Okay.
Been thinking about my postings lately. Obviously I fall into the all the gear and no idea category (!) as I seem to always be chatting about the damn stuff. I also have looked back through my postings and seen that I have posted a disproportionate amount about kit I buy from Endicotts. I think this might start to look suspicious. So if a Mod or Tony wish to shake a finger at me or stop this thread then I am fine with this. But just to say that I have no connection with Endicott's except as a happy customer, I do not know any of the staff outside of the shop and I have derived NO special discounts as a result of my postings - I get discounts like any other regular customer. Its just one of the shops I regularly buy from and its local to me. That's it. IN reality I buy too much kit from everywhere. But its....all so shiny......I'm like Gollum and that damn ring...
However I want to share the following with you.
I have been aware that some excess/old stock of Arktis "Goretex" Double Hoop bivvy bags have come on to the market (a previous posting by someone). Not alot of them but they have been selling from a Surplus Store (Marcus Army?) in Bristol and now Endicotts in Exeter. I believe that now the majority of this stock has now gone from the source they were getting them from. So I expect this is all a bit of a one off.
Someone mentioned this 'Meal Deal' on a thread last week in relation to a conversation they had with Kevin. So I dropped by to check it out and I got to fondle a sample bag. I have no experience of Arktis kit but I was blown away by the quality of this bag. It reminded me of a double-hooped goretex bivvy bag I bought (via Snow and Rock) some years ago by the name of Mountain Range (now no more). I paid around £180-200 for it I think. I might have paid even more. It was very nice kit. But this Arktis is a dead ringer in materials and design. Except for the DPM pattern, some different D rings I would have thought it was the same make of Bivvy. When Kevin told me that he was going to package it with a deal all for £59 I was impressed and slightly sceptical
Anyway I popped in today and was the first to grab a 'meal deal' that consists of a new Arktis Bivvy Bag, new Arktis Stowaway Shirt, Grade 1 58 Pattern Poncho and an new Arktis PLCE side pouch with two straps to make it a backpack. I really was not buying it for the other bits to be honest but I have already worn the stowaway shirt down the beach today to keep the wind off and it packs down soooo small. I was suprisingly impressed by the Arktis PLCE side pouch. It is much better spec'd than my bergen one (Berghaus Vulcan) and I like the draw-cord and snaplock lid rather than the annoying zip ones I have. I might have to buy another PLCE side-pocked to balance my pack up! I am sure the 58 Poncho will come in useful and this one is in much better condition that my other(s). Will come in useful on Dartmoor next week.
Anyway - Kevin has no more that a couple of dozen kits to sell so they won't last long. They are on his site now....I'll go and find the link now.
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=126&products_id=1212
Wherever you get this kit from (whilst stock is still around) I recommend that if you are in the market for a new bag then this is quite alot of bag for your money.
I'll be sleeping in mine tonight
LBL
Been thinking about my postings lately. Obviously I fall into the all the gear and no idea category (!) as I seem to always be chatting about the damn stuff. I also have looked back through my postings and seen that I have posted a disproportionate amount about kit I buy from Endicotts. I think this might start to look suspicious. So if a Mod or Tony wish to shake a finger at me or stop this thread then I am fine with this. But just to say that I have no connection with Endicott's except as a happy customer, I do not know any of the staff outside of the shop and I have derived NO special discounts as a result of my postings - I get discounts like any other regular customer. Its just one of the shops I regularly buy from and its local to me. That's it. IN reality I buy too much kit from everywhere. But its....all so shiny......I'm like Gollum and that damn ring...
However I want to share the following with you.
I have been aware that some excess/old stock of Arktis "Goretex" Double Hoop bivvy bags have come on to the market (a previous posting by someone). Not alot of them but they have been selling from a Surplus Store (Marcus Army?) in Bristol and now Endicotts in Exeter. I believe that now the majority of this stock has now gone from the source they were getting them from. So I expect this is all a bit of a one off.
Someone mentioned this 'Meal Deal' on a thread last week in relation to a conversation they had with Kevin. So I dropped by to check it out and I got to fondle a sample bag. I have no experience of Arktis kit but I was blown away by the quality of this bag. It reminded me of a double-hooped goretex bivvy bag I bought (via Snow and Rock) some years ago by the name of Mountain Range (now no more). I paid around £180-200 for it I think. I might have paid even more
. It was very nice kit. But this Arktis is a dead ringer in materials and design. Except for the DPM pattern, some different D rings I would have thought it was the same make of Bivvy. When Kevin told me that he was going to package it with a deal all for £59 I was impressed and slightly sceptical Anyway I popped in today and was the first to grab a 'meal deal' that consists of a new Arktis Bivvy Bag, new Arktis Stowaway Shirt, Grade 1 58 Pattern Poncho and an new Arktis PLCE side pouch with two straps to make it a backpack. I really was not buying it for the other bits to be honest but I have already worn the stowaway shirt down the beach today to keep the wind off and it packs down soooo small. I was suprisingly impressed by the Arktis PLCE side pouch. It is much better spec'd than my bergen one (Berghaus Vulcan) and I like the draw-cord and snaplock lid rather than the annoying zip ones I have. I might have to buy another PLCE side-pocked to balance my pack up! I am sure the 58 Poncho will come in useful and this one is in much better condition that my other(s). Will come in useful on Dartmoor next week.
Anyway - Kevin has no more that a couple of dozen kits to sell so they won't last long. They are on his site now....I'll go and find the link now.
http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=126&products_id=1212
Wherever you get this kit from (whilst stock is still around) I recommend that if you are in the market for a new bag then this is quite alot of bag for your money.
I'll be sleeping in mine tonight
LBL
cool! 
- for lots of reasons! 
