Gear review: Baltic Flipper

First off  Packrafters sometimes choose not wear buoyancy aids, some even wrap their foam sleeping pads around themselves in an attempt to increase there safety in a risk benefit situation.

Now I have struggled with the concept of this for a while, having worked in the outdoors for 15 odd years and attending lots of white water rescue training course where it is drilled into you the you will wear your PPE (personal protective equipment) with in 15feet of the waters edge, let alone on it.

Enter the Baltic Flipper this snazzy garment out of the packet looks like your standard Gillet that you see outdoory types wearing around outdoory type places.

That's not two gillets but one it's reversible! Hows goods that? i can't find on the label what it's made out of but it feels similar to other buoyancy aid with like a hard wearing nylon/polyester/cordura type fabric?
It weigh in at around 630g for a size large, each block of buoyancy foam is swen into it's own pocket which should keep everything where it should be and allow the user to fold it in to on to what ever their chosen method of carrying gear is.

There are other options on the market that are a tad smaller and lighter, but they are not CE certified at 50N of buoyancy, so in my mind this is well worth the £121 price tag with free UK postage ( but I would say that wouldn't I?)

Overrall I reckon this is a great addition to your adventure tool set, the piece of mind of a certified buoyancy aid If you choose to wear it and the bonus of an extra piece of warm kit for you to look cool in on your adventures.

Cheers
Andy  Amazing gear and adventures found here

How far will you go in search of adventure?

So it's been a great weekend, we have stayed close to home, in and around Glen Feshie, and have really quenched our thirst for snow biking adventure, without the need to travel half the way round the world!  I don't consider myself to be an adrenaline junkie and I'm certainly never going to be a Red Bull sponsored rider.  I like journeying, going to new places, finding that unridden piece of sweet single track, riding routes that others don't even know are routes.  Yes, that does sometimes mean a bit of 'hell biking', but the pay off is nearly always worth it.

Snow shower in Glen Feshie

A few things have happened recently which have made me think about risks and why we actively go out and take them.  A large part of my job is basically managing risk for other people.  Folks want an exciting adventure, and learning is best done when we are having a good time - not having an epic.  So what happens when I go out on my own or with friends?  We go looking for that same exciting adventure too!  Though without the back-up of a guide you have to rely on your own knowledge and experience to manage the risk. 

Coire Garbhlach cornice - how close would you go?

So what happened I hear you say.  Well, within the space of a week I saw my girlfriend go through ice into a river and came across this.  Everyone got home in time for dinner and had some exciting tales to tell.  Yes we take risks, and not everything always goes to plan but, we had the equipment and knowledge with us to help prevent another statistic, and the skier had a bit of luck!

Looking back to Coire Garbhlach later in the day

The equipment is the easy one.  Back country skiers nearly always carry safety equipment to help in the case of an avalanche (though how many actually have the knowledge to use it effectively?)  How many mountain bikers carry what they may need in an emergency in the hills though?  Fast and light is fine, until you are not fast for an unforeseen reason.  How do you get the knowledge though?  You can go out there and push your limits, bit by bit, and over time you can build up the knowledge needed...but there is another way.  Quality training can give you many years of knowledge in a much shorter time - go on, book yourself on a course and gain the skills and knowledge you need to manage the risks of your next adventure effectively.

Heading home ready to do it all again next week - if there is still any snow!

So maybe I'm not that different from these guys hucking off cliffs after all - they have been building their knowledge bit by bit and are taking calculated risks to achieve some pretty cool riding. 

Andy . . . .  could you work on my drop off technique?  Red Bull here I come!