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.