With Christmas just around the corner, now's the time to start thinking about gift for that outdoorsy person in your life. But where do you start, haven't they already got everything? Do you, like us, want to give something practical that will fulfil a purpose? Our gift suggestions cater for some of this uncertainty and they do say that 'you can never have enough good kit...'
Independent retailers like us are free to pick the best stuff. We are wedded to stocking practical gear that's useful to our customers in the hills. We don't really do gifty stuff but here's our take on what might be good to gift to fulfil a purpose too…
SOCKS
Yes, socks are the stereotypical Christmas gift. However, in our opinion there are some very good reasons for this. We feel that our sock brands are the best out there. They are made by sock companies - brands set up to make good socks. They are technical and performance-orientated and come with hard-won reputations for durability, performance and comfort with plenty of customers. Knowing our sock brands as we do, we can't think of many better gifts than socks to give comfort and joy to all!
Our Sock section on the website is here (PS - all socks feature in our 4 for 3 offer!)
Lighting
We stock only great headtorches! Practicality means headtorches leave both hands free to balance, navigate and they point where you are looking. We stock the most acclaimed brands for outdoor and trail use. Headtorches have come on in leaps and bounds in terms of power and battery use virtually every year. Our brands run from headtorches for general outdoors use (lower powered ones with a wider beam for around camp and for back up use) to specific trail running and hill use (higher-powered for use on the trail). Light quality is more than just power levels and our brands give a broad spectrum of light that's much easier to see with and navigate by. Many of our head torches are not a fortune to buy and the upgrade will always be appreciated. It's well worth a look at our lighting section if you are thinking about a gift for an outdoorsy type of person…
You can find headtorches here on our website
Bottles & Flasks
For a relatively inexpensive gift, Bottles or Flasks are hard to beat. As per above, we stock the best brands - proven to last and take years of use and abuse. Whether it's a coffee cup that really keeps your drink warm into the hills or a flask that will take the bumps and still give you a steaming Cuppa in the middle of a long winter day, we have it all. Well worth a look are our standard bottles from Klean Kanteen and Nalgene - outdoors 'classics' that will take years of use…
If you want to look at Bottles and Flasks, they are here on the website
Hats and Gloves
There's a lot to choose from with Hats and Gloves but our ranges are focused on performance and comfort in the hills and there's a lot to go at. On the gloves side, alongside insulated, warmer gloves we stock a lot of waterproof gloves that are ideal for the challenging weather in the hills and can come in handy all year round. On the hats side of things, all are hats are fit for purpose - they vary in the warmth they offer but they are ideal for autumn, winter and spring in the hills and many offer foul-weather protection with waterproof linings and many more features.
Our Hats section is here and the gloves are here on our website.
Drybags and Storage
Always a solid choice for a gift, drybags and cases are sometimes overlooked but always appreciated in inclement weather and you can never have enough of them. We've stocked the ranges of bags and cases for a long while now and can attest to their effectiveness in Yorkshire weather all year and their durability.
Drybags and Storage are here on the website
Belts
A bit off the wall but we stock (we think) the best belt brand - Arcade. Stretch webbing belts with a low-profile buckle in slim (more suited to women's legwear) and regular widths. They are amazing - a massive upgrade on standard belts that come with many outdoors trousers and super durable. You can't go wrong with these!
Out belts are here on the website
Whatever you decide to go for, as always, we are here to answer your questions or call in our store - 7 days a week. Happy shopping