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Where to get job lot of crampons and axes.

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 Jim Houghton 14 Jan 2013
I'm running a school trip in a month's time and need to get some kit for the students. What would be the best way of sourcing a job lot (10 say) of basic walking axes and crampons? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
aultguish 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:
Contact a supplier and negotiate a decent discount?
 cuppatea 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:

There's some proper bargain kit on eblag.
Might be worth a look for things like axes and crampons. If I was buying more safety critical things like cams or wires I'd rather buy from a member on UKC and less likely to buy from a more unknown source.
OP Jim Houghton 14 Jan 2013
In reply to cuppatea: I had a brief glance at ebay but buying each one individually and paying postage, etc would be a real faff - unless someone was doing 5 of them...
In reply to Jim Houghton: Yhm
 Bloodfire 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton: Where are you taking them? If it's a one off trip, you might not want to splash out that kinda money, have a word with an outdoor education centre (like Ogwen Cottage, I know they have the gear). Also remember, the crampons will need crampon compatible shoes which every student may not have.

Is there a local climbing club that could lend you some gear? you may want to make a 'contribution' to their cause... if they play ball, they may get membership out of it now or in the near future.
Iandavid 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton: Ask Lyon Equipment for help they were really good to my mate who is excavating the WW1 mines under the Somme, as they only have voluntary funding they gave loads of gear for free for the rope access side of the project and if you feel like donating to a good cause check out www.laboiselleproject.com/donate. Hope this is some help
OP Jim Houghton 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton: We're going to the Ecrins in Feb. It'll be a worthwhile investment for trips in years to come I think; just need to start building up the gear now...
In reply to Jim Houghton: My first thought is, why on earth are you posting on here.

Just speak to whoever your instructors are going to be. If they can't help you sort out this sort of thing, then I'd be extremely concerned about their competence and their suitability to be looking after students in the first place.

Your best option these days is probably to look at the big volume retailers. Getting bulk kit direct from distributors or manufacturers at trade price just by calling/emailing them out of the blue is bloody hard, if not impossible. Even then, for higher volume products the best retail prices are currently extremely competitive so the savings are often minimal.

Assuming you are looking for basic no frills stuff:

Axes:
Grivel Munroe axes from Go Outdoors. Price matched against other online suppliers they could be around £47 each.

Crampons:
Simond Caiman walking crampons from Decathlon at £59.99 each.
North Ridge Snowline crampons from Go Outdoors at £69.99 each, although you my get lucky and find they are doing additional discounts during the next month.
 Captain Gear 14 Jan 2013
In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

> Your best option these days is probably to look at the big volume retailers. Getting bulk kit direct from distributors or manufacturers at trade price just by calling/emailing them out of the blue is bloody hard, if not impossible.

That's bs. Sounds like you've never tried.

To the OP: I'd work out exactly what you want and contact the relevant manufacturers with nice letter explaining what you want and how it will help the young people, who don't have much money. Offer to supply a few photos and write up a short report for their news page/blog.

Good luck.
In reply to Jim Houghton:

hi i have sent you mail, i live out there and may have a few idea's for renting?

cheers
 jayjackson 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:
As Ex-Engineer has said, often direct contact with manufacturers isn't that easy, so maybe supporting a retailer in your local area/school area would be good.

Sourced axes and crampons for a school I used to work for (along with various other bits of climbing/outdoor kit over the years) all from our local Cotswold Outdoors. They matched anything Go Outdoors would do, threw in some bits free or super cheap, and we built up a really good relationship which meant both school and shop were happy with many future deals.
 Timmd 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:Try contacting Go Outdoors, John Graham is a nice guy, if you can get word through to him he might arrange to help you out in return for some publicity?
 Timmd 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:Or Outside in Hathersage, Dick Turnbull's cool too.

 mattrm 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:

These folks - http://www.upandunder.co.uk/ - near me supply a lot of schools/outdoor centers etc and should be able to do a 'job lot' for a sensible price and also give you some good advice if needed. They'll also probably know about any issues re looking after such kit. You'll probably need some kind of logbook to accompany them or similar.
In reply to Captain Gear:
> That's bs. Sounds like you've never tried.

Getting kit out of manufacturers/distributors cheaply for PERSONAL use for expeditions etc. (of which I imagine you have some experience of) is far easier in comparison to larger orders. I have succeeded in getting free or reduced gear on several occasions from various brands over the years.

However I have dealt numerous times with various manufacturers/distributors over the years when trying to bulk buy. Out of over a dozen attempts over a decade I've only probably succeeded twice. Conversely I've been told directly by several companies that they will absolutely not undercut their large retailers who already offer special offers for bulk buys or for clubs, schools etc.. There are also many others who can't sell to you direct anyway as they don't carry any stock in the UK.

Even with fairly extensive contacts within the outdoor industry I can think of at least three occasions where my best option for buying large amounts of kit was just to find the cheapest online price. On another two occasions, buying from the Group Sales team at Cotswold was the best option http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/pages.about-us/sub/grou...


> To the OP: I'd work out exactly what you want and contact the relevant manufacturers with nice letter explaining what you want and how it will help the young people, who don't have much money. Offer to supply a few photos and write up a short report for their news page/blog.

You certainly wouldn't lose anything by trying but I think a month lead time is far too short. Again, from past experience, manufacturers are very willing to consider assisting trips/expeditions but requests like this generally get passed to marketing side who like to plan things on a yearly basis well in advance. I can think of perhaps four occasions where I've been told the company couldn't help me in this financial year but they could perhaps help the following year.

In this case, as regards axes, there may not be much to be gained at least in terms of cost from writing to the likes of DMM (who do sell direct to some non-retail customers) or First Ascent (Black Diamond importers, who refused to sell to me many years ago) as the trade price on a DMM Cirque/BD Raven is more than the discounted retail price of the Monroe I suggested above. You could argue they are better axes but the OP asked for basic and cheap.

The Mountain Boot Company import Grivel. I doubt they will sell direct, but you are perfectly right that if you don't ask you don't get. However, what I can say with confidence is that at least on Grivel crampons I could buy them cheaper retail (via Go Outdoors price match) than buying direct once shipping costs were taken into account. On certain items the current retail environment is massively competitive and often discounting to very low margins.

To the OP:

I should have suggested the group sales department at Cotswold in my original post but I had forgotten they now stocked Climbing Technology crampons http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/climbing-technology-10-point-classic-c1-cram... at a decent retail price (£70) before any discounts. On Grivel Monroe axes I'd guess their price would be around the same as Go Outdoors (with their extra 10% price match guarantee) but you might get the cost of crampons down towards £50 depending whether they are willing to give more than the standard 20% group discount they normally offer.
 Timmd 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Timmd:Not name dropping there, I just happened to meet them as a teenage boy and they were both very nice to me.
 gethin_allen 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:
I'd call Go outdoors head office in sheffield, or try decathlon.
Gooutdoors sell a grivel munro rip off and a grivel monterosa ripoff(made by grivel and rebranded) that you no doubt could negotiate a discount on if you were to buy 10 of each.
 earlsdonwhu 14 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton: Despite cuts, some LEA's may still have a supply of equipment for outdoor ed trips. Coventry certainly did when I took trips to Mongolia and Peru. They even had some plasic boots... which they insisted were KROFLACHS!

Another option would be army surplus sources.... may be old and heavyish but may suit your needs depending on aspirations. Eg .... www.denbigharmysurplus.co.uk/
MooseMouse 14 Jan 2013
There must be cheaper sources available for this kind of kit than the UK high street, especially if buying in bulk.

The Technique Extreme shop in Chamonix had crampons for either 70Euros last May. Not just walking crampons either, steel with different bindings. Might even be worth a visit on the way if your after 10 pairs!

http://www.technique-extreme.com/english/produit.php?id_produit=477

 climber david 15 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:

Joe brown have some really good deals on this week if you can buy quickly. Their newsletter emaily thing has basic crampons at £59 and axes at £55

http://ibexmail.ibexinternet.co.uk/t/ViewEmail/r/389F01B630C51A2D/374F761A1...

Hope that helps

David
 Phil J Booth 17 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:

Just a few years back I was the treasurer for Newcastle University Mountaineering Club and had a grant to buy some winter gear.

We contacted DMM and they were really helpful and happily sold us a whole load of gear at trade prices including walking axes, shorter pairs with technical (hammer and adze) heads, some harnesses, belay plates etc.

To them it makes little difference because they always sell at trade prices, so as long as there is enough of an order to make it worth while, its no different to than selling to an independent climbing shop who buys in relatively small quantities (by comparison to Cotswolds etc)....in fact, they probably get smaller orders from some shops than you'd be placing!

As it happens, I have a pdf from a couple of years ago with their trade prices which would give you an idea of how big the discount is. Drop me a line if you want me to send it over.

Phil
 Mike C 17 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton:
You could also try the likes of Glenmore Lodge or their more southerly equivalents. The Lodge regularly have sets of used gear for sale when they retire them from course use (at which point they are still in very good condition).
 Mark Handford 23 Jan 2013
In reply to Jim Houghton: Are you still in need of a set of 10 crampons and walking axes?
I can hire this to you from our kit store depending on the dates you need it for. Call the office on 01248 490188 and lets see if we can help you out.

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