CheapTents.com Outdoor Gear Blog

Finding the best apps around is never easy, especially given the nature of Android being open source which means anyone can create an app and send it into the wild.  So to help ease the burden of finding the best mapping apps around we at cheap tents have come up with our top 4 Android Apps for you to download and play with. Either search them in the market place or scan the barcode.

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.

• Best Place to do Extreme Sports
• Walking Highlands Route Planner Review
• A Guide to Best Walking Route Planners

It was summer a few years ago when I and a few friends decided it would be good to go for a long distance walk and see some of the UK’s finest coastline. With the Anglesey Coastal Path falling within an Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty, this was the choice we made.

Be sure to checkout the amazing South Stack Lighthouse. Source Trinity House

• Chesterfield Walking Festival 2009
• Pembrokeshire: Best UK Coast Path
• A Guide to Best Walking Route Planners – Part 2

The Nine Edges Race in the Peak District is for walkers, runners, climbers and mountain bikers. Starting from Fairholmes Car Park, the route takes competitors over nine gritstone edges to the Robin Hood pub, near Baslow. For walkers, runners and climbers the distance covered is 20 miles, for mountain bikers 32 miles. There is no fixed route, but competitors must use footpaths and bridleways and must also pass by either the top or bottom of each gritstone edge. Climbers must also climb each edge.

Stanage Edge is a popular place for climbing. Source: Flickr by Darren Copley.

• Stanage Bus Starts for the Summer
• Strathpuffer 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race
• The Original Mountain Marathon: flood, gales and stranded runners…

If you’re going travelling around the world in your gap year or going on a multi-point city break holiday, the Lowe Alpine Travel Trekker Pro 70 + 17 is definitely worth considering for your backpack luggage. This rucksack is well thought out with many helpful features that will make travelling easier.

The Travel Trekker Pro 70 + 17 consists of a large 70 litre rucksack and a small 17 litre daysack. The travel daysack fits snuggly onto the back of the rucksack, secured by clips and is semi-covered by protective flaps, described by Lowe Alpine as a clamshell pouch. This clever design will help to protect the daysack from being accidentally torn off the main rucksack whilst your luggage is being man-handled during your travels.

• Berghaus Arete Tour 40 Extrem Review
• Do I Need a Rucksack Cover?
• Lightwave Fastpack Rucksack Review

When hiking, camping and climbing it is always great to see some wildlife. Birds can often be heard or seen out in the countryside. Keeping an eye out for birds can add another dimension to your outdoor experience. If you are going to do some birdwatching there is some additional equipment that you could take with you. The gear that you will need will depend upon the nature of your trip:

• What time of year will you be going?
• What are anticipated weather conditions?
• What is duration of trip?
• Where will you sleep overnight?

• Which Mid-layer Fleece is best?
• Pembrokeshire: Best UK Coast Path
• What Outdoor Gear Do You Need to Take Up Ben Nevis?

The award winning and much loved ME Kongur at £252 is a lot of money, so why wouldn

Breathable waterproof fabrics such as Gore Tex, eVent and Gelanots are highly technical and can be expensive. So it is not surprising that there are numerous products on the market that claim to protect and prolong the life of waterproof clothing. Is it necessary to use these fabric care products or will my waterproofs be ok as long as I simply look after them?

In this post we’re going to look at how best to care for breathable waterproof fabric by categorising garment care into three areas. They are storage, cleaning and re-proofing.

• Which Mid-layer Fleece is best?
• Why Nikwax is worth every penny…
• Waterproof Clothing Technology

Berghaus have launched an online rock climbing flash game to give the general public a virtual taste of a major climbing adventure.

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.

• Trekmates Sit Mat, Salford City Reds & My Mum
• Blackpool Tower Climb!
• Amazing video footage of gritstone climbing…

The UK has around 7,700 miles of coastline and features many different types of landscape. These include high, rugged cliffs, gently sloping sandy beaches, shingle embankments and marshland. These different types of landscape support a myriad of wildlife, in particular many species of birds. So it is no surprise to find that there are plenty of opportunities for excellent walking along the many coastal paths in the UK.

Pembrokeshire Best Coast Path

According to a readers poll in the BBC’s Coast Magazine The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is the best coastal path in the UK. The 186-mile walking route is located inside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, in west Wales.

• Anglesey Coastal Path Walk
• Pennine Walk – Hameldon and Worsthorne Moors
• Campaign for National Parks

Campaign for National Parks Flyer featuring Nant Gwynant Valley, Snowdonia. Photo K.J. Richardson.

Recently, when opening a copy of Summit magazine, out popped a flyer on which was a scenic photograph showing fields, trees, a lake and mountains. Printed at the top was a bold proclamation: “keep beautiful places safe.” Usually flyers that pop out of magazines are lucky to even get a cursory glance before going straight in the recycle bin, but this one piqued my curiosity. It turned out to be advertising the Campaign for National Parks (CNP). Not to be confused with NCP, who like to cover place with over priced car parks, the CNP is an organisation that aims to protect our National Parks. Being a regular visitor to National Parks such as the Peak District and the Lake District, I was surprised that I had not heard of this organisation before.

• Isle of Wight Walking Festival
• Hiking in Afghanistan!
• RSPB Birds of Prey Campaign Interview

Many of us like to go for a walk along the riverside or a canal tow path. Most of the inland waterways in Britain are looked after by British Waterways, who conduct an annual survey of the wildlife on our canals and rivers. The survey is carried out by the general public, who report sightings of wildlife that they have seen whilst out and about on our canals and rivers. Last year, people taking part in the wildlife survey reported more than 42,500 sightings of nearly 300 different species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects and mammals making their homes on our canals and rivers.

• Green Bridges: Hiking in the Future
• Birdfair: Birdwatching and Conservation
• Midway Atoll, the Albatross and Waste Plastic