Every now and again we get a question from one of the many outdoor communities we work with. Recently we got a question on Twitter from a Welsh farmer - "What are the best gloves for winter farming and farm work?"


From our point of view the best gloves for farming are ones that have the following attributes:

• Lightweight - farmers don't want or need bulky gloves. They need to come off easily, be put on easily and be stored in pockets
• Hard-wearing - from opening gates to fixing fences, the gloves need to have a robust palm to ensure they don't rip apart during heavy work
• Waterproof and windproof - most of the farming areas in the UK are open to the elements - wind, rain, sleet, howling gales and chilly snow down the back of the jacket - you name it, farmers withstand it, so the gloves need to withstand rain and wind

Have you ever wondered what wellies David Beckham wears? Us neither. But when David was recently snapped out and about on a Wiltshire estate, we sat up and took notice.

David Beckham's wellies of choice? Le Chameau Leather-lined Chasseur Cuir boots of course. They have the distinctive logo on the front, the zip running up the side, and Le Chameau's classic khaki green colour.

Photo source: Daily Mail

Photo source: Daily Mail

Want your own pair? Get your Le Chameau wellies at the Complete Outdoors.

"Everything changes and yet everything remains the same" as Aristotle said.

It's the same with Fjallraven too. The great outdoors asks the same questions of us: rain, wind, cold, perspiration management and mankind comes up with different materials to answer these. And yet, Fjallraven's G1000 fabrics have been answering these questions in the same way for over 50 years and still perform admirably.



This form of "soft shell" allows the user comfort well ahead of "hard shells" due to its superb moisture management. G1000 is also super durable, stylish and versatile and thus offers excellent value for money.

Our founder, Ake Nordin (aged 14 back in 1950) created his own frame backpack as what was available was so poor. He fashioned it using his mum's sewing machine. By 1960 and, after a spell in the FJS Parachute Ranger school, he formed Fjallraven going on to invent condensation free tents and to use G1000 materials that we see today.

Complete Outdoors stock a range of Fjallraven apparel and accessories, including lots of new AW16 items. The Skogso Padded Jacket will keep you warm, but is also a versatile hill piece but won't look out of place in town. Our Byron hats (brown, red or olive) can be matched with any of these items - soft to the touch but tough and functional yet stylish.

In the UK, Fjallraven have become synonymous with stylish, practical backpacks, so we made sure we grabbed some of those too. Check out the Re-Kanken (similar to the Kanken but reinvented from a recycling/recyclable perspective that saves natural resources).



Come and learn more about Fjallraven at your local outdoor experts - Complete Outdoors.

As part of our brand refresh, you're going to see a lot more of our mountain ibex. Technically they are a breed of goat, so we've come up with the hashtag #followthegoat.

Just like the mountain goat, we want you to roam, explore and - like our new slogan - go anywhere and do anything.

We want you to get social with us. Whenever you're out and about - it doesn't matter if it's camping in your garden or climbing an English peak, take a snap, post it on social media, tag us in the pic and use the hashtag #followthegoat and/or #goanywheredoanything.


The Complete Outdoors team will be watching carefully and those we deem awesome will receive a special prize!

Here's our social handles for reference:

• FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/CompleteOutdoors
• TWITTER - https://twitter.com/CompleteOutdoor
• INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/complete_outdoors

Some of you may have noticed a few renovations happening at our Bourne End store. Fear not, we're not going anywhere, we're just having a long overdue facelift.

The Complete Outdoors will be celebrating it's 35th Anniversary this year (woop!), and when we looked at the outside of the store and our online visual assets, we realised they look tired. In fact the outside of the store hasn't been touched for over ten years...

FROM GREEN TO YELLOW

As part of our facelift, we'll be swapping green for yellow. Our green logos and font will disappear, and we'll be welcoming yellow and black into our brand lives.  Not only that, our brand will embody a new animal - the alpine ibex.

You may think the ibex looks like a mountain goat, and you would be correct. Except the alpine ibex typically lives above the snow line in the European Alps, on steep, rough terrain.

That is why we chose the Alpine ibex. Often confused with other similar animals, not generally well known, but is a figure of ruggedness and loves the mountains....exactly like us.

NOT JUST A CAMPING SHOP

When we interviewed people on the streets on Berkhamsted, we were thought of as 'the camping shop'. Nobody could recall our name.

Our vision is to be thought of as much more than that. In addition to camping equipment, hiking, tents and outdoor clothing, we want to branch out and cater for runners, skiers, triathletes...we want to go above and beyond, which is why our new slogan is 'Go Anywhere. Do Anything'.

LOTS MORE TO COME

The brand and shop refresh are just the start of a fun journey for the Complete Outdoors. We're looking forward to helping more people, do more adventures, in more places, both in store and online.

Watch this space!

We hate ticks at the Complete Outdoors. In fact we liken ticks to Terminators: difficult to spot and tricky to kill.


Ticks are pesky little spider-like mites that thrive in the outdoors, especially moist and humid environments, and particularly around wooded and grassy areas. Ticks are common in rural life, and they do come with a health warning.


Tick bite prevention - especially in humans - is important as ticks can infect humans (and pets and other animals) with bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause serious illnesses such as babesiosis and Lyme disease.

Cases of Lyme disease are increasing within the UK as infected ticks are known to exist in many regions across the country.  Ticks that carry the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease are found throughout the UK and in other parts of Europe and North America.

Only a small proportion of ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, so being bitten doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely be infected. However it is important to be aware of the risk and seek medical advice if you start to feel unwell. Tick prevention is your first line of defence against being infected and here's how we can help.

The Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommends using a repellant spray. We stock an Anti Tick Repellant Spray that can be used when walking or camping in the outdoors.

Next, if you do find a tick bite, the little blighter will probably its head under your skin. Thankfully, you can get underneath it with a tick remover or some narrow tweezers, so you can prepare to deal the tick a death blow.

Ticks are notorious tough to remove, so this Tick Remover will help. Grab the tick by it's head, and pull it out. You can then run some antiseptic cream over the tiny exit wound the tick will have left behind.

Care Plus also provide a Tick Test, where you can drop some liquid on the tick and see if it was carrying any harmful diseases. If so, take the results to your doctor, and they will prescribe some medication and ensure you remain free of any tick problems.

Have a peek at the video below for more information, and don't forget to check yourself - and your dog(s) - for ticks.

As you may have seen on our main site and across social media, we're running a HUGE tent giveaway and showcase weekend this coming Saturday and Sunday.

We've got over £200 of camping gear to giveaway, as well as numerous tent competitions.

We're open from 9pm until 6pm on Saturday, and 10am until 4pm on Sunday.

We've got new season tents on display, and we'll be showcasing a few other new season products, including:

• New Vango gear and tents
• Cobb BBQ equipment
• Win a Terra Nova Laser 20 backpack
• Lots of lightweight and family tents

The UK government has announced new plans to safeguard the future of our National Parks, and their iconic landscapes.

Image source: familyadventureproject.org

The new Plan for National Parks encourages the engagement of young people throughout their education, including bringing more than 80,000 primary school children to the National Parks, putting National Parks in the curriculum at secondary school, doubling the number of youth volunteers in National Parks as part of the National Citizen Service in their first steps to employment, and doubling apprenticeships in National Parks by 2020.

Around 30 million people in England live within an hour of a National Park, the plans aim to bring more diverse visitors to the National Parks. The aim is to generate 100 million visitors, which in turn will deliver around £440 million to local businesses, adding to the £4 billion already generated by National Parks. Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss, said:

[The] National Parks already welcome over 90 million visitors every year and make a major contribution to our vibrant rural economy - but too many children in our country are not aware of these natural wonders...our beautiful lakes and dales, moors and fells are a symbol of this country, part of our British identity...[and] by instilling a love of nature in our young people and building thriving communities in every National Park, our plan will allow these unique spaces to flourish for generations to come.

For more information, please visit the Plan For National Parks page at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-parks-8-point-plan-for-england-2016-to-2020

Did you know that we are one of the few independent Paramo stockists near London?

Yep, it's true. In fact we are the closest store just outside London to stock Paramo jackets, pull ons, and waterproof trousers.



We are based between Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted, around 30 miles and a 45 minute drive from central London.

So if you're based in Luton, Aylesbury, North London, Watford, come and see us for all your Paramo gear. 

Down jackets are great pieces of outdoor clothing. They are ideal for cold and dry days, but are generally not be suitable for wear in heavy rain.

A down filled jacket is insulated with the soft feathers from duck or geese. Down is a fantastic insulator as the down (mix of feathers together) creates loads of tiny air pockets which trap warm air and retain heat, thus keeping the wearer toasty warm.

HOW TO WEAR A DOWN JACKET

This may seem like a silly question to many of you, but the reason for this post is because we've seen some outrageous uses of down jackets over the last few weeks, so we thought we'd help answer the question - how do you wear a down jacket?

Here are a few important down jacket rules to live by:

1) DO NOT Wear In The Rain - Many down jackets will have a water resistant outer layer but the majority are not rain resistant. You may think the jacket is keeping you dry, but in reality all that is happening is that the moisture is seeping through to the down filling. Moisture within the down means the jacket loses its insulation ability. In addition, the down jacket will take a long time to dry out when wet!

2) Don't Store Your Down Jacket Compressed - Down jackets are generally quite lightweight and ideal for travelling as they compress well and pack down small. Down also has a high resilience after being compressed, so once unpacked it will regain its shape quickly. That said, keep it stored compressed and packed means that the down jacket may lose its insulating ability gradually over time.

3) Do Not Use In Abrasive Environments - This may be a weird comment, but what we mean is the outer layer of a typical down jacket is not hard wearing. The fabric shells usually have ripstop technology, but if you brush past a jagged wall or building too quickly, the fabric can rip and you may lose some down filling.

Many people think that down jackets are more functional than fashionable, and they would be right, but a nice dark grey or black down jacket will go with any outfit, whether you're out for a country walk, or if you'e rambling to the pub on a cold Sunday afternoon.

We've got quite a few down jackets in stock - take a peek at the selection of men's and women's below.

MENS DOWN JACKETS

     

WOMENS DOWN JACKETS

     

Do you have any other tips on how to wear a down jacket? If so, let us know in the comments below! :)

Happy New Year everyone!

We hope you had a great Christmas and hope the hangovers are starting to subside on this New Year's Day. To kick start 2016 we've got a bundle of outdoor gear to giveaway. Simply enter using the widget below, or enter using the same widget on our Facebook page.

The prize bundle includes the following items:

The North Face Vault Rucksack, Nalgine wide mouth 1 litre bottle, a classic Buff in cash pink chocolate, and two pairs of Snugpak Coolmax Liner Socks.

The winner will be drawn on Friday 15th January, and the winner announced on Monday 18th January. Good luck!

Complete Outdoors New Year