Spring has finally sprung and warmer weather campers have started to emerge from hibernation (myself included). After months of planning adventures and getting giddy about heading into the… Read More

Me at the finish of the Lakeland 50 Ultra 2022 – Photo by Olivia Crankshaw The Kamleika jacket is a waterproof running jacket produced by the brand OMM, a brand embedded in the mo… Read More

I recently went on a group trip to the Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan organised by Alpine Guides. Had an amazing time with a great bunch of people, half of whom I didn’t know, in… Read More

With a winter climbing itch to scratch and some very cold temperatures forecast in the Cairngorms Myself and two of my regular climbing partners Lukasz & Martin headed up to Aviemore f… Read More

We have teamed up with Black Diamond to offer one keen backcountry skier a Black Diamond Recon X Avalanche transceiver. All you have to do is read our guide to avalanche rescue procedur… Read More

Sunday 3rd December 2023 After both mine and Andy’s plans fell through for the weekend, we found ourselves with a free Sunday, which we decided to fill with a snowy 24 mile run ar… Read More

Traditionally Crampons have been separated into 3 categories: C1 or ‘strap’ crampons go with B1 boots. They require no special features on the boot thanks to their flexi… Read More

Win a Winter skills day with the Lake District Fell Top Assessors and La Sportiva. To celebrate the launch of La Sportiva’s Alpine Tech range of technical mountaineering clothing… Read More

29.35 miles / 47.23km 11,457ft / 3492 meters Elapsed time: 8:51:27 A spontaneous decision the day before had me and Andy heading for the front door of George Fisher on Sunday (15/10/… Read More

The New Mountain Equipment Makalu Jacket is Mountain Equipment’s first venture into Gore’s new PFC-Free GORE-TEX ePE. This new waterproof / breathable membrane is made from exp… Read More

New GORE-TEX ePE Gore’s new PFC free and more sustainable membrane is now rolling out across our outerwear brands, so what is it and how does it compare with existing GORE-T… Read More

The Lakeland 50 is an ultra race that starts in Dalemain and finishes in Coniston at the John Ruskin School, visiting 6 amazing checkpoints in Howtown, Mardale Head, Kentmere, Ambleside, C… Read More

Spring/Summer fell running season is in full swing. Big events like The Fellsman has been and gone and other major events are on the horizon, including the Rab Helvellyn Sky Race and the L… Read More

Fells: Eagle Crag, Sergeants Crag, High Raise, Rossett Pike, Great Gable, Green Gable, Brandreth, Grey Knotts, Dale Head. 18.92 miles / 30.45km 7293ft / 2223m elevation 6 hours… Read More

Rab have taken their decades of experience in insulation and innovative heat-reflective technology, to create a range of lightweight, packable, comfortable sleeping mats as the perfect… Read More

Black Diamond have announced a voluntary recall on the Recon LT transceiver. In a limited number of cases, the Recon LT could unexpectedly enter search mode, despite its rotary switch r… Read More

Distance: 17.88 miles/28.78km Elevation: 5154 ft/1571m The day started with an early rise and a drive to Keelham Farm Shop in Skipton, where I met up with Andy and Shep to… Read More

Looking for your first avalanche transceiver, or in the market for an upgrade? Our transceiver review will help you choose. Learn about the features you should be looking for and the d… Read More

The Mountain Equipment Shelterstone Jacket is a light weight and warm synthetic insulated jacket with a totally windproof and highly water resistant outer. The Shelterstone Jacket com… Read More

Rab have updated their range of Latok waterproofs for winter 2022. Now made with GORE-TEX PRO and with a range of features to suit all mountain enthusiasts. The Latok Extreme GTX Jack… Read More

This Winter we have expanded our Ski Touring and Mountaineering range with the addition of Chamonix based Blue Ice. We are stocking a range of their lightweight ice axes, their innovat… Read More

Buffalo Double Pile clothing is the UK made alternative to the hard shell waterproof jacket. Made from an inner layer of high loft pile fleece and an outer wind proof and water resista… Read More

This year, we’re celebrating 50 years of Therm-a-Rest, the brand who brought us the very first self-inflating mattress as well as a host of innovative inventions over the past half-c… Read More

Big Agnes is a new brand here at Facewest. If you haven’t heard of Big Agnes they are an outdoor gear manufacture that was founded in 2000. They are based in Steamboat Springs, Color… Read More

Exped have redesigned their entire camping mat range for 2022. They have switched to recycled fabrics and made their entire mat range climate neutral with help from myclimate who devel… Read More

If you are heading off into the hills for any period of time hot food and drink are vital to not only your survival should things go wrong but also for your moral. A hot cup of Tea or Coff… Read More

During a recent ski tour where poor weather scuppered our main plan, we found ourselves at short notice contemplating a little day tour we found on skitourenguru.ch. With only a mobile for… Read More

We have teamed up with Rab Equipment to offer one lucky winner a brand new Rab Neutrino 400 Sleeping Bag. Rab have updated their Neutrino Range for 2022, switching the main fabric… Read More

We have introduced a few new products to our Black Diamond range this season. We have a few new and updated packs plus some new trail running accessories. Speed Zip Packs The S… Read More

In 2019, my partner and I walked our first Wainwright. Gradually, it turned into a ritual to set an alarm for 5am on a Sunday morning to beat the A65 traffic up to the Lake District. O… Read More

We have partnered with Hydro Flask to celebrate their Parks For All programme. We are offering 3 lucky competition winners a Hydro Flask bottle of their choice from our range. What… Read More

Black Diamond / Pieps have announced a safety check for their range of transceivers which share components. They have observed a small number of devices with malfunctioning compone… Read More

Late Season can often have the best conditions for touring. A decent snow base has often built up and the days are longer (especially in Scotland!). As the temperatures start to rise y… Read More

There’s nothing better than leaving the pistes, heading out and skiing untracked powder under a blue sky, or skinning into a remote valley and spending the night in an alpine hut. Of… Read More

In general the transceiver market has crystalized into 2 distinct groups, Standard and Advanced Transceivers. This is a rather arbitrary division, it does not mean that advanced transceive… Read More

At facewest.co.uk avalanche safety is our niche. We stock only the latest and best avalanche safety equipment and have a range of avalanche safety guides that you can find on our website… Read More

The New Rab Infinity Microlight jacket is an upgraded version of Rab’s classic Microlight Alpine down jacket. Now with a GORE-TEX INFINIUM windproof and water resistant outer fab… Read More

We’ve been shortlisted for online retailer of the year by the lovely readers of The Great Outdoors magazine. This years awards also include a new category called the Open Outd… Read More

Soto are a Japanese company specialising in super light stoves and cookware. Their impressive stoves are made in Japan and their build quality is incredible. Their top of the range StormBr… Read More

Caring for your outdoor gear is something that most people probably don’t spend much time or money on – after all when you’re not out using it the last thing you want to… Read More

Billed as the longest running adventure race in the UK and taking place each June is the 3 Peaks Yacht Race. https://www.threepeaksyachtrace.co.uk Sail from Barmouth in Wales to Fort W… Read More

All GORE-TEX waterproof products are made with a GORE-TEX membrane sandwiched between a face fabric and an inner layer. The face fabric provides protection and can be made from different m… Read More

Early June 2021 and I finally managed to get a trip to Scotland in with fellow Leeds climber and MCI trainee Neil and Glenmore Lodge nightwatchman and MCI trainee Will. This trip had origi… Read More

Mountain Equipment have introduced their new Orbital range for Spring 2021. Consisting of a jacket and trousers these two waterproof layers have been designed as a high output, highly brea… Read More

Facewest’s Jake is an experienced Paraglider as well as a Ski Tourer. In fact Facewest was started by Jake & Stu back in 2001 when they had to give up gliding instructor jobs due… Read More

New to Facewest this spring are the updated Osprey Talon and Tempest packs. The Talon was launched in 2007 as a lightweight unisex multi activity backpack. Skip forward 7 years and Ospr… Read More

Want to make a massive cut in the weight and size of your backpacking pack? Forget cutting out labels and the handle off your toothbrush. Swap your full sleeping bag for a quilt instead. T… Read More

The new MSR Habitude tents are a bit of a departure from the norm for MSR and us at facewest. MSR are famous for their well featured, lightweight backpacking tents like the Hubba and Elixi… Read More

Back in March 2020 and staring down the barrel of lockdown 1.0, like a lot of people I decided to start taking running seriously. I’d always done a bit but never really managed to re… Read More

This spring Rab have redesigned their Cirrus Flex range of lightweight insulation for active use. Filled with recycled Primaloft Silver Luxe and featuring a recycled Pertex Quantum outer t… Read More

PIEPS have announced a replacement program for the carry harness that comes with their DSP Sport, DSP Pro and DSP Pro ICE transceivers. This comes after concerns raised by users regarding… Read More

Risk Assessment and preparation. Avalanche Avoidance The golden rule of back country or off piste skiing and snowboarding is to AVOID avalanches. Everyone should be properly equip… Read More

At Facewest we are always interested in new products that can make life easier, or for those more interested in suffering, more ‘efficient’. We are pretty excited about the new… Read More

When Rab told us there would be 3 jackets in the new Vapour Rise range I knew I would have to try them all. So here is my take on the VR Summit. The VR Summit is the warmest piece in th… Read More

This year we have teamed up with the British Mountaineering Council’s Hills 2 Oceans litter picking campaign to offer an alternative Black Friday for our customers. The Hills 2 O… Read More

Why do walking trousers for ladies never fit? Let me tell you reader, I have had endless battles with walking trousers over the years. It’s just like jeans, impossible to find… Read More

Synthetic insulation is an alternative to natural down feathers used in insulated jackets. It has several advantages over down feathers that we will go into below. Synthetic insulation has… Read More

Mammut are committed to the safety of their products, as such they continually assess their products to find potential improvements and identify problems. Unfortunately they have ident… Read More

Earlier this year Ortovox announced as precautionary safety notice on their AVABAG Carbon cartridges. They established that a small number of cartridges from a specific production period… Read More

There has been some online discussion in the US about the mode selection switch of some PIEPS Transcievers. PIEPS have addressed these concerns and engaged in further testing of their DSP… Read More

I’ve had my Ridgeline about a week now and used it for a couple of runs and bike rides. As a long time user of Vapour Rise I knew how big were the shoes it was trying to fill. Ori… Read More

The Where: Stanage Edge the spiritual home of UK climbing for people who haven’t been to Almscliff. The What: All 36 starred VS routes in the 1989 Stanage Edge guide book. Some ar… Read More

Rab Vapour-Rise clothing has been around for a number of years now, building a fanatical following in the outdoors community. If you are one of these fanatics, you know what you’re a… Read More

Patagonia have been pioneering responsibly made clothing for a number of years now. Our Winter 2020 range reflects this commitment with the largest range of Fair Trade Certified sewn c… Read More

Mammut are constantly working on ways to improve their transceiver range so their firmware updates are a fairly common occurrence. They do not mean that there is a problem with the cur… Read More

This Winter our top clothing brands have updated their tough waterproof mountaineering shells with new GORE-TEX PRO Shell 2.0. PRO Shell has been GORE-TEX’s top end waterproof membra… Read More

Coreloft is a synthetic insulation developed by Arc’teryx for their Atom range of clothing. It consists of a layer of ‘fluffy’ polyester which traps heat generated by you… Read More

We are giving away two Exped Synmat HL Winter camping mats. To be in with a chance of winning one enter the competition below. The Exped Synmat HL Winter is a super light and compact… Read More

ORTOVOX have announced an update for their 3+ transceivers to software version 2.3. The update fixes the self-test upon turning on the device, and will prevent fully functional devic… Read More

The Rab Phantom Pull-On is an ultralight waterproof designed specifically for mountain runners. Part of their Skyline range of clothing with the same remit. The Phantom Pull-On certainly f… Read More

Hydro Flask Bottles and Flasks are TempShield double walled vacuum insulated flasks. Made from a durable 18/8 professional-grade stainless steel they will not impart tastes from previ… Read More

The Rab Kaon Jacket is a super light down insulated jacket ideal for use during belay duty, Alpine climbing and general use when the temperature drops. The slim fit and Stretchy, breathab… Read More

During the unprecedented circumstances brought about by Coronavirus we are maintaining business as usual as far as customers are concerned. As an online only retailer with no prem… Read More

To celebrate the re-launch of Thermarest’s entire mat range, all with fancy new valves we are giving away a Thermarest NeoAir Xlite. The Thermarest Xlite is an iconic super l… Read More

As a brand Thermarest are pretty innovative and for spring 2020 they have come up with two new valve systems for their sleeping mat range. The Winglock and Twinlock valves replace their or… Read More

Arc’Teryx have redesigned their classic Nuclei jacket for this spring. The old version was a firm favorite belay jacket among american big wall climbers thanks to its durability and… Read More

By Sky Schwartz. January 28th 2020. Back country skiing I really enjoy off piste back country skiing and have done it in a number of Alpine ski resorts. In previous years my fat… Read More

We are now well and truly into the winter season and whilst this you years Scottish Winter season has been a little disappointing, there are still some places that are having some wintry w… Read More

We are giving away an Ortovox Zoom+ transceiver to one lucky winner who is prepared to do some homework on avalanche safety. As avalanche safety specialists we have a range of guides av… Read More

The Mountain Equipment Kaniq 33 is a ski specific redesign of Mountain Equipment’s popular Tupilak Mountaineering packs. Constructed from the same durable fabrics and with the same… Read More

Part 1 covered our range of entry level to intermediate devices, now I’ll be moving on to our more advanced transceivers. While the devices covered have plenty of more advanced featu… Read More

At Facewest we stock one of the most comprehensive range of Transceivers in the UK. In this artical I’ll be running through our range in two parts. Part 1 will be entry level to inte… Read More

This Winter Black Diamond have released a new range of avalanche airbags. There’s a range of sizes available all with the name JetForce, but confusingly not all of them use the new B… Read More

Dakine are known for making great quality luggage. This season along with our standard range of ski and travel bags we have added a new range of hard cased luggage. Dakine Concourse Har… Read More

The Rab Pivot GTX Glove is a dexterous waterproof technical climbing glove for demanding use in cold and wet conditions. Using GORE-TEX Active waterproof / breathable technology to keep yo… Read More

With the temperatures dropping and the clocks going back its time to start planning your ski trips. An important aspect is ensuring your Avalanche safety kit is up to standard and working… Read More

I have only ever been to Chamonix twice before and neither visit was a dedicated climbing trip so I was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. Reading the guidebooks before… Read More

With this year’s unsettled summer weather I’ve found myself on two Pembroke trips in the past month. A quick bank holiday weekend to get started, then a week later back down fo… Read More

Got a camping trip coming up and want to make sure you get a good nights sleep? With a massive range of camping mats out there its easy to feel bewildered, here at Facewest we have a pretty… Read More

I’ve been using the Arc’Teryx Alpha FL jacket for around 3 years now and it has become my favorite piece of out door clothing. Its a totally dependable GORE-TEX Pro Shell waterp… Read More

Mountain Equipment’s new range of Goblin packs are great all round use day packs with some climbing specific features, as you would expect from Mountain Equipment. I’ve been tes… Read More

This spring we’ve added a new brand to our climbing hardwear range. Edelrid are German hardwear brand that have been making cutting edge climbing gear for over 150 years. The focus of… Read More

I buy coffee beans and grind them at home because I like coffee. When away in the van or tent I used a cafetiere and bought ground coffee. Not very good coffee and a collection of… Read More

The Arc’Teryx Lakeland Revival is a celebration of all things Trad in the Lake District. The aim is to climb a collection of classic routes that are becoming neglected and reclaimed… Read More

The Rab Neutrino 400 is the mid weight bag in Rab’s redesigned Neutrino review. With a temperature limit down to -7ºC its a great bag for 2 to 3 season use in the UK. I’ve… Read More

Our range of new Rab Sleeping bags will keep you warm in a wide variety of conditions. Low weight and packsize are a priority while our warmest bag will keep you toasty down to -12ºC… Read More

Avliable in Men’s and Women’s, the Rab Kinetic Alpine Jacket is an innovative, super light Waterproof jacket with the look, feel and stretch of a Softshell. This is made possib… Read More

Our new Spring Arc’teryx range features Waterproofs, Down & Synthetic Insulation, Windproofs, Fleece and Baselayers for a range of activities. There’s also new Packs and Fo… Read More

Mountain Equipment’s new range of Earthrise Sleeping bags are made from 100% recycled materials. Available in two models, the 3 Season Earthrise 600 and the 2 Season Earthrise 400. E… Read More

Rab have recently celebrated the 10 year anniversary of their famous Microlight jacket range and to coincide with this they have released the new Microlight Summit Jacket. The Microlight Su… Read More