The National Outdoor Show

[nodd]

My wife and I made our way down to the Outdoor Show at the NEC on Saturday I had also had arranged to meet up with a mate of mine there too.We arrived about 10 O'clock met up with my mate and started to have a wander about.
My mate who had gone to last years show said this years show was not quite as big I have to say I found there was plenty to see and do.
It had been a couple of years since I had to the show and I was please to see that Bushcraft was better represented than when I had visited before. A couple of bits of kit grabbed my attention one was the Lifesaver bottle which looked to be good and it did a good job on the lake water they were using for the demonstration.The system looks very quick and easy to use all in all very impressed by the way it worked http://www.lifesaversystems.com/ .
The other thing that caught my eye apart from the Bowmoor whiskey stand ,was on the Bison Bushcraft stand and that was their Guide Shirt in the Autumn colour so impressed I had to try one on staff on the stand were very helpful and they had one my size too being a rather large chap 6' 1" 50" chest a XXL fitted OK. Not wanting to make a snap decision I said I would have think and pop back later more trying to think how I could say to the wife I just bought a great **** for £75. In the end I decided it was a great shirt but I sill had my swanndri so I could wait.
So we carried on looking around my mate and I went off to watch the climbing while my wife went to have a look at a couple of things she had spotted.
We met back up after a while and it was getting time to go when I was handed a bag containing one Guide shirt colour Autumn XXL. All in all a great day out.

 

[grimstead]

first time i had been thought it was great the lifesavers sytems looked really good you must let us no what its like when you have used it did anyone meet peter from birch tree productions plus me and my misses was given free vip tickets when we got their so we didnt have to pay that put a big smile on my face lol

 

[Kerne]

I thought this years show much better than the last one I attended (2 years ago) Got some bamboo t shirts and new boots. I liked the "Bushcraft village" - lets hope this idea expands for next year with a few more of the bushy firms getting involved. Also, it was great to see people getting their knives out on the stands (In public!) with no outcry.

 

[sandbag47]

went today (sunday).with my family.my eldest daughter started her first fire with a little help from George...thank you very much .and i went diving and wanted to do the wire walk up in the roof but it was fully booked ...bother!

 

[g4ghb]

I went today with Swmbo - kinda an annual pilgrimage now as we have only missed one since it started...

It did deem decidedly smaller compared to last year (by about half we reckon) and although we initially expected to be a little disappointed and bored we had a good day and it kept us amused.

I was a little surprised to see there was no 'biggies' - Karrimor, berghaus, cotswold, field & trek.... but it did feel more outdoorsey rather than a tourist show.

Anyways we will be there next years so I guess that means still a thumbs up for us!

Oh yes loads of freebies as usual, in fact more than we needed really so I'll be distrubuting things round the fammily etc

 

[scrogger]

I agree Graham a lot smaller and the shows that were advertised at £5.00 a shot we got free on the day. On talking to some of the exhibitors they were very dissapointed at how the NEC had handled it as they were oblivious to the fact the show was half its size. Their costs had increased as had the cost of the tickets to the public and they felt there were less punters making it less cost effective for them.

All that said I enjoyed my visit. I caught a talk by a young man of aroung 15 or 16 who was on the Bison Bushcraft stand he was extremely good and had a great way with the younger kids showing them fire lighting etc.

I also picked up a factory second Alpkit Hunka for the princely sum of £10.00 it was explained that the coating on the inside was not as durable as normal and could be scraped of with a coin! But as I dont scrape things with coins and it will only be used sparingly I thought it was worth a tenner!

Hope it runs next year it is a good day out.

Andy

 

[Klenchblaize]

The other thing that caught my eye was on the Bison Bushcraft stand and that was their Guide Shirt in the Autumn colour so impressed I had to try one on staff on the stand were very helpful and they had one my size too being a rather large chap 6' 1" 50" chest a XXL fitted OK.QUOTE]

Good to see you've joined the exclusive Guide Shirt Owners Club!:You_Rock_ What did you think of the "Spring" version they've recently released?

Cheers

 

[nodd]

The other thing that caught my eye was on the Bison Bushcraft stand and that was their Guide Shirt in the Autumn colour so impressed I had to try one on staff on the stand were very helpful and they had one my size too being a rather large chap 6' 1" 50" chest a XXL fitted OK.QUOTE]

Good to see you've joined the exclusive Guide Shirt Owners Club!:You_Rock_ What did you think of the "Spring" version they've recently released?

Cheers

Thank you for the warm welcome to the exclusive Guide Shirt Owners Club .I also like the look of the Spring version aswell it's a good mix of colours.
I Have to say I'm very pleased with my new Guide Shirt
Neil

 

[Kerne]

Good to see you've joined the exclusive Guide Shirt Owners Club!

As a fully paid up member of this group (Autumn) I was very tempted by the plain olive one at the show. In fact, had it been available when I bought mine there would have been much soul searching. On the other hand I wore mine on a recent trip to Pumlumon and it is practically the same colour as the heather - blends in very well.

 

[nodd]

As a fully paid up member of this group (Autumn) I was very tempted by the plain olive one at the show. In fact, had it been available when I lought mine there would have been much soul searching. On the other hand I wore mine on a recent trip to Pumlumon and it is practically the same colour as the heather - blends in very well.

That was one of the things I liked about the Autumn one it's a mix of colours that blends well in a cross section of habitats.

 

[decorum]

... I caught a talk by a young man of aroung 15 or 16 who was on the Bison Bushcraft stand he was extremely good and had a great way with the younger kids showing them fire lighting etc....

I think the young man you're referring to could be Gwhtbushcraft, he's a member of this forum. If it was George you couldn't wish to meet a nicer lad - definately someone to watch for for the future.