Just thought I would feedback on two companies that have served me well in the last 24 hours. First is Alpkit who took my order at 13:48 yesterday. Two emails in about 30 minutes of that told me they were processing my order and then sending it out by my chosen service. Which leads me on to the second company. Royal Mail!!! Yes you are right. Royal Mail received the package from ALpkit some time yesterday and delivered it to me at work at 10:37 today. Less than 24 hours from my online purchase. It was on the standard first class. The point of this? Well no point really just to let you know I have a new stealthy 20 litrs gourdon drybag rucksack!! Just wanted to boast.
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Sorry but I like new kit. Anyone else out there use the Gourdon sacks? If there are, does anyone else want the 25 and 30 litre ones with the same style of bungee cords as the 20 litre one?
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 wow, that was a lot faster than my service from Alpkit. 12 hours to get the processing email, and another 24 before I got the 'its been sent email'
cant say about royal mail, because the sleeping bag was sent by some courier, which, despite the next day delivery promise, took two days to reach me.
but, I did like Alpkits customer service. They were very nice. Didnt keep the sleeping bag BTW. Looked very limp next to a ME that I think I am going to keep.
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 Sorry to side step the original thread topic!
PirateDani - Which of the ME sleeping bags have your finally decided on ? Cathy.
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 I use a 20l Gourdon, TTG, and never understood why they don't put the bungee cord on the larger ones. Having said that it would be pretty simple to fit your own. Bungee cord here. I've never had a problem with Royal Mail, either sending or receiving. Excellent service and cheap too. A couple of quid for a packet from London to the Scottish Highlands with a couple of days delivery time? Not much to complain about there 
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Well I sent a package from Skye to Liverpool and it arrived four days before a package from Lancashire with another courier service that is linked in someway called Parcelforce. Sean - how would you attach the loops through which the bungee could be threeaded like in the Gourdon 20l? If you undoo the seams how would you re-seal them? Not sure how to add bungees without compromising integrity. The feature that I think works wel on the 20l is the bungee. It threads through rubber loops made out of flat pieces stitched in. It is free to move as you tighten and loosen it. On top of that it goes around the side too. Good compression as well as holding stuff securely. Other simila bags such as the lighter Exped one only has bungees on the side. I prefer to attach waterproofs to the front of the sack. All in all the gourdon 20l works and I think the 25 and greater capacity ones need some more tweaking or at least those bungees adding.
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 Same praises, got a call monday afternoon from Alpkit about a small snag with my order (dry bag color, nothing important), tuesday morning the parcel was there. Almost always the case btw. I can't stant courier delivery, most companies are geared for business, they deliver 8-5, when you're at work, re-organsising is a hassle and the depot is always in some God forsaken place.
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Alpkit. I have made numerous (small) orders from them and almost always the goods are on my doorstep the next day. Excellent service, one of the best.
And I agree with MS that courier delivery is a pain. If I miss a Post Office delivery I know I can always just go and get the item myself a at convenient time. With a courier delivery I have to be in at their convenience, and they cannot specify exactly when that might be.
Cathy
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Most courier companies are set up to deliver in the morning and collect in the afternoon. Usually they work to routes which are often business centred. By that I mean the work one industrial estate then the next and so on. Often they pop in on regular customers just in case they have a package. Domestic deliveries are a pain because they are often away from these industrial estates so you can't tick off as many deliveries in a set time. Royal Mail is different because they also have routes but they have more throughput so are delivering in more properties (if not all of them) in all areas on their route.
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Sean - how would you attach the loops through which the bungee could be threeaded like in the Gourdon 20l? If you undoo the seams how would you re-seal them? Not sure how to add bungees without compromising integrity.
I'd just make some loops from some tough waterproof fabric and attach them with a couple of stitches. Doesn't need to be bomber, as you're only ever going to have a bit of clothing stuffed under it most likely. Blob of seam sealant to plug the needle holes and job's a good 'un with integrity uncompromised.
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TTG - I understand the courier delivery problems, especially in rural areas like where I live, but it doesn't make it a good option for those individuals on the receiving end.
I'm mostly happy to have parcels left on the back door step if I'm out, but the courier folks won't do that! (-my local Postie will even tho' he's not supposed to)
Cathy.
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Yup, nothing against courier company per se but not for domestic deliveries. I think one of the major ones has an evening option for such a market and that would be ideal for most of us 9 to 5ers but otherwise, my local sorting office is where I live and the postman either drops it with the rest of the mail or comes pretty early when I'm still at home. I was pretty cheesed off when Amazon dropped RM for most of their deliveries although the courier they use seem to have gone a bit wise and drops parcels without you being there too...(against their rules I think).
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I am a business and couriers vary from OK to "barge pole". You are completely dependent on the local delivery agent, who can often be a sub contractor of the main company. So it's almost impossible to predict which company will be reliable.
We live out in the country, so tend to be at the end of a driver's run. One particular company has several times claimed to try and deliver something and left a card. They always write "Brown door" as the distinguishing feature to identify the property. Needless to say they haven't left a card and have never even tried to deliver.
Our local postman is very helpful when it comes to leaving packages. However, he can turn up any time between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
Ian.
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TTG - I understand the courier delivery problems, especially in rural areas like where I live, but it doesn't make it a good option for those individuals on the receiving end. I'm mostly happy to have parcels left on the back door step if I'm out, but the courier folks won't do that! (-my local Postie will even tho' he's not supposed to) Cathy.
Agreed. They are not set up for domestic deliveries. That was what i was getting at. They like to go to small areas with a higher concentration of pick-ups and deliveries. Rural and even suburban areas are not good for them.
As far as dropping off a package on a front doorstep that is just too risky for them. Even dropping off at a neighbours. They would become liable if the recipient doesn't get it. You are lucky to live in an area where it is ok to leave stuff on your doorstep. I wouldn't want it on my doorstep, nor dropped with a neighbour. Not that I don't trust them of course. The other issue is that Postie does have legal responsibilities. He/she could get the sack if he was observed dropping items off on doorsteps particularly if it is a signed for package. The postie gets security checked and has to be cleared before he/she can make deliveries. The advantages of RM is mostly down to legal responsibilities namely they have to deliver to every property in the country (exceptions include violent dogs but only after something like 4 or 5 attempts to deliver and x number of letters and quite possibly several bite). They also make the money to cover this from junk mail. So ask yourself this, would you like a delivery to your rural house with junk mail or would you rather collect your post without junk mail? BTW the dog issue with Postuies really surprised me when I heard. They must be the only sector of the public which has to put up with dog bites. I know the dog is only defending its territory, acting within its instincts but the owner should be in control of the dog and ensure it is safely kept away from visitors. I just dislike irrresponsible dog owners and having postie friends who get dog bites a lot I really think that a lot of people should not have dogs at all. Some of them really nice and normally repsonsible people too just not as far as their dog goes then its irrational and its the postie who asked for the bite. Rant over.
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Anyway. What is the solution to couriers? Would you like the couriers to be able to drop off at your local post office so you can collect? Or would you like to nominate a post office that is more convenient? Then you'd have to recompense Post Office counters (or whatever that company is) for that. More cost. I think compromises abound in online purchases and the methods chosen to deliver. The big companies also have to think about volume too. They have to choose a big player and the deliveries can make a big contribution to their profit. I mean they have to pass those costs on to you. How would you like a bespoke delivery to you at a time you want? Then you find that costs more than the book you are buying so you nip in at lunch to your local waterstones and buy it there or order it then collect it a week or two later. Compromise. At least I'm happy. RM and Alpkit have done me good. That Gourdon in stealthy is a nice looking piece of kit. It is nothing special but it just seems to me to do what it is supposed to do. Carry a little bit of load and keep it dry. Can't ask for more really but I get it with bungees and elasticated mesh pockets accessible on the move. I love getting deliveries after good service. I still find myself lookng at BPL-UK hoping to find something cheap that I can justify ordering just to get the service and then receiving the goods with that short period of excitement after making the order online and then in a couple of days or even the next day when you are expecting it to turn up. That was one reason I am actually not 100% happy wiht ALpkit and RM. I wasn't expecting it til the day later. I missed out on that morning of excitement that you get on the day it is due to arrive. because it came the day earlier!! Small disappointment I know, and yes I am a big kid especially with gear.
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 RM is very good. It's unfortunate that for packages 2Kg or more they are really uneconomic, otherwise we'd use them even more. A service I'd like to see is delivery to, say, a local corner shop (typical open-all-hours sort of place), where the item can be held securely for easy collection by the end customer. I'm surprised someone's not tried it.
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 A service I'd like to see is delivery to, say, a local corner shop (typical open-all-hours sort of place), where the item can be held securely for easy collection by the end customer. I'm surprised someone's not tried it.
Well when you had a 'local' Post Office, before they cut them to the bone, you could do that.... 
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A service I'd like to see is delivery to, say, a local corner shop (typical open-all-hours sort of place), where the item can be held securely for easy collection by the end customer. I'm surprised someone's not tried it.
Well when you had a 'local' Post Office, before they cut them to the bone, you could do that....
They were never open all hours though. I even remember a general store that had a post office in it. The shop was open but the PO wasn't.
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I have the red 20l Gourdon and think its an excellent piece of kit. I've just took mine on a four day trek as a day sack (porters carried the big stuff) and it performed really well, especially when you consider its just the seating pad providing back support. I'm really happy with mine - and yes, I too wondered why the bungee's aren't on the larger versions.
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