hilltrek » bushcraft

Intrepid Dutch Adventurers in the Ardennes and Cairngorms

admin — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:28:11 +0000

Sebastian & Erik Aller, two brothers from the Netherlands, are both bushcrafters and mountaineers and each own Hilltrek Braemar Ventile Smocks.

Here is Sebastions story of two winter trips wearing their Braemar Smocks.

(Apologies for showing pictures of snow in August!)

First picture was taken in a bushcraft trip to the Belgian Ardennes around Baraque Michel which is the highest “peak” of Belgium with 694m. We did a three day hike there in the weekend of December 4th 2010. Temperatures were around freezing and there was quite a bit of snow.

The other picture is from a 4 day hike through the Cairngorms (the Braemar windshirt in its natural habitat), which we did last January. No bushcraft this time, but serious hiking.

We started out from Aviemore and headed for Ben Macdui. First night we camped along the Allt Druidh river just outside Rothiemurchus Forest. Next day we went up to Lurcher’s Crag in order to make it up Ben Macdui, but due to our heavy backpacks and the deep snow on the slopes of Lurcher’s Crag we progressed slowly and had to end our 2nd day near the Lochan Buidhe. That evening the sky cleared an we had a magnificent sundowner and night at 1100m alt on top of about 1-1,5m of snow.

Next morning all hell broke loose as we experienced gale force winds in a total white out. Vision was close to zero, so we decided not to ascend any further, but navigate “Blind” on our compasses down the slopes of Lurcher’s Crag towards the ski station. Quite a nasty situation neither of us had been in before. Looking back it was a great trip and the windshirts performed brilliantly over our Buffalo Special 6 shirts that served as insulation layer.

Only minor is that the front pocket of my bro’s Braemar ripped when he tried to put the OS map -which was covered in a waterproof Ortlieb map pocket- into it. The front pocket was just too small. (The OS map was one of the Active Map Series,which is laminated and quite tough. We put it in the Ortlieb pouch because of the strong winds, so we could hang it around our neck) Back home we contacted your office in order to get some ventile fabric to fix the hole and to make the front pockets of both our shirts somewhat larger. Thanks again for sending a sample! My mom -who is great with sewing machines- did a perfect job at the pocket remake. The pocket now measures 40x28cm and works great with larger maps.

The complete sets of pics are also available on Erik’s facebook page

See us at the Scottish Game Fair July 1st to 3rd

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:43:45 +0000

July 1, 2011

July 3, 2011

We will be at the Scottish Game Fair in Scone from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July on stand D12 in Ducks Row.

On display and for sale will be our own range of Ventile Clothing and Cotton Analogy Clothing including some new prototype designs. The stand will be full of other great gear including Naturally Páramo, Leki poles, Anatom Boots, Nikwax, Teko socks, Tilley Hats and much more.

We will be offering 20% off our Dee Made To Measure Wading Jacket if you order at the Fair.

There will be great deals on our big sales rail including one-off and prototype Hilltrek Ventile Nikwax Analogy and Cotton Analogy Clothing.

We will be offering the Páramo Big Adventure summer offer at our stand where you can buy a Torres Gillet for £10, worth £79, if you purchase a Ladies or Mens Velez Lightweight Smock!

See www.scottishfair.com for more details

See you there and lets hope the weather is good

Review of Cabrach Ventile Trousers in Bushcraft UK

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:36:43 +0000

Our Cabrach Ventile trousers have been recently reviewed in the foremost on-line Bushcraft Community in the UK.

Too see more follow the link to the review.

Bushcraft Day at Hilltrek Saturday 10th July

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:53:08 +0000

July 10, 2010
11:00 am	to	4:30 pm

Lawrence Clark from BushCraft Ventures will set up camp outside our doors this Saturday in Aboyne. Lawrence is a bushcraft expert who plied his trade with Ray Mears and was only one of three people in the UK to receive the prestigious ‘Ray Mears Instructors knife’ -an acknowledgement of his highly developed skills. As part of his work he spent time in the Arctic living with the Psami (Lapps) peoples of Northern Sweden.

On display will be clothing and equipment used in bushcraft and wilderness survival, including; clothing made from cotton, wool and furs, and cutting tools.

Demonstrations will take place on traditional fishing hooks manufacture, fire lighting , wood carving and simple steam bending.

Many bushcrafters are aware of Hilltrek Ventile products such as the Braemar Smock and the Ventile poncho. Our staff will be on hand to discuss the properties of Ventile and some of our new innovations including Cotton Analogy.