Zamberlan: The Story So Far…

The Zamberlan story begins with Giuseppe Zamberlan being distinctly cheesed off with the studded leather soled boots he endured as a soldier in WWI. On his return from the Great War and spurred on by his love of his native Dolomites, Giuseppe Zamberlan began working with outdoor footwear and went into production with Zamberlan in 1929. Teaming up with the godfather of sole, Vitale Bramani- originator of the Vibram outsole- the Zamberlan family business began producing the first rubber-soled walking boots and set a new standard that survives to this day.

With further breakthroughs in boot and outsole design throughout the 20^th century, Zamberlan assumed their place in the highest echelons of the outdoor firmament and were sought after by outdoor enthusiasts all over the world. Even now, more than 80 years into their story, Zamberlan continue to clear up at outdoor awards ceremonies, most recently for their range of Norwegian welted boots and remain at the vanguard of modern boot design.

Here’s a quick guide to what you can expect from the Zamberlan range available at Loving Outdoors…

Zamberlan Sella: Norwegian welted construction

The Norwegian Zamberlan Welted range are Zamberlan’s top flight boots. Hand made by expert cobblers with serious backpackers in mind, Sella boots represent the very highest standards in boot construction and are manufactured using the Norwegian welted method. With this method the upper is stitched to a cork midsole which is then cemented to the outsole to give superior waterproofing and allowing the boot to ‘breathe’. From this range, the Tofane boot was a recent award winner at the Outdoor Industry awards.

Zamberlan Vajolet: climb any mountain

Representing the Alpine range are the best selling Zamberlan Vajolet range. Designed for the rigors of serious mountaineering and cramp-on compatible, Vajolet boots strike a fine balance between protection and sensitivity making them ideal for negotiating demanding terrain. A split leather and Cordura nylon upper gives exceptional breathability whilst keeping weight down. Inside the boot, Gore-Tex enhances water resistance and breathability whilst precise lasting gives a snug fit for added sensitivity. Banded with a rubber rand and fitted with a custom Zamberlan Vibram outsole the Vajolet boot will stand up to plenty of punishment and will have you conquering mountains for years to come.

Zamberlan Vioz: European backpacking

From the Backpacking range come Zamberlan Vioz GT. With a name derived from the word ‘Visigoth’, Vioz boots are engineered for some seriously epic adventures with a design informed by the epic migration undertaken by their historic namesakes. Cut from full-grain leather with minimal seams, Vioz offer excellent water resistance,  further bolstered by a Gore-Tex lining. A cushioned perforated collar offers additional ankle support and further assists moisture control. Available in women’s and men’s.

Zamberlan Braies: a way of life

From the Lifestyle range, Zamberlan Braies are designed to offer comfort, durability and style. A nubuk leather shoe built to Zamberlan’s meticulous standards, Braies feature a Vibram outsole and a half ‘n’ half leather/ antibacterial Cambrelle lining. Water resistant and comfortable, this is an ideal for travelling or general leisure purposes.

Zamberlan Parrot: who's a pretty boy then?

A rather fetching shoe from the Zamberlan Ascent range, available in a range of colours for men and women. Designed for more extreme end of outdoor leisure, the Zamberlan Parrot offer excellent range of mobility, sensitivity and good grip for conquering tricky terrain or climbing.

www.lovingoutdoors.co.uk/Loving-Zamberlan

Loving Outdoors teams up with App55 to bring secure and easy payments to customers

Great news, we have  teamed up with online payment specialists App55 to add a secure pay-by-password capability to our website.

We are committed to providing the best customer service on the web and now with App55’s Card Hub, our customers can pay by entering a password – just like Amazon- safe in the knowledge that their card details are secure.

And because Card Hub works with any device with web connectivity, customers will be able to use the same fast and secure checkout process on their mobiles when we launch their app and mobile site later in the year.

App55’s Card Hub is a cloud-based payment service that takes care of all security, banking and technical issues so online retailers can offer enhanced payment and checkout capabilities to their customers.

App55 is backed by WorldPay, the leading payment acquirer in the UK and Europe, and the fourth largest in the world, who process millions of secure payments every day.

App55 CEO, Richard Beaton said, “There’s no doubt online retailers constantly have to think of new and innovative ways to improve their customer experience. Offering an Amazon-like payment-by-password option will make it quicker and easier for Loving Outdoors customers to buy from their website”.

Scott Woodhead, CEO of Loving Outdoors added, “When we wanted to improve our customers’ online experience by making it faster and easier for them to buy, App55 were our first choice for. Our customers will be able to pay with just a password and, because App55 are backed by WorldPay, the largest provider of card payment services in the UK and Europe, they can be confident that all security issues have been taken care of.”

One click payments will be available on the Loving Outdoors website in the coming months, we will release an update once it’s launched…

Loving Outdoors MD Scott has received one of the country’s most prestigious business accolades.

Each year the 42 under 42 award panel compile a list of the country’s most promising entrepreneurs under the age of 42 and this year’s list names our very own Scott Woodhead.

The awards presentation will take place on the 11th October at Salford’s prestigious Lowry Hotel where each of the 42 go-getters will be dressed to the nines for a posh sit-down dinner.

After dinner there will be speeches and the chance to hobnob with the great and good of the business world- it looks like it’ll be a great night and we’re all really pleased for Scott.

Keep Loving Outdoors.

Loving Outdoors is pleased to be stocking No Rinse products.

As many campers will know, Mother Nature doesn’t always provide when it comes to bathroom facilities. If you’re in the back of beyond, it’s unlikely there will be even the most basic toilet facilities, let alone a shower. It’s in places like these that the new No Rinse products really come into their own.

Requiring little or no water, No Rinse products can keep your hair and body clean when water is in short supply; simply apply No Rinse to the area in need of cleaning, work up a lather and towel dry! You will be purged of all dirt and unpleasantness and left feeling refreshed- all without using a drop of water.

So, how does it work? No Rinse is a carefully balanced non-alcoholic formula that releases grease and dirt into a lather which can then be easily removed with towel drying to leave hair clean and fresh-smelling. As well as camping, No Rinse products are ideal for people with mobility issues or others with limited access to water- they’re particularly popular with long distance truckers and astronauts, we’re told.

The No Rinse range includes:

No Rinse Shampoo- Apply to hair until wet, lather, then towel dry.

No Rinse Conditioner- Apply without water to give hair a full-bodied lustrous sheen.

No Rinse Body Wash- Apply to dirty body, lather, then towel yourself clean.

No Rinse Bathing Wipes- Grown up baby-wipes with hypoallergenic germicidal properties. Wipe dirty zones to feel instantly refreshed.

No Rinse Body Bath- The anomaly of the No Rinse range, Body Bath is a concentrated formula that can be added to a basin of water turning it into a gentle solution for stand-up washing.

Check out the full No Rinse range by clicking here.

Gift-bearers will be pleased  to know Garmin have added a new gift card service to the popular Birds Eye Select feature in Garmin Basecamp. For those unfamiliar with the Birdseye Select it’s a service allowing users to download fish fingers and other breadcrumbed foodstuffs direct from the Garmin website…only joking (although that’s not a bad idea).

Birdseye Select is a service that allows you to download topographic raster maps for user-defined areas of many European countries. This means that if you’re going to, say, Germany, rather than shell out for a load of never-to-be-used mapping for the whole of Germany you can download mapping solely for the area you are visiting and save yourself a great deal of unneeded expense and hassle.

To use Birdseye Select you’ll first need to install Garmin Basecamp which is easily done on the Garmin website and costs nothing. Then, set up your myGarmin account and you’re ready to start downloading. The Gift cards come installed with a secret code that once entered into the Garmin site allows you to start downloading maps.  Of course, it’s not all fun and games, there are some very serious terms and conditons as Garmin state on their website….

“Important: This card is redeemable for only one (1) data window of a determined km² area for only one (1) country or map type at one time.  It also can be used with one (1) compatible device only. For additional devices, please purchase additional cards. ”

Give the gift of maps.

The new Garmin Forerunner 610

The new Garmin Forerunner 610 is here.

The new 610 is the latest in Garmin’s GPS-enabled Forerunner sports watch series and packs a range advanced training features into a slick touchscreen design.

With the 610 Garmin have taken the touch screen technology that proved so popular with the Edge 800 and have applied it to the Forerunner template. The result it a touchscreen interface that is sensitive enough for easy use (even whilst wearing gloves) but not so sensitive that it can be activated by your sleeve rubs or flying debris. It’s also water resistant (but not suitable for swimming) and rugged enough to stand up to running at the highest level. Watch the clip below to see the 610 touch screen in action (props to DC Rainmaker for his videos and great review).

Like the Forerunner 410, the 610 includes the Virtual Partner training function but advances things a little further with the addition of  Virtual Racer (calm yourselves retro computer game fans!). Aimed at the more competetive trainee, this function allows you to download other runners’ performance stats over specific courses and then ‘race’ against them virtually. The avatarized stickmen representing you and your competitor’s performance adds a nice graphic dimension to the ‘race’ which really helps ramp up the excitement! Our friend Jake for Garmin explains below…

As well as the thrill factor, Garmin have also uppped cycle-compatibility with the 610 with nearly all functions having a cycling option along side the primary running option. With only basic ‘breadcrumming’ GPS capabilities it’s by no means a substitute for the Edge 800 but used with Garmin’s speed/cadence sensor and heart rate monitor it makes a handy training companion. In respect of this enhanced two-wheeled compatibility, the 610 is handle bar mountable.

Another feature unique to the 610 is the Training Effect function which helps you stay abreast of your personal fitness levels. By monitoring your heart rate during exercise the Training Effect feature will calculate a score indicative of your workout on your fitness levels giving an unprecedented insight into your pain-to-gain ratio. The video below shows how this works…

Other features include:

●Speedy Hotfix satellite connectivity allows it to hook up to the satellite network in seconds and keeps it locked on where lesser devices fail (under tree cover, in valleys etc).

●Virtual Partner function allowing you to race against previous performances

● Vibration alerts- the 610 will buzz when you need to pick up the pace, or when your heart rate is working too hard or not as hard as you’d like.

●Second-by-second performance breakdown data.

●GPS giving distance, speed and location information.

●Retina-melting back light.

●New cradle-style charger.

The Forerunner 610 is in stock and ready for dispatch with Loving Outdoors.

Click here to see our Cliffhanger Facebook album >>

Saturday 2nd July – 9am
We arrived this morning at the Cliffhanger outdoor event in Sheffield which has grown quickly into one of the biggest and best outdoor event on the calendar.

Situated opposite the British Orienteering stand and expecting to have a busy day.

10:30
The doors have opened and already people are dotted about. It’s a glorious day weatherwise- blue skies and sun. Over the path the Loving Outdoors team have spotted a catering van and within 10 mins of opening we have sampled some hot bacon sandwiches (Tom a vegetarian equivalent). Outdoor bliss!

12:30
The footfall has picked up and people are everywhere. We are getting lots of people entering our competition to win a £170 Regatta 3-in-1 jacket, kindly donated by our friends over at Regatta.

The GUV is also drawing the crowds, I don’t think we’ve had one bad comment about it; everyone seems to love the grass covered beauty.

14:00
Had a walk about, lots to see and do.
There’s a makeshift parkour playground which people are using to perform daring and wonderous feats, jumping further than should be humanly possible, swinging on bars and spinning through the air. Amazing to watch.

In the main big top tent there are some large bouldering walls with countries from around the World in competition with eachother. Famous climbers like World No.1 boulderer Kilian Fischuber entertain the crowds.

A small lake containing kayaks and canoes attracts the kids. Not seen anyone fall in yet. Interestingly a river runs through Millhouses Park which a fly fisherman is using it to full affect, catching a trout on his first cast. Supposedly trout are the fastest fresh water fish travelling at a quite fast 8 metres per second.

LO Scott had a go on the rotating pull up bar, completing 7 pull ups before admitting defeat. Most completed in 60 seconds wins. With 18 to beat a podium finish for the Loving Outdoors team looks unlikely.

15:00
Crowds still strong and no sign of dying down. Tom has just sampled a Sheffield Burrito and I think it would be rude for me not to try one

17:00
Well, the sun has left us here in Sheffield but the temperature hasn’t. Ice cream has run out with all but one ice cream van going home. I think after this event he can look at retiring.

Tom has been faithfully flying the Loving Outdoors flag on the stand whilst I keep him filled up on redbush tea.

Burrito was fab, watched World champion stunt cycling team perform seemingly impossible jumps on rails, trailers and small tables.

It has been a throughly enjoyable day for all and I would strongly encourage you all to jump in the car and pay us a visit. Tomorrow at 14:00 both myself and Tom are booked in for a diving lesson, which should be interesting.

Sunday 3rd July – 8:00
Woken by the sound of contractors emptying the bins. Lovely and peaceful here in Millhouses Park (apart from refuse collectors) we all slept soundly in the security of The GUV. No characterless hotels for us- or hot baths!

Last night the LO team headed out to the local pub, The Robin Hood which did some fantastic ales and food at reasonable prices. After a few beers we tagged along with the great swathes watching the boxing match.

10:00
Realised last night we missed out on party in the park- live music, BBQ and fire under the stars. We’re not best pleased but never mind.

The doors have opened and people are coming in. More family oriented crowd today, kids clown-faced from over zealous suncream application buzz all around. The weather is lovely once again.

Started the day with two bacon sandwiches and a fresh doughnut. Not my usual start to the day, but when in Rome and all that.

12:00
We’re now testing the social media World with a Twitter deal using the event hashtag #CliffhangerSheffield; free £17 cap for anyone who sees it and approaches the van. For people who don’t use Twitter and have no idea what a hashtag is, try asking the nearest 16 year old

If anyone has anything in particular they would like us to report on send us a quick email to blackberry@lovingoutdoors.co.uk and we can take a look. Until then it is approaching burrito time…

18:00
Slight issue with lack of charge in our blog communication tools but the guys at Active Sports Resources were kind enough to help out. Thanks.

It’s been a brilliant day, if not just for the countless ice creams and hot drinks in the sun. We have met some wonderful people further cementing our already firm belief that outdoor people are generally OK. Everyone took a leaflet, said thank you and read it. Some were even interested!

Lots of Garmin fans and Regatta clothed folk and we introduced some newbies to Golite, a favourite at Loving Outdoors.

Everyone is now packing up for a 18:30 departure. Luckily in The GUV we only need 5 minutes; wind in the stabilisers, pull in the canopy and turn off the gas. No messing about with gazebos, tables or point of sale. Nice and simple, just how we like things at Loving Outdoors.

Tom has just returned from a kayaking adventure. He seemed to enjoy it being the keen kayaker that he is, though reports it is harder on a still lake than on the sea. Not sure how that works but he reassures me it’s down to using the tides. His hair is dry so I take his word for it.

All in all a great weekend, hats off to Heason Events for a seemingly trouble free weekend on all fronts. They even guaranteed some sun. I am sure we will be back here next year, in the Grassed Up Van, if only to see children and outdoor folk smile and comment “look, it’s got grass on it”.

Thanks to everyone who came over and we will announce the five lucky winners of the £170 Regatta Xert jackets later this week.

First to market with group sale in outdoor sector

Well, it has been on the cards (dev list) for some time now but we have finally got around to beta-launching our new group sale feature.

The Loving Outdoors group sale acts in a similar way to the Groupon website. We give a popular product a hefty discount for a limited period with one condition- there needs to be  minimum number of people buying it in the group. That way it covers our costs of selling it so cheap.

It’s still early days but the full roll out will see the group sale featured on different products across the website every week.

Lo Founder Scott says, “We like to think of ourselves as innovators, so bringing this feature to the outdoor market first lets us stand up to that. We think group discounts will be a great addition to the website and will allow outdoor enthusiasts to shop together and get better deals on products. It’s the latest stage in the our ongoing ‘shop socially‘ scheme which aims to bring a social dimension to the online shopping experience.”

Check out our first deal here >>> ends in 48hrs

The GUV - Grassed Up Van

“We’re all about putting a face to what we do and there’s no better way to get to know your customers than sharing an afternoon on the hills with them. We also wanted to use The GUV as a way of supporting our charity Loving Earth, so on occasions we’ll be selling hot drinks and snacks with all proceeds going to the charity. When it is not being used for events we might also use it as a mobile office with a view!” says Loving Outdoors proud Founder and Factotum Scott Woodhead.

Our proud sponsors

The GUV’s maiden voyage took the team to the Keswick Mountain Festival last weekend. Although not as busy as previous years (due in the most part to awful weather), The GUV helped Loving Outdoors make a big impression wowing outdoor enthusiasts with their unconventional approach and unusual mode of transport. “The wind may have been blowing a gale but The GUV certainly raised some smiles amongst the crowd…and eyebrows!” said Tim Horrocks, Communication Manager at Loving Outdoors.

Next stop will be the Cliffhanger event in July, then V Festival and then…wherever the wind takes us. You might be wondering about the environmental implications of all this touring- rest assured that the GUV has been carbon offset to bring it in line with Loving Outdoors’ ecological sensibilities.

Chilling on the hill

Since launching their website in 2009, Loving Outdoors has gained popularity for their interesting, fun and personable approach to outdoor retail. They were recently named ‘Best Start Up Company’ at the E-commerce awards pipping coupon giant Groupon and two others to the post.

Look out for The GUV on a hill near you or visit www.lovingoutdoors.co.uk/theGUV for more details

As you’ll know we have recently astroturfed a whole motorhome in the name of marketing and philanthorpy. The GUV (Grassed Up Van) will be driving around the UK giving advice and tips on all things outdoors whilst trying to raise a bit of money for our charity Loving Earth.

It has been a crazy two weeks here at the LO HQ and we didn’t realise how much effort it would take to get The GUV covered. But with the help of three UK businesses The GUV was born. So I just wanted to give credit where credit is due to the three companies in question and tell you a bit about what they have done.

Direct Artificial Grass  www.direct-artificial-grass.co.uk

Without grass it wouldn’t be much of a Grassed Up Van so we gave these guys a call after being let down by two other companies. Hayden took our call and listened intently to the plans we had for The GUV. With most people asking for grass to be supplied for gardens we thought getting a quote for the exterior of a motorhome would be tough but we was pleasantly surprised.

Hayden loved the idea and offered to supply the grass to us free of charge. He sent out some samples, we picked the one we liked and Hayden and his team worked out exactly how much we would need. Before we knew it the grass had arrived on time and he even threw in a £50 tub of glue.

The service was brilliant and he didn’t expect anything but a few pictures in return. So thank you Hayden for all your help and if anyone is interested in putting artificial grass in their garden (or van) I’d throughly recommend these people.

Vehicle Appearance Centre Ltd, Manchester  www.vehicleappearancecentreltd.co.uk

Getting the grass was one thing, finding a fitter was another. Again we was let down by a fitter last minute and we’re forced to find someone to fit it within 30 hours; we had an event to take it too.

We called 20 people, many said it was impossible, one company that fitted a London taxi in astroturf claimed it took them a week and said “I’m five foot tall, if you find someone to fit it in less than a week I will grow to 6 foot”. I think this was his way of saying if pigs fly.

We then stumbled upon Vehicle Appearance Centre in Middleton Manchester. Within an hour Mark and Chris arrived to look at the van before telling me that they would give it a go and were confident they could fit it in time. At this stage I was just pleased someone had said yes.

What they did in those 30 hours was nothing short of a miracle. They fitted the whole van just in time all to a superb standard. I arrived to see where the van was up to the night before the show and they said “We’ll be on it until it’s finished”. They were not joking, we arrived the following day at 7am, they had been their until midnight and then started work the following morning at 5am.

You cannot fault commitment like that, hats of to them both. With dedication, service and quality like this, I am sure their business will flourish.

Super-Wide Digital http www.superwide.com

At 18:00 the night before the show we was without 16 large vinyl graphics for the van. A disaster. Most companies were closed and the ones who were meant to have them ready had problems with our file formats. In came Super-Wide to the rescue.

At 20:00 they recieved the images we had emailed and I collected them at 21:00, cut and ready to stick to the van. What was amazing was that the company had never dealt with Loving Outdoors before, yet despite this two people (Anthony and Luke) stayed behind until the job was done. Wow. Whilst it was printing I was shown around the huge printing faciity and was very impressed. So if anyone needs printing these guys can be trusted 100%

Big thank you again to Hayden, Chris, Mark, Anthony and Luke

Scott LO