Alpkit. A great brand and a cool place to visit.

Alpkit have a great showroom.

Alpkit are a brand that many of you may not be familiar with. A lot of climbers and mountain-bikers (particularly Bikepackers) certainly will be.

They are based in Newthorpe, close to the town of Eastwood, on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border.

They have a great reputation for producing quality kit and because they sell direct, either from their website or from the factory showroom, they are able to keep their prices very competitive. And I mean competitive. 

I'm a great believer in buying the best that you can afford, it always pays off in the long term; and believe me I've made the mistake of buying cheap! Alpkit, however, seem to have pulled off the coup de gras of making quality kit and keeping prices attractive.

I've visited their showroom a few times and I own a few items of their kit. After today's visit I own quite a few more.

I went particularly for some of their Bikepacking kit. (Bikepacking is simply the lightweight mountainbiking alternative to bicycle touring with pannier racks etc.)

I have been drooling over it for a while but with my current plan to take on The Tour Divide in America I thought it was time to take the plunge and get myself kitted out.

They're so cool they even have a tent on the wall!

I also intend to take on quite a few other bikepacking challenges as part of my training. We have a bunch of really good routes in the UK and it will be a lot of fun trying to set some fast target times. Lightweight and durable kit is my first priority.

But they don't just sell bikepacking gear. They have a good range of stuff from Bouldering mats to Tents, Down jackets, cool casual clothing, camping equipment, and even some microscopically tiny titanium tent pegs for the weight weenies out there.

They even play an eclectic mix of groovy tunes on Alpkit FM whilst you browse! You might even get offered a cup of tea! :)

You might gather that I like this brand and the people involved; and you'd be right, I do.

They slot in nicely to a lot of the ideals that are important to me. They are a local company, which is a priority to me, and they have a stance on environmental and social responsibility, that is something I always look for when I'm buying products. I like people who put other people and the environment first.

The first time I visited I wasn't even sure I was at the right place. It sits quietly in a corner of an off-the-track industrial estate and just has a simple sign mounted on a nondescript unit. No bells or whistles. But then you walk through the door in to a lovely, brightly lit, and well set out showroom.

You can pick stuff up, get it out and fiddle with it, and get great advice from nice staff. It's certainly not one of those intimidating places at all. You can also see the kit being made right before your very eyes. It is an open plan unit and it's great to see everyone beavering away making nice things for you to buy. They will even make bespoke items, they actually like the challenge of being challenged by customers!

Alpkit is not your run-of-the-mill company.

They have an interesting website too with lots of blogs, information, and videos, alongside their product range.
Take a look at their website here

or better still pay them a visit at the showroom.

Opening times are Monday to Friday 09.00am to 17.30pm and they are located just a few minutes from junctions 26 and 27 of the M1 motorway

Alpkit Global HQ
Units 12 - 14 Oak House
Moorgreen Industrial Park
Engine Lane
Newthorpe
Nottingham
NG16 3QU

You can also follow them on Facebook here
and on Twitter here
It's worth doing, they often put up special offers or details of factory seconds on the social networking pages.

The kit is manufactured right before your very eyes!

They have some great t-shirts!

All of the staff of knowledgeable and, well, nice really :)

Some of my lovely new Bikepacking kit mounted and ready to go!

Thanks for looking, pop back soon :)