I mentioned in my last blog post that I’d been selected to test a pair of The North Face GTX XCR trainers and review them for The Conch community.  According to The North Face, they are designed for “multi-sport athletes and adventure racers”.  When none of them answered the phone, I was chosen to take a look.

I decided I’d give my trainers a thorough challenge, so I took them on a scouting trip for 2 weeks of Swiss mountains; rock, rain and ruddy kids.  We had an action-packed schedule with 2 overnight expeditions to peaks around 3000m, several long day hikes as well as a terrifyingly exposed via ferrata.

My very first impression was how comfortable the trainers were.  Normally with any kind of sports or running shoe you would expect to have to break them in.  With the Hedgehogs, I felt I could have many hours of pain-free hiking straight out of the box.

The expeditions turned out more hardcore than we had planned so I opted for boots instead of the trainers.  Apart from the fact I had to carry crampons, I really wanted the extra ankle support that boots provide.  I did wear the Hedgehogs on a visit to the top of the Jungfrau as well as a steep descent at the foot of the Eiger, on the via ferrata and for general use around a very muddy campsite.

On the Eiger Trail I was particularly interested in testing the grip.  The hedgehog inspired tread fared very well on the slippery, mud-covered rocks.  As my fellow leaders slid down parts of the path, I found I had excellent grip.  The very British weather we took with us also gave me a chance to test the shoe’s Gore-Tex lining.  Jumping into puddles that I fully expected to soak through, I was impressed my feet stayed dry.

So, I guess the verdict is very good.  I thought I’d have worn them out but after shaking the mud off, my Hedgehogs are raring to throw themselves up a mountain or two here in the UK.

There are times when only a boot will do.  That said, if you’re looking for footwear that offers good grip and excellent comfort on rock, snow, mud (or even metal!) the North Face Hedgehogs are very well suited.

If you want to check them out for yourself, visit: http://buyth.at/f3ikj or you can find The North Face on Facebook or on their Twitter Feed.

I’ve received a pair of North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR trainers to review.  Apparently they’re designed for “multi-sport athletes and adventure racers” so obviously they couldn’t pass without asking my opinion!

Trouble is, and this may sound odd, I’ve not been on a proper holiday in 6 years!  By ‘proper’ I mean all that foreign, abroad-type stuff.  Of late I’ve been living a life of little adventures much closer to home (I have a presentation to upload about that too).

But I’m making up for it this summer.  Later this week I’m heading to the Swiss alps for 14 days with my local Scout group; mountaineering, rock climbing, white-water rafting, paragliding…you get the idea.

So…expect a detailed product review in my next blog. 

For the record:

Yes I receive a free pair of trainers

No I won’t hesitate to tell you if they fall apart

No I won’t take them white-water rafting

At The Conch, we know our members are busy people.  Why don’t you take a look at the photos below, then see if you can free up some time in your diary for this August.  Do you think you can fit it in?

Thought so.

Visit Norway are offering a free holiday to the person who uploads the best content to www.visitnorwayyourway.com/uk/YourWay before the 6th July.  The content should be inspired by Norway and could be a photo, a poem, a video…or whatever you want.

Check out the existing entries and see if you can do better.  If you can, the adventure of a lifetime could be yours!

We gave you the heads up on the Norway. Your Way competition.  Now you can check out their video and get your creative juices flowing.

The Conch is always sniffing out a good promotion for our friends and members.  If you’re looking for a big adventure this summer, we’ve got a doozy for you.

Norway. Your Way

Visit Norway are looking for 5 creative people from the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Russia to submit Norway-inspired content to win the holiday of a lifetime.

All you have to do is upload your creative content when the competition opens on June 7th.  It might be a video, a poem or a recipe.  So long as it’s inspired by Norway. 

What do I win?

Entries will close on July 12th.  The creators of the most individual content will win a 10 day Norwegian adventure this August.  The itinerary will be based on local recommendations so this promises to be a really unique trip.

Ok, I’m in. What now?

More details will follow next week. 

This is just a heads up to get preparing your Norway-inspired content, ready to upload when the competition starts.

Things to remember:   

-’Inspired by Norway’ not ‘about Norway’.  You have a lot of freedom here.

-Be creative

-Make it unique!

Keep an eye on this blog for more information next week.  In the mean time, HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Sign up now and win a walking or cycling holiday in France!

To kick start summer we have partnered with our friends at muchbetteradventures.com to offer you the chance to win a long weekend hiking or biking in the French Alps.
Simply sign up on the Conch, and we will give you the link and instructions you need to register for the prize draw.
You will get to choose from a 4 day walking or biking break for 2 people in La Clusaz/Le Grand Bornand – a stunning area of the French Alps, not far from Annecy and Geneva. Your holiday will run from Thursday night to Monday evening anytime during this summer, and will include full rail or airport transfers; en-suite accommodation; 3 course dinner with wine; breakfast and afternoon tea; and the full services and support of the lodge team, including walking or biking hosting where applicable.

Sign me up!

I’m already a member. Can I still win?

Yes.  If you’re already a member of The Conch community, just upload a blog or photo of your latest adventures and we will send you the link and instructions you need.

Upload your adventures to The Conch

The Conch teams up with 9Bar

We know that you are all active people in one way or another whether it’s with a sports club, part of your job or just a hobby. For this reason The Conch has teamed up with the great tasting, nutritious energy snack ‘9Bar’ in a promotion just for you guys to keep you doing what you do best!

9Bar is a deliciously nutritious seed bar designed to get the maximum nutritional goodness from seeds in a convenient and tasty way. Sharing the passion The Conch has for healthy living and keeping active, 9Bar supply many endurance and explosive athletes with their bars and if it’s good enough for the likes of the GB cycling team then it’s good enough for our members.

The Giveaway

The Conch is giving away 100 new variety packs of 9Bar.  Each pack contains 5 bars giving you the opportunity to taste the whole range of 9Bars on the market. There are two ways that you can claim your free 5 pack:

Newsletter

We’re giving the next 80 subscribers to our newsletter the chance to get their hands on a free pack of 9Bar. If you don’t already receive our monthly newsletter all you have to do is sign up by clicking on our newsletter bar on the homepage to be one of the first to try these tasty snacks.

Content

Already signed up to our newsletter? No problem, you are still in with a chance of getting a free 5 pack through your door. Throughout March we are launching a content competition whereby the best 20 uploads will also receive free 9Bars.  So get uploading your adventure pictures or creating a blog talking about an experience you’ve had.

The Process

All you have to do to claim your FREE pack of these high protein bars is follow these 3 easy steps:

1.  Upload some pictures of you doing something adventurous/write a blog about your experience or register to our monthly newsletter.

2.  Reply to the email we send requesting your name and address to claim your 9Bars.

3.  Get your 9Bar variety pack free in the post and fill in the online feedback form to let us know what you thought of them, that’s it!

Win a Whole Box of 9Bar

That’s not all! If you are one of the 100 lucky members to receive one of these nutritious variety packs, fill in the feedback form letting us know what you thought and you will be automatically entered into a random draw to win an entire box of your favourite 9Bar to share with your friends….or not depending how generous you’re feeling!

The feedback you give will include your honest opinion of the 9Bars as well as your favourite flavour from the selection and why. This will not affect your chances of winning as the draw is done at random, so what are you waiting for? Get your free 9Bars now!

Members cannot claim more than one free variety 5 pack of 9Bar during the period of this promotion. Identification of multiple entries will exclude the member from all future promotions and giveaways and may lead to their account being deleted from The Conch.

Are you passionate about an adventure sport?

Are you the kind of individual worth shouting about?

Interested in boosting your sporting profile in the UK with regular, free promotion?

We are launching our Ambassador Programme for 2010 and are looking for enthusiastic sportspeople to be the face of their sport on The Conch.

All the chosen candidate needs is to be sociable, have some cool pictures/videos to show off and to be active in their sport, that’s it! It’s a great opportunity to get free promotion in your spare time.

To register your interest, please contact us with your name and sport you’d like to represent.

The Conch 5K Giveaway came to an end last night after a month of draws to reduce the number of finalists from 100 to 50 and then just 10 people.

On Wednesday 28th January 2010, someone’s life changed.  They just don’t know it yet.

Rather than just drawing the name out of a hat I enlisted the help of my local Ultimate Frisbee Club to help pick a name at random.  If the gods of video editing were smiling on me, I would have a video to post here right now.  But they’re not.  So the video will follow.

The Draw

The winner was determined by a small frisbee accuracy competition.  We had a cone placed at one end of a sports hall, and my frisbee team (DUFFA) at the other.  During two rounds of 5 people, the 2 discs that landed closest to the cone went through to the final.  The other 3 members were eliminated. 

In the final, the disc that landed closest to the cone would be the winner of the 5K Giveaway.

How it went down

It has to be said, for a frisbee club, the accuracy was shocking.  I was expecting discs to be piled up on top of each other next to the target.  Still, they all got fairly close.

Round 1 (Eliminated) -

Lunaeventer/ Heather Thomson

adventuress/ Kay Dinsdale

Torijames/ Tori James

Round 2 (Eliminated) –

michellekarlden/ Michelle Harris

schoolboy/ Jonathan Wood

tessadarley/ Tessa Darley

The Final

Eliminated:

elllani/ Gareth Banda

hunnylamb/ Vanessa Cagnayo

bekkistanyer/ Bekki Stanyer

So we have a winner! 

Congratulations go to Shestyles/ Izzy Brittain.  You are the 5K Giveaway winner!  We’ll be in touch very soon to find out how you want to spend the money.

A massive thank you to everyone who took part and to all our brand partners and supporters.  Make sure you watch this space to see how £5,000 worth of adventure can change someone’s life.

You’ve got to feel for James Douglass. Anyone who drags a windsurf rig all the way to the beach and out on the water deserves to have some fun with it.

But the sea doesn’t always play ball.

Better luck next time James!