New Adventure Site Hits Web

One launch that you may have overlooked in the steaming cauldron that was last weekend's OS Outdoors Show, was that of a new outdoors web site - Activ Pursuits.

So what is it? In their own words: 'more than a new online adventure magazine - it's a community of adventure enthusiasts, dedicated to adventure sports, travel and exploration.'

What really marks it out though, is that Activ Pursuits is a subscription-based site. In order to access the content, you need to stump up 25 quid (well, £24.95). In return they promise high quality adventure writing from both new and well-known adventure writers.

The editorial panel includes mountaineer and writer Stephen Venables - first Brit up the Kangshung Face - Richard Madden of the Telegraph, who specialises in 'Seas and Rivers' and adventure travel writer Paul Deegan.

There's a 'Site Tour' that gives you some idea of the sort of content you can presumably expect if you do take the plunge and subscribe, which includes an account by Venables of climbing the Eiger Nordwand in 1986: 'What a thrill to take one's first steps onto the wall! This must be what it feels like to walk out onto the centre court at Wimbledon or the stage of the Old Vic - hallowed ground.'

The trouble is that it's hard to get a real feel for the site from the limited content available for browsing and there's no trial subscription offer to allow a more extensive 'test drive'. And while £24.95 is competitive with paper magazine subscriptions, it's still feels like a lot of money in the context of a largely free-to-view web culture.

It's hard to know how many people will shell out for a full year's subscription to Activ Pursuits, but it's a brave move and we wish them well. Oh, one last thing, haven't we seen those orange strips somewhere before?

Take a look at Activ Pursuits.