Snugpak Sleeping Bags Win Queens Award
Before commencing the round up, congratulations are in order for Snugpak. A Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category has been given to Snugpak! The sleeping bag manufacturer, who still manufacture in the UK, won the award for increasing their export business by 77% since 2006. They export to 28 different countries across the world, from Latvia to Australia and to the USA. Over 50% of Snugpak’s total production sold overseas.
We are thrilled to receive this award as recognition of our hard work and success at developing high quality, durable products that can withstand rigorous use in harsh and sometimes extreme conditions throughout the world.
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MSR are well known for their range of lightweight high quality stoves, so here at Cheap Tents we’ve picked out our 3 favourites to help try and explain the difference between each MSR Stove.
MSR Windpro
MSR Windpro Stove
The MSR WindPro stove is one of the most efficient and versatile stoves available, as the name suggests this MSR Stove preforms brilliantly in the wind. Due to the fact this stove has a remote burner, you can safely use a windscreen around it without dangerously enclosing the fuel canister. This massively boosts stove efficiency and the remote burner also offers better stability with large pots than other canister-mounted stoves which makes finding a place to set it up easy and allows you to swap out an empty canister without moving a hot pot.
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Here at CheapTents.com we all love the MSR Hubba tents, but do find the naming system slightly confusing at times. So we got in touch with Mountain Safety Research to find out where the name comes from.
What is a Hubba?
The Hubba name is something we (MSR) came up with, based on the tent’s unique hub and pole frame. The “hub” is the circle that connects various tent poles sections together, thus cutting down on the total number of poles needed. In the photo below, you’ll see how the pole branches out into two legs–the sections join together at the hub.
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The Thermarest Neo Air has been one of the most talked about products recently, but what makes it so special and why all the hype? The main features the NeoAir are the reflective aluminised barrier which reflects body heat and reduces heat loss along with the Triangular Core Matrix technology which is a welded-nylon grid of chambers that increases the number of individual air cells. This minimizes air movement within the pad and the resulting convective cooling.
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After my recent post on bamboo fabrics Graham left a comment stating that bamboo might not be as environmentally friendly a fabric as I had first thought. Had I been greenwashed? Is bamboo eco friendly? Well after some research I discovered the answer is yes and no.
The process of producing the raw bamboo does have a low environmental impact. However when it comes to processing the bamboo into a fabric there can be a significant ecological impact. Basically there are 2 ways in which bamboo can be turned into a fabric, mechanically or chemically.
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The Taurus Ultralight is a classic lightweight 2 person tent from Vaude.
Pitching the Taurus Ultralight is an easy task, it has two main poles that slip into the guide channels very easily along with 2 very short poles built into the tent at the feet end, these poles widen the bottom of the tent for more leg room. You can pitch the inner and outer at the same time – an essential feature when its the end of a long day and the rain is coming down hard.
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I thought I’d follow up my bear sleeping bag post with a review of another animal themed sleeping bag, The North Face Cats Meow. Unlike the bear sleeping bag, this a a serious sleeping bag with great performance.
The North Face Cats Meow
The North Face Cats Meow is a synthetic filled, multi-purpose, 3 season sleeping bag. With a rating of -7°C and weighing in at a respectable 1.2kg, or 2lb 10 oz in old money, this bag is definitely a good all round performer at a great price. It comes with a stuff sack along with a mesh sack for long-term storage so you don’t damage the loft.
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Nowadays everyone is becoming more environmentally aware, trying to be carbon neutral, buying organic, and minimising their impact on the environment. Outdoor gear manufacturers have been quick to jump on the bandwagon and are offering outdoor clothing made with eco friendly fabrics. What I want to know is what exactly are these green fabrics, how do they preform and are they actually any good for the environment?
Bamboo Clothing
Bamboo growing - Source : steve webel flickr
What is Bamboo fiber?
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Groundsheet protectors are something that very few people I know carry, mainly due to the extra weight. I recently started thinking about whether or not there was a real need to carry a groundsheet protector or whether it was just unnecessary bulk.
What do Groundsheet Protectors Do?
So is it worth carrying the extra weight and what does it actually do?
Well the main purpose of a ground sheet protector is to protect groundsheets! With tents becoming lighter all the time groundsheets are thinner than they used to be. This is fine if you are camping on grass and can clear the site before pitching. However this isn’t normally the case with tents needing to be pitched in a hurry and sometimes your only choice is rocky ground. In these cases a groundsheet protector is well worth the extra weight to prevent against punctures from twigs, thorns or stones.
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I thought to finish off my recent spate of posts on Mountain marathons I’d talk about what sort of outdoor gear is best. Most competitions provide a required gear list from which teams must carry everything. I’ve tried to briefly cover everything commonly found on these lists but they do vary.
Personal Gear
Top Baselayer
A good quality top, with either long or short sleeves is all that is needed. Make sure that the top is made of a high quality material with good wicking properties. If you’re running hard you’re not likely to be cold, but will get sweaty.
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