Blogs, Gear Reviews and Outdoor Articles

Posts from Original Outdoors and Richard Prideaux

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REVIEW: Firepot Dehydrated Meals
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REVIEW: Olight I1R EOS Key Ring Torch
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Course report - Wild Camping Weekend June 2018
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Elderflower Foraging Recipes
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Why tracking doesn't work for misper SAR in the UK
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UK SAR Courses - Training the Wales USAR Team
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A TV Adventure Opportunity!
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Subsidised Training for UK Volunteer SAR Teams

The Original Outdoors Blog

We’ve had a blog page on the Original Outdoors site ever since, well, we’ve HAD a website. The posts are a random mixture of UK-centric outdoor articles, opinion pieces, trip reports, gear reviews and even some video tutorials.

Most of the reviews are written by Richard Prideaux, with occasional blog posts by guest writers and contributors.

Latest articles from Richard Prideaux

Why tracking doesn’t work for misper SAR in the UK
June 13, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

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2018 UK Knife Law Changes
May 1, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

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GPS, Smartphones and Operational Security – is Strava the only problem?
February 7, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

The recent hullabaloo over the Strava heatmap reminded me of a strange case from a few years ago... If you have any kind of interest in GPS, fitness apps, unusual maps or just technology news then you were probably at least vaguely aware of a story about the fitness app Strava and some analysis of the heatmap they published last month. This publicly-viewable heatmap of anonymised user data isn't new - but the last update was from 2015 data. The 2017 data release included over 1 billion activities and 10 terabytes of raw data. The total distance clocked up was 27...
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The mystery of the Cwm Tryfan ice axe
January 15, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

The trip to the summit and back was uneventful (apart from my stirring rendition of Auld Lang Syne on the South summit), but as we descended the path out of Cwm Tryfan alongside the stream leading to Gwern Gof Uchaf something strange occurred... Continue reading →...
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What’s with all of the gun videos recently?
November 20, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

What's with all of the gun videos? Is Original Outdoors a gun channel now? Well... No. But for the UK it's closely related to one of the subjects that we ourselves are closely associated with - foraging and wild food. Due to a number of UK laws the most accessible, legal and ethical source of wild meat for the keen forager is probably via a sub-12ft/lb air rifle. It's potentially a huge subject with a lot to explore, and to be perfectly honest there is a lot of very poor information online. We are pulling together a series of videos running through the...
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Outdoor Gear Reviews

REVIEW: Firepot Dehydrated Meals
July 20, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Firepot are a relatively new supplier in the UK expedition food market but the information both on their website and what I had heard from other users was encouraging. I’ve been trying them out on wild camping and bivvying trips over the past few weeks – and so far I haven’t died. Continue reading →...
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REVIEW: Olight I1R EOS Key Ring Torch
June 27, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Cheap, stupidly-bright Chinese LED torches have been around for several years now and there are many to choose from. I’ve used several over the years with varying degrees of success – and to be perfectly honest my hopes weren’t THAT high for this tiny keyring torch from Olight when it was offered as a review item. But it turns out to not be that bad – in fact, to be quite good. With a few important caveats that I will come to later… Continue reading →...
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MSR WindBurner Group Stove System Review for UKHillwalking
April 20, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

The MSR WindBurner range has been updated for 2018 with a wind-resistant remote canister stove, new pans and even a huge 4.5L stockpot. Richard Prideaux has been reviewing it in the mountains of Snowdonia and Scotland over the winter of 2017-2018 for UKHIllwalking.com Continue reading →...
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$helikon-tex windproof fleece$
REVIEW: Helikon-Tex Classic Army Fleece
April 7, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Rugged fleece jacket with windproof membrane Helikon-Tex have been on the radar of outdoor enthusiasts and professionals, hunters, military personnel and security contractors for a couple of decades now, and they produce good kit. I have been wearing the Helikon-Tex Classic Army fleece for nearly 5 months and I think I’ve got a good angle on it now – it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damned good. Continue reading →...
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REVIEW: First Tactical Tactix 1-Day Plus Bag
September 28, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

MOLLE Day pack with versatile compartments From a distance the First Tactical Tactix 1-Day Plus looks like pretty much any other MOLLE daypack - webbing systems along the vertical surfaces, zipped compartments and compression straps. I admit to having a bit of a prejudice towards MOLLE packs. The MOLLE/PALS system (Modular Light Load carrying Equipment) works well with small packs and pouches, and is great for quickly changing the gear carried on say, body armour or a tactical vest. It doesn’t work as well when it comes to... Continue reading →...
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Latest bushcraft blog posts

REVIEW: Firepot Dehydrated Meals
July 20, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Firepot are a relatively new supplier in the UK expedition food market but the information both on their website and what I had heard from other users was encouraging. I’ve been trying them out on wild camping and bivvying trips over the past few weeks – and so far I haven’t died. Continue reading →...
Read more →
REVIEW: Olight I1R EOS Key Ring Torch
June 27, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Cheap, stupidly-bright Chinese LED torches have been around for several years now and there are many to choose from. I’ve used several over the years with varying degrees of success – and to be perfectly honest my hopes weren’t THAT high for this tiny keyring torch from Olight when it was offered as a review item. But it turns out to not be that bad – in fact, to be quite good. With a few important caveats that I will come to later… Continue reading →...
Read more →
Why tracking doesn’t work for misper SAR in the UK
June 13, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
Read more →
UK SAR Courses – Training the Wales USAR Team
May 23, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
Read more →
2018 UK Knife Law Changes
May 1, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
Read more →

Read all bushcraft blog posts

Latest mountain blog posts

REVIEW: Firepot Dehydrated Meals
July 20, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Firepot are a relatively new supplier in the UK expedition food market but the information both on their website and what I had heard from other users was encouraging. I’ve been trying them out on wild camping and bivvying trips over the past few weeks – and so far I haven’t died. Continue reading →...
Read more →
REVIEW: Olight I1R EOS Key Ring Torch
June 27, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

Cheap, stupidly-bright Chinese LED torches have been around for several years now and there are many to choose from. I’ve used several over the years with varying degrees of success – and to be perfectly honest my hopes weren’t THAT high for this tiny keyring torch from Olight when it was offered as a review item. But it turns out to not be that bad – in fact, to be quite good. With a few important caveats that I will come to later… Continue reading →...
Read more →
Course report – Wild Camping Weekend June 2018
June 18, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
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UK SAR Courses – Training the Wales USAR Team
May 23, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
Read more →
2018 UK Knife Law Changes
May 1, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
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Read all mountain blog posts

Original Outdoors on YouTube

Latest video blog posts

2018 UK Knife Law Changes
May 1, 2018 by Richard Prideaux

...
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A Private Adventure on Anglesey
November 21, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

Every year we are asked to put together a private training day or adventure for somebody. This particular client first came to us in 2016 and asked for a 50km day in the mountains of Snowdonia for him and his friends - which we put together and executed one cold day in November. This year he wanted to push it a little further, and asked for something a little more exciting. After compiling a few route options they picked a run along the Anglesey coastal path - but how to get them to the start? We had spoken to the team at...
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We want your outdoor questions!
November 20, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

We want your outdoor questions! Pretty much every week we receive an email, Facebook message, Twitter DM or comment somewhere that is asking for advice, information or just somebody asking for help with their own adventure. Of course we try to help as much as we can, and it's not unusual to find ourselves on the phone for quite a while talking through one subject or another. This has given me an idea - why not make this more of a public process? The questions we get are often very similar to each other and I know that more people would possibly benefit...
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What’s with all of the gun videos recently?
November 20, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

What's with all of the gun videos? Is Original Outdoors a gun channel now? Well... No. But for the UK it's closely related to one of the subjects that we ourselves are closely associated with - foraging and wild food. Due to a number of UK laws the most accessible, legal and ethical source of wild meat for the keen forager is probably via a sub-12ft/lb air rifle. It's potentially a huge subject with a lot to explore, and to be perfectly honest there is a lot of very poor information online. We are pulling together a series of videos running through the...
Read more →
REVIEW: First Tactical Tactix 1-Day Plus Bag
September 28, 2017 by Richard Prideaux

MOLLE Day pack with versatile compartments From a distance the First Tactical Tactix 1-Day Plus looks like pretty much any other MOLLE daypack - webbing systems along the vertical surfaces, zipped compartments and compression straps. I admit to having a bit of a prejudice towards MOLLE packs. The MOLLE/PALS system (Modular Light Load carrying Equipment) works well with small packs and pouches, and is great for quickly changing the gear carried on say, body armour or a tactical vest. It doesn’t work as well when it comes to... Continue reading →...
Read more →

Tips From an Instructor Series

Ask Me Anything Series

Moments from Trips and Courses

The TGO Blogger Network

In 2017 TGO magazine launched their Outdoor Blogger Network, and Original Outdoors was part of the original group of outdoor bloggers chosen to be part of it.
If you haven’t already seen the list of bloggers that they have put together then please follow this link to find out more.