Paramo Repairs - top marks (almost)

Paramo clothing is one of those subjects that seems to split the (UK only ?) outdoor scene and I'll happily own up to be being on the positive side - at least for UK Winter use.  I have a Paramo Aspira smock which I think is the best thing ever for being out in the UK mountains in Winter ...but this is not a review of the Aspira or Paramo clothing in general (maybe a later blog) but of their repair service.

One of the things often quoted by hopeful salesmen is that garments damaged in the field can be sent back to Paramo who will repair at a reasonable cost.  After 3 years of winter use my Aspira, whilst still functioning well, was beginning to show signs of the abuse I give it, with small rips on the shoulders (from shouldering skis), the back and the pocket, which had been repaired with a combination of gaffer tape and gore-tex patches.  So, I decided to give it a treat and try out the service in advance of this winter.

I went onto the Paramo website and found the instructions, printed off and completed a form to describe the damage and sent it off as instructed.  I also added a note asking if they could put reinforcing on the shoulders to protect them from the skis.  Whilst guideline prices are quoted on the website, the first thing Paramo do is send back a formal quote which has to be accepted by phone before they proceeed.  With my quite came a little note saying they could do reinforced shoulders and even provided a material sample for me to check.

Once the quote was confirmed came the least satisfactory part of a somewhat clunky process - the wait.  I was quoted over 2 weeks which was ok, but it took over 4 weeks in the end.  I did receive a phone call just after the due date, apologising and saying the smock would be back within a week, but it was a further 2 weeks before it finally landed back on my doorstep.

However, once I opened the package and checked it out,any feelings of dissatisfaction evaporated as a I surveyed my repaired Aspira:

• The rips are repaired by replacing the whole panel, so in my case I have a new back panel, two new shoulder panels and a new pocket. 
• Best of all, the shoulder panels are in the reinforced (black) material which is tougher than cordura and give my garment a customised look:-)  
• The garment had also been properly washed and re-proofed.
• Apart from a few general wear marks and the slightly brighter new material panels, it could almost have been a new garment !

So how much did this cost I hear you ask, surely not cheap ? Well, it cost £60 all in from Paramo (inc return postage) plus about £5 for me to send it to them which I think is a bargain for the quality of work and the new lease of life it has given my Aspira.  I now also have confidence that as I keep abusing it, I can get quality repairs at a great price and it will last for years.

So in summary: 

Pros:

• My Aspira feels almost like a new garment, due to the quality of the repairs.
• Customisation is possible.
• Great price.
• Adds value to the whole Paramo concept.

Cons: 

• The process of printing off and snail mailing things back and forth is a bit clunky in this day and age, and the time-frame of over 6 weeks feels a long time, so make sure you aren't going to need your garment for quite a while when you send it off.

The pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion and I wholeheartedly recommend the service, but if they could tighten up the process and timing it would be perfect !

Gear Review: Low Alpine Alpine Attack 35/45

I am aiming to publish some occasional reviews of some of my favourite items of kit, hopefully around one per month depending on commitments.  By their very nature they will probably be positive (clue in the word ‘favourite’) although I may also comment on items that I bought that just haven’t worked out as they should.   

All reviews are personal opinions and don’t mean that other items out there don’t work just as well.  I am not paid to endorse anything and don’t get any equipment provided to review, so I don’t have the luxury of trying lots of different options.  However, what you do get is personal experience, built up over time, of a particular item so you can use it or not, as you wish J

I have already done an initial review of the Garmin fenix GPS watch and am building up my experiences of it and a ‘snagging list’ which I will use to provide an update in the near future.

Next in the series is my trusty sack, a Lowe Alpine ‘Alpine Attack 35:45’.

Note, mine is the 2010 version, I believe the 212 is basically the same.

I can sum up this pack and why I like it in a few short sentences:

It a great size – I can make this work as daypack for a walk in the hills, a full winter day of technical climbing or an overnight mountaineering expedition. 

It just feels right on my back.  It is very comfortable even when heavily packed and its own weight at around 1KG is not onerous.

It seems to take whatever I throw at it without complaining and without , as yet, failing in any way.

I have other packs, but this is my ‘go to’ pack even when it is probably a bit overkill. The only time that I don’t use it is when I need to carry more than its literage can cope with, which is generally only on multi-day self sufficient expeditions - in which case, I use my other trusted friend, a BOD Thin Ice.

The next paragraphs are a slightly more in-depth look at the pack and its features:

• Great size:  The 35/45 combo just seems to work really well.  I know this is not a feature unique to this pack but to does seem to be generous on size compared to other packs of the same nominal literage.
• Decent balance between lightweight and robust: just over 1KG standard, can come in at around 850g with bits removed -  but is very robust thanks to the use of dyneema ripstop and a reinforced base and pockets.  Mine is still going strong with only a minor stitching issue on the upper draw-cord in 2 years of very regular use.

• Good shape: nice and neat on my back without restricting arm movement and not to high over my head.  
• Compression straps are well placed and work well for both stabilising the sack and holding items such as poles, axes and skis in place.
• Two outer pockets are made of particularly rugged material so hold my axes or poles without ripping or puncturing and can be used for sliding the lapstrap into and out of the way when climbing, a feature I use regularly.
• The lid straps and shape mean its works well in a variety of ways – its extends well when the rucksack is stuffed full and will accommodate my rope sitting on top of a very full pack but it will also fold into my sack and be held properly by the drawcord when the pack is half full (e.g. when climbing) to reduce profile. It can also be removed completely quite easily though I almost never bother because of the previous mentioned capability and because I like to use the lid pockets which are also a decent size and incorporate a clip within the outer pocket.
• The strap on the top of the pack (under the lid) works well for keeping my rope or crampons safe on the top whilst letting me get into the pack without loosening it.
• The single lid closure buckle and the mechanism are great for speed and efficiency with gloves on.
• The lapstrap seems a good balance between comfort and weight and the clips are still doing fine which has not been the case with my two previous packs at this stage of their life.
• The back is lightly padded and vented and I tend to use it with the light stiffening frame and sheet/bivi mat left in place, though it can be removed to save weight.  Both ways seem pretty comfortable but the extra stiffness just makes it easier to pack, unpack and generally grovel around within it.  However, without it, as well as being lighter, the pack will roll up and stuff inside someone else’s if you plan on climbing with only one sack.  One minor point, I think the term bivi mat is a bit of joke here for a bit of 5mm foam measuring 52 x 22 cm, but maybe I’m not hard enough ?  It is also not that easy to get at or replace once out on the hill so I could never imagine using it as a ‘bivi mat’.
• The slightly funky axe retention system seems to be a bit of a marmite thing – like it or hate it.  I actually really like it within certain parameters:

it’s great for a long walk in when you know you won’t need your axes for quite a long time.  It holds the axes firmly, snugly and safely against the pack and is IMO much better than the traditional loops.

It works well with my BD viper axes , which is what the system is advertised with, but not so well on older / more traditional shaped axes.

You can store skis very securely as sell using the webbing system.  I’ve only done a bit of ski touring with it so far but what I did was fine and much better than the standard compression strap option of my old sack.

It takes a bit of getting used to when you are opening and closing your pack as the tensioning system is part of the pack closure strap – open the pack and the axes go floppy on the pack.  In reality I didn’t find this an issue once I was aware of it.

‘You Tube’ clip of the system in operation, including skis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4zoaJDrI-I

That said, I would always chose to stow my axes with the compression straps and/or behind my shoulder once onto ground where I might want to use them, so this system is not a clincher for me either way.

There are a number of more professional reviews of this sack, and informal forum chat, some of which you can find below:

• Big brother, The 45:55 version on UKC: http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=4211
• Outdoors Magic (2012 version) http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in---lowe-alpine-alpine-attack-3445/9616.html
• http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=457195

(My) Winter has started ...

And what a great way to start !  On Monday evening one of my partners in crime, Ian got in touch to say he could take a couple of days off to take advantage of the cold spell and likely weather window in Scotland we have both been watching, so there and then we made a plan to go up on Tuesday night, do the Aonach Eagach ridge on Wednesday and then decide on where to go Wednesday after that, with the am of trying to get on skis for a day.

So after the usual faffing by me and baby sitting duties by Ian we eventually set off at about 8.30pm Tuesday night and drove straight up to Glencoe, getting there a little after 2 am and kipping down in the camper van for a few hours before getting up at 7.30am and setting off up Am Bodach at about 8.30 am - phew !

Day 1:

Despite the lack of sleep it was impossible to feel tired on a beautiful crisp, but sunny morning and what looked like a a good covering of snow higher up.  We set off in the morning shadow but hit the sun just as we hot the snowline at about 600 m. The ascent is a fairly steep haul of around 800M, which we achieved quite quickly, catching a couple of pairs ahead of us just at the summit, one pair being an instructor/client combo. Apart from a lone walker at the far end, these were the only people we saw all day !

At this point we geared up with an acceptable amount of faff given it was the first outing of the season, I realised that I had forgotten to put a charged battery in my camera (hence no pics !) and the fun began immediately with the tricky descent of the chancellor. The weather conditions were superb, blue sky, sunshine and great air clarity, though a light northerly wind quickly drained warmth when stationary.
  
The conditions underfoot however, were quite tricky - a good covering of unconsolidated snow to hide holds, placements and protection options, any turf was semi frozen so unreliable.  All in all, this made the route quite tricky and delicate without ever being very technical.  After managing to overtake the instructor (who kindly let us though) we made good progress to Meall Dearg and on to the Pinnacles. This is definitely the trickiest part of the traverse, quite exposed and delicate in the conditions and our progress slowed, though we kept moving together for all put a couple of short sections - in fact we never placed any gear apart from slings on the whole route.  After what seemed like an age with one tricky down-climb after another, we cleared them and headed onto Stob Coire Leith. It was now past lunchtime and we were both starving, but we decided to get to Sgorr nam Fiannaidh before eating.  

On reaching the summit we found some shelter just below on the south side from the now fresher north wind and tucked into a well earned lunch at around 2.15 PM, relaxed now the main event was finished and pretty satisfied with our progress.  We chose the long descent via the col with the Pap of Glencoe and into Glencoe so that we could ensure we got a taxi back to the waiting van - this proved to be a bit tedious in the fading light and bracken particularly as we succumbed to our usual trick of trying to avoid using headtorches, before bowing to the inevitable in the end.  However, we made it down in one piece tired, but well pleased with the day. 

The taxi duly arrived and after being dropped back at the van, we retreated to the Clachaig for dinner with celebratory drinks and tried to stay awake until a respectable time to go to sleep !
Day 2:
During the previous evening we had managed to say awake long enough to determine our objective for the following day - a trip up Ben Lawers. Neither of us had been up it at all and were (rather hopefully) taking skis in the expectation of enough snow to practice some skinning and a bit of downhill action.  The day was again superb and this underestimated group of hills looked majestic with a good snow covering.  The car park at around 500m gave some relief from the uphill metres and in fact the ascent was quite gentle to the point where we could gear up with skis & skin up to the col at the head of coire Odhar.

We then undertake quite a tricky traverse round the north slopes of Beinn Ghlas, with quite a lot of unconsolidated windslab breaking off at points (evidence of the previous south westerly winds) to the col below Ben Lawers where I ditched my skis for the shortish but steep haul to the summit. Ian carried his skis to the summit hoping for a ski down at least part of it, which he got though it didn't look that great ( I was able to run/glissade down faster) and was clearly above my ability.  

We then had a really good, rapid skin up to the summit of Beinn Ghlas followed by some limited and sketchy skiing before I gave up and walked.  Ian being a superb off piste skier had quite a bit more success but is was never smooth or flowing for any length of time.  we complete the day with the remaining walk out, getting back to the van and a brew just after sunset. Despite the lack of real skiing on my part still a great day out and lots of skinning practice :-)  All that remained was the 6 hour drive home,trying not to get depressed that we weren't staying longer, but Ian had to be in work on Friday and I had a house to empty by the end of the week-end !