Ellis Brigham held their first public gear testing day last Saturday in the worst possible conditions for testing waterproof jackets - glorious sunshine:-)
Ellis Brigham held their first public gear testing day last Saturday, based at their clearance store in Capel Curig, Snowdonia. It was a pre-book only affair, but anyone who'd reserved a place could test out a range of the latest Mountain Hardwear, Salomon, and Berghaus gear, including Berghaus Freeflow daysacs, Mountain Hardwear Cordillera Pants, and Salomon Mega Trek 6 LTR boots.
A hands-on approach ...
Those of you who associate gear testing with long drawn-out lectures on the inner workings of Gore-tex fabric (or indeed OM reviews on the subject:-) would have been in for a pleasant surprise. This was gear-testing of the hands-on variety. There were no school days moments of scribbling down notes on moisture repellancy and breathability. Instead, Ellis Brigham called in the services of four experienced guides, from Plas Y Brenin and elsewhere, to take us all out for a scramble up Tryfan in our test gear. We weren't complaining.
The options included grade one and three (/VDiff!) scramble routes, so all tastes were catered for. And just to put the icing on the cake - or the Nikwax on the leather - someone even managed to book the sun for the day - even in Snowdonia:-) Alas, this meant we weren't able to test out the latest soft shells or waterproof jackets from Mountain Hardwear - a sunhat and pair of shorts would have been more in order. Nobody was too disappointed though.
For anyone with navigation on their mind, a Garmin representative also came along with the latest GPS systems. After all, we wouldn't have wanted to lose anyone in the, erm, 100% visibility:-) (It all sounds a bit like the OM meet really ...)
A sunny day out
As the weather gods were being so kind, no one felt too obliged to talk gear all the way. Several other impromptu activities popped up on route, including the ritual jump between Adam and Eve on the summit of Tryfan. Mountain Hardwear-sponsored climber, Neil Grisham, was on hand to offer his tips, and a demo, to anyone wanting to give it a go...
And of course the views didn't leave us much to complain about ...
What's new at Ellis Brigham?
The latest news is that Ellis Brigham will shortly become the first UK stockist of Silkbody products. In case the name means nothing to you, that's a Kiwi brand producing under layers made from a combination of silk and wool. With the rising popularity of merino in the UK, we'll be interested to see how the combination of fabrics shapes up - watch this space for reviews. You can also check out the Silk body website for further information, or look out for their garments in Ellis Brigham stores from October onwards.
Ellis Brigham are also mulling over plans for future test days, perhaps even with a full weekend option available. They have a news page on their website where any revelations on the matter will no doubt appear. As usual, we'll keep you updated as well ...
