text:
Christmas Shopping - Last Posting Dates 2018
Avoid stress and order as soon as possible; that way we have time to sort out anything that the festive period throws our way.
Orders placed before 2pm Monday - Friday will go out the same day, however Royal Mail have let us know that our collection on Christmas eve (24/12/18) and New Years Eve (31/12/18) will be at 11 am.
Exceptions also include UK custom-made products, so if in doubt check with us before ordering. Don't forget we offer 123 Day Returns (Free postage in the UK), so don't worry if you order the wrong size!
Emails and phones are open on Christmas Eve but will be closed Christmas day, Boxing Day and New Years day.
UK Inland Service
This is the one that will effect most people as it includes UK inland destinations.
Thursday 20th December - Royal Mail 48 and 48 Tracked
This is the last day where you can get our standard 48 hour delivery.
Friday 21st December - Royal Mail 24 Tracked
This is the last day you can use our £6.00 Special Delivery/ Post Boost option for deliveries within the UK.
Friday 21st December - Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed
Oh dear you are down to the wire.. If you order before 2pm we will ship out the same day for a next day pre 1pm delivery. Remember someone will have to sign for it and not all areas in the UK are actually next day. Checkout which postcode areas are next day on the Royal Mail website.
Parcelforce Deliveries
For large items such as bike frames, double dozers, and bouldering mats.
Thursday 20th December - Parcelforce express48 large
This is the last day that you can use our standard delivery for large items.
Friday 21st December - Parcelforce express 24 large
Woah there, you are really living life on the edge! This is the last day that you can use our next day delivery for bulky items.
International Standard:
Tuesday 4th December
Africa, Middle East
Friday 7th December
Asia, Malta, Cyprus, Far East, Eastern Europe (except Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Saturday 8th December
Caribbean, Central & South America
Monday 10th December
Greece, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand
Friday 14th December
Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, USA
Saturday 15th December
Finland, Sweden
Monday 17th December
Austria, Denmark, Germay, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
Tuesday 18th December
Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg
Created: Nov 12, 2018
Gamma II Instructions
Introducing your new Gamma II, a feature packed head torch, with 88 lumens at full beam, perfect for trail running. The red LED is ace for night photography and maintaining your night vision, the green LED is perfect for map reading, and the white LED preserves battery life.
Change the Batteries
Twist the lid to open the battery compartment.
Insert 3 x AAA batteries as indicated on the inside of the compartment
Push on the lid firmly and twist to close the battery compartment.
- The battery life will vary depending upon the brand and freshness of batteries, recovery time, time the light has been switched on, temperature, and the setting used.
- Use good quality AAA alkaline batteries.
- Do not use rechargeable batteries. Using rechargeable batteries may invalidate your warranty.
- Do not attempt to push the battery lid directly, as it may put undue stress on the lugs.
Instructions for Use
Main Mode:
Click the button once to activate the full beam, click again to cycle through the settings:
High > Low > Flashing > Off
LED Mode:
Press the button for 3 seconds to activate the LED mode, this will turn on the small white LED. Press again to shimmy through the settings:
White > Green > Red > Flashing Red > Off
Rear Light:
Click the button once to turn on the read red light, click again to change the settings:
Full > Flashing > Off
- Do not shine directly into eyes.
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep your Gamma II clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements.
- Do not store Gamma with batteries inside for prolonged periods of time.
- Remove any moisture before storage.
- Store your Gamma in a dry place.
3 x AAA good alkaline batteries
|Li-Ion rechargeable
|NiMH rechargeable
|NiCd rechargeable
|NiZn rechargeable
Keep your Gamma II clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements. Clean head torch body using a damp cloth, remove the straps to wash them separately.
Ensure that the torch is completely dry, store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the torch does not work, check that the batteries have been inserted the right way around and replace if they are flat. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by batteries leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|Main High
|150 lm
|7 h
|Main Low
|70 lm
|18 h
|Main Flashing
|5mm white LED
|10 lm
|45 h
|5mm green LED
|7 lm
|45 h
|5mm red LED
|45 h
|5mm red strobe
|Rear full
|Rear flashing
Download the Gamma PDF instruction sheet.
Created: Jun 30, 2017
Sizing advice - slim-fitting
The Griffon is designed to be a slim fit, but is coming a bit slimmer than normal. If you prefer a looser fit, it's worth going for a size above what you normally would.
Created: Feb 18, 2019
Privacy Policy
This privacy policy sets out the type of personal data we may collect about you when you interact with us, how Alpkit will store and use that information and how we will keep it safe.
Protecting your privacy and your personal data is an important aspect of the way we create, organise and implement our activities on-line and off-line. Once you choose to provide us with any information by which you can be identified, then it will only be used in accordance with this policy.
For all of our services, the data controller is Alpkit Limited. Alpkit is a trading name of Alpkit Limited.
We collect data when you visit or interact with us online, instore, through social media, at an event, or when you contact our customer service team through any channel.
The types of information we collect and why we need it are as follows:
Type of information and why we need it
|Name, email and address details shared with us online, instore or at one of our events
|To deliver your orders To send you service information relating to your orders At your request, to let you know when an item is back in stock To send you marketing emails (only if you've opted-in) To send you marketing information by post For fraud prevention
|Payment details
|To take payment and give refunds where necessary. We do not store payment card details. For fraud prevention
|Your purchase history, your web browsing history and information gathered through cookies
|To fulfil your orders, provide customer service and handle returns So we may learn from what you like To send you personalised marketing emails (only if you've opted-in) To deliver you adverts elsewhere online. For example Facebook, Google Display Network.
|Your contact history with us online, instore, at one of our events, or through social media. For example when you phone with an order enquiry.
|To provide you with customer service and support
|Your device IP address
|To set your default options such as currency and language, To protect our website from fraud or malicious software
|The type of device you are using to access our website
|To improve your shopping experience by displaying our website in the best way for your device
|Your image and car registration on CCTV when you visit our stores
|For the security of our customers and Alpkit employees
|Information from publicly available sources. For example to confirm your postal address from your postcode
|To improve our understanding of our customers better
|Info you have given to a third party with permission to share with us about you
|To help us serve you better
|Survey responses
|To help us better understand our customers' needs and preferences
|Competition entries
|To acknowledge receipt of your entry, and notify you of results
We use most of the above data for our own internal analysis to help us better understand our customers, and how our customers use our website. We do this to offer you a better service and shopping experience.
We will never sell, distribute or lease your data to any third party other than those companies we work with in the normal course of running our business to fulfil your orders and provide you with a rich personal service and shopping experience.
When we share data we only share the minimum possible for them to perform their services. We share limited personal information with:
- Royal Mail, DPD, Parcelforce and DHL - our delivery companies
- SagePay - our payment service provider
- Facebook, Instagram and Google for targeted marketing whilst browsing the internet
- Campaign Monitor – our email provider
- Close Brothers Finance, who we use to offer our customers finance payment plans
- Cycle to Work Scheme Companies who administer the schemes allowing you to save on the costs of a bike by purchasing it through your employer
- Marketing, data insight and advertising agencies who we work with to run our business
- IT companies who support our website and other business systems.
You'll find details of how to change the way we use your data in the 'Your rights?' section below. More generally, if you don't want Facebook or other companies to collect or use information based on your activity on websites, devices or apps off Facebook for the purpose of showing you ads, you can opt out from all participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/) in the USA, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (http://youradchoices.ca/) in Canada or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/) in Europe. You can also opt out using your mobile device settings.
If you opt-in to receive marketing emails from us, we'll send you a few emails each week keeping you up-to-date with our latest news, products, offers and events.
In addition, if you've bought from us, we may use this information to send you emails about similar products that may be of interest to you. Some emails that we send will be based on actions that you take on our website, for example buying or viewing a specific product. We do this to enhance your shopping experience, and to help you find products which we think may be useful to you.
You can unsubscribe from receiving marketing emails from us at any time by:
- Clicking the 'Unsubscribe' link at the bottom of any of our marketing emails
- Contacting our customer service team
If you choose not to receive marketing emails you will still receive important order, delivery information and product safety details by email.
Like many other online retailers, we use a range of digital advertising networks and technologies to send our customers targeted adverts on other websites. The adverts you see will be based on information that we hold about you, and might include:
- Your purchase history
- Products you have viewed
By visiting our website and consenting to our use of cookies (see below), by shopping with us, or subscribing to our email marketing and consenting to our terms and conditions and privacy policy, you are agreeing to be served browsing-based advertising.
Cookies are in general edible and yummy, but in this case they are small text files which are created by your web browser when you visit a website. Every time you revisit the same website, your browser ret>rieves and sends the cookie to the website's server. Most websites rely on cookies for delivering the best visitor experience and there use ranges from analysing visitor behaviour (known as 'analytics'), personalising pages, remembering visitor preferences, managing online shopping carts, tracking people across websites and delivering targeted advertising.
We use cookies to improve your shopping experience by doing things like:
- Keeping your chosen products in your basket
- Sending you email reminders about products you've viewed or left behind (only if you've opted-in to receive email marketing from us)
- Analysing web page traffic to make sure that you and other customers can find what you're looking for easily
- When you first land on our website, we'll show you a message to let you know that we use cookies, and store them on your device. You can disable cookies within your internet browser settings.
Click to here to see our detailed Cookie Policy and list of cookies we use.
We may occasionally provide links to third party websites to help you find other relevant information. Such websites are not governed by this privacy policy, and we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst using it.
We will keep your personal information for as long as is necessary and solely for the purpose for which it was collected. For example we will keep personal data relating to orders for a minimum of 6 years to comply with our legal, contractual and warranty obligations.
At the end of that retention period, your data will either be deleted completely or anonymised, for example by aggregation with other data so that it can be used in a non-identifiable way for statistical analysis and business planning.
We have implemented security policies, rules and technical measures to protect the personal data that we have under our control from: unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification, unlawful destruction or accidental loss. All our employees who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of our visitors' personal data.
When it comes to your personal information, you have the following rights:
- The right to be informed about how we use your information
- The right to access any information we hold about you
- The right to correct any inaccurate information that we hold about you
- The right to request that we delete information that we hold about you
- The right to request that we stop processing your information i.e. using it for any or all of the purposes set out in this privacy policy
- The right to access your information in such a way so that it can easily be transferred from environment to another in a safe and secure way
- The right to object to, and opt-out of our email marketing at any time
- We try to ensure that our services are made easy for you to exercise any of these rights, at any time.
- If you have any questions or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us.
To fulfil international orders, some data will be passed on to companies within our delivery network who operate outside of the European Economic Area. As with all of our data transfer, this is carried out in a secure way and only the information needed to fulfil your order (e.g. name, contact details, postal address) will be provided.
From time to time, we may update our privacy and cookie policy to reflect changes in the way we provide our services to you, or in accordance with changes in data protection law. We encourage you to stay familiar with our privacy policy, but rest assured that If any significant changes are made, we will let you know.
If you have any questions about any changes we make, you are entitled to invoke any of your rights as set out above. We also encourage you to contact us.
We welcome all feedback, good or bad. If you:
- Have any questions about how we collect and use your information
- Would like a copy of the information we hold about you
- Would like to update or remove any of the information we hold for you
- Would like to exercise any of your rights explained above
- You can either phone us on 01773 417007, email us at email@example.com, or write to us at:
Data Protection Officer
Alpkit Ltd
Unit 12-14 Oak House
Moorgreen Industrial Estate
Engine Lane
United Kingdom
If you feel that your data has not been handled correctly, or you are unhappy with our response to any requests you have made to us regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office.
You can contact them by calling 0303 123 1113.
Or go online to http://www.ico.org.uk/concerns.
If you are based outside the UK, you have the right to lodge your complaint with the relevant data protection regulator in your country of residence.
This privacy policy was last updated on 26th April 2018.
Created: Jan 03, 2019
123 Day Returns
We hope you love your Alpkit product, but if you don't you can return it for an exchange or refund until up to 123 days after you placed your order.
Use the returns flowchart to find out whether you are eligible for a refund or exchange and how to do it.
Free UK Returns
Make sure you send a completed returns form with your item, we can't process your exchange or refund without it!
Using Free Royal Mail tracked service
Box up your unwanted products with an enclosed returns form, check that they are within the following dimensions:
- Boxes: less that 20 kg and smaller than 61 x 46 x 46 cm
- Tubes: less that 20kg and the length plus 2 x the diameter must not exceed 104cm, with the greatest dimension being no more than 90cm.
Is your parcel bigger than this? If so, contact us to organise a return.
Visit https://rm.alpkit.com to create your postage label, print it out and stick in on the outside of your parcel.
Pop to the post office to send your item. Ask for a Certificate of Postage upon sending. This proves that the Royal Mail has your item and helps you to make a claim if it gets lost. (For small items you can use a post box, but you won't get a certificate of postage).
Using Collect+ service (£4.49)
Box up your unwanted products with an enclosed returns form, check that they are within the following dimensions:
- Less than 10 kg and smaller that 60 x 50 x 50 cm
Is your parcel bigger than this? If so, contact us to organise a return
Visit www.collectplus.co.uk/alpkit to purchase your postage label, print it out and stick it on the outside of your parcel.
Find your local Collect+ store (there are 6,000 across the UK) on their website. The shopkeeper will scan your parcel and five you a receipt with your unique reference number on it. You can use this code to track your parcel's progress.
International Returns
Please contact us before sending your item back, we may be able to resolve the problem by email or phone.
Send the product back to us, don't forget to include a completed returns form (we can't process your return without it).
You are responsible for the cost of return shipping and any customs duties or taxes, unless you're using Paypal Free Returns.
Paypal Free International Returns
Paypal currently offers free return shipping for customers that have paid using PayPal. To find out more and activate this service, please visit the PayPal website.
Created: Nov 12, 2018
How to rewax your waxed cotton product
If you notice your waxed cotton pack isn't repelling water as it should (for example, the water isn't beading off), it probably needs rewaxing. Otherwise, we recommend rewaxing it every 12 months.
Cleaning wax cotton
First, make sure your pack is clean. If it isn't clean just sponge it down with cold water and brush it lightly to remove dirt or grit. If it's really dirty (these things happen!) hand wash it in cold water with Nikwax Tech wash. Don't dry clean or wash your waxed cotton pack.
Rewaxing cotton
Now your bag is clean...
Spray Nikwax Wax Cotton Proof onto the outer of the bag, paying close attention to the seams and area s of high wear. The waterproofing will look opaque and white, don't worry - it will dry clear!
Once you've sprayed the bag, rub the cotton proof into the fabric and remove any excess.
Buff the bag.
Let the bag hang dry in a well ventilated area, avoid humid places! It may take a coupld of days to completely dry.
Bob's your uncle! A rewaxed bag ready for your next adventure!
Can I send my bag somewhere to be rewaxed?
Yes! If you don't fancy rewaxing your own bag, you can send it off to Rewax and they'll do it for you. Head over to rewax.co.uk for more information.
Created: Oct 25, 2018
Where is my order?
The vast majority of our parcels get delivered on time without a problem, however from time to time - usually when you are going away on a trip or need that Christmas present on the 24th things can get a bit stressfull.
Please check your order confirmation email. It will include an expected delivery date, and if it was sent on a tracked service it will also include a tracking number.
Unless it was sent on a guaranteed service the due date is an estimate and Royal Mail will consider an item as lost after:
48 hour post: 10 working days after the due date
Special Delivery Guaranteed: 5 working days after the due date
International (EU): 20 working days after the due date
International (World): 25 days after the due date
Delays in customs
Occasionally international orders can get held up by the border authorities. In this case we should receive a request from the courier for further paperwork and we may have to contact you again for further information.
Created: Aug 29, 2018
Shipping Options
We aim to despatch all orders (with the exception of bikes and custom orders) placed before 2pm Monday - Friday the same day.
Free with orders over £15.00. Orders under £15.00, £2.49.
Small Items - up to 750 g and no larger than 35 x 25 x 2.5 cm
This is generally used for smaller items and should fit through your letterbox. No need to wait at home and no signature required, you'll find your goodies on the welcome mat when you get home.
Service: Royal Mail Large Letter - Target delivery time 2- 3 days from despatch*
Medium Items - up to 20 kg and no larger than 61 x 46 x 46 cm
If your order won't quite fit into a large letter but is under £65.00, we will usually send it through the standard parcel service. If nobody's home to take the delivery the postie will leave a note, you'll be able to collect the parcel from your local Post Office. If you know you won't be in you can request that the parcel is left with a neighbour. Just let us know in the notes field when you place your order, we'll pass your instructions on to Royal Mail.
Service: Royal Mail 48 - Target delivery time 48 hours from despatch*
Large and Bulky Items - up to 30 kg
Larger items such as Dozers and bouldering mats and bikes will be sent via Parcel Force 48. If nobody's home to take the delivery the postie will leave a note, you'll be able to collect the parcel from your local Post Office. If you know you won't be in you can request that the parcel is left with a neighbour. Just let us know in the notes field when you place your order, we'll pass your instructions on to Royal Mail.
Service: Parcel Force 48 - Target delivery time 48 hours from despatch*
* Even though the vast majority of our parcels will arrive within the target delivery window, these are not guaranteed services. If you need a faster service please consider the following alternatives to boost your post.
£2.99 selectable in the checkout.
Your order will be shipped on a 24 hour (not guaranteed service). If nobody's home to take the delivery the postie will leave a note, you'll be able to collect the parcel from your local Post Office. If you know you won't be in you can request that the parcel is left with a neighbour. Just let us know in the notes field when you place your order, we'll pass your instructions on to Royal Mail. There is an extra £6 charge for Saturday delivery.
Service: Royal Mail Tracked 24, Parcel Force Express 24 - Target delivery time 48 hours from despatch*
£6.00 selectable in the checkout.
For when time is of the essence, this paid-for service is available to most UK customers. Somebody must be in to sign for the delivery. The service is also postcode dependent, we advise getting in touch to check delivery speeds before placing an order if you live in the Highlands or across the sea. Small items are sent with Royal Mail Special Delivery and larger items are sent with Parcel Force, depending on dimensions. There is an extra £6 charge for Saturday delivery.
Service: Royal Mail Special Delivery (pre 1pm), Parcel Force Express AM
£12 selectable in the checkout.
Saturday delivery is not possible at some businesses including estate agents, banks, post offices, building societies and jewellers. Saturday guaranteed delivery is not available to Herm, Sark and Alderney. For the latest info visit the Royal Mail Special Delivery page.
We send small items using Royal Mail International. These will take 5-7 working days to arrive in most European countries, you will have to sign to receive the goods. Larger items, including crash pads, go by courier. For more information see our International Orders page.
We have no problem sending orders to BFPO addresses, however it is not guaranteed that we can despatch your order VAT free.
Within the EU: Please select United Kingdom as your country and BFPO as your county, order as normal using either the online store or telephone. If your BFPO address is eligible for VAT exempt sales you must email us a copy of the VAT exemption form signed by your CO. We will despatch the goods once we have received the form.
Outside the EU: If your BFPO address is outside the EU you will not be charged VAT. However, if it is not obvious that the destination is outside the EU, we will need a copy of a VAT exemption form signed by your CO. We will not ship orders until we have received this form.
The following BFPO addresses are subject to VAT – BFPO 6, 8, 15, 49, 105 to 150, 801 to 825 and all BFPO ships. All remaining BFPO addresses are exempt from tax under article 77/388/EEC. To meet the regulations imposed on us by the Inland Revenue you will need to post a copy of the exemption form to the address listed below. Customs & Excise in Rheindahlen have advised that this form can be obtained from most Messes or can found in SOBAG 5205 Annex C. As soon as we receive this form we will credit the Tax back to the account initially charged.
Created: Aug 29, 2018
Try Before You Buy - Sonder Demo and Bike Hire
You can book a free Sonder Bike Demo to test ride a bike at any of our stores and AKHQ, or alternatively you can hire a Sonder Bike for a day or longer to truly test it to its limits.
Interested? Contact us at HQ, Ambleside or Hathersage with the following info:
- The bike you would like to demo
- The size and build options you would like
- The date(s) you would like to demo
- Where you'd like to demo (home delivery or store collection)
- Your contact details
Once we have this information, we'll check availability and arrange a demo of a bike from our fleet that matches your ideal bike best. We'll then confirm details and take payment.
If you go on to buy any bike from us, we'll refund the rental cost.
Home delivery
If you opt for this service, you must pay for delivery and collection services, this starts from £30. Your bike is fully prepared by Neil or Liam. When you receive it the only thing you will have to do is remove the packaging, rotate the handlebars (allen key required) and you are good to roll.
- Standard 48 hr weekday service (ParcelForce) - £30
- Postcode Exceptions: The 48hr service is not available to all UK postcodes. Please check your postcode against these tables if your delivery is time critical.
- Saturday Pickup / Delivery - Contact us for details.
In all cases keep hold of the box and packaging as you will need that to return the bike.
Returning your Bike
We will arrange for our courier to pick the bike up from you on a pre arranged date.
We will have to put a hold on your bank card for the cost of the bike that you demo for the weekend. This is basically insurance that the bike will be returned; it is processed as a deferred payment in the SagePay secure payment system. No money is taken from your account, however, it does lock it in so that you cannot access those funds from when you call to make the payment to when the bike arrives back with us (usually around a week in total for a weekend demo). Once the bike is returned we abort the deferred payment which releases the funds for you. You can put the deferred payment on either a credit or debit card.
Created: Aug 24, 2018
I'm between bike sizes - which size should I choose?
If you're between sizes, we always recommend trying out the bike you want to make sure to get the one that's just right for you.
However, as a general rule, if you're between sizes with road and adventure bikes such as Colibri and Camino, you'll usually need to go up a size but opt for a shorter stem.
With mountain bikes, you will usually need to go down a size. However, this does depend on your riding style. If you like to be nimble, you'll want to go for the smaller bike. If you want stability, you'll want the larger bike.
We are able to build bikes with different stem lengths to tweak the fit for you - just let us know when you place the order.
Created: Aug 20, 2018
Product Instructions
Thrown away your instructions and struggling to get something working? perhaps you never read your instructions at all!! Here are some links to get you back on track.
Created: Aug 16, 2018
Why does this product contain DownTek and not others?
A great change is coming to Alpkit!
Not really, we're just changing which water repellent down we use. In fact, the hawk-eyed among you may have noticed that some of our down products use DownTek Water Repellent down, whereas others use Nikwax Hydrophobic. That's because we're currently changing over to DownTek down… so what's the difference?
In terms of performance, you won't see any change in your sleeping bag or jacket. Like Nikwax Hydrophobic, DownTek treated down absorbs less water than untreated down and retains loft in damp and humid conditions to keep you better insulated.
It's also Bluesign approved, PFC, PFOa and PFOS free, and uses RDS-certified down.
No drop in performance, less miles
The main difference is the distance your down has to travel before it gets to you.
Before now, our down has been plucked in China, shipped to Nikwax in Germany for treatment, shipped back to China for stuffing into bags, then shipped to AKHQ for us to send it out to you.
DownTek Water Repellent down is treated in China, which means it travels from China to the UK, and that's it. Hurrah!
As we sell through stock over the next few months, we'll be introducing more DownTek down into our range.
Created: Aug 14, 2018
I've received the wrong item, what do I do?
Panic!!! No not really, it's quite simple!
John and the picking team are generally the height of efficiency, but occasionally we all make mistakes.
If your Alpkit parcel does contain the wrong items, firstly we're sorry about the mix up - how embarrassing!
Option 1: If you would like to keep your incorrect item, please drop us a line and we can make sure our records are right for your Alpine Bond warranty and make any necessary price adjustments.
Option 2: If you'd just like what you ordered and no unintentional surprises, please send your mispick back to us using our free returns service and we will send out your correct item as soon as possible!
OR finally...
Option 3: If this whole ordeal has left you feeling bothered and in need of a lie down, you can send your incorrect item back to us (using that free returns service we mentioned earlier) and we'll refund the lot
Click here to find out how to use our free returns service
Created: Aug 14, 2018
When will you get your bike?
Under 'availability', you'll see 'Buy now', 'Sold out', or 'Building from...'
'Buy now' means the build and size is available - you can buy it now! Hooray!
'Sold out' means we're out of stock and don't currently have an ETA - we'll update the chart as soon as we do.
'Building from...' means your bike frame/components will be arriving in Neil's workshop on the date given in the availability table. Neil will be able to schedule in your bike to be built from (but not necessarily on) that date. Your bike should be shipped from HQ within 10 days of this date.
If this hasn't cleared things up for you, drop Bike Hero Rob message by filling in our contact form on the support hero page.
Created: Aug 06, 2018
Bike Frame and Build Weights
Welcome to Neil and Liam's table of bike weights!
Unfortunately we haven't been able to weigh all of the bikes just yet, so some of the boxes aren't filled in. Please bear with us, we'll get the weights online as soon as we know them!
T = Tubeless
|Transmitter Alloy
|NX1 Recon
|NX1 Revelation
|GX Eagle Revelation
|GX Eagle Pike
|XX1 Eagle Pike
|Transmitter Carbon
|NX1 Recon
|NX1 Revelation
|GX Eagle Revelation
|GX Eagle Pike
|Fork (uncut)
|Rigid Rumpus
|Rigid Hobo
|Recon Rumpus
|Recon Hobo
|Frame (+0.34 shock)
|NX1 Recon
|NX1 Revelation
|GX Eagle Revelation
|GX Eagle Pike
|Broken Road
|GX Eagle
|Camino Al
|Fork - uncut
|Apex1 Mechanical
|Apex1 Hydraulic
|Rival1 Hydraulic
|Camino Ti
|Fork - uncut
|Rival1 Mechanical
|Rival1 Hydraulic
|Force1 Hydraulic
|Frame and fork
|Rival22 TRP
|Rival22 Hydraulic
|Force22 Hydraulic
|Signal Ti
|NX1 Revelation
|GX Eagle Revelation
|GX Eagle Pike
Created: Aug 06, 2018
Will my new Pipedream zip to an older version?
If you have an earlier version of the Pipedream, unfortunately the zips are not compatible with current versions.
Created: Aug 03, 2018
Bike Luggage Size Charts
Click the link download the PDF size chart for our UK made bike luggage.
If it's the Rando weatherproof bike luggage that you've got your eye on, then click this link instead...
Created: Jul 20, 2018
Airlok Xtras have changed! Well, kind of…
Our Airlok Xtra, Dual, and Tapered dry bags are now lighter, with minimal sacrifice to durability. You'll find that they're more supple and less beefy than previous incarnations, but don't panic! They're still durable, protective, and as adaptable as they always have been: the same, but different!
Created: Jun 29, 2018
Hippo water filter instructions
Created: Jun 25, 2018
Trekking Pole Instructions
All Alpkit trekking poles use one of the following adjustment systems. Please follow the instructions that apply to your poles.
Snaplock Widgets
Extending and adjusting:
To open, hold the pole in one hand and use your thumb to open the Snaplock cam.
Extend or adjust to size before closing the cam again.
If the pole is slipping, you may need to adjust the Snaplock tension:
Open the cam, then turn the adjustment screw until the cam closes securely and without too much resistance. Do not overtighten, this can jam the mechanism or damage the pole.
Turn screw clockwise to tighten or anti-clockwise to loosen
Twist Lock
To unlock, twist the lower pole section to the left, extend or adjust to your requirements.
Twist to the right to lock back into position.
! Do not overtighten. This may jam the mechanism or damage the pole.
! Do not extend beyond the STOP line.
Occasionally the expanding widget may not lock on the inside of the pole. If this happens pull out the lower section. Make sure the widget is clean and dry. Twist the widget with your fingers so that it expands. It should be a snug fit when you insert it back into the larger pole. Twist to lock.
Quickwire Connectors
Adjust for length using the upper Snaplock mechanism.
Pull out the lowest pole section, allowing the connectors to slide into position until the locking pin pops out.
To fold, press in the locking pin and slide in the lowest pole section, this will give the internal wire the slack it needs for you to fold your poles them back up again.
Using the Straps
Put your hand through the bottom of the strap loop and pull the strap down by holding the grip.
Ensure that the straps are tight enough that your fingers land where they fit into the grip and you can hold the pole with a relaxed grip, but not so tight that the it cuts of the circulation to your hand.
To adjust the straps, pull the adjustment strap to release the stopper, adjust the strap length before pulling the strap loop to pull the stopper into place.
Sizing your poles
Size matters! On flat terrain, set the pole length so that the tip is touching the floor when your hand is in the strap and your elbow is bent at 90˚. When walking, your pole tips should be behind you, pushing your forward with the natural swing of your arms.
When ascending technical sections, shorten your poles so that they are at around 90˚ from the ground when held out at arm's length.
When descending, extend your poles and use them to brace to take the shock off your knees.
Incorrect Use
These poles are designed for progression and are not designed for the rigours of skiing or as medical crutches .
Carbon poles: Lower pole fractures may occur if the tip is lodged in cracks and a forward pressure is applied. Take care on rocky terrain (especially limestone pavements.
Care and Maintenance
Clean your trekking poles periodically, especially after use in muddy and wet conditions. To clean, pull poles out of pole sleeves before wiping with a damp cloth.
Allow poles to dry completely before reassembly and storage. Storing poles in wet conditions can cause parts to corrode, making adjustment difficult or impossible.
Release Snaplock before storing for a long time.
Check your poles regularly for dents and cracks that may prevent adjustment or weaken the pole.
Oil any screw threads periodically.
Created: Jun 18, 2018
Does the Hydra Wallit float?
It says on the website that your Hydra Wallit floats, but the instructions say it doesn't! What's the deal with that?
Don't worry, your Hydra Wallit does indeed float, unfortunately we fluffed a little and said that it doesn't in the instructions... Sorry for the confusion!!
Created: Jun 04, 2018
Top Tarp Tips Part 6 - Plough Point Shelter
A fast and light shelter using just 3 pegs, some cord, and your trekking pole. Plough Point is easy to set up, gives great ventilation and leaves you with bucket loads of headroom (especially when you're using an extra-long CarbonLong pole).
Step 1: Tie Fredd cord to one of the corner tie down loops.
Step 2: Lie the tarp flat on the ground where you want it and peg out the other three corners.
Step 3: Raise the fourth corner using your pole, insert the pole tip into the rig point and tension by pegging out the Fredd cord that you tied on earlier. A longer pole (like the CarbonLong) gives you more headroom.
Pro Tip: Pitch away from the wind for the best protection from the elements.
Created: Jun 01, 2018
Fitting the Exo-Rail system
This PDF includes instructions for:
- fitting the Exo-Rail system to your seat
- attaching Exo-Rail compatible seat packs
- attaching non Exo-Rail compatible seat packs using the Lumpa harness.
Created: May 25, 2018
Cookie Policy
When you first visit our website you will see a notification that we set cookies on your computer. By continuing to use our website you are accepting this. Once you are fed up with this notification you can turn it off by clicking the 'Got It' button.
Cookies are in general edible and yummy, but in this case they are small text files which are created by your web browser when you visit a website. Every time you revisit the same website, your browser retrieves and sends the cookie to the website's server. Most websites rely on cookies for delivering the best visitor experience and there use ranges from analysing visitor behaviour (known as 'analytics'), personalising pages, remembering visitor preferences, managing online shopping carts, tracking people across websites and delivering targeted advertising.
We use cookies to improve your shopping experience by doing things like:
- Keeping your chosen products in your basket
- Sending you email reminders about products you've viewed or left behind (only if you've opted-in to receive email marketing from us)
- Analysing web page traffic to make sure that you and other customers can find what you're looking for easily
- When you first land on our website, we'll show you a message to let you know that we use cookies, and store them on your device. You can disable cookies within your internet browser settings.
- Our cookies do not store sensitive information such as your name, address or payment details.
You can choose to restrict, block or delete cookies from this, or any other website, however you may notice a loss in website functionality. You can do this from within the settings of your web browser. Please check the 'Help' menu of your particular browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.
The following cookies are set when you visit our website.
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Created: May 01, 2018
Love Mud Wheels: 60 Day Test Ride
We know that our wheels will keep you rollin' mile after mile with a smile on your face… But we figured we'd give you 60 days to really make your mind up about them anyway.
Head over to our 60 Day Love Mud Wheel Trial stickie for the details.
Created: Feb 22, 2018
60 Day Love Mud Wheel trial
We know that our wheels will keep you rollin' mile after mile with a smile on your face… But we figured we'd give you 60 days to really make your mind up about them anyway. If you haven't bonded with your Love Mud wheels at the end of the 60 days, you can send them back for a refund. We'll even pay for the return shipping (UK customers only).
A few T&Cs to get out of the way first though…
This offer does not apply to Juice hub builds or wheelsets purchased as part of a full bike build.
60 day returns offer starts from the day of delivery.
Wheels must be returned clean, free from dings, and in their original packaging, damage to a returned product caused by improper packaging may disqualify the returned product for return.
We cannot refund wheels that have suffered rim damage due to hard impacts or other severe crash damage. In cases of severe damage, you may qualify for our accident replacement scheme.
If you do choose to part with your Love Mud wheels
Contact email@example.com to book a collection via ParcelForce (for UK orders) or DHL (for international orders).
Unfortunately, we cannot cover the cost of international returns, you are responsible for the cost of return shipping along with any custom duties or taxes.
Created: Feb 22, 2018
Cabling Up a Sonder Evol
How does the Evol have such clean lines? We've tucked away the cables inside the downtube to neaten things up. At times, your cables may rattle. Don't panic, all you need to silence it is Sonder Bike Guru Neil's guide, a few zip ties (200 – 300mm), and a little bit of time...
1. Cable up your bike, getting everything to the right length and in the right position.
2. Detach your rear brake lever, shifter and dropper remote from the handlebar and slide the cables down inside the frame, pulling them out the bottom guide at the same time.
3. Get a fairly chunky zip tie (200-300mm is perfect) and pull it tight around all three cables about 2-3cm away from the exit port.
4. Cut the zip tie down so it's a little longer than the diameter of the downtube, about 7cm is perfect, this will make the zip tie push the cables tight against the inside of the tube.
5. Thread the cables and zip tie back up into the frame (about 10-15cm - depending on size) and fit another zip tie in exactly the same way.
6. Thread the rest of the cables and the second zip tie up inside the frame leaving enough slack around the BB area for the shock to compress without pulling them.
7. Refit the cable exit cover
8. Reattach the controls to the handlebar
9. Give your bike a few drop tests and check for rattles, it should be nice and quiet!
10. Go ride!
Created: Jan 02, 2018
Sleeping Bag Fitting Guide
How will you fit in your sleeping bag? We're all different shapes and sizes, which can affect on how we might use a sleeping bag in more extreme conditions.
We break sleeping bag fit down into three general categories: Spacious, Optimum, and Tight.
Thermal efficiency: There will be a bit of extra space in the bag, reducing thermal efficiency.
Fit: You'll have room to sleep comfortably and space to wear extra layers too.
Thermal efficiency: You are the ideal candidate for this bag.
Fit: You should be able to easily arrange yourself in the bag; you'll probably have space to wear a down jacket too if needed!
Thermal efficiency: You'll be slightly compressing the down, reducing the thermal efficiency, especially at the feet.
Fit: You'll have limited movement around your shoulders. You should be able to take your socks off in the bag, but may struggle to take off a layer without unzipping the bag.
Mountain Ghost
|Height: 5ft3
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft1
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
SkyeHigh Reg
|Height: 5ft3
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft1
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
SkyeHigh Long
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 6ft4
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft7
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
PipeDream Reg
|Height: 5ft3
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft1
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
PipeDream Long
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 6ft4
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft7
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
|Height: 5ft3
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft1
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
|Height: 5ft11
Shoulder circ.: 100 cm
|Height: 6ft4
Shoulder circ.: 125 cm
|Height: 6ft7
Shoulder circ.: 128 cm
Happy camping!!
Created: Dec 08, 2017
Store Repair Station Price List
Hole in your jacket? Gear needing a little pick-me-up? Drop it off at the store to be patched up by our repair team.
Down Jackets
|Small patch
|Large patch
|Any stitching
|£20 p/h (£10 minimum)
|£5 each
|Small patch
|Large patch
|Any stitching
|£20 p/h (£10 minimum)
|Any stitching
|£20 ph - (£10 minimum)
|Trousers taken up
|Any stitching work, custom builds or other work
|£20 ph (£10 minimum)
For more info, drop our Hathersage Store a line by phone or email.
Created: Dec 06, 2017
Sizing advice - Take the next size down
You guys are telling us that this batch of Filo jackets is coming up a touch on the roomy side. With this in mind we strongly advise you to take the next size down. So if you are normally a 12 please select a 10.
Created: Nov 27, 2017
Sizing advice - Take the next size up
You guys are telling us that this batch is coming up a bit snug. With this in mind we strongly advise you to take the next size up, so if you are normally a Medium please select a Large.
Created: Nov 27, 2017
Gamma 3 instructions
Introducing your new Gamma III, a feature packed head torch, with 180 lumens at full beam and an optional overhead strap that makes it perfect for trail running. Its red LED is ace for night photography and maintaining night vision, whilst the green LED is perfect for map reading and the white LED preserves battery life.
Download the Gamma 3 PDF instruction sheet
Thank you for purchasing the Alpkit Gamma III head torch. Please curtail your excitement and do not use this product until you have read, understood, and complied with all the instructions and warnings contained within this manual, even if you are a bloke.
The battery compartment is in the rear light. Slightly lift the clip (indicated by a battery icon) to open the battery compartment.
Insert 3 x AAA batteries as indicated on the inside of the compartment
Close the compartment, ensuring that the clip clicks back into place.
REMEMBER: The battery life will vary depending upon the brand and freshness of batteries, recovery time, time the light has been switched on, temperature, and the setting used.
! Use good quality AAA alkaline batteries.
! Do not use rechargeable batteries. Using rechargeable batteries may invalidate your warranty.
! Do not attempt to push the battery lid directly, as it may put undue stress on the lugs.
Click the button once to activate the full beam, click again to cycle through the settings:
High > Low > Flashing > Off
To turn the Gamma III off, press the power button once after 3 seconds in any setting
Press the button for 3 seconds to activate the LED mode, this will turn on the small red LED. Press again to shimmy through the settings:
Red > White > Green > Flashing Red > Off
To turn the Gamma III off, press the power button once after 3 seconds in any setting
Hold down the button to turn on the read red light, click again to change the settings:
Full > Flashing > 3Hz Flashing > Off
To turn the Gamma III off, press the power button once after 3 seconds in any setting
To attach the overhead strap:
Remove the main strap from the front and rear light on the cable-free side by squeezing it through the small gap.
Thread on one side of the overhead strap so that it sits in the middle of the rear light.
Reattach the main strap to the front and rear lights.
Attach the other end of the overhead strap to the top of the front light. · Job's a good'un, put it on your head and get cracking!
- Do not shine directly into eyes.
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep your Gamma III clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements.
- Do not store Gamma III with batteries inside for prolonged periods of time.
- Remove any moisture before storage.
- Store your Gamma III in a dry place.
3 x AAA good alkaline batteries
Alkaline Yes
Li-Ion No
Li-Ion rechargeable No
NiMH rechargeable No
NiCd rechargeable No
NiZn rechargeable No
Keep your Gamma III clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements.
Clean head torch body using a damp cloth, remove the straps to wash them separately.
Ensure that the torch is completely dry, store in a dry place.
If the torch does not work, check that the batteries have been inserted the right way around and replace if they are flat. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by batteries leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth. If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice
Bulbs: 1 x LG 3W Gen2 LED; 1 x 5 mm green LED; 1 x 5 mm red LED; 1 x 5 mm white LED
Main Light
High 180 lm 5.4h 70 m !PX4
Low 70 lm 45 m IPX4
Main Flashing IPX4
5 mm white
LED 10 lm 18 m IPX4
5 mm red LED 9 lm 20 m IPX4
5 mm green
LED 4 lm 13 m IPX4
Rear Light
Full IPX4
Flashing IPX4
Created: Nov 12, 2017
What is Polygiene?
Wear more, wash less: it's every busy adventurer's dream…
We apply Polygiene™ to garments so that they smell less with wear and need washing less between use: ideal for that multi day getaway (and you're doing your bit for the environment too).
Polygiene ™ is a silver based treatment that we apply during fabric production. The silver chloride prevents the growth of the bacteria that makes your clothes pong without interfering with the skin's natural bacteria flora, so it's comfortable and safe next to your skin. Polygiene ™ is bluesign ® approved (meeting the highest environmental standards) and lasts as long as your clothes do, so you'll never need to reproof them.
The catch? There isn't one! You can wear this garment day in, day out, and day back in again without causing a stink – winner!
Created: Oct 05, 2017
Bikepacking luggage for Mytimugs
Mytimugs are super handy for activities such as bikepacking, so it's only natural that we want to pop them in our bikepacking luggage! To make it easier to decide which luggage to buy for which Mytimug, here's a handy 'what fits in what' compatibilty table for Mytimugs, Stemcells and the Lodo...
|Stem Cell
|Stem Cell Dry
|Stem Cell XL
|Mytimug 400
|Mytimug 650
|☺ (it's a snug fit)
|Mytipot 900
Happy bike packing and tea drinking!
Created: Sep 22, 2017
Brukit Jackal Instructions
Created: Sep 12, 2017
Brukit Wolf Instructions
Created: Sep 12, 2017
Cloud Base Care
You know you've got good kit when it's always got your back: but even the hardiest of gear needs a bit of looking after every now and then! After your Cloud Base has been working hard to keep you comfy on adventures, it'll need a little TLC itself. Leave it out to sunbathe with the valve open after use - that way it can dry out on the inside, preventing the growth of mould.
Created: Sep 05, 2017
Getting dehydrated food just right
Normally we'd advise following the instructions when you're cooking up a storm in the kitchen of the great outdoors. However, experience has taught us to be a little less gung-ho when it comes to dehydrated food. Instead of adding all the water in one fell swoop, we recommend adding water a little at a time until your meal reaches the desired consistency. The result should be a meal that even Goldilocks would be happy with!
Created: Aug 31, 2017
Cloud Base Dimensions
Don't be alarmed if your Cloud Base looks a little long when you first unroll it: it's completely normal!
When the mattress is flat, it looks a little longer, but as soon as you've blown it up it'll be the right size.
Created: Aug 11, 2017
Common Bike Upgrades: price list
We think our Sonder builds are all pretty awesome, but it's always nice to treat yourself to a few upgrades to make your bike a little more special.
Camino only: if you want to swap out the 37c Riddlers for 47c Byways on your build, we can do that for you free of charge - just add a note on your order.
Here are the most popular Sonder bike upgrades that Bike Guru Neil gets asked for (don't worry, you can ask for other stuff too!):
Hullabaloo Carbon wheelset, £570
Reverb dropper post upgrade, £250
Tubeless upgrade (bike fitted with Comp level tyres), £80
Tubeless upgrade (bike fitted with TCS tyres), £40
TRP Spyre upgrade, £100
Avid BB7s upgrade, £50
Guide R Brakes (from Level), £100
Dynamo wheel build, £30 + price of hub
Created: Jul 18, 2017
How to attach your handlebar luggage to your bike
Handlebar luggage is quick to attach and much more accessible than seatpack luggage. In this short video Fran runs through a couple of options for loading up your bars ready for a bikepacking adventure.
Created: Jul 17, 2017
Hadron Bike Light Instructions
The Hadron: a rechargeable bike light pumping out 2000 lumens at maximum power. Hadron is small and light but bright enough to light up the road ahead making collisions with oncoming riders a rare event.
Charging the battery pack
A warning indicator light indicates battery capacity, when there is less than 30% charge remaining, the warning indicator will glow orange. If the device indicates a low battery capacity, connect the charger to the wall outlet and connect the charger to the battery.
Charging time: 3.5 - 4 hours
Mounting your lights
- Using the rubber o-rings supplied, attach the front light to your handlebars ensuring it cannot rotate and is unobscured by bike luggage.
- Repeat with the rear light, attaching to your seatstay or seatpost.
- Fit the wireless remote switch to the handle bar at a con-venient distance from your bar grips.
- Mount the battery pack to the bike frame, inside a frame bag or a bar bag.
- Connect the lights to the battery pack, an adaptor is provided so that you can connect both lights at the same time.
- Ensure all cables run cleanly so they cannot get accidently caught in moving parts and check that your steering still turns freely.
Front light:
Press the button to turn on and off
Click to toggle between the flashing modes in the following order:
On > 100% > 50% > 30% > Flashing > Off
Rear light:
Press the power button to turn on/off
Click to toggle between the settings in the following order:
Strobe > Fast Flash > Flash > Constant
Wireless Switch
Pairing the wireless switch:
- Take the remote switch and press both the power and rear light switch at the same time. Release when the power button starts flashing.
- Connect the front bike light to the battery and simultaneously press both the power button on the remote and the power button on the front light.
Your lights should now be paired together.
Wireless switch operation:
- Press the power button to turn on or off the front and rear light at the same time.
- Long press the front light switch for more than 0.5 seconds to turn on the front light from the off mode.
- Short press the front light switch to toggle between lighting modes.
- Long press the front light switch for more than 0.5 seconds to turn off the front light from any on mode.
- To reduce the risk of fire or injury, read and follow all safety and operating instructions. If you do not understand an instruction please get in touch.
- Keep out of reach of children and pets.
- Do not short circuit the charger or the battery.
- Do not use the device during charging or touch with wet hands.
- Do not drop or cause an impact to the charger or the battery.
- Do not charge the battery with chargers that are not approved by the manufacturer.
- Never dispose of batteries or devices in a fire
- Never place batteries or devices on or in a heating device such as a microwave oven, stove or radiator. Batteries may explode when overheated.
- Never crush or puncture the battery.
- Do not touch the light surface when the light is on as it can become very hot.
- The battery must be stored in a cool, dry area.
- If the battery leaks do not touch the fluid. If contacted seek medical attention.
- Prevent batteries from contacting metal objects as this can create a connection between the terminals and lead to permanent battery damage.
- Do not directly view the LEDs as they are very bright and may damage your eyes
Battery type: 1 x 3.7V 2600mAh 18650 Li-ion Rechargeable Battery [Included]
Battery cycle: 500 cyles (Reserves ~80% Capacity after 500 cycles)
Wipe down torch body with a damp cloth. To wash the elasticated straps remove from the torch body. Wash at a low temperature.
Ensure the torch is completely dry. Store in a dry place with the batteries disconected.
Service and Repairs
If this light does not function check the batteries are fully charged. Check there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by batteries leaking or through damp. If an issue can't be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Battery Specification
7.4V 5.2AH battery pack for high quality and safe performance.
4 x 18650 Li-ion cell battery pack
Battery Life: 500 charging cycles
Battery weight: 238 grams
Certifications: CE, UL, TUV, PSE
Includes a small protection circuit board with over charge, over discharge and short circuit protection.
Bulb Type: 2 x CREE XM-L2
Shell: Aluminium alloy and plastic
Lifespan: 50,000 h
Working temperature: -10°C - 40°C
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|2000 lm
|3.2 h
|400 lm
|5 h
|120 lm
|15.5 h
|7 h
|50 lm
Created: Jul 14, 2017
Tau Bike Light Instructions
The Tau is a bright and very, very, (very), lightweight LED bike safety light that is USB rechargeable and has a wide beam to help you be safe and seen.
Download the Tau PDF instruction sheet
Charge the Batteries
Tau comes with a built in rechargeable battery. This can be recharged by connecting to a USB socket with the USB cable provided. The socket is on the rear of the lighting unit, under a small rubber flap. Leave around 70 minutes for a full recharge.
Instructions for use
Press and hold the power button until the light comes on. Release the button, then press again to shimmy through the lighting modes.
Depending on whether you have the front or rear lights, the cycles are as follows.
Tau [Front] modes:
Low > Medium > High > 6Hz flash > 3Hz Flash
Tau [Rear] modes:
Low > High > Pulse > 6Hx Flash > 3Hz Flash
To switch the light off, press and hold the button until the light goes out.
Fitting to your bike
Tau does not need any special tools to attach to your bike (hooray!). It is provided with rubber loops to attach to your handlebar, seatpost, or seatstay.
- Attach one end of the rubber loop to Tau, making sure it clicks into place.
- Stretch the rubber loop around the bike component and back onto your Tau
- Check it is secured.
- Do not shine torch directly into your eyes
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Recycle batteries responsibly
- LED lights are not replaceable
Wipe down torch body with a damp cloth. To wash the elasticated straps remove from the torch body. Wash at a low temperature.
Ensure the torch is completely dry. Store in a cool, dry place – but don't leave it too long before you get out and start enjoying the dark again!
Service and repairs
If this light does not function check the batteries are fully charged. Check there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check for signs of corrosion caused by batteries leaking or through damp. If an issue can't be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Bulb: 1 x COB LED strip 270° beam
Power source: 3.7 V 300 mAh Li-polymer
Cable: Micro USB
|Beam intensity
|Beam Distance
|Run time
|Water Resistance
|Front High
|65 lm
|25 cd
|10 m
|4 h
|Front Med
|30 lm
|13 cd
|7 m
|8.5 h
|Front Low
|10 lm
|5 cd
|4 m
|30 h
|Front 6 & 3 Hz
|12 h
|Rear High
|20 lm
|6 m
|3 h
|Rear Low
|6 lm
|16 h
|Rear 6 & 3 Hz
|18 h
|15 h
Created: Jul 14, 2017
Bob Instructions
This is Bob, a 200 lumen submersible and floatable camping lantern. Take him in the sea, a lake, a puddle, or put him in your drink – wherever he is, he'll brighten up your evening! Here's how he functions.
Change the Batteries
Open end cap and remove old batteries.
Insert 4 x new 1.5V AAA alkaline batteries according to the polarity labels.
Align the grove and the notch as shown, then replace the end cap.
Instructions for Use
Click the power button to turn on, then click again to shimmy through the lighting options:
High > Medium > Low > Off
For SOS Flashing, press and hold for 3 seconds.
To turn off, press power button after 3 seconds in any mode.
- Do not shine torch directly into your eyes
- Do not allow children to use Bob without adult supervision
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep Bob clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements
- Remove any moisture before storage
- Do not store Bob with batteries inside for long periods of time
4 x 1.5 AAA Alkaline Batteries
|Li-Ion rechargeable
|NiMH rechargeable
|NiCd rechargeable
|NiZn rechargeable
Clean with a damp cloth
Ensure that the Lampray is dry before storing, store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the light does not work, check that the battery has been inserted the right way around and that it is not flat. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by the battery leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Bulb: 1 x 3W Nichia White LED
Lighting distance: 14 m
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|200 lm
|6 h
|Submersible to 1 m
|120 lm
|17 h
|Submersible to 1 m
|20 lm
|120 h
|Submersible to 1 m
|150 h
|Submersible to 1 m
Created: Jul 05, 2017
Prism 630 Instructions
Get started with your new Prism 630, a monster in head torch form, a rechargeable 500 lumen sunbeam with a boost setting for deep space exploration, a… okay, okay you get it! Here's all you need to know get started
Download the Prism 630 PDF instruction sheet
Charge the Batteries
The battery in the Prism 630 cannot be removed or changed.
To charge the battery, attach the Micro USB cable to the port on the torch, a small light on the torch indicates charging status:
RED – Charging; GREEN – Fully charged
Charging time: 3 hours (DC5V 1000 mA input)
Instructions for Use
Main Mode:
Click once to turn on, click again to shimmy through the lighting settings:
High > Medium > Low > 8 Hz Flashing > Off
To turn the torch off click once after 10 seconds in any mode.
Boost Mode:
To activate boost mode, press and hold the button from any mode. Boost will stay as long as the button is being pressed for a maximum of 1 minute.
Removing Straps:
To remove the straps, pull the rubber head plate loops to the sides.
- Do not shine directly into eyes.
- Do not submerge over 1 m deep.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product, doing so will invalidate your warranty.
- Never attempt to charge non-rechargeable batteries, doing so may result in explosion.
- Keep your Prism 630 clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements.
- Remove the straps to wash them separately.
- Remove any moisture before storage.
- Operating Conditions: minimum – 10˚C
1 x 3.7 V 2000 mAh proprietary Li-ion rechargeable
Clean with a damp cloth, remove straps to wash separately.
Ensure that the Prism 630 is dry before storing, store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the torch does not work, plug into the charger to check whether the charge status indicator light comes on. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Bulb: 1 x XM-L2 Cree white LED
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|630 lm
|500 lm
|4.5 h
|230 lm
|11 h
|130 lm
|16 h
|8 Hz Flashing
|17 h
Created: Jun 30, 2017
Prism 100 Instructions
Introducing your new Prism 100, a torch you can rely on in even the toughest of environments, a torch that is submersible to 1 m deep and perfect for use in wet weather, a torch which is… okay, okay you get it. Here's all the information you need to get started
Change the Batteries
Unscrew the battery cap.
Insert 1 x AA battery as indicated on the inside of the battery compartment.
- The battery life will vary depending upon the the brand and freshness of batteries, recovery time - time the light has been switched off, temperature and the setting used.
- Use good quality AA batteries
- Do not use rechargeable batteries. Using rechargeable batteries may invalidate your warranty.
- Do not store the Prism 100 with batteries inside for a prolonged time
Instructions for Use
Main Mode:
Press once to turn on, click again to shimmy through the lighting settings:
High > Medium > Low > Strobe
To turn the torch off press once after 3 seconds in any mode.
Lock-Out Battery Mode:
The Prism 100 has a lock-out battery mode to prevent them from accidental illumination. To lock, press and hold the button for 3 seconds, the LED will blink twice to indicate lock-out activation.
To unlock, press and hold the button for 3 seconds, the head torch will turn on in high power mode.
Removing Straps
To remove the straps, pull the rubber head plate loops to the sides.
- Do not shine directly into eyes.
- Do not submerge over 1 m deep.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product, doing so will invalidate your warranty.
- Keep your Prism 100 clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements.
- Remove the straps to wash them separately.
- Remove any moisture before storage.
- Operating Conditions: minimum – 10˚C
Clean with a damp cloth, remove straps to wash separately.
Ensure that the Prism 100 is dry before storing, store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the torch does not work, check that the battery has been inserted the right way around and that it is not flat. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by the battery leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Bulb: 1 x XP-C Cree white LED
|Beam Distance
|Burn time
|Water Resistance
|100 lm
|130 m
|1 h
|55 lm
|95 m
|2.5 h
|20 lm
|50 m
|5.5 h
|5 h
Created: Jun 30, 2017
Blip Instructions
Introducing Blip, your new twin pack of red LED caution lights. Oh the places you'll go and the things you'll be seen by with this versatile little pair. You can attach your blip to anything, everything, and everyone (although you should probably ask permission first…)
Download the Blip PDF instruction sheet
Change the Batteries
Open the light and hold on to the main part, insert one CR1632 battery in the direction indicated within the battery compartment.
- Do not use rechargeable batteries, doing so will invalidate your warranty.
Instructions for Use
First use: Open the light and hold the main part. Pull off the insulation strip, then put the light back together.
To turn on and off: Press the power button in the middle of the light.
- Do not shine torch directly into your eyes
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep your Blip clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements
- Remove any moisture before storage
- Do not store Blip with batteries inside for long periods of time
1 x CR1632 3V Lithium battery
Clean with a damp cloth
Ensure that the Blip is dry before storing, store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the torch does not work, check that the battery has been inserted the right way around and that it is not flat. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by the battery leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|95 h
Created: Jun 30, 2017
Does Tetri come with a footprint?
The tetri comes with a porchprint, but not a footprint.
Created: Jun 26, 2017
Which tyre do I need?
Addled by tyre choices? Bewildered by wheelsets? Can't work out what fits what? Look no further!
Actually, maybe scroll down the page a bit...
|Volution RoadPlus
|Hobo 29er
|Rumpus 650b+ 100/142
|Rumpus 650b+ boost
|Hurly Burly
|WTB Trail Boss TCS Light 29 x 2.4
|Riddler Light Fast Rolling 27.5 x 2.25
|Bridger TCS Light, 27.5 x 3
|Trail Boss TCS Light 27.5 x 2.4
|Convict TCS Light High Grip 27.5 x 2.5
|Trail Boss TCS Light 27.5 x 3.0
|Ranger TCS Light Fast Rolling 27.5 x 3.0
|Ranger Tough Fast Rolling 27.5 x 3.0
|Trailblazer TCS Light 27.5 x 2.8
|Horizon TCS, 650 x 47c
|Exposure TCS 700 x 30c
|Cross Boss TCS Light, 700 x 35c
|Exposure TCS 700 x 34c
|Riddler TCS Light Fast Rolling 700 x 37c
|Nano TCS Light Fast Rolling 700 x 40c
|Inner Tube 27.5+ x 2.8/3.0
|Inner Tube 27.5 x 1.9/2.3
|Inner Tube 700 x 18/25c
|Inner Tube 700 x 28/35c
|Inner Tube 700 x 38/45c
Created: Jun 23, 2017
What size is the fork steerer that comes with the Camino Ti?
The fork steerer that comes with the Camino Ti is 1 1/2" - 1 1/8", tapered, and 300 mm long.
Created: Jun 15, 2017
How much does international shipping for Sonder Bikes and Love Mud Wheels cost?
We find it pretty exciting to see our Sonder bikes carried off by the postie to destinations across the world! International delivery prices for Sonder Bikes depends on where in the world you are:
Europe - £25
Australia/New Zealand/Brazil - £149
Argentina/Brazil/Chile/ South America - £199
Rest of the world - £99
For wheels and frames, we international shipping rates are as follows:
Europe £15
Rest of World £50
Delivery charges will be automatically added to your order at the checkout.
Created: Jun 02, 2017
Returns via Collect+
Collect+ is an alternative method for you to return parcels through a network of over 6,000 local convenience stores.
- Parcels can be dropped at a local Collect+ store, 7 days per week and during the evening
- The parcel is scanned and a receipt with a tracking code is created
- Parcels can be up to 10 kg and 60 x 50 x 50 cm
+ The stores are a combination of retail facias, such as Co-Op, McColls and Spar, as well as independent local stores at the heart of the community
+ Over 85% of the UK population is no more than 1 mile from a Collect+ location
+ Go to http://www.collectplus.co.uk/storefinder or use the link when you generate a label to find your nearest store.
You can also text COLLECT and the postcode to 84555 (e.g. COLLECT WD17 1HP). Texts from 84555 are free to receive. Texts to 84555 are charged at your standard network rate.
The Collect+ returns service is 2-3 working days, Monday – Saturday (Excluding Bank Holidays).
To return an item to us using Collect+, please follow this link: https://www.alpkit.com/support/stickies/returns
Created: May 26, 2017
Tetri Pitching Instructions
Thanks to a few simple yet considered features, such as colour-coded poles, tabs, and clips, putting up our Tetri geodesic tent is a breeze. Ben demonstrates how from the comfort of our Hathersage store.
Download the Tetri PDF instruction sheet
Got no headphones and you don't want to wake up your nan? No fear! Here are some written instructions that'll have your Tetri pitched in a jiffy!
Ensure the ground is free from sharp objects and rocks that may damage your groundsheet.
Lay out the flysheet on the ground and peg the back of the tent (preferably into the wind).
Assemble poles and thread them into the colour coded sleeves, beginning with black. When inserting the red poles, make sure you thread them under the black poles.
Raise poles, setting the ends into the eyelets on flysheet, black first, then red, and clip into the plastic poleclips; the tent should now stand up by itself. Peg out the rest of the tent, starting at the door and working your way around.
To attach the inner, get in and clip the back corners to the side release buckles. Fasten the toggles on the inner to the loops on the outer, moving from back to front. Ensure that all side release buckles are clipped, this will give your tent more structure.
For the porchprint, attach the bungee cords to the pegs that are already in place.
Tension the tent by adjusting the buckles at the pegout points, peg and tension the guylines as required.
Happy camping!
Created: May 23, 2017
Viso Tent Pitching Instructions
Thanks to a few simple yet considered features, such as colour-coded poles, tabs, and clips, putting up our Viso 2 and Viso 3 tunnel tents is a breeze. Ben demonstrates how from the comfort of our Hathersage store.
Download the Viso PDF instruction sheet
Got no headphones and don't want to wake the cat up? Here are some written instructions that'll get your Viso pitched in a jiffy...
Ensure the ground is free from sharp objects and rocks that may damage your groundsheet.
Lay out the outer on the ground and peg out the back of the tent (preferably into the wind).
Assemble poles and thread them into the colour coded sleeves, seat both ends of the poles into the eyelets.
Pull the tent out to form a tunnel shape, peg out the ends nearest the door before pegging the rest of the tent.
To attach the inner, get inside and work forwards from the back. Clip the two buckles at the back of the tent before fastening the yellow toggle on the inner to the yellow loop on the outer. Fasten the rest of the rear toggles, working your way outwards from the middle.
Moving forwards, clip two buckles by the door of the tent before fastening the red toggle to the red loop in the ceiling. Fasten the rest of toggles, working your way outwards until the whole inner is attached.
For the footprint, attach the bungee cords to the pegs that are already in place.
Tension the tent by adjusting the buckles at the pegout points, peg and tension the guylines as required.
Get in and camp happy!
Created: May 22, 2017
Which wheelset for which Sonder Bike?
Buying wheels for your bike can be pretty baffling. Here are the bikes that you can stick your wheelset onto.
|Love Mud Wheelset
|Which Sonder Bike?
|LM Orbit
|Camino Al, Camino Ti, Colibri
|LM Volution
|Camino Al, Camino Ti
|LM Hobo 29er
|Broken Road, Frontier
|LM Rumpus 650b+ 100/142
|None of our Sonder Bikes
|LM Rumpus 650b+ boost
|Broken Road, Frontier, Transmitter, Transmitter Carbon
|LM Hurly Burly
|Vir Fortis
|LM Hullabaloo 650b/b+
|Frontier, Transmitter Carbon, Transmitter, Broken Road
|LM Hullabaloo fat
|Vir Fortis
Created: May 16, 2017
Can the Love Mud Juice be converted for a 15 x 100 mm axle?
We're afraid it can't be converted.
Created: May 16, 2017
Can I get boost hub wheelsets in a standard hub size?
We're afraid not! However we do offer a few wheelsets with standard hubs for you to take a look at.
For Mountain Bikes, the Rumpus 650b+ is available in both boost and standard 100/142 sizing.
Created: May 16, 2017
Can I run a tyre with a width outside of the recommended range for the wheelset?
In brief, no. Although it is physically possible to put tyres on your bike that are wider or narrower than the recommended range, it is unsafe to do so as the tyres would not fit the wheelset properly. Our recommended tyre width ranges are the maximum and minimum tyre sizes that are safe to use on the wheelset.
Created: May 16, 2017
Is the Juice dynamo hub upgrade available on any wheels?
The Juice dynamo hub upgrade is only available with the Love Mud Orbit and Love Mud Volution wheelsets.
Created: May 16, 2017
Do wheelsets come with QR and bolt-through adapters?
Volution and Orbit wheelsets come set up for QR as standard. All other wheelsets are bolt-thru standard (15 mm front, 12 mm rear)
If you want any endcaps, just drop us a line and we can supply them at £5 per set,
Created: May 16, 2017
Bulk Order Discount
We aim to keep our prices awesome at all times for all our customers. However, if you are bulk ordering 10 or more of one product, then we can offer you our bulk discount, passing on what we save on postage, processing and despatch.
- 10% off 10+ of a product
- 15% off 15+ of a product
To use our bulk order discount, please contact us on 01773 417007 or email email@example.com
Terms and Conditions
1. Bulk orders apply to orders of 10 or more of the same product, i.e. an order of 10 x Kepler short sleeve base layer, or 20 x Viper headtorch
2. Multiple colours are accepted in bulk orders.
3. Multiple sizes are accepted in clothing bulk orders.
Created: May 12, 2017
Accident replacement scheme
There is nothing like nice shiny kit to make you feel superhuman, however sometimes mysterious powers intervene, your well-meaning gran bleaches your down sleeping bag, or you reverses over your new carbon rims. We have all been there, but that doesn't make it any easier to stomach.
What is the Accident Replacement Scheme?
Our accident replacement scheme was created to soften the blow of accidental damage to your beloved Alpkit products. If a product is beyond repair we will offer you a discount on a new replacement item.
How much discount do I get?
We determine the scale of the discount and you must send the product back to us so that we know it is out-of-circulation. Damage from normal wear and tear does not apply.
Up to 50% discount first month.
Up to 30% discount 1 month – 6 months.
Up to 20% discount second year.
Up to 10% discount third year.
So, to sum up... (T&Cs)
- The cost of returning your damaged goods is at your expense. It is your responsibility to ensure the goods arrive with us.
- Please make sure returned items are clean and safe for transport.
- You must provide proof of purchase (such as your order number or email receipt).
- The replacement offer applies to original owner only.
- Our decision on whether a claim is genuine is final.
- Damage sustained from normal wear and tear does not apply.
- The value of this accident replacement discount will be determined by us.
- The discount can only be used on the same product - or in the event of an item being out of stock - a like for like product and solely for the purpose of the accident replacement.
- The discount can only be applied on the full retail price and not on top of any other discounts or promotions running.
Please email email@example.com to make a claim.
Accidental Repair Scheme isn't what you're looking for? All Alpkit, Sonder and Love Mud products are also protected with:
- 123 DAY RETURNS: Your new Griffon didn't bring out the green in your eyes quite like you expected? No worries! Return or exchange unused items within 123 days. Read more.
- ALPINE BOND: Your new head torch is faulty and isn't torching? We're super sorry! Sounds like you're about to benefit from the Alpine Bond warranty. Read more.
- AK REPAIR STATION: If a product is damaged, we will do our utmost to repair it. Simple running repairs can be made me in store, you'll need to send more complicated returns to AKHQ for our more skilled workers to get their teeth into. There may be a small charge to cover costs of repair.
Created: Apr 26, 2017
Continuum Project
What is Continuum Project?
The Continuum Project is the Alpkit Foundation's summer campaign designed to make it easy for you to donate your outdoor kit directly to those who need it most, and keep your kit out of landfill.
The idea is simple. You send us outdoor garments that you no longer use and we pass them on to charities who will be able to give the garment directly to someone who needs it for protection from the elements.
Occasionally, when the garment is deemed no longer fit for its original purpose, they will be donated to scientific research projects relating to the outdoor industry, and up/downcycling projects.
What can I donate?
You can donate any item of outdoor clothing (outerlayers, insulation layers, mid layers, base layer tops). We cannot accept underwear.
All garments must be in good condition so they must be clean and functional. For advice on how to clean technical garments, please see our support page stickies.
If you have any queries about an item that you wish to donate or what to do with garments that you can't donate, please email email@example.com
How do I donate garments to you?
You can either drop your donation off at one of our stores: Alpkit Hathersage or Alpkit Ambleside
Alternatively, you can send the donation to us at Alpkit HQ. Please fill in the Continuum Project Donation form and send the item(s) to us using the address below:
Alpkit Global HQ
Units 12 - 14 Oak House
Moorgreen Industrial Park
Engine Lane
If needed, you can use our free Royal Mail Tracked service - but this is a charitable campaign and postage costs money! If you do make use of this service, we would welcome a donation to the Alpkit Foundation.
If our free returns system, please make sure to type "continuum" in the order number field:
You can create a shipping label for your donation here:
Why are we doing it?
The Outdoor Industry thrives because of the environment we live in, yet, counterintuitively, to produce the kit we need, we are contributing to the environmental nasties that come with any sort of production.
One of the best methods to protect the environment from production processes is to use stuff for longer. Currently, the annual consumption of clothing in the UK alone produces 1.8 million tonnes of waste and equates to 38 million tonnes of CO2e being produced - that's the equivalent of every household in the UK driving a car for 6000 miles, every year!
Here at Alpkit, our Product Team are a conscientious bunch and aim to design products to be durable and extend their usable lifetime. We know that by extending the average life of clothes by just three months per garment would give a 5-10% reduction in the carbon, water and waste footprints.
But once the Product Team have done their bit, it's over to you. A huge proportion of the environmental cost of clothing comes from how you use and dispose of it.
Altering laundry habits can reduce the footprint by a further 6%. This essentially involves washing clothing less often and at lower temperatures. But make sure that you give your washing machine a service wash regularly or else it won't clean your clothes at lower temperatures. Service washes should be done every 20 - 30 washes. To do this, simply clean out the detergent drawer and run your machine at its highest temperature using 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar instead of wash powder. You can put a rag in the drum to help or leave it empty. The bonus to this is it will make your washing machine last loads longer, too!
Once the time finally comes for you to part ways with your garment, the main objective is to keep it out of landfill. Currently, in the UK, 350,000 tonnes of clothing goes to landfill each year.
Recycling is a 'last resort' option. The energy cost of recycling textiles is relatively high so reuse, upcycling and downcycling are far better options. This is where Continuum Project comes in!
Who are our Charity Partners?
This is an ever-expanding list. We value transparency along the chain so that we can see the direct benefit from the donations. We work with homeless charities and outdoor education charities. We prioritise charities based in the local area to minimise further shipping where possible.
- Canaan Trust: Nottinghamshire based homelessness charity whose aim is to "rebuild their lives, regain their self esteem, rebuild their self confidence". Cannan Trust is our first port of call due to their extended network amongst various charities including frontline homelessness.
- PlayWorks ScrapStore: "PlayWorks, aims to improve the quality and quantity of Play provision for Children and Young People in Nottingham... by providing resources like the ScrapStore, the Art Shop, along with Training, and Information and the chance for people to get together and share ideas.". PlayWorks are our go-to group for ensuring any scrap textiles that can no longer be used for the original purpose but can be used by artists, students and children to create something new and wonderful!
- Three Peaks Africa/ Kilimanjara Porters Assistance Project: With an aim for travel to be seen as a force for good whilst encouragaing a circular economy. We will be sending Donations to porters in the mountain regions through Three Peaks Africa therefore mitigating any carbon cost of shipping donations internationally.
- Birmingham City Mission: Founded in 1966 to help those in need. Birmingham City Mission runs projects throughout the city "offering friendship and support to the homeless, elderly, young and those struggling with poverty".
- Doorways Derby: A community volunteer group who dedicates several evenings a week to provide hot and cold food, drinks, clothing, bedding and social interaction for the homeless, rough sleepers, and vulnerable people who need help on the streets of Derby.
- Freedom Community Alliance: A 'needs led' charity based in Barnstaple who work with a range of vulnerable groups including homeless people and those suffering from substance misuse issues, poor physical / mental health and debt and poverty.
How do I apply to be a charitable partner?
Please send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com introducing yourself and what your kit requirement is and we will go from there.
What happens to the donations?
Continuum Project is carried out to help out those in need whilst reducing the impact that the Outdoor Industry has on the environment. Our primary aim is, with the assistance of our Charity Partners, use the donations help those in need. This may be the homeless in need of some warm clothing, outdoor education projects in need of some waterproofs or anywhere in between. Our secondary aim is to ensure that zero donations end up in landfill. If a donation cannot be used for its original purpose, we will send it off for upcycling, downcycling or scientific research.
How should I dispose of garments I no longer want / need?
Like we mentioned above, extending the use of a garment reduces the environmetal effects caused by the production of that garment. Before getting rid of a garment, always consider whether you can repair or modify it so that you continue using it. Even the most technical of garments can usualy be repaired, if you are unsure, please feel free to contact email@example.com for advice.
If you are certain that you no longer want the garment, you have a few options:
- Donate to Continuum Project
- Sell online or in an outdoor kit exchange
- Give to charity
- Sell / donate for upcycling/ downcycling
If none of these options are appropriate for whatever reason, the final option is to recycle the garment. Many local councils will offer textile recycling collections to their residents, or at least accept them at recycling centres. You can find out more information about recycling textiles in your area here: https://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/clothing-textiles-0
Further info:
WRAP - Valuing Our Clothes: 2
WRAP - Clothing Knowledge Hub
Created: Apr 04, 2017
Kilimanjaro Kit List: What to pack
If you are planning an exotic adventure, Mt. Kilimanjaro (a mighty 5895m above sea level, situated in North Tanzania), is the highest peak in Africa and may be one of the finest trekking peaks in the world.
Most climbers take 5-7 days to reach Uhuru Peak and use the opportunity to spend some time experiencing Africa.
Most routes up the mountain (apart from the Marangu route) will involve camping. If you use a company offering a package for flights and the climb, they will often offer you the use of a good quality tent and the help of Sherpas for getting your kit up to the higher camps.
You will be expected to carry your own 25-35 l bag during the days, with any extra kit being carried by the Sherpas. As with any expedition, having the right kit is essential and will be the difference between a comfortable trip or a very unpleasant experience.
What should I take?
If you take your own tent, it will need to be able to deal with heavy storms, rocky ground, and potentially very cold temperatures. Something like the Kangri would be perfect to ensure a good night's sleep.
Sleeping Mat
You are going to want a decent mat to sleep on. Something with good thermal properties will during cold nights further up the route, but also comfortable enough for a whole weeks camping. Something like the Airo 180 would be an ideal lightweight option, or a Dirtbag if you can spare the extra weight.
Sleeping Bag
A down fill provides the best warmth/weight ratio with excellent compressibility for a small pack size. However, you must ensure to keep it dry (packing it into a dry bag during the day is probably safest) When down gets wet, it loses all thermal efficiency.
You are going to be trekking from bushland/rainforest conditions lower down all the way up to alpine desert/arctic conditions at the top and so picking the right bag can be tricky. At the high camps, you want to have something with a comfort temperature rating down to about –10°C. Something like the Pipedream 600 or Skyehigh 900 bags is a good option. A liner is a good addition if you are an especially cold sleeper and to keep your sleeping bag smelling fresh for longer. Our Masson liner is composed of polyester and excellent value or our Mantua silk liner offers ultimate comfort.
At camp, there are going to be a few other things you will need. A lamp, such as a Lampray, for in your tent at night will be essential, especially for leaving early on summit day when you will need to get ready in the dark. The Lampray will also charge your phone or camera from its built-in USB port, so you don't miss out on any of those picture moments!
You will also need a bright headtorch for getting around camp at night and essential for that pre-dawn summit day on the slopes of Kibo. We sell a range of torches; the Gamma II and Qark are great choices.
Remember not to forget those spare batteries for your head torch or you will be spending a lot of time in the dark!
Layering Systems
Having the right clothing is very important for the trek to keep you comfortable at all times throughout the varies climates you will travel through. A crucial part of this is going to be your boots: They need to be sturdy with good ankle support. A waterproof membrane (such as Gore Tex or similar) will keep your feet dry in wetter weather. Make sure you have worn in the boots before you get there, and bring some blister plasters just in case.
You will want sweat-wicking base layers/t-shirts such as those from our Kepler merino range. You will want 2 - 3 of these so opting for one of our bundles may be a good choice.
A good quality fleece, some comfortable and lightweight walking trousers, such as our Chilkoot, and an insulated down jacket, such as our Filo. A good jacket will be important to keep you warm at higher altitudes but also at camp in the evening as something comfortable and insulating to slip on.
Some comfortable underwear (our Kepler underwear will leave you pretty smug) is essential as well as some good quality walking socks such as our Trekkers or Heavy Weight Trekkers. Some Long Johns and thermal gloves will be handy for higher up on the mountain and the cold summit day.
Food & Drink
On most trips you will be provided with food and hot drinks at camp but you will need a good water flask or hydration bladder throughout the day. You will be losing water just from breathing at altitude and sweating plenty whilst climbing, so staying hydrated is essential. Severe dehydration can help bring on Acute Mountain Sickness which in some cases will be enough to force you to descend to lower heights. It is worth taking some water purifying tablets with you to clean water, it won't taste great but at least it will be clean and the last thing you want on the mountain is a bad tummy!
Little Essential Extras
Other items you don't want to forget:
Towel – our Osmo is an uber lightweight option but not one for walking around in!
Basic toiletries (including loo roll)
High factor sun cream/chapstick (our Pro Balm lip balm is ace)
Sunglasses with good UV protection – our Krugers will do the trick
Sun hat
Gaiters (at certain times of year the dust can get everywhere).
A good quality pair of trekking poles, our CarbonLites are an excellent compact, lightweight option.
You will need to talk to your doctor prior to leaving about Malaria tablets and other vaccinations you might need and he will start you on a course of medication. You will need to carry certificates of these vaccinations along with your visas and other travel documents.
Thinking carefully about what kit you are going to take will make your trip way more comfortable and ultimately increase your chances of making it to the summit! On the other hand, if you take the wrong gear, you could potentially put yourself in danger on the mountain and ruin what should be a fantastic experience.
Created: Mar 28, 2017
How to pack a Double Dozer
So you have gotten yourself a Double Dozer, a lovely 2-person sleeping mat for comfy nights of camping with a friend. As can so often happen though, when it comes to packing up everyone else suddenly becomes very busy and has to run off somewhere to do something "super important". Here you sit, with a mamoth of a mattress wandering how on earth you can possibly get it back into its bag...
The Double Dozer is quite the beast but it can be packed single-handedly with a little practice. This is a little step-by-step for how you can get your mattress back into the bag on your own, just make sure you have the elastic straps close to hand before you start!
1 - With both valves open, fold the mat in half lengthways and start rolling it up. Kneel on the roll as you go to squeeze more air out.
2 - Once you have rolled it up do up both valves and then unroll the mat
3 - Roll it again, this time with the valves closed.
4 - Once rolled, keeping as much weight on it as you can open one valve at a time to let the air out then close the valve again
5 - If needed, repeat step 4 to get a bit more air out
6 - Keep the mat tightly rolled (I find hugging or a good thigh-grip works best) and get the elastic straps around it
And that's how to roll up the Double Dozer on your own.
Created: Mar 15, 2017
Accident Replacement Scheme
There is nothing like nice shiny kit to make you feel superhuman, but sometimes mysterious powers intervene, a do-gooder does something dumb or you are just plain unlucky. Maybe your well-meaning gran bleached your down sleeping bag, perhaps you reversed over your nice carbon rims or maybe you cat took delight in perforating your Dozer sleeping mat. We have all been there, but it doesn't make it any easier to stomach.
Our accident replacement scheme is designed to soften the blow of accidental damage to your beloved Alpkit products. If a product is beyond repair we will offer you a discount on a new replacement item. The scale of the discount is determined by us, and you should send the product back to us so that we know it is out-of-circulation. Damage from normal wear and tear does not apply.
Up to 50% discount within first month
Up to 30% discount within 1 – 6 months
Up to 20% discount within 6 - 24 months
Up to 10% discount within 24 – 36 months
The cost of returning your damaged goods is at your expense. It is your responsibility to ensure the goods arrive with us.
Please make sure returned items are clean and safe for transport.
You must provide proof of purchase (such as your order number or email receipt).
The replacement offer applies to original owner only.
Our decision on whether a claim is genuine is final.
Damage sustained from normal wear and tear does not apply.
The final value of the accident replacement discount will be determined by us.
The discount can only be used on the same product - or in the event of an item being out of stock - a like for like product and solely for the purpose of the accident replacement.
The discount can only be applied on the full retail price and not on top of any other discounts or promotions running.
Created: Mar 01, 2017
Can I set up Sonder Frontier to run as a single speed
That is a very worthy question. We have a few singlespeeders here so we are not surprised to hear you ask. Frontier does not have horizontal dropouts or an eccentric botom bracket (don't they always creak anyway?) So to run Frontier as a singlespeed you will need to use a chain tensioner.
Created: Feb 16, 2017
Skiing kit list
It's always tricky knowing what to pack for your ski trip, especially keeping the weight of your luggage under your limit. Here is a little list of top tips and gear advice about what to take on your ski holiday.
Ski stuff
- Ski jacket
- Trousers
- Helmet
- Goggles
- Gloves
- And if you have them, boots, skis and/or board!
Heroic hint #1 Save weight and wear your ski jacket on the plane and if you can get your salopettes in your hand luggage you'll save a bit of room and weight in your hold bag. A friend of mine recently saved on hold luggage by getting all of their clothes for the week into their ski bag and still somehow managed to be under their weight limit. It can be done!
Heroic hint #2 Stash delicate things like your goggles inside your helmet and pad it out with your gloves so they are well protected.
If you are on the market for a new ski jacket, our heavy-weight waterproof, the Definition, might be worth a glance (especially the green one!) It's perfect for skiing.
Mid layers
I would take two fleeces with you; a thicky and a thinny. Then if it's really chilly you can wear them both, and a base layer! I took the Laika away on my ski trip this year as my thinny and it was perfect; stretchy and warm!
Base layers
I usually take a few different thermal tops and bottoms. I take more tops as they get smelly with all the hardcore skiing you'll be doing. Our merino Kepler base layers will keep you smelling sweet for a while longer as merino naturally fights odours. A neck warmer is also very useful, especially on the chilly days. Have a look at our merino Kepler Draught Excluder and if you don't fancy merino our normal Draught Excluder.
Take lots of pairs of ski socks and normal socks, as well as lots of undies! If you are taking your own boots, try to get as many as you can stuffed inside to save on space.
Holiday-sized toiletries are always good, again saving on weight, it all adds up! You can buy all this stuff in the resort but it will be expensive, so check out our Squij bottles to take your own fave gels and wash stuff.
Lip balm is a very good idea. The cold air and sun is not kind to skin.
It's definitely handy to have some paracetamol and ibuprofen for the days after you've gone a bit too hard on the apres ski! Plasters are also a good idea and a bit of pain relief gel in case you get sore ski boot legs.
Casual clothes
You're going to need less normal clothes than your average holiday as you will be in your ski gear most of the day. So pack light and take only what you will definitely need. Take your best check shirt!
Don't forget your swimmers! Most resorts have pretty good swimming pools and spas which are always good for tired legs. Or if your chalet is posh enough you'll have a hot tub!
And lastly, don't forget your beanie!
Created: Feb 14, 2017
Alpkit 0% Bike Finance
We like to make everything as easy and happy as we can for all our lovely customers so we are constantly aiming to extend on what we already do to provide the best possible experience for you so we have introduced a range of finance option to help you purchase bikes (and other products) and spread those payments.
We offer a range of low cost finance options for all orders over £500.
We offer the following finance options on all orders that meet the minimum value:
- 12 or 24 months 9.9% over £500
- 6 months interest free finance over £999
- 9 months interest free finance over £1500
And the process is really easy!
- Add what you want to buy to your basket. It can be bikes, tents or any of our products as long as the total order value is over £500
- Checkout using Pay By Finance as your payment method
- Complete the Online Application for an instant decision
- Wait for your goodies to arrive
For more information regarding our finance options, please see here.
Created: Feb 08, 2017
My shell doesn't feel breathable/ waterproof
So you bought a waterproof jacket, now here's how to get the most out of it.
A layering system only works as well as the poorest layer in the system (the weakest link in the chain, if you like). It doesn't matter if you are wearing the most breathable waterproof in the world, if you are wearing a cotton t-shirt underneath it, you will get cold and damp. Likewise, if you are wearing a non-breathable insulation piece underneath your shell, then that will limit the breathability of your clothing system – not the waterproof shell.
Your baselayer needs to wick moisture away from your skin, and your mid-layers need to provide insulation but allow moisture to pass out easily. Fleece is great at doing this in most environments, and for colder conditions, breathable insulation (like the Katabatic) works really well.
Wear the appropriate amount of clothing for your activity level. Start off cool (especially if you are going to be walking uphill) as you will soon warm up once you start moving. Add layers when you stop, rather than having to stop to take off layers when you are moving. Adding a waterproof layer will make you feel warmer, as it cuts out the effects of the wind. So when you put your shell on, you might want to consider removing a layer underneath to compensate.
If you are wearing too much, you will sweat more and that means your clothing system must work harder to get rid of this moisture build up to stop you from feeling damp inside your shell. Insulation layers for static use i.e. down jackets, traditional synthetic insulation, are great if it is extremely cold or you are moving slowly, but often if you layer a waterproof shell over the top you will wind up overheating and accumulating moisture inside your shell. Keep those items for use when you are static, or if it's cold and dry use them as your outer layer instead of your waterproof shell.
A few top tips:
- You don't have to wear your waterproof if it's not raining (shocker!). Yes it works as a windproof layer, but sometimes this is overkill and you'd be better off and more comfortable not wearing it.
- Keep it clean! Your waterproof will work better if you keep it clean and re-proof it when necessary.
- If you are running in a light weight shell, try to adjust your rucksack so it doesn't bounce around, as this can cause excess abrasion on lightweight fabrics.
- If you carry your ice axe down the back of your rucksack (between the shoulder straps), be careful where the adze sits: most fabrics aren't ice axe proof!
Created: Jan 31, 2017
What type of gas canister do I need?
All our stoves use a threaded gas cylinder, although they can run with a camping-gaz cylinder with an adapter. There are more blends of camping gas than there are blended whiskeys, and in the case of gas, a single malt isn't always better. Most gas is a mixture of propane, butane and isobutane, in varying quantities which generally you don't need to pay much attention to.
In cold weather below 10C (so pretty relevant in the UK year round), the blend of gas can actually be quite important. First time for an AlpChemistry lesson from an old GCSE Revision book. The boiling points of the main components are as follows:
Propane -42C
Isobutane -12C
Butane 0.5C
These are the temperatures at which the gas will vapourise, the higher the ambient temperature is above these temperatures the more the pressurised gas wants to be free and so exerts a higher pressure on the cylinder. Hence for camping we don't use pure propane despite its cold weather suitability; the cylinder would need to be super thick and weigh a tonne! On the other hand, butane at 5C is very close to its boiling point so isn't so fussed about being contained in a canister. But, this means that the vapourisation rate isn't enough to power your general stove. A combination of these properties is needed, so we combine the gases! We can also add some isobutane to the mix, it's basically butane with a facelift, same number of carbons and hydrogens just rearranged more efficiently so the boiling point is lower (I didn't pass A level chemistry so can't say why).
In short, for regular use a blend of butane and propane will be absolutely fine, but when the going gets cold, get a isobutane/propane mix (generally advertised as a winter blend) you will notice the difference, especially with our Kraku, Landar and Brukits. The Kraku is a little different as it has a preheating tube which acts a turbocharger for stoves in cold weather. The cold gas from the cylinder is heated well above its boiling point before burning so it burns more efficiently. This doesn't change the overall pressure in the canister so isobutane is still an advantage, but you can also invert the cylinder to help boost performance.
Gas at altitude
This shouldn't make a difference for stove use, in fact, the higher you are the greater the pressure differential will be which makes the gas work better. However, it also tends to get colder the higher you climb (about 0.5C for every 300m gain) which makes the gas not work as effectively. Ultimately this means that the gains and losses balance out so that altitude makes little difference! Though for an isobutane mix you are still limited to around -7C.
Make your stove work better in the cold
No-one wants to have to wait longer for their pasta to cook after a long day winter climbing, let alone when you're camping in a freezing Scottish layby. So here's a few tips for getting your Alpkit stove working better in the cold:
Start with a warm canister - stuff it under your jacket, or keep it in your sleeping bag between uses.
Keep it warm by insulating the canister from the snowy ground - a simple wooden chopping board works well if you're car camping, or a bit of foam mat.
Get a windshield - if it's cold, it's probably windy, a Concertina will keep the precious heated air close to your pan and keep the flame from blowing out.
Created: Dec 20, 2016
Quark: How to remove the Qark strap
In this video I show how you can take the strap off a Qark head torch.
Created: Dec 16, 2016
Alpkit Finance Options
Alpkit Finance now available
- Quick decision-making on online credit applications.
- Current offer: 0% APR representative finance available on all orders over £999 and 9.9% APR available on all orders over £500.
Options available:
6 months interest free finance over £999.
9 months interest free finance over £1500.
12 months 9.9% over £500.
24 months 9.9% over £500.
All finance payments require a minimum of 10% deposit to be paid upfront.
Quick and easy application process
Applying for finance is fast and easy! Simply select "Pay by Finance" at the checkout or call us on 01773 417007 to apply for finance.
Our Customer Support Heroes will take your order and send a phone or email link to the finance application. You'll be automatically redirected to the payment provider 'Close Brothers Retail Finance' to complete your finance application online. Please complete your details accordingly, Close Brothers Retail Finance will assess your credit application and give you a decision within 5 seconds (if no further underwriting is required).
Example finance application page
Are you eligible?
Close Brothers Retail Finance will conduct the necessary credit checks and references in order to confirm your eligibility for the credit application:
You must have a good credit history with no history of late repayments or payment issues.
You must be at least 18 years of age.
You must be a permanent UK resident with at least 3 years of continual address history.
You must be in full-time employment, unless you are retired or a house-person with a spouse in full-time employment.
You must have a UK bank account capable of accepting direct debits.
The goods must be delivered to your home address.
Please note that discount/voucher codes cannot be applied to items purchased with the finance option.
Subject to T&Cs
How much can I borrow?
The maximum lending amount in additional to the upfront deposit is £10,000.
Is a deposit required?
A minimum deposit of 10% is required on all orders. The deposit is taken at the end of the Close Brothers Retail Finance application process by debit or credit card.
How are my monthly payments made?
Your monthly repayments will be taken via direct debit from your chosen bank account.
What type of items can I buy on finance?
You are able to purchase any items on our website that total £500 or more through the finance options available.
What length of repayment is available?
You can select 12, 24 or 36 months repayment time depending on the finance plan selected and the qualifying purchase amount.
Can I pay off my loan early?
Yes, please contact Close Brothers Retail Finance directly 0844 880 6542 in order to make additional payments...
Standard information and regulatory status of Close Brothers
For finance agreements provided by Close Brothers Retail Finance, Alpkit Ltd acts as an introducer of unregulated credit products. Close Brothers Retail Finance is a trading name of Close Brothers Limited. For more information please visit www.closeretailfinance.co.uk.
Created: Dec 13, 2016
Which rope is right for me?
A quick and easy flow chart to help you choose the rope for your needs
Created: Dec 06, 2016
Boson Bike Light Instructions
The Boson bike light: a lightweight and powerful rechargeable bike light for illuminating your nocturnal mountain and road biking adventures.
Charge the batteries
Boson is rechargeable. Whilst in operation, a small LED light indicates the remaining battery power:
Green on: high power; Red on: medium power; Red flashing: Low battery power.
When it's out of juice, plug the Micro USB cable into the port on the torch. The battery takes around 4 hours to charge, a LED charging status indicator light beside the port will tell you when it is done. Red: charging; green: fully charged.
Do not attempt to recharge if not using rechargeable batteries as there is risk of an explosion.
Instructions for use
The Boson is awesome and has 5 lighting modes. One long press turns it on, then you can go ahead and carry on pressing the power button to sashay through the incredible lighting modes:
On > High > Medium > Low > 6Hz Flashing > 3Hz Flashing > Off
To turn the torch off press once after 10 seconds in any mode.
Handlebar Mount
The handlebar mount is designed to fit 18 - 36 mm bars. Boson can be removed from the clamp when it is fixed to your handlebars.
- Do not shine torch directly into your eyes
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep your Boson clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements
- Remove any moisture before storage
Battery type: 1 x 3.7V 2600mAh 18650 Li-ion Rechargeable Battery [Included]
Battery cycle: 500 cyles (Reserves ~80% Capacity after 500 cycles)
Wipe down torch body with a damp cloth.
Ensure that the torch is completely dry. Store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the torch does not work, check that the battery has been inserted the right way round and that it is fully charged. Check that there is no water in the torch, dry thoroughly if there is and try again. Check contacts for signs of corrosion caused by batteries leaking or through damp. Clean contacts with a light emery cloth.
If issues cannot be corrected using these instructions, contact Alpkit for advice.
Bulb Type: 1 x XP-L Cree White LED
|Run time
|Water Resistance
|850 lm
|3 h
|320 lm
|7 h
|100 lm
|17 h
|6Hz Flashing
|20 h
|3Hz Flashing
|20 h
Created: Nov 29, 2016
Qark Instructions
Get started with your new Qark head torch. With motion and light sensors, this trusty little assistant will adapt to your surroundings before you can even say 'Chocolate Digestive' (which we just happen to say a lot in AKHQ)
Download the Qark PDF instruction sheet
Change the Batteries
The battery cannot be removed from the battery pack. To recharge, attach the Micro USB cable to the port on the side of the battery pack. The light unit will not function while charging is in process. Charging takes approximately 1.5 hours (DC5V 1000 mA input)
Instructions for Use
Main Mode:
Long press on the power button to switch on, click again shimmy through the lighting modes:
Luxeon LED High > Luxeon LED Medium > Luxeon LED Low > 3mm LEDs On > 3mm LEDs 2 Hz Flashing > Off
To turn Qark off press once after 10 seconds in any mode.
Automatic Sensor Mode:
Long press on the sensor mode button to switch on, click to shimmy through the sensor modes:
Motion Sensor (Red Indicator On) > Light Sensor (Blue Indicator On) > Off
When in Motion Sensor Mode, wave your hand in front of the Infra-Red Sensor to switch the Luxeon LED on and off. In this mode, the torch will run at high power.
When in Light Sensor Mode, the Luxeon LED will blink twice. The brightness level will be automatically adjusted according to the environment, as you pass into darkness the power will pass from the 3 mm LEDs to the main LUXEON LED.
To turn Qark off press the sensor mode button once after 10 seconds in any mode.
Rear Light:
Long press to switch on, click again to shimmy through the output modes:
High > 3 Hz Flashing > Pulse Flashing
To turn Qark off press power button once after 10 seconds in any mode.
- Do not shine torch directly into your eyes
- Do not submerge.
- Do not disassemble or modify this product as it will invalidate your warranty
- Keep your TORCH clean to prevent dirt and dust from entering the electric elements
- Remove any moisture before storage
- Do not submerge
Wipe down torch body with a damp cloth.
Ensure that the torch is completely dry. Store in a dry place.
Service and Repairs
If the head torch does not turn on, try plugging into the charger and checking if the charging light comes on. If the head torch still does not work when charged, or the charging light doesn't come on, contact Alpkit for further advice.
Bulbs: 1 x Luxeon TX white LED
2 x 3 mm LEDs
|Beam Distance
|Burn Time
|Water Resistance
|Luxeon LED High
|300 lm
|115 m
|3 h
|Luxeon LED Med
|100 lm
|65 m
|10 h
|Luxeon LED Low
|10 lm
|25 m
|50 h
|3 mm LED
|15 lm
|50 m
|50 h
|3mm 2Hx Flashing
|120 h
|Rear On
|68 h
|Rear 3Hz Flashing
|68 h
|Pulse Flashing
|21 h
Battery is sealed and cannot be removed from the torch.
1 x 3.7 V 1200 mAh Li-polymer rechargeable (sealed)
Protected circuit
Created: Nov 28, 2016
Which headtorch should I choose?
Created: Nov 23, 2016
Pulsar waterproof top
In this video I take a look at the Pulsar waterproof. This is a 2.5 layer waterproof with a half length zip, great for going light and still containing all the features you'd want on or off the hill.
Created: Nov 17, 2016
Phantac hydrophobic RDS jacket
In this video we cover the Phantac down jacket. This is our most technical down jacket and new for 2017 comes with Nikwax Hydrophobic RDS down.
Created: Nov 17, 2016
Filo hydrophobic RDS jacket
In this video I take a look at this years Filo down jacket. We have made some major upgrades this year; fully featured, the Filo uses 650 (IDFB) fill power Nikwax Hydrophobic duck down and is RDS ceritified.
Created: Nov 16, 2016
Top Tarp Tips - 6 ways to pitch a tarp
Our Rig tarps offer ultimate flexibility and can be pitched in as many orientations as you can imagine. Here are our top 5:
Top Tarp Tips Part 1 - Continuous Ridge Line
Top Tarp Tips Part 2 - The Reflect Wedge
Top Tarp Tips Part 3 - Buried Sand Bags
Top Tarp Tips Part 4 - Kayak Bivvy
Top Tarp Tips part 5 - Van Attachment
Top Tarp Tips part 6 - Plough Point shelter
And finally, our step by step tarp-pitching photo guide.
Created: Nov 15, 2016
Where does the palm oil in Extreme Foods come from?
The palm oil used in Extreme Food is certified as from responsible sources. It (or something similar) is required to assist in the high energy and low weight of the Extreme formula. Extreme Foods are keen to not be involved in anything that negatively affects the habitat of wildlife.
Created: Nov 11, 2016
Shox Trekking Poles
In this video I take a look at the Shox trekking poles. These poles have a spring built into the handle to reduce the strains on your arms when on hard or rocky ground. The Shox are available as a single pole or a pair.
Created: Nov 11, 2016
How fast do BruKits boil?
Support Hero, Dave, tested how many cups of tea he could make with the BruKit Jackal and Wolf - the results were fascinating!
First, Dave tested the boil times. The best times were acheived with an (almost) full 230 g gas canister with a propane/ isobutane mix:
Next, we tested how much gas the BruKits use and how the amount of gas in the canisiter affects the time taken to boil. Dave found the following using a 100g canister:
Each 500 ml of water boiled uses 5% of the gas in the canister
With a full gas canister, BruKit can boil 500 ml of water in 3 mins 10 sec
With an almost empty canister, this boil time increases to 4 mins 40 sec
8 l of water can be boiled with 80 g of gas - that is 32 cups of tea!
The average boil time is 3 mins 24 sec across a whole gas canister.
Created: Oct 25, 2016
What is the difference between fill weight and fill power?
Quantity of fill
The more down you have in a bag the warmer it is, this is known as the Fill weight, (don't confuse this with "Fill power" which is a measure of how good the down is: not all down is the same) This means that you can have a sleeping bag which either has:
Low fill power and Higher Fill weight (cheaper but bulkier and heavier)
Low fill weight and high Fill power (more expensive but more compact and lighter)
Fill Power
There is no substitute for good quality down and the easiest way to measure this is to check out its Fill Power, the higher the number the better it is. But attention, just because some thing has an extra hundred here and there doesn't mean it substantially better.
The numbers game
In the last few years several brands have developed 900 fill power. Be aware, evolution doesn't happen so fast, they haven't developed Superduck. What they have done is get a bit better at sorting the pure down from the feathers and a awful lot better at getting the best test results from the same down quality they used before.
For what to look for when choosing a down sleeping bag, have a read of our handy guide.
Created: Oct 21, 2016
What is goose/ duck down?
The fine feathers plucked from chest area of a plump waterfowl. Goose down is what fills our sleeping bags. Down is very good at keeping you warm, but if you can't keep the bag dry then it cannot do it's job well.
Fowl language
Ducks and Geese are the main source of down, but just what is down! Alright we are getting to it. Like all genuine birds these plump waterfowl have several types of feather. Some help keep them up in the air, some keep them warm, some keep them streamlined when floating about on the water and others well they don't even know what they are themselves.
Flight Feathers
These are the most important feathers that a bird owns, without them they would fly as well as a dog, they would also need a lot more of the small fluffy downy ones as they would be walking out of the artic. Because they are so good at helping a bird fly, they are not much use as insulation.
Contour Feathers
These are the little critters that don't know what they are. They look like feathers on the top portion and then turn in to loose fluffy feathers towards the base of their stems.
Down Plumage
Down feathers are small with no interlocking barbules and rachis that are soft and poorly developed. They grow continuously and never moult and lie under the contour feathers. On the majority of birds they are found on the breast and belly. This is the mythical down.
For what to look for when choosing a down sleeping bag, have a read of our handy guide.
Created: Oct 21, 2016
Cloud Cover
In this video I look at the Cloud Cover. This is our latest update on our down blanket which now includes Nikwax treated hydrophobic down and an integrated stuff pocket.
Created: Oct 11, 2016
Keeping up with the exchange rate fluctuations
Everyone remembers the day when their favourite chocky bar went up in price or even worse… went up in price and got smaller.
Frequent visitors will have noticed that the prices of some of our products have nudged up over the past couple of weeks. We hate having to put prices up, so what gives?
The first thing to say is that our products haven't been stripped down and the specs haven't got any less awesome. Infact we are working hard to improve our specs - like the RDS Nikwax Hydrophobic down just introduced in our Cloud Cover quilt. Ever since way back when we have always gone for straightforward prices. No hidden extras. We have no time for the yo-yo prices of high street retailers, price high to discount later or creating artificial retail prices just to sell off late in the season.
Our little bit of magic is to pass on the benefits of short supply chains with our factories, a pumped up, fast stock turn and an equally pumped up team working to get stuff online, picked, packed and despatched as quickly as possible. We have always been about being direct, the fewer steps between you and your product the better.
So back to the bad news. The weaker pound since June has put our costs up by more than 15%. We've held off putting up our prices for as long as we can but now, as we buy more stock, we need to put up them up now. We still think our products are great value when compared to like for like products on the high street and, as the effects of the exchange rate trickle through to other manufacturers we believe you will see that gap widen further.
We price all our products to cover our costs, make sure we're sustainable for the long term, at the very minimum pay our staff the national living wage and continue to develop, innovate and offer excellent support. We are committed to developing honest, great value, thought through outdoor equipment for many years to come.
Created: Oct 11, 2016
How do I change the lenses on my Krugers?
Interchangable lenses on sunglasses can be a bit fiddly but it is easy once you get the hang of it. Simply, hold them upside down with arms facing away, holding lens gently. Then bend the frame so that the nose piece moves away and then lens will pop out. Then simply wiggle the new lens in.
Created: Sep 18, 2016
Do the Jackal and Wolf pot supports fit the original BruKit?
The pot supports supplied with the BruKit Jackal and the BruKit Wolf do not fit on the original BruKit as the size of the burner has changed. There are currently no plans to provide a pot support for the original BruKit.
Created: Sep 15, 2016
Mountain Tent Dimensions
Created: Aug 22, 2016
How do I clean and reproof my waterproof garment?
Why reproof my waterproof garment?
If you don't regularly wash your jacket it may wet-out, which is where rain doesn't bead up and roll off, but saturates an area of the outer fabric of the jacket. The jacket is still waterproof but areas that have wetted out can't breathe as well so you can feel sweaty after prolonged use.
This is because the chemical finish that jackets are treated with to keep water beading off a jacket has changed.
The outdoor industry is moving away from PFC based durable water repellents (DWRs), which have shown to be persistent (they stick around in the environment for a long time). As technology moves towards more environmentally friendly materials, some of the dirt and oil repellent ability of waterproof garments will decrease. This makes it more vital than ever to keep your waterproof squeaky clean.
When a waterproof garment absorbs oil and dirt (perspiration, detritus from skin, mud, sun screen and so on), this inhibits the ability of the material to breathe. The fabric is saturated, which prevents perspiration from leaving the material. The result is that the inside of the garment feels wet, even though it is still fully waterproof.
The average person will lose between 1 - 2 litres of water an hour through perspiration during exercise. If your garment isn't breathable, all that water will end up inside your clothing unable to get out, because your garment is still waterproof. Ironic, huh?
Cleansing your washing machine
Rule number one: Detergents are a big no-no for reproofing your waterproof! In fact, detergents will attract water to your waterproof, which is the opposite of what we are aiming for. For this reason, we recommend thoroughly cleansing your washing machine before cleaning your waterproof. To cleanse your washing machine, clean out the detergent tray, then run your machine on its hottest setting with a towel (or similar) and 500 ml of white vinegar inside.
How do I tell if my waterproof is in need of a reproofing?
Durable Water Repellent (DWR) is the coating on the garment which allows the water to 'bead off' the outer shell preventing the top layer of the jacket becoming waterlogged and diminishing breathability [see above]. DWR is not the main waterproof competent of the garment which is the membrane making up the mid layer of most jackets.
The easiest way to test your DWR is to pour a cup of water on the garment and watch. If the DWR is working effectively, then the water will bead off. If the DWR has degraded then the water will soak into the top layer of the fabric and 'wet out' making the fabric look darker.
You will not need to reproof your garment with every wash. How regularly you will need to reproof your garment will depend on the quality of the DWR coating and the usage of the garment. For light usage, you should expect to reproof your garment 2 - 3 times per year for optimum repellency. If you use the garment for intense exercise (such as hiking, biking, running, climbing) you should expect to reproof much more frequently.
There are two types of reproofing solution: wash-in and spray on.
How to your wash your waterproof
Brush away any dry mud/sand/cake crumbs.
Do up zips and velcro, loosen any draw cords.
Treat any stubborn stains with neat Tech Wash and a damp cloth.
Place garment (max of 2) in cleansed washing machine.
Use a tech wash such as Nikwax Tech Wash or Granger's Performance Wash according to instructions - this tends to vary depending on water hardness in your area. (Soap can be used as an alternative, but remember, no detergents!)
Run a delicate wash at 30°C.
Run a gentle rinse cycle to ensure all removal of all cleaning solutions.
The garment can be hand washed in warm water as an alternative to machine washing.
Allow your garment to air dry or tumble dry on a low heat.
You can use an iron over the garment on a very low setting to reactivate the DWR.
Note: Tumbledrying or ironing your garment will increase the durability of the DWR as the heat assists bonding between the DWR and the garment - even if the product states that airdrying is sufficient.
How to reproof your waterproof with Wash-In reproofer
Once your garment is all lovely and clean (doesn't need to be dry), place the garment back in the machine.
Use a reproofing agent such as Nikwax TX Direct or Granger's Repel according to the directions on bottle.
Run a gentle cycle at 30°C in your washing machine.
Dry your garment in a tumble dryer on a low heat. If a tumble dryer is not available, dry in another warm location such as in full sunshine or a warm room. Heat applied to the fabric helps the proofer bond to the material which makes it more effective.
How to reproof your waterproof with Spray-On reproofer
Protect your chosen work surface and lay your freshly cleaned garment flat whilst it is still wet.
Spray the proofer (such as Nikwax TX Direct or Granger's Performance Repel) evenly to the outside of the garment from a distance of 15 cm.
Wait for 2 minutes and remove any excess from the garment with a damp cloth and ensure that no areas have been missed. Repeat after several minutes.
Repeat procedure on other side.
Dry your garment in a tumble dryer on a low heat. If a tumble dryer is not available, dry in another warm location such as in full sunshine or a warm room. Heat applied to the fabric helps the proofer bond to the material which makes it more effective.
Created: Aug 17, 2016
Hadron Bike Light Insight
In this video, Fran takes a look at all the features of the Hadron bike light which has a super bright front light, 50 lumen rear red light, a wireless switch for super easy control and a rechargable battery.
Created: Jul 29, 2016
Is this bag waterproof?
We are very cautious how we use the word waterproof. It means different things to different people, and with specialist equipment it is worth qualifying what we mean by it. Most people get it, but the reality is that it would only take one person to read waterproof with a capital W, pop their expensive Nikon camera in one of our bags and go for a swim. . we know how that might end.
All our drybags use fabrics that are waterproof and constructed with seams that are either welded or taped. The construction is waterproof but these products are not rated as immersion proof, i.e. not designed to go underwater.
Roll top closures
A drybag closure is a roll top which is a reliable and proven mechanism for creating a seal against water ingress from splashing and spray - however it is not pressure tested and its effectiveness is dependent on you to get a good seal. We do not make any claims these bags are immersion proof but they will do a great job of keeping your kit dry in a down pour.
Zipped closures
Water resistant zips such as those used on our DryDocks also protect against rain and spray, but they are still not immersion proof.
There are other considerations to take into account, such as the duration the bag is exposed to water, rubbing, pressure and condition. To take the ambiguity out of a term such as waterproof Boffins have invented a system for rating the effective waterproofness of things and have called it the IP Code. Generally dry bags will fall under IP 64 - dustproof and protect against water splashing from all directions.
Our advice as always is double bag your valuable items, water has a habit of getting anywhere.
Created: Jul 12, 2016
How our sleeping bags are tested
The Alpkit Sleep Limit is a single figure based on the combined experience of us, our customers and our Alpkiteers spending many nights out, all year round, in all conditions and is backed up by thermal testing and years of expertise with fill, materials and construction methods.
Our sleeping bags are tested using the Leeds Comfort Model in the labs at Leeds University. The results of these tests are interpolated to give an equivalent EN13537 rating so that you can easily compare our sleeping bags with other brands.
The Leeds Comfort Model
Test Method
The tests are performed according to BS 4745:1990 utilising a single plate togmeter with a 50 cm diameter. Sleeping bags are allowed to loft for a minimum of 4 hours prior to testing and the temperatures are measured in a central location where the chest bone of a sleeper would be.
EN 13573 values are provided for comparison and are based on a calculation derived from comparative tests on identical sleeping bags.
|Night temperature
|Required thermal insulation (Togs)
|15 to 18
|3 to 5
|Spring / Autumn
|10 to 0
|5 to 8
|3 to -10
|7 to 10
|-5 to -20
|9 to 12
|Polar / High mountain
|-15 to -40
|11 to 20+
As far as thermal testing is important, it is just one tool we use to recommend the suitability of our sleeping bags for any given condition. This is why our recommended Alpkit Sleep Limit can differ from results recorded under laboratory conditions.
Created: Jun 23, 2016
How water resistant are our zips?
The zips we use are highly water resistant but they are not waterproof. Pockets internal and external may be susceptible to water ingress or condensation, remember this if you put your expensive gadgets in your pockets without additional protection such as a dry bag.
YKK Aquaguard zips (with a PU coating) are highly water resistant but not *waterproof*. These are used on the Balance, Pulsar and Parallax styles (also found on many high end waterproofs from other brands). The Gravitas uses a special water repellent zip which does not have a PU coating, which makes it lighter and more flexible but less resistant to water - it's more like a DWR treatment. There is a storm flap behind the zip though, to add another layer of protection.
Created: Jun 13, 2016
Self-Inflating Sleeping Mats: First use and care guide
When you get a new self-inflating sleeping mat, the first thing you'll probably do is celebrate - hooray!
But there are a few other vital things that you need to do as well. In this video, Hero Fran runs though the first use instructions for your new mat. He also shares few tips for making your sleeping mat last as long as possible and perform at its best, handy!
The dog ate your headphones and you don't want to wake up your pet spider? Read on for written instructions...
What's included with my mat?
Your mat comes with a repair kit including fabric patch, glue, and instructions. Hang onto it, you never know when you'll need it!
When it arrives
Inflate your mat as soon as it arrives, (and preferably not on its first trip) as it takes a while for the foam to decompress the first time. We recommend leaving it for a minimum of 30 minutes, but the longer the better.
Inflating your mat
Unroll and open out your mat.
Open the valve and breathe into it a few times.
Once the mat is firm, close the valve.
Packing your mat
Open the valve and roll up the mat, kneeling on it as you do so to squeeze the air out.
Once rolled, close the valve and unroll the mat.
Open the valve and roll up again, squeezing all the air out.
Storing your mat
It is best to store your mat uncompressed, unrolled, and with the valve open. Find a cool, dry spot that's out of direct sunlight for your mat to live in, like down the side of a wardrobe or under the bed.
Created: May 27, 2016
Cycle to Work Schemes
Cycle-to-Work is a UK government scheme which lets you buy a new bike through your employer, saving between 25% and 42% on the price of the bike through tax and national insurance savings.
What will I pay?
When you pay for a bike using a cycle to work voucher, you will pay the list price advertised on the bike page, as shown below.
This is because all cycle to work providers charge a commission. If your particular provider charges less than the others, we will refund any difference to you.
Please note that if your employer is paying us directly for the bike, you pay the reduced price NOT the list price.
If you would like to order a bike of a higher value than your voucher, please check that your company allows this since not all companies or cycle-to-work providers do so.
Am I eligible?
Cycle to Work is open to all UK resident customers who want to buy a bike from Alpkit. Check with your employer whether they run a scheme.
What can I buy with the scheme?
You can purchase any of our Sonder bikes through Cycle to Work. Employers making a direct payment as part of an internal scheme must ensure that all agreements between the employer and employee adhere to government guidelines on Cycle to Work. We cannot accept responsibility for any final decisions made.
Which cycle-to-work schemes does Alpkit accept?
Direct payment from employer's own scheme
Bike 2 Work
Cycle Solutions
GCI: Green Commute Initiative
How do I place an order?
Find out the following from your employer and cycle-to-work scheme provider before placing an order:
What is the price limit for your cycle to work scheme?
Can additional top-up payments be made on top of the cycle to work voucher?
How long does it usually take your employer to supply the information to the scheme and to Alpkit?
What are the terms & conditions from your employer, the scheme provider and Alpkit? (it's best to check that there are no contradictions which might cause problems at a later stage).
How do I send a voucher to Alpkit?
Vouchers can be provided as an e-certificate. You can forward this to us by e-mail to email@example.com with the order reference. We will request proof of ID through a secure file share.
You can also post your Cycle to Work vouchers to:
Cycle to Work, Alpkit Limited, Unit 12-14 Oak House, Engine Lane, Newthorpe, Nottingham, NG16 3QU
Please also include:
A photocopy of some photo-identification (e.g. Driver's License, Passport)
Your order reference
What equipment can I include?
A wide range of cycling equipment can be included on Cycle to Work. HMRC's scheme guidelines advise that a 'common sense approach' should be taken when considering items to include. As a rule of thumb, any items which help make you safer, keep your bike safe, or help with your commute can be included, as follows:
Bags and racks
Cycle clothing*
Any high-visibility items
Stems, seat-posts
Replacement bike parts to keep your bike safe on the road, such as wheels and tools/maintenance items (e.g. pumps, puncture repair kits, multi-tools but not workstands)
How long does the process take?
You have 28 days to provide us with your cycle-to-work voucher from the date of your order. We will contact you once the voucher is received to collect any additional payments (including the admin fee). Once the balance has been paid, we will build your bike for despatch within 10 days.
If a voucher is not provided within 28 days and no contact has been provided to advise us of a delay, a final attempt to contact you will be made before we cancel your order.
What if my certificate doesn't equal the exact cost of the bike and equipment?
If your certificate value is more than the cost of the equipment, it is not possible to get a refund but you can include more accessories. If your certificate value is less than the cost of the equipment you can add your own money to it. It is your responsibility to check with the employer and scheme to ensure extra payments are accepted by them before placing an order. We cannot be held accountable if this is disputed at a later date.
"Who is the legal owner of the bike?"
Please check with your specific scheme as your employer may be the legal owner of the bike until the end of the lease period. At that point, your employer may choose to either keep the bike or sell it to you for a nominal sum set out in the terms of their scheme
"Do we provide quotes for bikes?"
Yes, simply contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com. A quote is valid for 30 days but does not guarantee that the stock will be held.
"Can I order a bike with a higher value than the voucher and pay the remaining balance myself?"
Please check that your company allows this since not all companies or cycle-to-work providers do so.
"Can I change my bike once I have my cycle-to-work voucher?"
Yes, however once the build process has begun on your bike this is no longer possible.
"Can I upgrade components to items not listed on the bike page?"
Yes please contact us for bespoke builds.
"How long does it take from building to shipping?"
All bikes are built within 10 days and shipped the same day. Delivery depends on your location and is generally 2-5 days within the UK and up to 10 days internationally.
"Can I use the voucher in person?"
Yes you can. To place an order you need to have your voucher with you and pay the admin fee on the day.
"Can I Pay by credit/debit card and have the money refunded once we receive the voucher?"
No, all cycle to work orders have to be paid from the start by voucher and additional payment.
"I now have my voucher. When can I collect my bike?"
All bikes are built to order when we have both the voucher and admin fee or direct payment from your employer to the total agreed cost of your bike. Bikes are built with 10 days and we will let you know when it is ready for collection or delivery.
"Are any bikes excluded from the Cycle to Work Scheme?"
All bikes are available on cycle-to-work schemes.
"What happens if I change my mind?"
After signing the hire agreement you have a 14 day cooling off period if you change your mind. After that the hire agreement with your employer is not cancellable.
Created: May 10, 2016
In this video I look at the Clip flask, an excellent option for taking hot drinks out and about with you.
Created: Apr 27, 2016
How to attach a Koala seat pack to your bike
In this video I cover how to attach a Koala to your bike. It's essential that you take time to pack your Koala well and that you tighten the straps as much as you can to get the best performance from it.
Created: Apr 20, 2016
Quick links
Repairs and Returns
Sales Advice
- How we ship our products
- International orders - Ordering from outside the UK
- Finance Options
- Bulk Orders and what discounts are available
- Pre-Orders items - what are they and when will you get them?
- Ordering Custom Products
Help with your order
Sonder Bikes
- When will you get your bike?
- Common bike upgrades
- Bike and frame weights
- Cycle to Work Schemes
- Bike Hire and Demos
- International Shipping