National Outdoor Expo (Birmingham)

[dodgerdog]

Good evening everyone.

I've been given free tickets to the above show. I'm just wondering if anyone here had been before and if its worth going (us plus 3 boys) or weather is just a collection of trade stalls with people trying to sell you things?

Cheers

 

[g4ghb]

Have been to many outdoor shows at the nec, yes there are loads of stalls hawking but is still a great day out just seeing what is out there now and is also great fun seeing what you can pick up (pens etc) free. Plus with free tickets apart from transport costs what have you to lose. Food is expensive (as in any exhibition venue) but we used to take snacks with us

 

[Paul_B]

Great deals used to be possible if you have a need for something being sold there. I went to a canoe show once and got a great paddle for a bargain deal. Plus the brand was not sold in any canoe shop I could get to as it was a new brand to the UK. Glass reinforced nylon blades and carbon shaft. Replaced a kober paddle for the same money but half the weight and twice as strong without Al reinforced blade edges.

Had I not needed a new paddle I doubt I'd have gone. Although it was still good for the experience.

 

[dodgerdog]

Have been to many outdoor shows at the nec, yes there are loads of stalls hawking but is still a great day out just seeing what is out there now and is also great fun seeing what you can pick up (pens etc) free. Plus with free tickets apart from transport costs what have you to lose. Food is expensive (as in any exhibition venue) but we used to take snacks with us

 

[dodgerdog]

Cheers guys, I'll give it a go I think.

 

[swyn]

I went to ‘The Outdoor’ show at NEC with my son and his friend in 2006. The boys were eleven and old enough to go round independently with hourly check-ins.
Alpkit was there in its younger days along with some good bushcraft stalls.
It was a great day out. I could see and try all sorts of things and the the boys had huge smiles on their little faces all day.

The train ride was rather chaotic with delays resulting in missed connections and right now I wouldn’t trust the rail network to deliver anything like a sensible service. So you probably need to drive there unless you have a direct rail link to the NEC or want to be travelling back in the dark and like us overshoot our final station where the car was parked! We were on an ‘express’ and this only stopped ten miles later resulting in us running madly via the tunnel system to the other side if the tracks and catching the local train going back up the line to where the car sat waiting where we had started from.
S

 

[C_Claycomb]

I have been to a couple of Outdoor Shows at the NEC, sounds like the name that came before this show. Most notable was the one in April 2004, where the first few moderators for BCUK met up and did bushcraft demos on the edge of the car park.


I am aligned with g4ghb's views. My experience has been that shows can be a good day out, particularly if you have free tickets as the tickets can be expensive. I think they are better as a day out of window shopping, opportunistic deal spotting and learning than for focused gear shopping.

As an example, I went to one and wanted a head torch, a water filter and a titanium pot, and there were only a couple of brands with stands and very small ranges. I came away with no purchases. Maybe if I had money and a longer list I might have seen something unexpected that got me . I certainly could have had a good canoe paddle from one of the shows.

 

[Paul_B]

The last time I went it was by car from nw England. Very early start with one stop on the way. I found a double machiato with an extra shot. The rest of the journey seemed a bit slow like time had changed speed with everyone but me moving, thinking and talking slow. I realised I needed to shut up after I'd had a 10 minute, conversation before we'd driven down the slip road onto the m6!

I digress badly but after that I found the show incredibly tiring by the time we left. If you go take time out occasionally. There's a lot of walking sometimes at these sorts of shows. With travelling it can be a long day. Certainly was after a caffeine come down.

 

[dodgerdog]

Well you guys have sold it to me. There are supposed to be plenty of bushcrafty bits and an indoor zip line and climbing wall so we will give it a go. I'll report back in due course. Thanks again.

 

[Minotaur]

See you there.
Last year was interesting and hope for more this year.
Couple of bushcraft stores were good and some of the new tech was really interesting.