A new outdoors gift idea every day till the big one from the award-winning gear geek Updated daily and isn't it a bit late now?
Stuck for that special Christmas present for the hopeless
outdoor gear geek in your life? No wurries, in my Richard Gear Gear
Gift Guide Count Down To Christmas Special (gulp) I'm going to be
bringing you a new inspirational Christmas gift idea every day.
And as each one slips past and your desperation grows, just
remember the greatest gift of all is the gift of time, so if all else
fails, just buy 'em an alarm clock instead. Click here to see the
alarm
clock...
One Days To
Go...
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This is Ben Nevis, the UK's
highest mouse mat. Just be
careful you don't drop paper
clips down Five Finger Gully...
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Shame on you Christmas Eve and you're still doing your
shopping - desperate stuff. Can I help? Not really I'm afraid, but if
you'd got your garbage together a week ago, you could have copped the
ultimate computer/navigation geek's wet dream - and no, we're no
talking GPS...
Nope, what more could you ask for than a Mouse Mat lovingly
emblazoned with a choice extract from one of the Harvey's Superwalker
outdoor maps? Really. There's a choice of Ben Nevis, West Highland
Way, Edinburgh Holyrood Park - a bit cissy that - Scafell, Snowdon,
Grasmere and our local pile of bog Kinder Scout.
But it's too late now unless you're unbelievably flukey and your
local book or outdoor shop is open and just happens to have 'em in.
But hell, why worry - take the weight off your feet, give consumerism
a cheeky kiss goodbye and relax. You've earned it baby... Harveys
web site
Two Days To
Go...
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Petzl Tikka - take it away for 25
squid and
it weighs a mere 70g...
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Top Takeaway Torch
There are few moments more awful than getting back to your
tent in the middle of a Scottish winter houlie and being totally
unable to see the lovely chicken tikka massala takeaway you just
bought from the handily located Knoydart Tandoori. Hence the new
Petzl Tikka head torch.
Using a low power consumption LED bulb for battery life of about
200 hours, the Tikka is the definitive answer to whiling away
tentbound evenings without wiping out your batteries - reading,
curries, amorous activities, the Tikka is spot on.
Using three AA-size batteries, it weighs a mere 70g and costs just
25 quid or so making it an ideal down stocking filler. Beats the
fairy lights every time... Petzl
web site
Three Days To Go... Sort
of, does Sunday count? Maybe it's really four.
Weapon of choice
There can be only one mountain chocolate - and we're not
talking deep frozen Mars Bars or Ferrero Rochet. 'Ooooh, Mr Gear, you
spoil us with your contemptuous expert advice, you really do...' No,
there is only one confectionary product that the self-respecting
mountaineer would touch with a crumbling old Alpenstock and it's the
inimitable Toblerone bar. Shaped to look like a peakly mountain and
allegedly modelled on the Matterhorn, so watch out for falling rocks,
the classic Swiss choccy pyramid is packed full of almonds, nougat
stuff and healthy goodness... Yeah, and crisps are a valuable source
of minerals. So stop rationalising and eat it. As a special extra,
check out the official toblerone web site which carries useful
recipes including one for the ultimate alpine breakfast - Toblerone
fondue, yummy...
One last tip. Always buy the massive family-sized bar, it makes a
handy weapon in the post Christmas family massacre. A blow to the
nose with one of these'll take out the most obstreperous in-laws or
parents instantly. Toblerone
web site
Four Days To Go
...
What do you buy for the outdoor man or woman who has
everthing? Easy, splash out a cool 110 quid for one of Moutain
Hardwear's new Transition long-sleeved zip-tops and they'll be the
only kid on the block with a wind-proof baselayer. We're still not
sure whether it's the cats pajamas or something from the litter tray
- some days it rocks, others it feels clammy or not warm enough and
it needs some work on the seals at the cuffs, but hell, who wants to
worry about those little details when you can be a gear pioneer...
Mountain
Hardwear web site
Five Days To Go
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Very cool for cats…
but then again...
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When the bells toll they toll for you, especially on Boxing
Day morning &endash; no really &endash; which, of course, is when you
need your own Mini Expresso machine. Stick da coffee in the coffee
holder, water in the reservoir and put it all on your bedside camping
stove et voila, two minutes later, a brimming tin enameled mini-cup
of expresso awaits. How much? Not that much and you can buy it from
all good outdoor shops and presumably some bad ones as well. Best way
to go from pre-caffeinated to re-caffeinated in the wilds and a spot
on fit in the good old Christmas sock.
Six Days To Go
...
What better gift than the precious present of inspiration? Well, a
couple of million for starters, but for less you can shell out for WH
Murray's awesome classic double bill fo mountain literature
'Mountaineering in Scotland' and 'Undiscovered Scotland'. Bill Murray
was at the cutting edge of Scottish climbing before WWII and wrote
the books, from memory, on scraps of paper in a POW camp. It's an
incredible read, incredibly dry and sometimes hilariously funny, but
best of all, it simply makes you want to get out there, sharpen your
crampons and walk and climb north of the border. In a fit of
pre-Christmas uselessness, we don't even know if it's still in print,
but what the hell - it's a cracker...
Seven Days To Go
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Possible the least useful Buff
variation,
but then again...
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Want to give the endless Boxing Day board games a miss? No
problem, fill the family stockings with Buffs and away you go. The
Buff is a weird Spanish thing, essentially a stretchy tube of
wind-resistant material available in a wide variety of neat, nasty or
simply plain lunatic designs. It's actually surprisingly useful in
real life, but what you really, really want to do is tune into the
Buff web site (below) and check out the Buff variations - just follow
the diagrams - then make up some of your own. You can also use it to
strangle granny when it all gets a bit too much. What more could you
ask for? Also available in semi-fleece form - Polar Buff - for
strangling granny in colder conditions.
Buff
web site and Buff
UK web site
Eight Days To Go
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Festive holly not
included...
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Is that a rocket in your pocket are are you just pleased to
see me, er, Santa? Yes, for those terrible moments when the horrors
of Christmas cooking get just a little too much to bear, MSR's
exquisite new Pocket Rocket gas stove is just what you need for a
self-sufficient escape to the garden, along with a handfull of
sprouts and some matches.
It weighs in at just 119g including it's neat little red carrying
case - 84g for the stove alone - and packs down to a veritable
nothing in a plastic Toblerone-shaped case in festive red, the same
colour as Santa's beard after a carelessly-eaten rare-cooked steak No
prizes for guessing what the Gear family'll be cooking on this
Christmas then. Right, a brand new stainless steel Smeg
range...MSR
web site
Nine Days To Go
...
If the thought of shepherd watching their flocks by night makes
you go all sleepy and happy, then today's gift is for you (but only
if you pay for it of course). The Phoenix Glencoe sleeping bag is
relatively young, but the spec is top notch with 700+ fill power
goose down - mmmmm... goose - box construction and a whacky
hockey-style diagonal zip, plus in its 1100 guise it'll keep you
comfortable at minus 24 degrees C and alive at minus 35. But what
really clinches its place in the Gear Guide is that spangly metallic
finish. Tire of it on Boxing Day and you can simply shred the outer
and use it as tinsel. You know it makes sense... sort of. Phoenix
web site
Ten Days To Go
...
Just the thing to cover up the pointy little ears of the outdoors
pixie in your life, the Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap is an
enduring classic updated for the 21st Century with the retaining
strap moved so it sits just below the little nobble on the back of
your head. You do have a little nobble on the back of your head,
don't you?
The shell is made from waterproof, breathable Triplepoint Ceramic
and the lining is snugly festive Lowe Aleutian fleece. Mmmmm,
coooshy. The neat little hood has a wired peak and a press stud to
hold it up if you're not in the mood and those luvverly ear flaps
keep your lugholes beautifully warm. Even better, their
sound-muffling qualities make them ideal wear for a traditional
family Christmas.
Last but not least, little loops mean you can secure the strap
with a customised fastening of your own, red ribbons, shock cord or a
bijoux little gold chain. For the festive season, we recommend a
length of glam, glittery tinsel. The original and best and all for 27
quid. Lowe
Alpine web site
