Outdoor Gear Chat

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In September 2023 Outdoor Gear Chat Co-Host Wayne Singleton stepped into the water at Bowness-on-Solway on the North Cumbria coast to "celebrate" an upcoming birthday. Some say he'd taken a wrong turn as originally, he'd started out planning to swim the English Channel. When he couldn't find a pilot he decided on a different type of swim challenge, one no-one had ever tried before - to swim the entire coastline of his home County of Cumbria.
With no idea what to expect, no idea if three years of training was enough, 10 days off from work and an acute fear of sea wildlife, Wayne describes dark depths, terrifying tides and the truly monster jellyfish he came across on his journey.

You can read a "real time" account of Wayne's epic swim here:
News - The Running Concierge
To donate to Wayne's Challenge and raise money for the Brathay Trust:
Wayne Singleton is fundraising for Brathay Trust (justgiving.com)
To learn about the great work of The Brathay Trust with young people in the North West:
Inspiring young people to make positive changes - Brathay Trust

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Cathy & Wayne are joined by Author, Walking Leader and Outdoor Swimming Instructor Suzanna Cruikshank to talk about women's technical clothing for sizes beyond the norm.

This fascinating insight into clothing fit follows on from our extremely successful online symposium held back in 2021. Listen as we discuss what is available, the difficulties of finding technical equipment for larger body shapes, why technical shops can be intimidating, colour, features and dodgy swim models.

But what is being done about it?

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

To see our plus size women's clothing range: Womens Outdoor Clothing And Womens Outdoor Jackets (climbers-shop.com)
To see our XXL men's clothing range: Mens Outdoor Clothing And Mens Outdoor Jackets (climbers-shop.com)
Watch our online symposium here: Women’s Technical Clothing: Fit, Form and Function — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)
Technical Plus Size Patterns to make: Sew Outdoorsy | Outdoor & Activewear Sewing Patterns for Plus Sizes

Lake District Wild Swimming (suzannaswims.co.uk)

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In this episode Cathy and Wayne are joined by The Climbers Shop Manager and Spine Race veteran Chris Worton to talk about the wonderful world of trail shoes.

Why are there so many different types? How is a trail running shoe different from a road running shoe? Can the right shoes make you feel less tired? How can you make shoes last longer? What is the difference between pronation and supination? What is meant by drop? gait? neutral shoes? This episode is packed with facts and information about shoes, socks, gaiters, microspikes, laces and....... marmite - Wayne even get's grossed out about toenails.

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

Click the link to see our huge range of men's trail shoes
Mens Trail Running Shoes And Fell Running Shoes (climbers-shop.com)
Click the link to see our huge range of women's trail shoes
Womens Trail Running Shoes And Fell Running Shoes (climbers-shop.com)
Click the "Running" tab to see our full range of clothing and accessories
The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown Shops | Outdoor Clothing & Equipment UK (climbers-shop.com)
Tips on fit, nutrition and ultra's:
Running — The Joe Brown Outdoor Academy

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Cathy and Wayne are joined by engineer, sewer and outdoor equipment and clothing repair specialist; Rosanna Watson from Snowdonia Gear Repairs to delve into how to make your gear last longer.

Learn about tapes, sealants, zips, seams and all the little replacement gizmo's available to make your own repairs as well as the wealth of fixes that can be done to clothing, sleeping bags, rucsacks and tents so they can be used and kept out of landfill for as long as possible. Packed full of tips, Rosanna also explains how she can customise garments for MRT's, how to spot if a garment is easily repairable and how to get the best value for money (spoiler - this may not necessarily mean buying the cheapest).

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

Our shops have a large range of repair tapes, sealants, buckles, tapes and cords permanently in stock. They're dead easy to find in the shops and we're working on improving their visibility online:

Clothing/Tent and Rucsack Spares and repairs: Repair Products Camping | The Climbers Shop And Joe Brown S (climbers-shop.com)
Cordlocks: Lowe Alpine Cord Lock - Assorted Coloured (climbers-shop.com)
Cord: Ropes Cords Climbing Equipment | The Climbers Shop And Joe (climbers-shop.com)
Footwear Spares: Proofings, Aftercare & Repair | The Climbers Shop (climbers-shop.com)

To find our how to send your item back to Snowdonia Gear Repair please click here: Snowdonia Gear Repair

Our key brands all have their own repair/servicing and advice portals here:
Rab Service Centre - Rab® UK
Returns | Mountain Equipment (mountain-equipment.co.uk)
Care of Your Product – Mountain Equipment (mountain-equipment.co.uk)
Montane Repair Service | Extend the lifetime of your product. – Montane - UK
Climbing / Walking Boot Repairs & Resoles (UK) - SCARPA UK
La Sportiva - Official Website

Other outdoor specialist repair companies in the UK:
Outdoor Gear Repairs - LSR (lancashiresportsrepairs.co.uk)
Scottish Mountain Gear
home | Llanberis Resoles | approved Scarpa and La Sportiva resoler.

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Ever wondered how to zip up a jacket when you only have the use of one hand? Or how to get in and out of a tent when half your body is paralysed?

Cathy and Wayne are joined by the inimitable Paul Pritchard who re-defines "disabilty" with his continual adventures and expeditions after suffering a severe brain injury during a climbing accident.

This podcast is a fascinating insight into adapting and using outdoor equipment for high altitude traverses, desert crossings, rock climbs and navigating that most extreme of environments - the airport. Full of dodgy humour and some gruesome descriptions of blisters, listen in to Paul's adaptive life...... and why he's looking forward to someone stealing his car.

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

Joe Brown's and The Climbers Shop are proud to stock all of Paul's books:
Search Results Page (climbers-shop.com)

Paul's Films:
The Journey: An Award winning film from Griffon Media about Paul Pritchard's recumbent trike 'pilgrimage' to Mount Everest. Accompanied by Carol Hurst the ride took them on 1150km across the Himalaya from Lhasa to Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp.

To The Rainbow: Paul Pritchard climbing The Rainbow Slab with Johnny Dawes. To The Rainbow is a Bamboo Chicken Production.

Larapinta Adaptive Traverse: The "Lowest To Highest' all-abilities team attempt to  traverse the whole 237km spine of Tjoritja/West MacDonnell Ranges on the challenging Larapinta Trail.
Paul is also recording the Larapinta Podcasts

The Mountain Path A video introduction to Paul's latest book. Watch and Read!

Rite Of Passage: In his first film 12 year old Eli Pritchard takes his disabled dad, Paul to the Himalaya. Together they climb a peak. A simple coming of age story of a boy becoming a man.

To learn more about Paul: Paul Pritchard

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Cathy & Wayne are joined by Rab athlete Jon Gupta who has a wealth of experience climbing and guiding the worlds highest peaks - so many, in fact, just listening to the intro is exhausting!

Kick back and join in the mirth as this chat offers a rare insight into life at high altitude and how little bits of kit and experience can make all the difference to being successful on a major expedition. Vital tips such as why you should never put your down suit on for the first time at 7000m, what is the ONLY eating implement you need, the importance of pillows, what type of deodorant works at altitude and just what is the mysterious item that always appears at the bottom of a pan of freshly melted snow?

With thanks to Rab for making this podcast possible.

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

Joe Brown's and The Climbers Shop are proud to be pro stockists of the Rab range and have a wide range of expedition clothing and footwear in stock.
The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown Shops | Outdoor Clothing & Equipment UK (climbers-shop.com)
Learn more about our Expedition Event: Expedition Event 2022 Round up — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)
Expedition Tips: https://www.joebrownoutdooracademy.com/knowledge-expeditions
Climb with Jon: Home // Mountain Expeditions (mountain-expeditions.co.uk)

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Cathy and Wayne are back to talk about the humble hat and the many headwear items designed to protect your head from the cold, the heat, the sun and vicious biting mcbeasties.
What fabrics work well, what features should you look out for, why is a hat so important, does a hat define who you are, when would you want to wear one under a hood, why did Wayne look like a member of the French Foreign Legion while running the Marathon des Sables and does Cathy really have a collection of fascinators?
All this and much, much more to help you remember to protect your head in every adventurous situation.

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Wayne Singleton is swimming the coastline of Cumbria for Brathay Trust

To learn more about this weeks topic click through to:
See The Climbers Shop and Joe Browns full headwear range here
For tips on how to keep warm in the mountains click here

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Cathy and Wayne are joined by Scarpa UK Core Sales Director Glyn Padgett to discuss what sets mountain boots apart from regular walking boots.
Learn the difference between B1, B2 & B3, why stiffness is critical when using boots with crampons, why size matters (even more than usual), why you shouldn't get the hump with gaiter zips, why it's not just materials that make a boot vegan friendly, amazing aftercare and the bizarre link between the boots on your feet and a famous Irish dry stout. All this and some serious tittering over lubricants!

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Community Action Nepal

To learn more about our FREE Expedition Event please click here:
Expedition Event - Capel Curig 29th - 30th October — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)
To learn more about this weeks topic please click below:
Technical - SCARPA UK
What is a B1 or B2 boot? | ISM (alpin-ism.com)
Need to buy Mountain boots? The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown Shops | Outdoor Clothing & Equipment UK (climbers-shop.com)
Want to know more about kit? Footwear — The Joe Brown Outdoor Academy

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Cathy and Wayne are joined once again by World Extreme Medicine Joint Medical Director Dr Will Duffin as they tackle the murky world of water purification and how to keep healthy in the wilderness.
Learn the difference between filtration and purification, understand the different types available and why there are so many, how to choose your water source, why it's not just drinking water that needs to be pure, why you should consider carrying a form of filtration to use in the UK and how you can get clean water to drink without spending any money at all!
Not necessarily a podcast to listen to while you are eating; there is lots of discussion about "travellers tummy", the curious ability of a sheep to die in a water source, how drinking your own sweat can get you out of a sticky situation and, in the type of magnificent random deviation that you can only experience on Outdoor Gear Chat: a rather terrifying description of how easy it is to die in your own tent.

A note on using chlorine tablets during pregnancy:
"As a general rule it appears most chlorine-based products are considered ‘safe' if used at recommended concentrations. Having said this, as with all medicines in pregnancy, there is very limited good quality evidence and uncertainty remains. It’s important that the risk of harm from chemical treatment is balanced with the risks of water borne diseases in pregnancy. In my view, whilst chlorine-based products are probably ok, filtration and boiling should be preferred options while we await more definitive answers from the scientific literature. Always refer to manufacturer's instructions." Dr Will Duffin

Listen, learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Community Action Nepal

To learn more about our FREE Expedition Events please click here:
Expedition Event - Capel Curig 29th - 30th October — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)
To learn more about this weeks topic please click below:
World Extreme Medicine: Pioneering Remote Medicine
Worldwide Expeditions — The Joe Brown Outdoor Academy
To buy from our range of purifiers and filters click below:
Water Purification And Treatment Camping | The Climbers Sho (climbers-shop.com)

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Climber, Alpinist, Himalayan Mountaineer, International Mountain Guide, and Award Winning Author Andy Cave joins Cathy and Wayne to talk about life before Gore-Tex, ye olde plastic boots, fibre glass ice axes, layering, sweat management, why feathers are fab, glove choices, harness culture (yes, it is a thing!), why paying extra for a dry treated rope is well worth it and just when is it okay to use modern ultralight running kit in the mountains.
Learn about layering in action, what to think about when buying kit and, in what is possibly THE most spectacular random deviation of the series ever: the marvels of victorian engineering which run underground between Thirlmere in the Lake District and Manchester.
Andy is part of the Rab sponsored athlete team and has a huge experience of using their full range while pushing climbing to the limit on bold new routes in the Alps, Alaska, Patagonia and the Himalaya. He also hosts Rab's podcasts: The Mountain People Podcast - Rab® UK

Listen ,learn, laugh and if you are able, please consider donating to our chosen charity: Community Action Nepal

To learn more about our FREE Expedition Event please click here:
Expedition Event - Capel Curig 29th - 30th October — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)
To learn more about this weeks topic please click below:
Speaker, Coach, Mountaineer, Author | Andy Cave
BBC Radio 4 - Andy Cave's Expedition Underground
To buy Andy's award-winning books:
Learning to Breathe - Andy Cave (climbers-shop.com)
Need to buy kit for your trek? The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown Shops | Outdoor Clothing & Equipment UK (climbers-shop.com)
Want to know more about kit? The Joe Brown Outdoor Academy