How much do you want to spend? Deliberated for months, read all of the reviews & I’ve literally just fitted one of these RSP Only tested it the kitchen so far but works straight out of the box, will be out for a proper test later. Admittedly not the nicest looking with retro looking gaiter!

I’ve got one of these Velbon Ultra Maxi-M very compact & light enough to put in a backpack, it has been on a couple of trekking holidays & up to the top of Kilimanjaro. It’s rated capacity is 2kgs

The one that Topper has linked to is a similar design, bigger but the rated capacity is a 4kgs but for the same money.

The Outside Chance in Manton (Marlborough) – not far from Avebury if you want a walk & Marlborough town is nice too Pop into the Lamb for a pint while you’re there

Interested to see the what others say as I’ve been thinking about getting a dropper post too…

This is the one I’ve been tempted to get Ice V8 £115 & reviews seem pretty good

Have lived in north Bristol (Downend, Mangotsfield) & South (Portishead) – Portishead was great, smallish town a few bars / restaraunts. Cycle path along the river to central Bristol (8-miles) past Ashton Court & Leigh Woods. Easy access to M5. Mendips 20-min, Quantocks 50-min & easy access to South Wales. Plans for a new train station too.

Try closing the top one a bit more? it took me a while to get used to it, I lit it about 7:00 tonight & put the second full size log on about 10-min ago & probably used another two split down to get it going. Mines not the multi-fuel, I have a multi-fuel (not Stovax) in the workshop & that one burns faster.

I’ve got one & had the same problem until I learnt how to light a fire properly (never had a fire before)

Fill the burner up to the air holes / Stovax sign with kindling & newspaper layers, couple of fire lighters. Light the fire lighters & close the door leaving about a 1cm gap. It shouldn’t take long to really get going, once it is add some smaller logs & fully close the door with the vents fully open. You need to build up a good layer of embers for the wood to burn on & then you can add bigger logs & start closing the vents to slow the burn down.

Glass never soots up now (unless the in-laws try to light it!), just needs wiping off with scrunched up newspaper.

I also used gel oven cleaner to clean the glass…

What are you thinking of learning?

I had guitar lessons years ago, got frustrated because I couldn’t do it straight away & gave up… Picked a guitar up again about 6-months ago & have stuck at it, I seem to have got a lot more patience as I’ve aged! Can string a few chords together & play a couple of songs (badly). The internet is a big help & there are some great apps too.

Try a couple of commutes to see how bad it is? I occaisionally have to travel the 40 miles from Newbury to Slough & thats bad enough.

A few friends commute by train to central London from Newbury & don’t have much praise for the train operator.

Bought a Vango Icarus 500 a couple of years back & its been great (poles split & have been replaced though). Has the option of 1 or 2 ‘bedrooms’ & the double air bed & travel cot fit in very comfortably. Easy/quick to put up on your own & doesn’t take up too much room when packed away, which is handy given all of the other stuff my other half insists on bringing

Gotama – Have been taking our lad since he was a few months old, he’s 18-months old & absolutley loves being outdoors & causing chaos…he’s always seems to sleep better in a tent too. Definitely recommend it.

I’m thinking about opting back into the company car scheme at work so might be selling my CRV, drop me an email if you’re interested…

Honda CRV?

I did buy a “cheap” road bike when I moved down but it’s not got much use. Happy to go for a spin one night if you don’t mind me tagging along?!

Cheers, just mailed you mobile no.

Thrustyjust don’t suppose you fancy showing me the local trails? Moved here 2-years ago & heard that there is some good local riding just not had the time to get out & find it

How about The Furze Bush Think the rooms have recently been refurbed & foods good too. Not sure about bike storage but I live just around the corner & you’re more than welcome to store them in the ‘man cave’

We’ve just come back from here Piatelle in Moniga del Garda

We stayed in one of the 4 apartments overlooking the pool, which was great with a toddler. The cabins looked good too. Shower blocks were probably the best I’ve ever seen on a campsite. Decent little shop, bar & restaurant on site with really friendly staff.

Site is on the edge of the lake with a pebble beach. Loads of cyclists about & only a short drive to the mountains

Had a look at quite a few & ended up with one of these. Had it about 6-months & can’t fault it

Gaggia Carezza

Depends what your budget is? I’ve just fitted….

This one

Have been to Bansko a couple of times and really enjoyed it. Looks like they’ve recently had some much needed snow. Great place for beginners. Smoking is now banned in pubs. Can send you a few links / contacts if you’re interested & want to book it yourself. Have a look at Bansko Blog Gives a pretty good overview

Had a pair of these for a few years & can’t fault them

Meindl Burma’s

I’ve just picked one of these up from Decathlon…looks pretty decent for £90…

Decathlon?

also picked up One of these too…

Was tempted by one of these but thought it might look a bit lost in my ‘shed’

Pipsqueak Stove [/url]

Ended up fitting one of these…

Cheap stove

Have one of these too…
Oil filled radiator

Recently moved to Woolton Hill & really enjoy it here, nice & quiet on the edge of the countryside & close enough to town & the A34/M4. Started running/walking/road biking a lot more & still trying to find my way around the local trails….need to get out more

Have done various alps resorts over the years & have been to Bansko twice. First time was a lads week away & the second was with my 12-year old son on his first snowboard trip (in Feb half term) Really enjoyed Bansko both times & will be going back with the kids next year.

Its not got the ski area the Alps has but there is fair amount of off piste fun in between the main slopes.

The Gondola does get really busy from about 8:30 until 10:00 but once you’re on the mountain the lifts are pretty quick moving.

I booked everything myself after trawling the net & can pass a few details on if you needed.

Have a look at http://banskoblog.com

Vango Tempest 200?

i had a look at the Banshee 200 & the Tempest. The Tempest is a little heavier but roomier.

Just spent the week in it at Glastonbury & can’t fault it..off to North Wales this weekend. Got it on a price match at Go Outdoors for about £80

So sad, so sorry. Can’t imagine how you’re feeling but my thoughts are with you & family. Take care

Be mindful of big trees near the house…roots travel a long way & get into all sorts of places you don’t want them.

Street lights directly outside of the front of the house…even the best blackout blinds let in light

I always put my boarding gear boots, outerwear, helmet etc. in my Dakine tour bag with my board & bindings, everything else goes into cabin bag. Never had any problems yet.

Have a look at the Sigma 70-300

Gets better reviews than the Tamron. Used it quite a bit & took some pretty decent pics with it.

I dropped it & damaged it (still works though) more than welcome to try it if you’re anywhere near Newbury/Bristol. I’ve replaced it now so its just sat gathering dust.

Built pretty much the same thing about 5-years ago with reclaimed hardwood sleepers, laid them 4 high horizontally, overlapped like blocks. Was laying a patio too so they were on top of compacted type 1 aggregate.

Used metal fixing band at the back to tie them all together & sunk some vertical sleepers into concrete in front of the wall & bolted them to the horizontal sleepers.

I bought a cheep circular saw from Screwfix with the largest diameter blade & RPM, didn’t quite cut through the sleepers so they needed turning to cut from both sides. Cut surprisingly easily & only used the one blade & saw is still going strong. Didn’t want to risk using a chainsaw in case there was any metal in the sleepers.

Back filled with 125-80mm clean aggregate to allow for drainage.

Did it on my own, they were unbelievably heavy! 5-years on, still looking good.

Anon for me, changeable lenses & nice fit with my Salomon helmet…

Dolcered – Great pics & the same route I took.

Ditto what you say about guessing who’d get to the top, Biggest cause of failure was probably caused by bad hygiene (take loads of antibacterial hand wash – the long drops are very dark at night!!!!)

At the end of the days walk make sure you take time to talk to the guides/porters/support guys….they are fantastic

Did it in 2010 & am tempted to go back in 2014. Email me if you like can send you some info & have loads of pics.

it is a walk to the base of Kilimanjaro & long, slow walk with some “scrambling” to the top. The altitude does take your breath away if you rush things but a bit of fitness & a positive attitude will get you up there.

I have the Velbon Ultra Luxi M – Pretty compact, lightweight & sturdy enough for DLSR with a 18-270mm lens. Think I paid about £55 a couple of year back.

Velbon Ultra

Took it trekking & has been up to the top of Kilimanjaro with me.

I’ve got a Honda CRV 2.2 cdti ES that I purchased for the same reason. Loads of room in the back for kids & all their stuff. Not bad to drive, 42mpg, good safety & reliability record too.

Cheers for the replies & advice. Liking the looks of the Stowa/Mondaine. Will have a look at some if the others,mentioned too. The vintage route sounds great.

I’m a big GShock fan & have a Casio F91 too. Wanted something to keep & something a little different

Around £1000 but happy to look either side for something I like the look of. I can remember looking on here a while back at some nice watches that were a lot less, can’t find the post though.

I bought an 09 ES model about 3-months ago & have done about 7,000 miles in in that time, nice comfy seating position(no bad back)

Bought it for pretty much the same reasons that you are & like you said, loads of space it, especially for a growing family & all the stuff that ends up getting carted about.

I get about 42mpg at 70mph on a motorway run & find that it handles quite well…

No complaints from me…owning one might make me slightly biased though!?

I now have 2 of these! The flue on the first didn’t fit into the burner. I’ve been sent a replacement & they don’t want the original back…

So, I have one for sale if anyone is interested?? Not much involved in getting the fault rectified