffixes and compound words. Whilst many people would consider it beneficial for the world to share a single language, Esperanto is unlikely to be adopted as our universal language in the foreseeable future. Even if it was taught universally to all school children, it would be a long time before enough people could speak Esperanto for it to be really useful on a worldwide scale.

There are also condensed, constructed languages, such as Toki Pona which was published in 2001 by linguist Sonja Elen Kisa. Toki Pona has small vocabulary based upon 125 root words and was apparently designed to shape the thought processes of its users.

An alternative way to enhance communication for travellers could be for everyone to learn the crucial vocabulary in four the most widely spoken languages, i.e. English, Chinese, Arabic and Spanish. However, this would require four times the amount of effort and would inevitably offend speakers of other languages.

The 100 Word, World Language

We decided to lay down a template for the construction an auxiliary language that would benefit anyone travelling to a foreign country. In order to develop an indispensable travel language we asked ourselves:

1. What is the smallest possible lexicon?
2. How many words are needed and how many words can everyone possibly be expected to learn?

The answer that we decided upon in both cases was a convenient 100 words. Before we could decide upon which words are crucial for communication and therefore should be included in our vocabulary, we needed to create a few basic rules.

Essential Minimum Language Rules

In order to create an auxiliary language with a minimum workable word list a few rules were established, as follows:

Proper nouns, i.e. place names and people’s names, would not need to be included in the vocabulary.

Anything that must be spoken is a “word”, so numbers and punctuation may need to be included as words.

Many languages use tones and inflexions. Tones can be used to give the same word multiple meanings. This could effectively increase the number of “words” available, however tones may be too difficult for some people to pronounce. It would also make the simple language more complicated with more word meanings to learn and more chance for confusion. Besides, a compound word is still a new word which must be learnt and would effectively increase the vocabulary. Another example of this is raising your voice at end of sentence to imply a question, however it is clearer if a “question word” is used instead.

Some words have more than one meaning in one languages, but they probably will not in another language or they have different other meanings, so each word in the vocabulary must have only one meaning.

The number of compound words contained in the lexicon must be minimal. People think in different ways, so combining two words to make one may result in logical word for some people but it might be meaningless or absurd to other people.

The language needs to be kept it as simple as possible, with as few grammatical or other rules as possible. Conversation would largely be related to asking for information, help or things. Therefore with regards to grammar and sentence structure, little will really be needed other than to bear in mind that in different languages word orders can be reversed. Therefore if the person you are speaking to does not understand, try reversing the order of words in the sentence.

Essential Travel Words Vocabulary

Ideally, to create a 100 word world language, a brand new set of universally pronounceable words should be created for this vocabulary. Creating new words is outside of the scope of this article, so English words have been used to create the essential travel words vocabulary. In some cases there is not a direct English equivalent word. In these cases, the word “word” has been added to another word to convey the overall meaning, e.g. polite word and insult word.

General Words

1. plus – meaning “yes”, as well as being a positive word to express something good, something large or something that you want something. So “plus cost” would mean expensive, “plus object” would mean a large object and “plus coffee” would mean that I want to have coffee.
2. minus – meaning “no”, as well as negative word to express something bad, something small or that you do NOT want. So “minus cost” would mean cheap, “minus object” would mean a small object and “minus coffee” would mean that I do not want to have coffee.
3. question word (this word is added on the end of a sentence to make it question)
4. I
5. you
6. we

“we you” could be used for they and “we I” for us.

7. male
8. female
9. spouse
10. parent
11. adult
12. child
13. help!
14. police
15. hello / goodbye word
16. polite word (meaning both please and thank you)
17. sorry / apologies word
18. insult word
19. repeat (to ask someone repeat the phrase – they should know the language of course, but they may well have a strong accent!)

Counting System

20. zero
21. one
22. two
23. many

In order to count higher than two, numbers would be created as follows:
“two one” = three
“two two” = four
“two two one” = five etc.

24. So that it is possible to express large numbers, there must be a word to say that you are dictating number the digit by digit

Alternatively Roman Numerals could be used, since there are relatively few “words” needed, i.e. I, V , X, L, C and M. You would still need “zero” however.

Time and date

25. day
26. month
27. year

Days and months can be referred to using the counting system:
“day one” is Monday
“day two” is Tuesday
“day two one” is Wednesday
“day two two” is Thursday

28. hour
29. minute
30. immediately
31. future
32. past

Communication

33. telephone
34. internet

Nouns

35. toilet
36. place
37. drug ( “plus drug” would be a medicinal drug and “minus drug” would be a narcotic)

Verbs

38. need
39. eat
40. drink
41. sleep
42. worship / meditate
43. sex
44. smoke
45. criminal act

Adjectives

See plus and minus above.

46. hot
47. cold

Shopping Words

48. cost (to ask how much just say “cost” and the “question word” and point to object.)
49. currency / cash
50. credit card
51. shop

Food and Drink Words

53. carbohydrates (bread, potato, pasta, rice, noodles)
54. meat / fish / protein
55. diary products
56. vegetables
57. salt
58. sweet / sugar

If you are a vegan, you can get passport with a translation into many languages: http://www.vegetarianguides.co.uk

58. water
59. tea
60. coffee
61. alcohol
62. soft drink
63. restaurant / pub / bar

Essential Travel Words

64. passport
65. visa
66. validation ( “plus validation” means valid, “minus validation” means invalid)
67. embassy
68. walk
69. bicycle
70. motor cycle
71. underground train / metro
72. train
73. bus
74. taxi
75. car
76. plane
77. slow down!
78. ticket (for a return ticket you would need to say name of starting point, destination and starting point)
79. hotel
80. hostel
81. make a booking word

The station would be “train place” and airport would be “plane place” etc.

Direction Words

82. left
83. right
84. straight ahead
85. back
86. over there

For up and down, “plus” and “minus” can be used.

Health Words

87. doctor
88. hospital
89. pain
90. nausea / diarrhoea
91. fever
92. allergy

You can point to body parts to show the doctor where the pain or problem is.

If you have a serious health condition or allergy it would be wise to get multi-language translation containing details of any health risk.

Weather

93. weather (“plus weather” for good weather, “minus weather” for bad weather)

It is only the British who go on about the “bloody weather” all the time, so there is no need for any other terms relating to weather!

Camping, Walking and Climbing Words

Since this is an outdoor gear blog, we obviously need some words to help ensure that we can participate in outdoor sports.

94. tent
95. campsite
96. climb
97. mountain
98. crag
99. footpath / trail
100. map

Words that didn’t make it

It is quite tricky to limit the number of words required for effective communication. Here are some that did not make our vocabulary: it, heavy, light, want, give, have, gender, work, meet, animal and dog.

Try having a conversation!

We have tried to have some basic conversations, for example asking to book a hotel room for 2 adults for 3 nights, which was possible. However asking whether the price of the room included breakfast tested the language to it limits!

What do you think? Are there any words that we should have included or that we should omit from our lexicon? Let us know, click on “comments” below.

Phrases that didn’t make it

An additional idea for the creation of an auxiliary travel language is that phrases could be condensed into single words. Below are a few phrases that we could have included, but thought better of it. Just for fun!

1. Please may I pitch my tent in your garden?
2. My rucksack is packed with dehydrated stew
3. Your waterproof jacket is extremely elegant
4. My walking boots produce a foul odour
5. May the force be with you
6. The truth is out there

According to David McCreedy, author of The Four Essential Travel Phrases website, the phrases every traveller should know are:

1. Where is my room?
2. Where is the beach?
3. Where is the bar?
4. Don’t touch me there!

The last phrase is obviously of the utmost importance, particularly if you’ve already had answers to the first three.

Just for Fun! Below are some YouTube clips relating to language mix ups.

Fawlty Towers – The Germans

At 3 minutes 55 seconds into this YouTube video, hopeless hotel owner Basil Fawlty thinks he can speak German. Unfortunately when his guests tell him that they wish to hire a car “Wir wollen ein Auto mieten”, Basil thinks that they are offering to go and get some meat.

Monty Python – Dirty Hungarian Phrase Book

A scheming publisher has deliberately mistranslated phrases in a English – Hungarian phrase book.

Climb, Mountain Bike, Kayak, Skateboard

Using Google Maps, Extreme Sports Maps, enables you to place your best location for extreme sporting on a map of the UK. You can zoom right in to give an accurate location and provide a description of your favourite trail, climb, river, spot or track. You don’t have to log in either, although they do like to have your e-mail address to send you updates.

Extreme Sports Map (ESM), The definative visual guide to Skateparks, Skateboarding Spots, Surf Breaks, Dirt Jumps, Mountain Bike Trails and almost every extreme sport spot you could shake a stick at.

Finding the best UK locations is easy. Each spot has a cross marked on the map with the type of extreme sport written next to it. There are literally hundreds of best locations in the UK, so you can filter the one you want. You can choose from Skate Park, Surf Break, Wake Boarding, BMX Track, Snowboarding/Ski, Wind Surf, Paddle (Canoe/Kayak), Street Spot, Downhill Trail, Kite Surf, Dirt Jumping, Climbing/Abseiling, Motor-X and Mountain Biking. The owners apologise if your extreme sport is not in the list, but invite recommendations by e-mail. Anyone know the best place for Extreme Ironing?

Zooming in on the map makes it easier to view different places in a particular area. You can also search for best places by postcode or place name. So whether you are looking for the best place to climb or the best place to mountain bike, using Extreme Sports Map will bring up a good place!

Best Place Map

As well as adding your favourite locations to the map you can also add to photos and YouTube videos to any of the the best places that are already on the map. And its not just the UK, you can find or add a spot anywhere in the world.

It all started after a long visit to South Africa where information about skate spots in particular was incredibly hard to get hold of, and then actually finding these places was near impossible. So Extreme Sports Map was born as a way of locating various parks and street spots, but now that idea has grown into being a visual guide to extreme spots everywhere.

Find or add best places to climb, ride, kayak, jump on Extreme Sports Map.

Extreme Sports Maps is not the only application for Google Maps. It has also been used by fillthathole.org.uk for cyclists to report pot holes in the road. There are many mapping tools available for general navigation, you may be interested in our review of on-line mapping tools.

If you want to share a great location you can also share it here on the CheapTents.com blog. Just click on “comments” below or send us an e-mail: blog@cheaptents.com.

Google Trike

In their quest for information Google are not satisfied with knowing what our highways look like. Recently they have made some off road excursions on Google Trike. With enough pedal power, the trike can get to many places inaccessible by car. Using Street View it is now possible to see around the grounds of a number of National Trust properties in the UK.

Google Trike can go where the Google Car cannot. Source: Flickr by artberri.

Google Sherpa-Cam

There are only so many places a three wheeled pedal cycle can get to. The next development for Google Street View will involve getting off the trike and moving onto mountain trails, which will require leg power alone. For this Google are developing the Sherpa-cam. Prototypes are currently being trialled in the Lake District and in the Nepalese Himalayas.

It is not clear whether Google will take images of the whole of the Lake District or just the routes up the most popular mountains, such as Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, The Old Man of Conniston and Blencartha. One of the main problems that the Google Sherpa-Cam team face is the weather.

We have to wait for days when there is a high cloud base. There is no point hiking up a mountain with a heavy camera when all that can be seen is grey cloud!

Google Sherpa-Cam prototype on the trail to Everest Base Camp. Source: Flickr by Ilkerender and artberri.

Eventually we hope to take Sherpa-cam right up to the summit of Everest. Most people are not able to climb the summit themselves and so we believe that there will be a huge demand to see the entire trail to summit. Only once we are sure that the technology is fully functioning will we make a bid for the summit. Sherpa-Cam is heavy and once we have entered the death zone above 7000 m the risk to human life is high. We do not want to take any chances and so we will need a very experienced mountaineering team to help with this project.

What do you think of Sherpa-Cam?

Of course, there are many spectacular mountain views in many parts of world, but is it really necessary to have a street view of mountain trails? Google think so, but what do you think? Like the government who want to microchip walkers, are Google going too far? Click on the comments below and let us know!

We hope you all got lots of nice shiny new outdoor gear from Santa. Whilst you are enjoying your Christmas dinner and longing to get out into the countryside, spare a thought for poor Santa. Christmas is not plain sailing for Father Christmas, Rudolf and the team, having to deliver all your lovely pressies. After all, climbing down and back up millions of chimneys in one night can takes it out of you. The You Tube video below shows Santa doing a bit of training, abseiling down the aptly named Chimney Rock. Located at Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina in the United States, Chimney rock is a little way from Santa’s Lapland home, but even when he is on holiday Father Christmas must keep up with his training!

How does Father Christmas climb up chimneys?
He uses a ladder in his stockings!