The guys from Cactus heard that I’m known for being a bit rough on gear. If it’s breakable, I’ll break it! So they threw a Huntaway pack on my shoulder with instructions to give it a real good thrashing out in the hills, and asked for some feedback on the pack.

Building a pack that works for New Zealand hunters who get stuck in is not easy. I have had my fair share of broken promises when it comes to packs. So, like many other hunters, I have become very fussy when it comes to settling on a pack that not only suits my needs, but also can withstand everything that the New Zealand backcountry and weather can throw at it. Well, I can give you one word to help you decide on your next pack: Cactus!

Pros

The pack is actually very waterproof – an absolute must for hunting and tramping in the New Zealand outdoors. Cactus gear is known for being heavy duty, but the Huntaway is surprisingly lightweight. Canvas is a fantastic fabric, but canvas packs have had a tendency in the past to be pretty heavy. Weighing in at a mere 1.6kg, the Huntaway allows you to focus on stuffing vital gear into it, rather than carrying around a heavier pack with less room for the gear you need.

Hold on a minute mate! Who at Cactus deserves a pay rise for designing these side buckles?! Sometimes we come past some new innovative ideas in various bits of hunting gear that just somehow make sense. The metal buckles on the Huntaway are one of those ideas. Firstly, they are far superior than any plastic buckles you’re used to finding on the side of a pack. They are super easy to undo, even with a heavy-duty glove on, and they’re even easier to do up. I’m one of those chaps that start getting numb hands the minute they’re exposed to cold weather, so being able to handle the pack with your gloves on is just awesome. Sure, the buckles have scratched my scope a little bit (until I put a scope-cover on) but I didn’t buy the scope for it to look pretty.

The pack offers access to the main compartment from the top, and that’s it! Cactus did not want areas where this pack might fail in the waterproofing, nor were they trying to construct a heavy pack. The simplicity in the design is a great feature, brought to life by clever decision-making.

The side pockets offer a generous space for both my tripod and my spotting scope. They also have two side strops with the metal buckles on each side to trim the pack in general, and to hold the tripod (or a fishing rod) in place.

An extra compartment can be found behind the back support – perfect for a water system or for storing laminated maps and the likes. The compartment even has a little neoprene mat, which I worked out can be removed and actually be sat on whilst enjoying a steaming hot cuppa!

The hip belt is a very strong design. It’s fully adjustable in two places so that it allows the pack to fit snug around the user, and makes carrying heavy loads so much easier and comfortable.

The extendable top hood pocket is a subtle but great feature that, simply put, enables you to carry heavier loads on your way home from the hunting grounds.

I’m a sucker for punishment and love to climb into alpine environments, so I need to carry an ice axe. Cactus put an ice axe attachment right in the centre of the front – just awesome!

Other reviewers have labelled the Huntaway’s price tag as a minus. I couldn’t disagree more. Price often follows quality, and if this pack were cheap, I’d be raising my eyebrows at it. The fact that this pack is made in New Zealand, by real people, not machines, is enough reason for me to be paying good money for good quality.

Cons

I miss having a small opening for my bladder system. The Huntaway has a bladder compartment, but no separate access. The only access is through the main compartment lid at the top. It would be great to stuff my bladder hose out along the side.

My previous pack offered three external zip pockets, two on the front of the pack, and one on the top lid. I guess I have become accustomed to that feature, so I am missing the extra pockets. However, I understand the compromise in order to keep weight down, and to make a more durable and waterproof pack.

The Verdict

We are out there to hunt, harvest, and survive. The Huntaway pack is designed with just that in mind. It is strong, durable, lightweight, and waterproof. With its innovative features, comfortable hip and shoulder straps, I was loving this pack even before I put weight into it! And with Cactus’s comprehensive warranties, sidled with equal dedication to ensuring the quality of everything that leaves their Christchurch manufacturing line, I can see this pack being a popular choice amongst hunters, trampers, and adventurers. 

Just like settling on a rifle style, brand, and calibre, you need to identify what exactly you need from your backpack. I suppose this is best carried out by analysing where you hunt and for what, and most importantly how you hunt.

Your backpack will aid you in your quest, but there are numerous options out there so choose wisely. Things like capacity, waterproofness, detachable pockets, integrated water systems, frames vs frameless, and weight are just some of the factors you will need to consider. On www.cactusoutdoor.co.nz you can browse through their range of backpacks, and will likely find one that suits your needs.

Specs 

• Volume: 45 + 10 litres
• Weight: 1.6kg
• Dimensions: 61cm high, 30cm wide
• Fabrics: Ultra C-Canvas with a C-1000D cordura base
• Colour: Black or Olive
• Storage: Single compartment with an extendable 3D hood pocket. Two side pockets. Internal bladder pocket. Elastic bungy on front of pack.
• Back support: Air-mesh, internal foam, plus removable foam panel
• Chest strap
• YKK zips throughout
• Double and triple stitched throughout
• Warranty: 5yr Pack Guarantee as well as the Cactus tough Lifetime Warranty
• RRP: $469
• Proudly made in Christchurch, New Zealand

Check out the Huntaway pack here.

On 29 May this year, I traveled to Manantenina, Madagascar with the intention of working with a community of 1300 people to develop a water source for their village. I am a graduate water engineer from the University of Canterbury and I was working alongside others from Duke University.

The Village

Madagascar is a beautiful place at first glance—it’s full of lush rainforests, rivers, and many scattered rice fields. But there is far more to Madagascar than these beautiful vistas. I stayed in the SAVA region, which is a relatively wealthy area of the country. However, the people there still lack basic necessities. You would think such a tropical climate would produce an abundance of clean water, but because of intensive rice farming and free roaming zebu (cows), it’s hard to find clean water sources.

Manantenina gets all its water from a heavily polluted river, which is also used by Mandena, a village situated 2km upstream, for drinking, cooking, washing, grazing cattle and as the village toilet. Clean drinking water taps had been installed in neighbouring villages, which encouraged the people of Manantenina to reach out for help in installing a clean water source of their own.

Above Rice fields surrounding Manantenina village.

Above Manantenina village.

Outcome

All in all the project was a success, and my Cactus gear really held its own. We ended up working very closely with the peoples of Manantenina as well as Mandena, so instead of just working with a population of 1300 people, we ended up working with 4300 people, who we helped in establishing a board of elders tasked with overseeing the upkeep of the project.

It was great to listen to, and work with, both communities to better understand their lives and cultures. We listened to all their suggestions for a good water source and explored options for each suggestion. We picked the most appropriate solution with the help of the village water boards. We also designed an internal tap layout with the water boards in both communities, with particular input from the women’s groups. The women are the ones who fetch the water, so they were the ones we listened to most carefully.

In addition, we have organised for educational training in water, sanitation and hygiene for all water board members from both villages, through the local NGO ‘Save the Children.’ We have also been creating plans and contingency plans for each situation, and students involved in our project will be going back again next year to solely work on more community consultation and further development of the water board.

Above In the Manantenina river.

While in Madagascar, Florence carted piles of stuff around in a Cactus Miklat pack, and fended off mud, dirt, bugs, gravel rash and rapid dogs in a pair of Women's Workfit Supertrousers. 

Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park is situated in Karori, Wellington. It has a trail network of over 50kms of trails situated in over 250ha of regenerating bush on Wellington City Council land. The park overlooks Wellington Harbour and the Tararua Ranges to the north, and to the south you get spectacular views of the West Wind wind farm, Cook Strait, and the Kaikoura ranges.

The Makara Peak Supporters was established in 1998—the objective of this group is to develop a trail network for local mountain bikers and walkers, and to help restore native forest to the southern end of Karori. Conservation in the park is focused on planting native species, controlling pest plants and trapping pest species such as stoats, possums, rats and mice. MPS philosophy is to plant one native plant for every metre of trail constructed in the park. Last year’s planting season alone saw 2500 saplings planted in the park on a range of trails.

It is the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of MPS this year, and there are many examples of the hard work that the volunteers have put in over this time.

Above: Looking south from Makara Saddle. The zig-zag trail going up this exposed face is an uphill trail called Varleys. This photo was taken in 1999.

Below: Zoom forward to the present day Varleys, below. Photo taken in 2014.

The Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park forms part of a large green belt along with Wrights Hill Reserve and Zealandia (formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary). Zealandia is a 225ha area enclosed in a pest-proof fence where forest is also being restored and many native fauna are finding a safe home—among them are several species that have been reintroduced—the endangered kākā and takahē, tuatara and giant weta. We were extremely lucky to have kākā nesting in the Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park this summer. Many park users have been thrilled to ride around on their bikes and witness these birds performing their aerobatics.

Historically, the majority of trails in the park have been hand builds by volunteers, but in recent years there has been a big shift to contractor-built trails. As the demand for trails of a range of difficulty levels outstrips supply, the creation of the ‘Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park Master Plan’ and an increase in funding has led to a large increase in new trails being built each year.

Above: Exit from Lazy Fern and SWIGG/Starfish trail (adjacent main car park) circa 1998.

Below: The same area as above, in 2018.

Cactus Outdoor gear has been hugely popular with trail builders and conservation crews for use in the park over the years. Thomas Lindup is the main trail building contractor in the park. Thomas works on the trails on a daily basis. The last time I saw Thomas he was working at the top of Makara Peak (412m). An Antarctic southerly graced us with its presence. The temperature for the day was forecast to hit the lofty heights of 9°C—with a chill factor of much lower thrown in there for good measure! Thomas was wearing Lifties pants and a Mountain Jacket to protect him from all that the Wellington weather could throw at him.

Ricky Pincott and myself are on the Makara Peak Supporters committee. We both use our Cactus gear regularly. Ricky spent two and a half years working on Nelson’s Wairoa Gorge trails. While in the gorge, Ricky cut down trees, chipped out countless tonnes of solid rock, moved dirt and helped create a mountain bike thrill seekers’ paradise. Ricky wore his Supertrousers almost every day he was in the, and has now put them into in his work at the Makara park.

Sarah Bramwell is a Makara Peak Supporters legend. Formerly a member of the Makara Peak Supporters Committee, she now works tirelessly in the park. Sarah is one of the main drivers of a planting programme that runs seasonally on the hill. Sarah has planted thousands of saplings on various trails. Sarah maintains bait lines/traps that she checks and clears and has an awesome success rate. In her spare time Sarah is also keen mountain biker. Sarah loves her  Supertrousers and Huntaway pack, saying they’re “vital when working in the park”!

My fave piece of Cactus kit is my Lightweight Supershorts, which I wear not only wear in the park, but also for my work as a Survey Technician and on the rural property we live on.

For more info on the Makara Peak Supporters, the mountain bike park, and the conservation work we do, check out www.makarapeak.org.

Above: The "Wild at Heart" swing bridge which was opened in March 2017.  The bridge is a 70m long landmark structure - the first of its kind in an urban mountain bike park in New Zealand.  Funding for this project was provided by the Wellington Airport and a huge Give a Little campaign supported by the riders of Wellington and beyond.

OPINION

–by Ben Kepes 

There's been a lot of recent media attention given to a New Zealand fashion brand that has been selling, for a number of years, t-shirts made in Bangladeshi sweat shops factories that have swingtags on them proudly stating “Fabrique en Nouvelle-Zelande" (Made in New Zealand).

Apparently, the owner of the brand justifies the statement, saying that since the swingtags themselves are made in New Zealand, there is nothing factually incorrect about the statement. The owner is (how ironically) a vociferous defender of New Zealand manufacturing, and has regularly chastised those who don’t meet her purported standards.

Welcome to the post-truth era.

Actually, it is a little complex. I'm a shareholder in Cactus Outdoor, a 25-year old company that manufactures backpacks and apparel here in New Zealand and sells it all around the world. All of our products are lovingly sewn in our own factory, and other independently owned third-party factories, here in New Zealand. We are proudly New Zealand owned and operated, and are proud that we keep many skilled people gainfully employed. Our customers love the fact that our products do what we say they will, and are happy to pay what are, to be fair, quite high prices, in order to receive a product that will give them many, many years of dependable service. 'Fast fashion' we certainly ain’t.

Alas, over the last couple of decades, the apparel industry in New Zealand has been decimated and, whereas in the past there used to be textile mills in every decent-sized town, today there are almost no fabrics made here in New Zealand (other than some merino ones, like Nuyarn, which Cactus uses). Cactus has no options, therefore, but to source some fabrics from overseas. The same goes for buckles and zips etc. So, yes, many of our raw materials come from outside of New Zealand.

But I reiterate, our products are made in New Zealand. We don’t import sewn t-shirts, sew a patch on them locally and call that NZ-made. We don’t try and get away with bunging a locally printed swingtag on the t-shirts that says "Made in New Zealand" on it, and hoping no one notices the "Made in Bangladesh" tag surreptitiously sewn into the hem. From our perspective, if you’re an apparel company and your product is sewn in New Zealand – you’re New Zealand made.

The example World has set is unscrupulous. L’estrange Corbet, World’s founder, has for years waxed poetic about New Zealand manufacturing, and harshly criticised others for moving offshore. All the while she has been duplicitously leading her customers astray.

Claiming a swingtag that is printed in New Zealand justifies an NZ-Made moniker is offensive to her customers, her competitors and the entire local business community. It is also, I believe, a very real breach of the Fair Trading Act and undoubtedly constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct.

While I totally disagree with L’estrange Corbet’s claim that World simply couldn’t make t-shirts in New Zealand (for the record, Cactus does without any problems), my biggest issue is with the lack of truth in what she tells her customers. Apparently, L’estrange Corbet thinks of her customers in the way McDonald’s thinks of theirs – as mere waiting mouths, to fill with products that satisfy a short-term whim, but leave no sense of being sated. Apparently, she has no respect for her customers or their belief about what her product is.

It’s a massive shame, and a sad reflection on this modern, post-truth era.

Luckily there are still brands that are prepared to be up-front and honest, and who are authentic to their ideals.

You know how sometimes life just stacks up on you? Worksheets, spreadsheets, timesheets, all getting to you … then you crack and just need to blow it all off. I got to that point a few weeks ago, so headed to a place far away from any calculations. And beyond how far we could go in a day. It was also a good excuse to give the Cactus bikepacking gear a workout.

Relive 'Morning Activity'

Relive 'Morning Activity'

For 25 years we've been making Cactus products in NZ. But thanks to recent news stories about World and their NZ-made swingtags, we've made the startling realisation that you don't need to actually make your stuff in NZ to market it as NZ-made ... all you need is a magic swingtag, with 'Made in New Zealand' written on it in French! Of course! French. Why didn't someone tell us this already?

So, we've found a few products around the Cactus office that are up for sale as genuine, NZ-made merchandise if anyone's interested …

Genuine NZ-made Feijoa iMac. 

Running macOSTararuas 10.6.2

3.6 KZ7. 

$5000

Panasonic Billy-Boiler.

All the microwaves that operate in this machine are 100% made in NZ. (Unless you take it overseas).

Made in Waimatuku.

$10,000

Honda Massey Ferguson. 2-wheeled version.

Perfect for ploughing donuts into any Upper Hutt cul-de-sac.

Assembled by engineering students from Katikati Kindergarten.

$50,000

Boombox

Thundering bass from 700watt subwoofing speakers.

'True Colours' by Split Enz CD stuck in the player.

'Skip/Search', 'Memory' and 'Surround' written on it.

Made in Taupo.

$500

Rob

We thought he was from another planet. But this swingtag proves us wrong.

Made in Newtown, Wellington.

Not actually for sale, sorry.

Thanks to everyone who entered our #cactussummer photo competition. We had hundreds of entries, with some amazing shots in there showing the varied and inspiring adventures Cactus customers get up to with our gear - very cool!

After some fierce debate at Cactus HQ, a winner has emerged – congrats to Nicholas Covelli for this photo featuring Scottie Williams in his Cactus Supershorts. The pic was taken in Havasu Creek, a tributary to the Colorado River, USA, during a trip down the Grand Canyon Nicholas did with a bunch of Year 12 students.

A $250 Cactus voucher is on its way to Nicholas.

We had a hard time narrowing down the best entries, so we thought we'd share a selection of a few more of our faves for you all to enjoy.

Waiouru Tussock Adventure Ride, by Michael Dobson (sweet sticker placement!)

Fred Heckeroth took this pic (with Cactus SOS Trousers) on a tramping/adventuring trip to Patagonia in December.

Some funky trees in Conguillo National Park, Chile, during a ride from the snowfields of the Andes down to Lago Conguillo in Cactus Supershorts. photo by @texturegroup

@luxeguides, with canine friend and Cactus Deepwinter at Wye Saddle in the Remarkables, Queenstown, looking south into the Wye Creek Basin.

John Doogan testing his Gold Digger hat in a summer shower.

Brent Frame gave up the beautiful NZ summer for a winter driving groomers in stunning Norway in his Cactus Down Jacket.

We've been posting more of the best shots on our social media feeds as well, so keep an eye on Instagram (cactusoutdoor) and Facebook (Cactus Outdoor) for more awesome #cactussummer shots from Cactus customers around NZ and the world.

Left: Mark roadside in the Wairarapa, heading out to White Rock on a multi-day off road mission. Early 90s.

Right: Mark in Lake Ferry. Mark and Jamie got a fisherman to ferry them over the mouth of Lake Ferry so they didn't have to ride right around. It was really soft sand but they found it was firm enough to pedal in the shallows.

Both photos: Jamie Nichol.

By Mark Watson.

Back in autumn 1992 I found myself in Wellington, just returned from cycle touring to Cape Reinga and back on a well loved Stumpjumper with second hand panniers. It had been a carefree five month journey with Hana Black. Between small town campgrounds and toastie pies for dinner we’d just stretch our dole to last the week. The biggest treat of the week would be a milkshake or a pot of tea in a cafe on a rainy May day. 

We explored New Zealand’s back roads, scouring small town op shops for the coolest shirts we could find and meeting salt-of-the-earth Kiwis. We posted climbing gear around too; picking our way up Wharepapa pockets and luxuriating in the lakeside isolation of Whanganui Bay where we had the crags to ourselves.    

A chance invitation that autumn set my life on a new track when some Wellington acquaintances invited me to come for ‘a ride’. A motley crew on an assortment of early mountain bikes, we pedalled up through Wellington’s ‘burbs and into the gorsey fire roads of Wrights Hill, down into the Karori Reservoir, up Hawkins Hill and down the blazing fast ridge to Red Rocks. It was my first ever mountain bike ride and a revelation, despite a high speed crash that left me tangled in my bike frame. Wellington was suddenly about much more to me than Baring Head, Head Like a Hole and tripping in the Botanic Gardens.    

By the time I started cutting fabric and sewing packs at the Cactus HQ in Lambton Quay’s Hamilton Chambers that winter, Gwilym’s charisma and optimistic energy had drawn supporters. It was Cactus against the New Zealand giants of Macpac and Fairydown. There were little, if any, imported packs in the market back then. 

It was place of creative energy, ideas and fabrication and in an anarchistic, free form kind of way Cactus’ product line evolved, the first Vacuole (a cheeky copy of a UK product) led the way, then a rope bag. Rob Gray championed the postie bag project and Mark Schafer’s clever mind contributed innovations, while Darryl Best’s quirky linework set the branding tone.  

At the same time the cult of early 1990s Wellington mountain biking began to sweep the Cactus crew. Climbing was shelved and in every spare moment we rode our bikes in Wellington’s hills, breaking rims, bones and losing skin like molting lizards. The learning curve was brutal and the Kennett Brothers first edition of Classic New Zealand Mountain Bike Rides was the Bible. Although I'm not sure how the rides were classics because hardly anyone had done most of them back then. 

For some of us at Cactus, combining the mountain bike with our roots in the self reliance and exploration of tramping and climbing seemed like the ultimate sport. Custom panniers followed, including Mark Schafer’s avant-garde Rackless Panniers (the Cactus Racktus – a lightweight front pannier system that worked on a suspension fork) of which only a few pairs were ever made.

It wasn’t until after a game changing ‘bikepacking’ blitzkrieg of top-of-the-south roads and trails with Jonty Richie, Simon Kennett and Tim Galloway that I decided to drop the panniers completely and take to more technical trails for multi-day tours. I made a reinforced canvas/cordura dry bag to mount on the top of my rack and carried everything else in the first version of the Zero daypack.  

A couple of very memorable South Island single track trips followed, in the lightest of style. With the reliable late December weather of Marlborough we carried the barest of essentials, eschewing tents, proper sleeping bags and stoves and surviving on bananas, pies, Mother Earth cakes and mussels picked from the shore. Jamie Nichol was probably lucky to survive; having carried one such batch of mussels through the heat of a summer day on his sweaty back, eating them for lunch somewhere on the Nydia Walkway.  

The term ‘bikepacking’ hadn’t been coined back then and there was no industry behind the notion of lightweight overnight bike travel. We called it lightweight touring, but we weren’t doing anything new; we were just joining legion others in the world who’ve also discovered the pleasure, simplicity and freedom of journeying by bicycle. 

Mark Watson worked for Cactus 1992–2015 in various capacities including bench worker, sewing machinist, custom design and latterly graphic design. He's currently riding his mountain bike the length of the Americas: Read his blog here.

Zac aboard SA Agulhas II, moored next to Gough Island.

Zac Milner, from Kaitiaki o Ngahere, an ecological restoration and biosecurity company, recently travelled to Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean to help with the management of the invasive pest plant Sagina procumbens – a small herbaceous ground-cover plant that has the potential to smother large areas of ground and out-compete the native vegetation.

Zac was training the field team in weed control methodology, assessing the feasibility of eradication, and making recommendations for future mangement.

While in the field, Zac used Cactus Outdoor gear, and was kind enough to send us this report when he returned home to Nelson.

Working for an ecological restoration company means that I spend a lot of my time in the bush around Nelson. Members of our company also have occasional expeditions to islands around the world. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to spend some time on Gough Island.

Being a Subantarctic island, the weather on Gough is fierce. New Zealand is known for having changeable weather but I learnt a new notion of that word while on Gough. Working in such challenging conditions required the best gear that was on offer.

I chose to use Cactus gear because it came recommended from my colleagues, and has a reputation as being no-fuss, high-performance, hard-wearing equipment – that it is made in New Zealand was a bonus!

On the island the ground was boggy with thick and consistently wet vegetation. Although there is a meteorological base on the island, the weather was unpredictable. Any jaunt away from the base required all-weather gear. I found the Mountain Jacket with the simple Cactus fleece underneath was versatile enough to withstand whatever came my way, without restricting my movement. Gaiters are essential for this environment and the Instigaiters met the challenge without a hitch.

After this expedition, I am confident in recommending Cactus gear to anyone who is after practical equipment that is built to last.

Gough Island

Travel to Gough Island was aboard a South African Antarctic Research Vessel, SA Agulhas II.

I recently got a new backpack, the Cactus Henry. It's an awesome pack; suitable for long and short trips. I chose it due to the secure harness. I initially passed up the Nort as it looked too small for long backcountry day trips, plus it doesn't come with a chest harness. On further investigation, it turns out the Nort is chest strap compatible, with the additional sternum strap. 

That was enough to turn me on. I ordered the Nort. It is a classic shape—skinny and spine hugging, ideal to protect the vitals from a huck to flat somersault (well, not for this puppy).

Once I installed the sternum strap the security was almost as good as the Henry's. The shoulder straps are comfortable but not over padded, and they feature a cool li'l exit for a hydration hose and a couple of loops on the straps to snug the hose away.

It's safe to say that even on a short two-hour ride I carry a lot of gear (see pic). The Nort swallowed it all and still had room for two ham sandwiches, several snack bars and a zombie apocalypse kit (maybe). It has three zippered compartments. The main one is roomy, and there's a small internal fleece-lined pocket and a medium-sized external pocket. Finally, the interior is lined with high-vis nylon to make it easier to find stuff.

The Nort is a heavy duty, lightweight backpack suitable for short to long day trips. Just like all Cactus packs, it's made to wear in not out.

Tip: get the sternum strap. 

Below I have listed the tools, spares and clothing I take on pretty much every ride. Some would say a balaclava, satellite tracker and emergency bivy bag is OTT for a two-hour ride, but you know what? Crashes happen, and I'd feel stink if I couldn't keep someone, or myself, as comfortable as possible after a big stack and/or direct emergency assistance accurately to our position. So if you're riding with me, relax, I got your back.

- Rain jacket/shell
- Polypro balaclava
- Emergency bivvy bag
- Spot satellite tracker
- Sunscreen/lip balm/chamois cream(butt butter)
- Pump w duct tape wrapped around it
- Spare tube (2 on longer rides) w duct tape
- Tools/spare kit in Cactus tool bag. Bike specific multi tool w chain breaker, leatherman multitool w pliers, 3 tire levers, replaceable derailleur hanger, set brake pads, SPD cleat, 3 quick links, 2 chain pins, heavy duty needle and dental floss, tubeless valve, selection of tube patches and tire boot, selection of zip ties.

Cleaning the jacket with a special Down Cleaner will gently remove the dirt, oils and residue, and will rejuvenate the light & airy properties of the feathers, giving you a warmer, puffier down jacket - like when it was new.

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS: 

Prior to washing, apply cleaner directly to heavily soiled areas. Close all zippers.

HAND WASH DIRECTIONS: Fill sink or tub with just enough warm water to submerge item; add ReviveX® Down Cleaner. Compress item to remove air and place in water. Rinse item repeatedly until water runs clear (at least 3 times). Gently compress or roll item (do not wring) to expel water. Place item in washing machine for 2 spin cycles to remove excess water before drying.

REGULAR MACHINE WASH: Add 5 capfuls of Down Cleaner to washine machine. Wash with cold or warm water on gentle cycle. Do not add fabric softner. 

OPTIONAL: Before drying outdoor gear, apply ReviveX® Durable Waterproofing to the outer shell fabric. Apply liberally to shoulders, cuffs and zipper areas.

DRY: Dry garment by itself in a large dryer (it needs room to tumble freely) add some tennis balls or dryer balls to help break up the down clumps. 

If you've had your Mountain Jacket for decades (or even one heavy use season), it might be looking like it's in need of some TLC. To make sure your Mountain Jacket, Lifties or other waterproof/breathable product lasts, stays being waterproof/breathable and continues to perform at it's best, give it a wash every now and then. Dirt, smoke, body oils and other residues can clog waterproof breathable pores and inhibit breathability.

Also, our Mountain Jackets and Lifties are treated with DWR (Durable Water Repellent) to aid in waterproofing. A build-up of residue on the fabric surface will prevent this coating from performing causing the garment to “wet-out.” Removing those residues by washing improves the garment’s performance.

We wouldn't recommend using any old washing powder/soaps as they can leave residue, preventing the DWR from working or clog the breathable pores. We sell a product called ReviveX Pro-Cleaner which is awesome. 

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS:

• Close all tabs, velcro and zippers. We recommend washing items separately.

• Apply cleaner directly to embedded stains. Gently scrub with a bristle brush. Repeat as needed.

• Select delicate/gentle cycle, warm water and load size (most likely low since technical garments are typically washed individually).

• Add 3 capfuls ReviveX Pro Cleaner to wash.

• Run wash cycle and rinse twice.

• Dry as per the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Before drying, you can apply ReviveX DWR Spray help restore the DWR, although many times it is simply not necessary. Sometimes, all the garment really needs is a good cleaning with a clean-rinsing detergent. Once you have rinsed those residues clean, you can usually place the garment in the dryer and the heat will help re-activate the DWR coating. 

Deane went on a weekend mission with his Cactus Henry and here's what he has to say about it:

A backpack is an essential biking tool. Some prefer to ride without but I like containing everything I need for a 2-6 hour ride in one place. I like the crash protection to my back, effectively cradling my spine. A chance visit to the Cactus showroom introduced me to the Henry. It's a traditional looking backpack, on first look I dismissed it as being too big for a day pack. I tried it on and was immediately impressed with the fit. 

It doesn't have gadgety features found on most biking backpacks. No fancy media pocket, no helmet harness and only 1 zip (normally the first thing to fail when full of mud and salty sweat). One cavernous compartment, which I didn't manage to fill on an overnight ride and a pocket in the lid for easy to get items. The Henry is very light, 480g, makes it appealing  for runners and adventure racers too. Lightweight materials make this possible but during testing in wet conditions everything stayed dry, this may change after more wear, we'll see...

The outstanding feature of this pack is the harness. From a heritage of packs designed for ski patrollers and heavy duty west coast bush bashing, it's safe to say Cactus know how to make a pack fit snug to your back. A secure waist and sternum strap kept the bag from flopping round and holds my hydration hose close for easy access. It has a hydration sleeve to keep your bladder separate to your gear and a hidden opening in the lid for the hose to come out of. 

It's not easy to replace equipment that has been faithful companions on many missions, my previous day pack was one of these items. With the advent of sophisticated bikepacking bags, strapped to the bike, it is now possible to have a bag that doubles for day trip and multi day trips. The Henry is ideal for this purpose, small enough to cinch down for a quick blast in the hills and big enough to load up for an extended bikepacking trip in the backcountry. 

Check out the Henry here. To check out more of Deane's adventures, check out his website here. 

With busy lifestyles, full time jobs, no more public holidays for a while, the microadventure concept can be a lifesaver. The idea behind a microadventure was made common by British adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys and is defined as an overnight outdoor adventure that is "small and achievable, for normal people with real lives".

When planning a microadventure, key points to keep in mind is that it's short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding. All of us here at Cactus are pretty good at microadventures - and with winter here, they become even more important to keeping us all happy (and sane).

A microadventure could be anything from meeting your best mates for a picnic up your local hill one evening after work, a short mountain bike ride to a new secret camping spot through to a short overnight mission to a near by DOC hut. If you have some sort of floating vessell (packraft, dinghy, SUP) you have even more options. 

Microadventures are an awesome and super easy thing to organise with a few mates but also just as ideal for the family. The kids will love it. 

CACTUS MICROADVENTURE #1

It was almost a little far away to be called a microadventure as the West Coast is a 3 hour drive from ChCh, but last weekend the Cactus Marketing department (just me (there's only one of us)) and 3 mates grabbed our tramping packs and headed for Hokitika. That's where the good weather was and we all LOVE the coast. 

We filled our packs with yummy food and a pack of cards and took a short 3 hour walk up to a tiny, four bed hut (luckiy we also took at tent) for the night. We found a magic spot shelted from the wind, shot the breeze while eating chips watching the incredible West Coast sunset. It was bliss. The following day we walked out, grabbed some manditory fish & ships to eat on the beach before driving home.

The walk up through the stunning West Coast bush. The Miklat is the perfect microadventure pack. 

 The tops...

 Our magic spot in the sunshine.

Better than TV.

 The hut which we had to ourselves for the morning.

We nailed it. Thanks to Mike, Amanda & Paul. 

We'll try and share more microadventures here on the Cactus blog. If you have had a good microadventure and feel like sharing, get in touch. Email me here. 

This summer Nigel spent a month living and working at King Edward Point on the island of South Georgia one of the most isolated places in the world, the climate is extremely harsh and the landscape is inhospitable but also magnificent. Nigel very kindly took the time to write to us to tell us about it:

The Allardyce range which dominates the interior of the island contains several towering peaks including Mount sugar-top and Mount Paget which at almost 3000 meters is the tallest peak on the island. This along with dozens of extensive glaciers such as the Neumayer and Nordenskjöld glaciers which sweep down the into the bays and inlets that cluster along the coast make this island a wonder of the natural world.

Not only is the landscape incredibly beautiful but the island is an important breeding site for Albatross, petrel and penguin population and also Antarctic fur seals and elephant seals, some 3 million Antarctic fur seals make South Georgia there home during the summer months.

I was working for a New Zealand based company called Indigena Biosecurity International which has the contract for the control of Invasive plants on the island, these include grasses and herbaceous plants some introduced from the Falklands 1,550 kilometers away.

While working on the contract I was able to visit many amazing places on the island not only many of the beaches, glaciers and coastlines but also the remnants of the whaling stations, which made this isolated island a huge industrial center while they were open and making money for there owners.

Now the workers than ran these stations have disappeared along with the whales that once swam in these waters, leaving only the rusting remnants and industrial wreckage behind.

While I was there I was comfortable wearing a pair of Trade plus supertrousers and Cactus collared jacket and was able to pack the gear needed for the days work in a Cactus miklat backpack.

All the Cactus gear I brought with me I found to be stylish, hard wearing and most importantly warm, the Supertrousers in particular were great at keeping out the wind and light to moderate rain a big plus in a place like South Georgia!

The collared jacket was perfect for both work purposes and also relaxing after work with its comfortable but practical look and minimalist functional design.

All in all the Cactus gear lived up to its reputation as durable, practical outdoor gear, and I would recommend them to anyone interested in them for work or play.

WELCOME ANNA

We're all super excited to have a new member of the Cactus crew. Anna is our new customer services whizz. If you ever call or email, it'll be Anna you'll be talking to. Anna fits in well here - she loves bike riding, cactus's (the plants), climbing, tramping, surfing and DIY. With her partner, she's built her very own tiny house. It's pretty impressive. There's a stuff article all about it here or for more pics check out her blog. We'll also post any updates on our Facebook page.

As the Karapoti’s longest running sponsor, Cactus was proud to be the main sponsor at this year’s event.

Established in 1986, the Karapoti Classic is the Southern Hemisphere’s longest running mountain bike event. Located just outside Wellington in the Akatarawa ranges, the Karapoti’s 50km course incorporates river crossings, steep climbs and technical descents all set among native forest. The classic Lemans style start sees competitors straight into the infamous Akatarawa River crossing, with depths often between waist and shoulder height depending on rainfall. Just the way to wake the body up before tackling one of the first gut busting climbs.

Previous years of hot, sunny and settled February weather were not to be as racers were greeted with gloomy, rainy and muddy conditions for what was going to be an exciting event. The average weather seen the usual turnout of 800+ racers dwindle to 600 hearty racers to brave the start line for the mad dash across the cool Akatarawa River and then into the gruelling 50km course.

As usual, the 2017 Cactus Karapoti Classic was not without drama, with many racers suffering from mechanicals and crashes due to the adverse trail conditions. Among finishers for the 50k Challenge included Lucy Jurke and Emily Hannah, aged 11, the youngest ever finishers in the events 32year history, well done!

 With a stacked field of riders from over 8 countries, the men and women’s overall winners included Kyle Ward, one of Australia’s top riders, and NZ’s own Samara Sheppard finishing just shy of the women’s course record at a time of 2hrs 42min (impressive given the conditions).

Another event for the day included the Cactus 5K Kids Challenge which saw over 100 under 11’s tackle a muddy course with multiple river crossings. A great introduction into mountain bike racing for the youngsters, proving they were tough enough to turn up and have a blast on what was a great event regardless of the weather. 

Event information, results and post race report available here

Harpoon is a dedicated cold brew coffee company based in South Dunedin and selling in grocery stores throughout the country.

When Arjun started the business in 2015 he put a message out to see if anyone wanted the coffee grounds, which are a useful by-product of coffee brewing. A stranger at the time, Tod Coxhead, jumped at the offer and started collecting them regularly for his garden. A couple of years later, Tod is a business partner of Harpoon Cold Brew Coffee and head of production. With the popularity of Cold Brew Coffee on the rise, Tod has been looking for ways to get rid of the ever increasing amount of coffee grounds. As a result there are help-yourself-bins outside the cold brewery on Glasgow Street and they've gone to community gardening groups like Youthgrow and the Polytech gardens. The most recent batch has been taken by trailer to a friends garden to nurture their fruit trees. So far not a single gram of grounds has gone to landfill.

"Cold brew coffee is easy to make but hard to perfect. You've got to consider the beans, roast, grind, brew time and temperature to name a few of the variables. Currently we're using a Brazillian coffee which has notes of milk chocolate and a long clean finish. We don't use any sugar or indeed anything besides water and coffee to make our cold brew, so extracting just the right flavours from the coffee is imperative. It's takes a lot of trialing and patience but we're damned proud of the end result. We're pretty excited to share our cold brew with cactus customers that appreciate quality." David from Harpoon

Photoshoot.

Cold Brew coffee is a tasty refreshing drink all year round, but particularily in summer. It may not replace your morning (hot) brew but it's ideal and extremely convenient for a delicious smoko drink or an afternoon, chilling in the backyard, refreshing pick-me-up. It's a heck of a lot better for you than a sugary energy drink and it tastes better too.

For more info about Harpoon Cold Brew head along to their website here. 

FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY GRAB A FREE HARPOON COLD BREW WITH ANY IN STORE CANVAS LEG WEAR PURCHASE!*

*While stocks of legwear and cold brew last. In store only. Cactus T's & C's apply. 

This is just a small taster of the adventures of Alexis, Lydia, Allan & Mark while on their epic journey traversing the length of the South Island. They have had terrible luck with weather... which does for some great story telling. For the rest of their blog and more images, follow the link at the bottom of this post. Fingers crossed for some better weather!

I'm writing on the eve of our return into the whelm of the Southern Alps after a much needed week of R & R. In my case, this consisted in getting clambered on by three adorable niblings, doting over the 4th and most recent arrival, spending alot of ime either reclined, on my arse or close to the ground and eating like 15 year old going through a growth spurt. I found myself mooching around the kitchen less than quarter of an hour after a holiday-season-sized meal , inhaling toast, drinking stone fruit or hoovering weetbix.

It's not as if we've been going hungry on our trip. If anything we've over-catered (helped in part by the temporary loss of the 4th party member). But I weighed myself when I got out and was surprised to find I'd lost 6 kgs over the two months of travel so far. Those who know me well can vouch that I don't carry much of a spare tyre, nor can I boast much of what Lyd's calls a doughnut (try bunching your stomach pudge around your navel with both hands), in everyday life- so I don't know where I kept this spare trammel. But I'd noticed Lydia and Allan thinning out gradually and acquiring the wiry lope and gaunt leather faces of alpine animals and Mark commentED I how lean I looked when he joined us. Lydia's doughnut test has proved a useful yardstick of mass-loss ; we are now down to pretzel-size.

Flippant observations aside, we were interested to observe the weight-loss in spite of our generous rations. It suggests that averaging c. 1000 vertical meters per day and 8hrs of walking is clearly something that our bodies have a hard time sustaining. We've been burning up our fat reserves and converting some surplus muscle mass into energy. After a challenging week between the Rakaia and the Godley valleys, we all started observing a decline in the maximum power output of our muscles. No doubt there is a corresponding increase in our muscular endurance. It is interesting to discover the limitations of our bodies as they adapt and optmise to the rigours of transalpine tramping.

After the short unplanned break in Christchurch in mid-December, we set off back up the Rakaia late afternoon on December 18th. The weather was almost as stroppy as when we'd half-walked, half been blown out of the valley a few days earlier. After leaning into a wall of wind for a couple of hours, admiring the scudding clouds and patches of golden evening light, we put up at Thompsons Hut at Washbourne Creek (the hut is private and belongs to Lake Heron station). On Monday we picked up our food-drop at Reischek and further whittled it down : the initial drop was for 12 days travel to Godley Hut for 4 people, we were now 3 and had a passable forecast that should allow us to complete the section in under 8 days. Reischek hut now boasts a literal bucket-load of food for future stranded/gluttonous parties. Don't get to excited, its mostly dehy and peanuts.

Read more (and you definitely want to!) here... 

Vaughan in his Cactus Trade Supershorts & Tee - automatic Builder cred.

Vaughan and Anna are building an off the grid house in Governors Bay, Banks Peninsula and we think it's worth talking about. Not only are the views spectacular, they've made some great decisions on architecture, materials and building style.

The house is going to be fully insulated with Maxraft floor slab and underfloor heating while the whole building will be insulated to 2.4 x the building code. The house is completely off grid, powered with solar panels and batteries and the waste system is a vermiculture system (using worms and stuff). Their water supply is all from roof collection.

Vaughan & Anna looking like natural born builders. 

Vaughan and Anna are building it themselves with help from 'real builders'. Vaughan's day job until now has been building Clip n Climb climbing walls and is part owner of Christchurch bouldering gym, Uprising.

Some of the things Vaughan and Anna have been making from scratch are concrete bench tops, concrete hand basins, kitchen cabinetry, dining table and chairs and all of the internal doors are made of solid rimu recycled from a demolished house. 

 Not a bad spot to be 'working' every day. 

It's certainly an inspiring project which Cactus is keen to follow. Check back here for an update soon. 

Jo - Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley 

Back in September I was lucky enough to get 3 weeks off work (even though I had just started with Cactus in mid July) to head over to the USA and do a bikepacking tour called the Idaho Hot Springs.

This is a mapped off road/gravel road cycle tour that has been mapped by the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association)

The route is approx 800km long, with optional single track sections that you can take which lead you off the main route into more wilderness and join back up with the main route further on.

We flew into Boise and from here you can ride 65km to the start of the route proper. From here you can ride the route in either direction (we went clockwise). You pass through 3 different National Forests - Boise, Payette and Sawtooth National forests with the stunning Sawtooth Mountains which we were really excited to see.

You may only think of Idaho as the potato state, but it is actually a beautiful part of the US with lots of mountains. Some areas we biked through were some of the most remote areas in the entire lower 48 of the US. The area is very volcanic which in turn has created a lot of natural hot springs in Idaho, hence the name Idaho Hot Springs. This route passes by 50 hot springs whether natural pools next to a river, in the middle of nowhere, or a resort style hot springs that have been completely commercialised. I can tell you, there is nothing more amazing than sitting in a rock pool next to a river in complete wilderness, soaking the legs after a day on the bike… absolute bliss.

Relaxing in a riverside hotpool, stunning rivers and my favourite part of camping in the US - Firepits

The US is one of my favourite countries in the world. I just love the wilderness, the amazing forest roads and forest campground system they have in place. It's just such an amazing resource that is so well respected by everyone.

My husband Scott and I have spent a lot of time in the US in the past 10yrs, with our biggest bike tour being a 3mth cycle tour of the GDMBR (Great Divide Mountain Bike Route). This is a 5000km trip which is also mapped by the ACA and zig zags you back and forth down the Rocky mountains from Banaff in Canada all the way to the Mexican border in New Mexico. Since completing the GDMBR we have been really looking forward to getting ourselves back to the US for another wilderness biking adventure for some time.

Sadly while we were there Idaho had the biggest wildfire in the country burning called the Pioneer Fire, which caused us a little bit of stress leading up to the trip as it is right in the middle of the route loop and was getting very close to the roads we needed to use so there was a lot of watching the US fire dept website leading up to our departure as we did not have a plan B.

The Pioneer Fire while were were there was 188,000 acres big. The closest we came to the fire was about 10km at some points. This is where we meet some of the amazing fire crews dealing with the fire by clearing undergrowth, deadfall and doing back burning. Being this close to the fire meant some really smoky days. The smoke was very thick and just hung in the air, especailly in the valleys. Even today, three months on, the fire is still only 70% contained.

Smoke sitting in the valleys from the Pioneer Fire

Because of the volcanic nature of the area, the roads we were riding were what they describe as ‘Idaho Talc’, a very soft volcanic sand – so some days the going was very slow and painful due to the lack of speed and ground we were covering. One day we had a 26km climb to do in what felt like a sand pit. It was a long and what I would call a character building morning. But happily what goes up must come down and we were rewarded with a 26km descent down the other side on a lovely hard packed gravel road right into an amazing wee town called Idaho City. It felt like stepping into a western movie when you rode in (except we were on bikes not horses, not to mention the big muscle car show happening in town that day).

This town was built for the gold rush back in 1862, it was the largest city in the northwest with a population of 7000 people. Today it has a population of 485. Following on from Idaho City we followed the gold mining route passing through tiny towns with populations of 50 people or less. These places are great. Real small town America (Trump country!!). This is where you meet the most intresting people and funny enough, they all have a story about New Zealand. I met a man who owned a fishing shop in a town called Stanley who told us all about his fishing trip to Wanaka, where DOC huts only cost 20c a night to stay in. I am guessing that trip was quite some time ago now, but he remembered it and how amazing New Zealand was like it was yesterday for him.

Idaho City Main Street

Another town we passed through was Cascade. We had high hopes for this town – sitting on the edge of a lake by the looks of our map – however when we arrived we were disappointed to ride past the beautiful lake and over a small hill to find a very run-down township, built for the railway which once ran through it rather than next to the lake. Someone decided to build the town just on the otherside of the hill, crazy…. we could not believe it. The town sadly did not have anything going for it and we were happy to leave but just up the road was McCall, another town, but this one built on the edge of another gorgeous lake and it was beautiful – like a mini Queenstown. I feel the people of Cacscade should maybe take a drive up the road to see what they could be like.

From McCall we headed towards Stanley over yet another mountain pass. Stanley, a small town with a population of 63, was something special. Eevery house and building was built of wood. This area is very famous for white water rafting and fly fishing Although it had such a small population it was a bustling wee town with a lot of character. Next up was Ketchem an extremly well to do ski town where all the rich and famous seem to have holiday homes (Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger to name a few), not to mention the home of Ernest Hemingway (Nobel prize winning author).

One of the highlights of my trip was our 2^nd to last day when we left Stanley towards Ketchum. We had our final pass to cross and we knew there was a chance of bad weather in the afternoon. The closer we got to the start of the climb the darker the sky became overtop of the pass so we made a phone call to a lodge located just on the other side of the pass to get a weather report and it was snowing. Lucky for us we had made the call from Smiley Lodge where we had stopped for lunch. We were still deciding what to do when the weather really packed in. So a call was made to rent a log cabin at the lodge. We spent the rest of the day sitting in the diner, meeting the locals that came and went. The girls working the diner were amazing and we had a lot of laughs that afternoon. The next morning was clear and we were off up the pass.

With not long having started at Cactus, I was lucky enough to get my hand on a Henry pack to take on the adventure with me. This is the first actual Cactus product I had so was super keen to give it a try.

Usually when we go bikepacking I would not wear a pack on my back but because this was a two week bikepacking trip we decided it would be worthwhile to carry one and just keep it as light as possible for those days when we may need to buy extra supplies for the days we were inbetween towns.

The Henry was ideal for this … the shoulder straps were super comfortable for wearing for 5-6 hours a day. Even when I did have a slight load in the pack it was comfortable. They moulded really well to my shoulders.

Introducing Alexis, Allan, Lydia and Mark. Four awesome Cactus folk on an adventure. We're following their journey closely and will keep you updated here and on Facebook. Make sure to check out their blog too. 

"Hi there! We are a team of four who are attempting a full traverse of the South Island along the spine of the Southern Alps. We are now 6 weeks in, with 10 to go! We've just reached the Rakaia valley. Next up: traversing the Gardens of Allah and Eden icefields before gaining the Godley around Christmas. Next time we emerge into civilisation will be be at Mt Cook in the New Year. To learn more about our trip and follow our progress check out our website and blog here.

Epic spring turns in Darwin Bowl, Tasman Glacier

Human powered skiing is hard work at the best of times. Compared to any kind of mechanically accessed skiing - rope tows, surface lifts, high-speed detachable chairs, gondolas, sleds, or (keep dreaming) helicopters - ‘earning your turns’ often seems like ‘type 2 fun’. Sometimes with the fun part missing.

There’s a few parts of the equation that make a big difference to how fun the experience will be.

The first part is simple. Understand the avalanche conditions - read the bulletin, observe the weather, assess the snowpack. If the conditions are beyond your ability to safely manage, then stay on the resort or at home. Avalanches make for bad days.

Being in good shape makes a big difference too. Good fitness will help you to move more efficiently, reduce the chance of injury, cover more ground (i.e. get more turns = more fun!), and enjoy the down rather than being a jelly leg mess. Slightly less obvious but equally important - watching your weight. There’s no point spending your house deposit on carbon this and lightweight that, if you’re lugging a couple of kegs around on the belly.

A major part of the equation is having the right gear for the job.

Some people think this is a snobby view. And to some extent they are right. You don’t need the latest and greatest to have fun in the mountains, but after a certain point, it makes a big difference to the fun-o-meter.

The importance of gear is accentuated in spring. In winter, when there’s snow down low and lifts are turning on ski fields, many ski tourers will target the low hanging fruit. Sidecountry laps, or at least starting the day at the top of a lift, makes ski touring life a bit easier and gear less important. However, once october rolls around, you have to go further and further to get turns. Eventually, when sane people have long since put their skis into summer storage, finding snow requires multi day tramping efforts. At this point gear really matters - it needs to be light, and it needs to be efficient.

There’s always a valid toss-up between weight and performance. For instance, many folks tour on skis which ski really well, despite a weight penalty over the lightest weight options. As weight becomes more of a factor - usually dictated by distance - some types of performance can be compromised, for instance the type of binding you might utilise. This is why you don’t tend to see Marker Dukes three days walk from a road end. However, as you get further and further away from civilisation, performance factors like dependability and durability, become more important than weight alone.

Probably my favourite bit of gear is my pack. It’s a custom pack which Cactus designed and built. As the proud owner of several other Cactus packs, Rob and the team were understandably surprised when I started talking about a custom job. However, what I had in mind wasn’t really an off-the-shelf number. I was after one pack which would function equally well as a 20 litre day pack, or an 80 litre multi day monster. It had to properly carry my skis, axes, ropes, and other gear in either configuration. It needed to take a lifetime of abuse, and be really lightweight, and be all black. And it needed to have a roll-top. Cactus did a fantastic job of turning scribbles and yarns into a work of beautifully finished canvas artwork. The end result is an efficient piece of gear, which adds minimal weight to the load, and will last longer than I will. It’s everything I need, and nothing I don’t. Most importantly - it makes my days in the mountains better.

The walk into places like Barker Hut in Arthurs Pass are long and hard, making the right gear all the more important. My Cactus pack makes light work of 4 days worth of food, camping equipment, and climbing and ski gear.

The same pack doing daypack duty on the Tasman Glacier. I find it really valuable having a pack which hauls all my gear on long approaches, but then works well for shorter missions from your camp or hut base.

Spring so far has involved some epic trips - the Tasman and Murchison Glaciers and an attempt on Mt Sibbald being highlights. As we move further into spring, the hunt for skiing will hopefully include a trip onto the West Coast Glaciers to ski the Minarets, and a mission up to Barker Hut at the head of Wiamak.

We had a stab at Mt Sibbald in late September, but got turned around by really high temperatures and a rapidly destabilizing snowpack

A break from skiing in the top of the Wiamak - dreaming of lines off Carrington Peak

Spring skiing isn’t all slush and corn. Here Tai rips up some late September cold smoke under Hochstetter Dome, Tasman Glacier

Good luck on your adventures. Stay safe, and see you out there!

Here's some footage of how the Wellington shop looked during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday.

Introducing David. Long time Cactus Supertrouser advocate. He’s been doing some pretty interesting work lately – just completing a project of converting a 20 foot shipping container into a mobile marine laboratory for Antarctica New Zealand. David had an amazing experience, spending 9 months down on the ice working on the refurbishment of Scott Base Hillary Field Centre facility, and since got approached to manage this marine lab project.  

Normally based in Wellington, focussing primarily on his cold brew coffee business, Harpoon, he decided to take the opportunity to move to the South Island and in true Cactus style, explore the club fields for the ski season at the same time as building the science lab!

The lab has been designed so that scientists can line the walls with fish tanks and have a constant flow of up 10,000 litres of seawater flow through the tanks every hour. Once it is shipped to Scott Base it will be mounted on a sled so that it can be towed out on the sea ice or used in the new container porch at Scott Base. When it is plugged into Scott Base it will be connected to 8 different services including fire sprinklers, compressed air and a high speed data connection.

Besides having to squeeze all of this into a 20 foot container there have been other challenging factors. The container will sit outside in temperatures as low as -48C and with all the seawater being pumped through it will be a very corrosive environment. 

It sounds like quite a project. “We started with a brand new shipping container and once we had finished cutting and welding, it was sent off to be blasted back to bare steel and given a high spec paint job. Custom-built fibre glass panels form the floor, walls and ceiling of the lab. A universal bracketing system means that scientists can customise the layout of container to suit their experiments.”

P.S. David is wearing Cactus Slim Supertrousers. If you want to know more about what Antartica NZ is up to check out their Facebook page here. If you want to know more about Harpoon Cold Brew, go here. 

CONFRONTING THE RESTLESSNESS

A trip up, and down, Mt Enys by Evan Fenstermaker

Mountains are monuments to our Earth’s restlessness. Their very existence is a result of the primal forces of motion and resistance that force two vast plates to seek dominance against each other’s edges. This struggle buckles the very stone beneath our feet and sends it jutting skywards many thousands of meters. And perhaps this innate restlessness that defines a mountain range is also what drives us small and simple humans into the backcountry to summit and ski these same masses of stone and snow. Not everyone feels this pull, this magnetism, this gravitational attraction to the allure of the backcountry, but those who do feel it strongly. That distant peak that seems to expand until it is all we can see or think about, that valley dressed in the white of fresh, untracked snow, that chute that taunts from afar—this is the curse and the gift of the backcountry. For once you’ve sampled it you’re forever restless. Forces deep within you will nudge and push and grind at you until you pack your bag, strap on your skis or board, and head back out into the wilderness. In the backcountry we seek to find that feeling of ecstasy that halts the restlessness for the briefest of moments, and sends our minds and souls soaring higher even then the mountains in which we lose ourselves. This moment is what I come to the mountains, to the backcountry, to find. And it is that search, that goal to quiet the restlessness, which brought me to the top of Porters Ski Field one morning in late September to summit and ski Mt. Enys, the highest mountain in the Craigieburn Range.

My friend Alex, a snowboarder, accompanied me, and together we set off on the climb up to Allison’s Peak, which marks the end of the patrolled zone of Porters Ski Field. Standing on top of Allison’s, we had a good view out across the Canterbury Plains in one direction and, looking back, the rich blue hue of Lake Coleridge lying within a valley surrounded by tall and snowy peaks. Ahead of us, past a sign that signaled the start of the backcountry, Mt. Enys punctured the soft blue of the sky with its triangular peak. A traverse across thin, rocky ridgelines awaited us, and so we pressed on, descending down Allison’s to the thin band of rock above Crystal Valley.

The hike out to the ridgeline up Mt. Enys itself takes about three hours. There are several short, but stiff, climbs along the way, the steepest of which is up North Peak on the North side of Crystal Valley. North Peak required some rock scrambling, and I was glad I’d brought my snow boots as I navigated the scree and loose boulders that comprised the route up to the summit. Once we’d gained the flat, snowy ridge beyond North peak it was an easy walk over to the saddle below the ridgeline up the East face of Mt. Enys. Here Alex and I took a short rest to rehydrate and snack on some Hungarian peppered sausage and cheese. The sun was a blazing orb hovering nearly directly overhead by now, and so I shed a couple layers for the final push up the side of Mt. Enys. Here the snow was deeper, and with each step I sunk midway up my shin in the powder. The final ridge isn’t very long, but it is steep, and I was winded by the time I reached the false peak at the top. From there it is a gradual climb up the last fifty meters or so to the trig that marks the summit. I made it up first and Alex soon followed and together we surveyed the view.

To one side the ridgeline continued down into more snowy peaks in the direction of Mt. Olympus. Looking back in the direction from which we’d come, the side of Enys dropped off steeply to a rocky valley and then to the deep, arresting blue of Lake Coleridge. In the direction of Mt. Cook rose the Arrow Smith Mountains and, to the East, lay the face of Mt. Enys we were soon to ride. Beyond it the Torlesse Mountain Range formed a jagged rampart against the blue-tinged Canterbury Plains, and way off in the distance we could see the haze of the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula rising above Christchurch.

Standing atop a mountain like Mt. Enys, I am always filled with a dizzying contradiction of contentment and excitement. On one level, I am satisfied with my achieving of the summit, but on the other I can’t wait for the next step—in this case the skiing back down. This duality manifests itself in moments of tranquil, warming calm that soon give way to toe-tapping restlessness to get the journey under way again. I often have to force myself to take a breath or two and relax—to enjoy the moment and soak it all in. Here on Enys I slowed myself down enough to eat my lunch of rice, beans and scrambled egg in a spicy Thai chili sauce and admire the view a little more. But soon I couldn’t stand the waiting any longer. I buckled up my ski boots, chucked my snow boots in my pack, and clicked into my ski bindings. I stood at the summit of Enys and gazed down at the expanse of smooth, white powder unbroken by previous tracks—a great, frozen medium on which I would leave my story that afternoon. I high-fived Alex, lowered my goggles into place, and dropped in.

And there it was—that elusive feeling of completely losing myself in the moment. For the duration of my run down through the spring powder on Mt. Enys, the restlessness vanished. All that mattered was the vault of the blue sky high above, and the wide sweep of sparkling white under my skis. My hips and knees sent my skis gliding from side to side, and my arms punctured the snow with my poles at the terminus of each turn and sent me shifting away in the opposite direction. When I’d reached the saddle below the Enys ridge I stopped to watch Alex’s run. He came down a bit to the left of my tracks, spraying a glorious wave of powder with each wide turn of his board, his hands wide for balance and his fingers caressing the snow as he leaned into the slope. His face was all smiles and goggles when he came sliding up next to me, and I knew that he too felt the pure and elusive elation that comes from carving through the untracked expanse of the backcountry.

We continued our descent down in the direction of the Torlesse Range. We crossed through a small gully, and then had to traverse across a short rocky section before we came out into a wide valley covered in beautiful spring snow. The snow basin was so long that we had to rest several times on our way down to the bottom. At the end of the valley the snow gradually bled into piles of scree and small tussocks. We followed increasingly narrow lines of white amongst the rock until finally we had to stop, remove our equipment, and begin the long hike back out.

I kept stealing glances over my shoulder as we descended the scree slopes toward a small stream separating the valley from the arid, tussock-clad hills of the lower elevations. Mt. Enys was no longer visible, hidden from view behind the gully and saddle through which we’d skied, but the large snow basin remained in sight for a long time. Surveying wild and inaccessible terrain, and knowing you’ve been there, is another aspect I love about going backcountry. I always feel a swelling of pride in my chest when I view a mountain peak, or a deep, remote valley, and think back to when I stood atop or wandered within it. Just seeing these places brings back all the memories of the adventure, and it never fails to fill me with those maddening, bi-polar feelings of both gentle satisfaction, and restless energy to go back and do it all again.

The hike back out from Mt. Enys is rather notorious. It involves a fair bit of bushwhacking through tussock lands and a river crossing or two. It isn’t too bad if you do it right—which means following a fence line found at the top of a high hill dotted in small pine trees—but if you stray from the fence and venture into the depths of the gullies and drainages leading down to the Porters River, then the hike quickly turns frustrating and exhausting. As this was my first time hiking out from Mt. Enys, I wasn’t quite sure of the correct route, and against my better judgment I left the fence line behind and followed Alex down a gully on what looked like a reasonably straightforward route.

Straightforward, we soon learned, was not a good label for the path we took. Although the lime quarry along the access road up to Porters (our end goal) was visible, the gully we chose to navigate quickly turned wet, steep and overgrown. Since hindsight is 20/20, it makes sense that the thickest and highest bush would choose to grow in the drainages, close to a healthy and readily available supply of water, but at the time we failed to take note of this fact as we headed deeper and deeper into the abyss. Soon we were battling head high matagouri thorn bushes and other shrubs that caught at our packs and equipment and barred our way. It was hot down in the lowlands, but we didn’t dare to shed our layers or gloves for fear of the vicious matagouri thorns and scratchy tussocks. Eventually we were forced to take the only path left available to us—the stream in the middle of the gully. Here the footing was slick and unstable, and as we continued ever downward the river deepened until our feet, and a good bit of our pants, were soaked.

When at last we made it out of the gully, stone-hopped across the Porters River, and clambered up out of the canyon and onto the flat, dry ground beside the quarry, several hours had passed since we’d come to the end of the snow in the basin below Enys. We were exhausted, wet and a little scratched up, but we were happy. When in the backcountry, I find that you have to expect to get lost. True, getting lost need not always be a part of the adventure, but it isn’t the end of the world to lose your way a bit. Alex and I shared a beer or two at the quarry as the sun begin to slip down behind distant peaks, and we watched the white of the large snow basin we’d explored darken and fall to shadow. Then we shook hands, hefted our packs once more, and parted ways.

Back at my house in Springfield, I reclined in my favorite armchair and watched the flames eat at a macrocarpa log in the woodstove. I was fed, showered and relaxed. The flames worked their way steadily through the wood until it was covered in white scales and then, finally, just a pile of orange-black coals. The restlessness within me had been quelled, if only for a day. My time in the mountains was an epic adventure, but it also meant more to me than just that. It would prove to be the last great backcountry mission I’d have in New Zealand. Viewed through this lens, the whole day took on a greater meaning—the journey crystalizing until it was laden with significance. And this is the way with the backcountry. The journeys we take, the tracks we cut, are never just about skiing, riding or hiking. In this caffeinated and information overloaded world, where every possible question has an instant answer, it is more important than ever to lose yourself in the wilderness. It is crucial to seek out the answers to questions that aren’t so easily answered, and to confront that restlessness head on in a landscape that is as changeable and beautiful as human soul itself. The backcountry is as much a journey into oneself as it is a trip over rock, stone and stream. It is a place where the longings of the heart and the troubles of the mind can be lost, if only for a moment, in the vast valleys and piercing peaks that make up the great, untracked open spaces of this world. This is the simplicity and great mystery of the backcountry as I see it, and this is why I will always return.

Above: view from the summit of Mt. Enys looking toward Mt. Olympus

Introducing Henry from WattsCraft, our latest Uncommon Thread. 

WattsCraft began in 2014 with two brothers hankering for a little jet boat to venture into New Zealand's mountains. Like many Kiwis they had neither the means or the inclination to buy one off the shelf. 

They designed a boat from scratch and then a couple more. Now Henry has a range of little aluminium boat kit-sets and specialist parts to choose from.

Like Cactus, Wattscraft was born out of a passion and a can-do attitude and the desire to make high quality products that have been crafted with care to include all the features that are important, nothing superfluous and, above all, that are more durable than anything out there in the marketplace. WattsCraft specialises in designing very small high performance river jetboats. Careful attention is taken to several attributes which are particularity important in small boats.

With a backgound in environmental engineering, chemical & process enginnering and boat building he's chosen to use his skills to do something different, something he loves doing - and although at the moment takes up most of his time, hopes to reduce his hours to suit his lifestyle while remaining a small one man band. 

Enjoy the video and if you want to find out more about WattsCraft, check out the website here. 

As a now retired DOC ranger, for the last few years I have been making weta hotels and donating them to be placed on some of the Hauraki Gulf Islands, and also around local reserves near my house. Mainly to encourage children to take an interest in these fabulous insects.

In my local area of Burswood there is a queens chain reserve around the estuary and along with a neighbour we trap for rats possums and stoats, and see the bird life now holding on, and slight increases, particularly with fan tails. The rat carcasses we place on a small platform with larger perches for our local Hawks to come and scavenge from.

Last summer I made a bumble bee hive and am hopeful that it may be populated this coming season, if it is I will make some more. 

Miki who works behind the scenes for the Psyfari Festival in Aussie wrote in with this cracka story:

Boy do we have a story for you. The story of how Cactus became the predominant clothing worn by the production crew of the Psyfari Festival. Psyfari is a terrific outdoor music and lifestyle festival in the middle of the Australian bush at the Capertee Valley. If you haven't heard of Psyfari, check out http://psyfari.com

We do all of the lighting and sound for the festival.

Anyway, fun story. Many years ago we went to our first festival and found it was bloody cold. Freezing. We were unprepared. The next year, one of our friends Crusty the Builder comes and we are all comparing the different preparations we had made to be warmer. Nothing worked anywhere near as well as his original 8oz Supertrousers. I was converted and got my first pair of Supertrousers not long after. Fast forward a few years and Crusty is moving up in the world and doing lighting and sound for events. I would help him out occasionally. By then he and I both had found the WK tradies and essentially lived (and still live) in them. Last year, when we were setting up Psyfari, people would comment on how good our pants seemed to work and we extolled their virtues (in the interim, I have branched out into Cactus packs and Crusty has been working his way through the Canvas Jacket and the Mountain Jacket - fun fact: Crusty's canvas jacket has a hole from a laser we need patched at some stage).

Afterwards, lots of people ordered Cactus, so this year's Psyfari looked like a Cactus expo. At one point, Crusty and I were running the lighting, lasers and sound for some international DJs in the operations tent of the main stage in subzero temperatures, by which point Crusty had on his slate WK Trades and the Mountain Jacket and I was in my new brown trades and something else, and we looked at each other and both went "can you imagine how this would be if we didn't have Cactus gear?"

Anyway, long story short we got through it but love out Cactus gear, as does the team. In the photo (not all of the production crew) there are 13 items of Cactus clothing... bet you can't find them all!!!

Anyway, love your work, hope you liked the story. Keep making amazing gear.

This is a great wee write up by Adam, Ranger/Project Manager of the Bream Head Conservation Trust. He's doing awesome work up there and we here at Cactus are proud to help out where we can. Cheers Adam! 

I am very proud to announce a great sponsorship deal between BHCT and the New Zealand owned and operated outdoor equipment company known as Cactus. Those who know me will be well aware of my passion for this gear, it simply is the best gear for the type of work we do on Bream Head, full stop.

Now, before you go thinking this is some type of marketing campaign I can tell you straight up that I was not forced into this, nor am I making any extra money out of it (I’m not on commission lol). It’s just when you find a good thing you want to share it with others, and the other great thing about this gear that is close to my heart is that it is NZ designed and made in Christchurch!! In the photo you will see a pair of brown Trade Supershorts on the car, I have been wearing those shorts nearly every day for two and a half years whilst climbing and sliding around the rocks, gravel and trees of Bream Head!! I have also worn them throughout the building of my house during this time, and they are still in working order!! I know for a fact from previous experience that I would have gone through four to six pairs of cheaper shorts in that time doing that kind of work. The supershorts are made from great “good old” materials like 12oz canvas that repels water and stops most of that darn gorse getting through.

As part of the deal Cactus have provided the rangers with a pair of their incredibly durable supershorts and very good pricing on all other equipment for the rangers and the Trust’s field volunteers. The BHCT rangers also have great Cactus backpacks (the Trust paid for these) and as you can see in the photo I also use Cactus Instigaiters and I have a great 12oz canvas broad brimmed hat (Gold Digger) which actually keeps the water off and the sun out. Cactus also offer a repair service on most of their gear (a fee may apply).

Check out some of the work the Bream Head Conservation trust does here. 

Mat is part way through spending 32 weeks filming in the Serengeti. He looks like he's having a pretty amazing time. He gets to some pretty exotic and rugged locations and sees some incredible animals in the wild.

After his first scouting trip  'I have just returned from Trip one (of 8) to Africa. It was such an amazing experience and completely blows your perceptions of scale and the number of animals in the Migration out of the water.' 

Life can be pretty harsh in the Serengeti - Mat came across this Zebra and took this incredible picture.

We hope to keep following his fantastic work escapades while sitting at our desks in Christchurch. 

Pictured: Slim Supertrousers, Gold Digger Hat, Cactus Merino, Miklat

WELCOME JO!

This is Jo. She's our new product developer. Ooh ahh!! She's an expert in product development (obviously) but was probably hired because of her bike enthusiasm and ability in long distance endurance brevet style riding. She rode the Tour Aotearoa earlier this year (biked the length of the country from Cape Reinga to Bluff). 

Watch this space for exciting new products and updates on Jo's adventures. 

SUPERTROUSERS PUT TO THE TEST

We thought it was about time that we brought you another epic Supertrouser tale. This time it's about Jimmy and his Trade Supertrousers. He's been working full time as a builder as well as renovating his own house in the evenings and weekends and has clocked up quite a few hours. 

The last few months have been full throttle and Jim worked out that he's been wearing his Supertrousers for 105 days straight so far (at least 12 hours a day). No weekend breaks or time for washing... he reckons they are starting to 'wear in nicely' and 'aren't showing any signs of letting him down'. He reckons they are ready for a wash though - which is why he came in for another pair. 

His house is looking amazing - a true reflection of a builder with skills and good taste... But we knew that by his choice of pants.

Check out Trade Supertrousers here. 

Queen’s birthday weekend Heaphy trip

We’ve done this trip every year for several years now. This year, we decided the kids were old enough for the challenge, and recruited another 3 families with kids to join us, figuring that there’s safety in numbers when it comes to children! With the Heaphy Track measuring almost 74k, a 750m climb to start the trip, and 7 children aged 9-13, it was always going to have it’s moments. We chose to do the trip over 3 nights/4 days to give the kids plenty of time to do more than just ride bikes. The one disadvantage of the leisurely pace was the huge amount of food which was quite a challenge for the parents to carry!

Huts were booked weeks in advance to secure beds during this busy time. It was a great stroke of luck to get 4 days of the most perfect weather we could have hoped for. Clear, frosty and calm for the full four days.

We flew with Mit from Adventure Flights in his cool little plane with bikes hanging from the wings. The flight from Karamea to a grassy paddock landing strip a few km from the start of the trip takes about 20 minutes, and is a great way to see the track you’re about to ride from above. The weather was perfect and the views sensational. It was a fun way for the to start the day and a good distraction from what awaited them!

The kids did amazingly well on the ride up to Perry Saddle hut. It’s a 15km climb that climbs about 750 meters. Most of the kids and even some of the parents had never done anything like that before. As expected, there were tears, tantrums and melt-downs. With the help of some inner-tube towing setups and a few more sugary treats than the recommended daily intake, they all did it in the end.  We arrived at the hut at nightfall with the help of head torches. With a roaring fire, bunkrooms to explore and a big dinner, the challenges of the day were soon forgotten.

The second day was frosty and beautifully clear. The trail was alive with kids hollering and hooting down the fun downhill to Gouland Downs hut. “That was epic!” and “That was so sick!” was the consensus. The suffering of the day before was definitely forgotten.

After lunch at Saxon hut and a bit of a climb to James Mackay hut, it was time to enjoy the view with a cold beer in the setting sun while the kids tore around like madmen playing hide and seek.

We woke to another frosty morning and a gang of 7 or so keas intent on destroying anything soft on the bikes. We had been warned to take our seats off, but a few of the group had foam handlebar grips which were well shredded.

Today was our “rest” day. All we had to do was ride down a 11km totally downhill section that dropped nearly 700m to the Heaphy hut. This was a wonderful descent for the kids - flowing and mostly smooth track that seems to go forever.

The Heaphy hut is a beautiful place to spend the afternoon on the beach building forts, having battles and generally enjoying the stunning winter’s day. After marshmallows on a fire it was an early night.

We left early on another perfectly clear and cold morning to beat the high tide for the final part of the trip back to Kohaihai beach. The section of trail along the coast is absolutely stunning. The trail surface, the roar of swell rolling in, the views up and down the coast, and the nikau palms are a magical combination.

We descended on the Last Resort and gave their cakes, pies and milkshake stocks a bit of a hammering before the long drive home. I think all the kids slept most of it.

Maybe next year the Old Ghost Road?

Tips, gear and lessons learnt for getting kids through the Heaphy:

I used a New Zealand made Quest Bike Trailer to carry all our food, tools and spares. I could also strap the kids (and some adults!) packs to it when they were tired.  It was a great way to carry all the heavy things, off your back and off the bike. I really only was aware of it’s weight on the steepest climbing sections. The other parents carried all the food for 4 people for 4 days in packs.

Kids don’t seem to be able to dig into energy reserves when they are tired like we can. The transformation from a melting down mess on the side of the trail to a spritely, happy little stomper after a handful of lollies is quite remarkable. Take lots of food and treats.

We all had a front handlebar wrap with a drybag for our clothes, sleeping bag  in a drybag on a Thule Freeload rack and a Windhoody jacket and snacks for the day in our Zeros and Henry packs. This was a good way of spreading weight around evenly without ruining the riding experience.

Go with other kids. Safety in numbers. They seem happier in a group of other kids when the going gets tough. And they love hooning down the hills together in little rat packs. It’s quite hilarious listening to them chattering and wooping non stop.

Kids are so in the moment. When they are hurting up a long boring climb, they can’t think about anything but the hell of the moment they are in now. But when they get to the destination with food, warmth and all their friends they totally forget it all. Don’t worry too much when they’re moaning about how they are about to die on the hard bits. Just keep them distracted by talking about something else - and lots of food and treats!

Introducing Glen Riley - Co-ordinator of the Sinclair Wetlands in Dunedin. 

The Sinclair wetlands are part of a 2,000-hectare wetland connecting lakes Waihola and Waipori on the Taieri Plain, 40 kilometres south of Dunedin. The wetlands were named after Horace (Horrie) Sinclair, a conservationist who bought the property in 1960 and had the vision to let it revert to its natural state. 

Glen works with a lot of volunteers who are keen to learn more about conservation - spreading the spark and giving the people an opportunity to help out is what it's all about. 

Glen's day is varied - from co-ordinating volunteers, planting, weed control, pest control and running the nursary which houses a few thousand seeds per year. 

The Sinclair wetland now consists of ponds, water channels, swamplands and a couple of scrub-covered islands. Over 60 species of bird live in or regularly visit the wetland. It is now privately owned by Te Rununga o Ngai Tahu. Glen hopes to have a healthy functioning wetland.

Walking tracks and an information centre are open to the public, and accommodation facilities are also available. Check out their Facebook page here. 

Glen is one of Cactus's favourite customers - he must be close to owning the entire range of gear. Enjoy this wee video about him. We certainly did. 

Snow has arrived in Canterbury (and everywhere else). The cold weather is a bit of a shock to the system but so long as you have some Cactus kit the cold weather can only be a good thing. You can't complain about skiing powder in May.

The Cactus marketing department went to investigate conditions on Sunday. There were a few people up on the mountains enjoying the fresh snow. Lots of great Cactus gear to be seen - and it seems like the Cactus car sticker is a prerequisite for back country folk. No lifts are open yet so only keen beans who don't mind the climb were out - and it was well worth it. 

Thanks to Sam Grummitt & Rich Goldsbury for the photos above.

The ultimate Cactus ski touring kit would include: Patrol pack or Sedition, Lifties or Dreadnought pants, Mountain Jacket, Cactus Merino, SPG Gloves and a Beanie. 

The Trail By Fire: 6 Scientists. 15 Volcanoes. 1 Pair of Supertrousers (each!)

In November 2015, a team of early-career volcanologists set out to measure the gases emitted from as many volcanoes as possible along the Nazca Subduction Zone of South America. This “Trail By Fire” was a scientific undertaking of unprecedented scale – and the team hadn’t a THING to wear!

Subduction zones occur where two tectonic plates collide, and one of them sinks beneath the other. Off the west coast of South America, the Pacific oceanic plate subducts beneath the South American continental plate to form the Nazca Subduction Zone. The subducting plate gets heated, dehydrated, and melted to form magma, which then erupts from the 200+ volcanoes that form a chain stretching from Columbia to Southern Chile. Subduction zones act as a recycling plant for many elements, including “volatiles” such as CO₂, water and sulfur, which are important components of Earth’s atmosphere. The efficiency of volatile recycling is poorly known – we can guess the quantity of volatiles that are subducted, but it is difficult to measure the amount that are then released to the atmosphere through active volcanoes. It was the team’s mission to measure gases at as many volcanoes as possible along the Nazca Subduction Zone, to answer this fundamental scientific question.

Volcanology is a wild endeavour. It combines elements of tramping and mountaineering, but with packs full of high-tech gear, into areas ripe with acidic water, noxious fumes, and other hazards. What DOES one wear when having to travel light and hard, at high elevation, and in adverse and changing conditions that bridge the natural and industrial? 

Ian Schipper (Victoria University of Wellington) was the only NZ-based member of the crew, and the only one with previous knowledge of Cactus’ flagship trousers. When he turned up with one pair for each member of the team, the fearless leader Yves Moussallam (France/USA), zealously unwrapped his Supertrousers, only to exclaim: “How are we supposed to walk in these things?”

The crew started in Northern Chile, pushing their Land Rover mobile volcano observatory to new heights on active volcanoes such as the 6071-metre Guallatiri, and deep into the volcanic wilds of Peru. A dynamic summit attack on the snow- and sulfur- encrusted, 5822-metre El Misti Volcano led Nial Peters (UK), a veteran of active volcanoes in Antarctica, to recall: “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done… I couldn’t have made it without my Supertrousers.”

A backbreaking tour of the sulfur-rich volcanoes of Southern Peru included a stop at Ticsani volcano. The crew got (too) deep into direct sampling of some hot, highly acidic fumaroles. Inadvertently standing on a patch of diffuse degassing, Ian had the sole burned off one boot. Similarly, the (inappropriately dressed) Aaron Curtis (USA) rose from his nearby seat to find a cool breeze blowing… the acid and heat had burned a hole through the bottom of his lesser trousers. He cried: “I should have had my Supertrousers on!”

The expedition went from volcano to volcano, but naturally had to call in at some of the great South American cities, to liaise with local experts. In Peru, the team worked closely with researchers from OVDAS, and in Chile with those from SERNAGEOMIN. Team member Talfan Barnie (UK) worried: “What should we wear to the official meeting with the government representatives?” but he was quickly consoled by Philipson Bani (France/Vanuatu): “Mate, just dust off your Supertrousers!”

Overall, the team travelled over 17,000 km, visited 15 volcanoes, and used high-tech remote sensing gear, direct sampling gear, and satellite support, to obtain an unprecedented data set of gas flux measurements and samples from the Nazca Subduction Zone.

Work on active volcanoes is difficult, but the rewards go beyond the scientific or professional. Fieldwork such as on the Trail By Fire allows one to feel the very heart of the Earth beating. It tests the limits of one’s stamina, clarity, sense of place in the universe, and gear. Four months after unwrapping their trousers, wearied from the road, the elevation, the ash and the fumes, the crew was called upon to undertake a special task. They were asked to approach and sample the vent of Volcan Chillan, which had just unleashed an unexpected series of eruptive explosions. Just about to go in at the sharp end, roped up, on belay, clutching gas sensors and laboring to breathe through a respirator, the volcanic transcendence was apparent, as the previously-skeptical Yves bellowed: “Get your Supertrousers on! It’s business time!”

The Trail By Fire crew wish to thank Cactus for their support, from the (not even frayed after 15 volcanoes) bottom of their Supertrousers. For more info on the expedition, check out trailbyfire.org

Gus is back with his review of the updated 2016 Cactus Down Jacket range. He's taken it seriously and tested the jackets in situations where run-of-the-mill down jackets just wouldn't cope. No duct tape required. Check them out here.

Last week Cactus staff Shaun, Daryl and his son Isaac took to the Canterbury foothills to test out some prototype products.

The purpose of this mission was for Shaun to test out a couple of new products we have in the works - a new pack and rifle scabbard, and to introduce Daryl (Cactus boss) and Isaac to hunting. 

After a short drive from Christchurch we loaded up our gear and headed off on our mountain bikes. Once at the start of the DOC track it was boots on the ground for the grunt that would take us up onto the tops and into some good hunting country. After 2 hours we arrived at the hut just below the bush line and was great to see it had been left tidy with plenty of dry firewood cut and stored by the previous guests.

We had some lunch, plenty of coffee and a quick rest in anticipation for an evening hunt. Once the shadows became more prominent by late afternoon, it was time for boots on and to head out for an evening hunt in search of a deer. The sun was out but a chilly westerly was blowing along the tops which would indicate that the deer would be most likely feeding down in a sheltered gut out of the wind. After patrolling the bush edges and glassing some promising looking guts a deer was found out feeding as hoped. A long way off and with fading light and the wind not playing ball it would prove difficult to get within range so it was decided to come back in the morning hoping that it would still be in the immediate area.

Once back at the hut Daryl soon had the fire roaring and dinner on the go. Dinner was devoured and a game of our version of last card was in order.  With an early start it was also early lights out.

We were up well before sunrise. Full of breakfast and coffee we headed back to the previous night's position under head lamp to hopefully spot the deer seen the night before. With the wind still not playing ball, we glassed for around 40min but could not locate any deer in the early morning sun. We pushed on along the tops until mid morning but with no deer seen we eventually pulled the pin and headed back to the hut for lunch.

After food, coffee and another card game we tidied up the hut, chopped some wood and headed back down the track and out to our bikes. It was a beautiful ride back down the valley in the late afternoon sun to our vehicle with a bag of potato chips lying in wait.....

Although we didn't manage to secure an animal it was still a successful trip introducing Daryl and Isaac to hunting on DOC land and seeing some some new country. The rifle scabbard worked amazingly well, holding the rifle securely on the pack, enabling hands free tramping and biking. It was a good test for our new pack which was comfortable and easily carried enough gear for an overnight trip.  Ideally we would have been able to test out the pack's maximum load carrying capabilities with a deer for the freezer but no luck this time. But that's hunting!

This is Sarah and Dan. The Christchurch Earthquake resulted in them uprooting their young family and making the move to Kaikoura, with dreams of becoming cheese-making artisans. With no background in farming or cheese-making they had everything to learn. While building their first home - a 10sqm tiny house - they bought their first 3 Saanan milking goats and started practicing the art of making cheese.

Within a year that small herd had grown to 7, and they had set up a small cheese plant on family land under the Kaikoura Mountains. Milking by hand everyday, they soon established our first goat’s milk product - “Te Ma”, a fresh French-style soft cheese. Their hardwork was rewarded in 2013, winning several medals at the NZ Specialty Cheese Awards and gaining significant recognition for their budding brand.

If you're ever in Kaikoura go and say hi. In the meantime check out their website here. 

Marie works for the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust doing amazing things: 

I love my new Cactus Supertrousers! As Wildside Project Coordinator I am often searching for penguins through thick scrub, bush lawyer and stinging nettles as well as crawling over gorse prickles and thistles! My new Cactus pants make my work so much easier and even more enjoyable! I'm actually looking forward to winter so I can go out and get muddy in my Supertrousers.

The Wildside is found on the far South-eastern corner of Banks Peninsula and while it is only an hour’s drive from Christchurch City it is like a whole different world of outstanding beauty, containing many rare and threatened plants, animals and habitats.

Established over 25 years ago, the Wildside Project covers 13,500ha and is a collaboration between private landowners and government environmental agencies, coordinated by the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. The Wildside Project is dedicated to the defence of our special creatures who make this place their home.

Predator trapping is our core activity and is absolutely vital to keep predators from wiping out little blue penguins and yellow-eyed penguin chicks that are defenceless against wild cats, ferrets and stoats. Sooty shearwater/titi are at their last remaining mainland colony in Canterbury and as they are burrowing seabirds they are vulnerable in the nest to stoats and rats.

You can make a donation to help Marie & the BPCT protect your beloved wildlife, with it they will purchase new traps to ensure that our efforts are as effective as possible in catching these destructive predators. Here's a link: http://www.bpct.org.nz/

We got an awesome email from Jim of Creek Cutler and felt like it was definitely worth sharing:

Timberworks were recently in Tai Tapu raising one of their frames and realised that the workforce, the owners and their dogs were clearly all major fans of Cactus clothing, accessories and mongrel mats! They took a photo to demonstrate this fact. You may notice that even the design of the trusses seem to have been influenced by Cactus, the internal braces traditionally curve downwards but unusually here they curve upwards in a style familiar to us!

Timberworks are a specialist craft business using old world skills in a modern context. They take relatively humble elements of a building and make them into a fabulous feature, bringing a character, warmth and ‘wow’ factor to a home that only timber can do. Making the ordinary extraordinary, gives great satisfaction - many parallels with Cactus clothing!

This particular project is very special as the owner had the foresight to plant the trees some 26 years ago, prune and maintain them and recently fell and mill them himself before entrusting Timberworks to apply their craft.

Thanks Martin and Timberworks for sharing their awesome photo and story. 

THE R(A)IDE PROJECT

This is Liv & Kurt. A few years ago they decided to buy a block of land in the Rai Valley and spend all of their spare time building mountain bike tracks. People told them it would be hard and they weren't wrong... but it hasn't stopped them - they love it. They've called it the R(a)ide Project. 

The idea is that the property is to serve three main purposes: to grow trees, harvest and use as firewood, showcase Kurt’s trail building skills (he's damn good at it) and long term potentially open the tracks to the public. 

The dream is to have biking events and make a fabulous lodge and huts for people to stay in (kind of like a club ski-field vibe) and to one day provide the Rai Valley with a new vibrant business that will hopefully have a down-stream effect for the community. While doing this Liv & Kurt hope to regenerate the native bush and control the pests and develop the properties off-the-grid infrastructure (water/power etc).

But with the big vision aside, it's really just a sweet place to chillout (get away from cellphone reception) and ride with friends. And did we mention that they live in Cactus gear...

As we're re-releasing the Henry for a limited time it seemed appropriate to share a good Henry story (and photo). This is Oli and his Henry.

"This pack has been with me since late 2005, it has travelled the world and seen service as my trusty hand luggage, on multi pitch trad routes in the States & Canada, Canyoning in Slovenia, Via Ferrata in Italy, Mountain biking and Fast 'n Light over night trips in NZ. Still my go-to pack for a quick evening jaunt up Mt Te Aroha with the furry family for a picnic dinner. Slightly faded now but still as strong and versatile as the day it arrived. I don't think it'll ever die, which sadly means I'll never get a chance to buy another one!!"

A really cool email from Nathan:

I was recently in India for a school trip with an organisation called World Challenge, where I did a range of activities in a third world country. This included trekking sightseeing and working in an orphanage.

I took my Cactus Supertrousers over to India and they were absolutely amazing, they did a real super job. They were pretty much the only pants that I wore the whole time I was over there.  So I would like to thank you so much for providing such awesome gear that wears in not out. I really look forward to wearing them on more of my travels and treks that I do. 

This is a nice photo of my Supertrousers in India feeding an elephant, enjoy.

Thanks once again for making such awesome gear.

CACTUS GEAR IDEAL FOR DEAN'S FISHING GUIDING

Heidi & Peter popped into Cactus HQ today, on their way back from Antarctica where they are scientists, to say thanks. They had Cactus Supertrousers and ties made from Cactus fabric at their wedding. It sounded AWESOME! What a cool pair! Stand by for some more photos... 

He's a busy guy, Fergus. Always with his Gold Digger Hat. 

Fegus on more adventures with his favourite Ocean Gold Digger Hat. 

Fegus is quite the wee adventurer! He goes all sorts of places and does all sorts of things. He usually takes his Mum & Dad, but always takes his Gold Digger Hat. He recently sent us this email:

Hi Cactus,

Check out the Do-gooder specs here and the Wobbit here.

TUATARA TRAIL RUN 

STEFAN'S TINY HOUSE

Stefan started building his tiny house at the end of 2013, and living full time in it since June 2014. Due to the large amount of post-earth quake recyclable housing materials available, Stefan thinks Christchurch is the best place in the world for building a tiny house at the moment. The tiny house (20m3 + 10m3 loft) also has the added benefits of being on the eco-friendly side and resilient to future natural hazards. The solar panels and LPG run the 3-way dometic fridge, water boiler, heater and oven, and he also has the plans for installing a wind generator this coming summer. Although the house has some finer finishing improvements, the house is very functional and ticking all his boxes.

To follow Stefan and to check out more about his house jump onto his Facebook page here. 

Stefan will finish uni at the end of this year, and will head for Wellington with his tiny house. He’s looking for a piece of land around the greater Wellington area. So if you’re in Wellington and have or know of something that could suit, get in touch with him via his facebook page.

15 Volcanoes. 6 Scientists. 1 Land Rover.

Trail by Fire are a team of early career volcanologists planning an ambitious expedition to the South American Andes, as proud recipients of the eighth annual bursary from Land Rover, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).

Their objective is to provide the first accurate and large-scale estimate of the flux of volatile species (H2O, H2, CO2, CO, SO2, H2S, HCl, HF, and more) emitted by volcanoes of the Nazca subduction zone. The journey will take them from the high peaks of Peru to the Southern tip of Chile, traveling on some of the Earth’s highest roads, and climbing some of the Earth's tallest volcanoes.

Cactus are helping out by providing some Supertrousers and other tough gear (this photo taken was obviously pre-supertrouser-arrival) but hopefully we'll get some gnarly Supertrouser photos along the journey. 

They are documenting their trip on their website here. You'll also be able to read more in depth what they're up to. We'll also keep you updated here and facebook. What a wicked adventure! 

The forecast last week was looking good for weekend skiing but as longtime Canterbury skiers we’ve learnt to not get too excited by a forecast and best to wait and see. The view of the incoming storm from Lyttelton on Friday night showed promise so ski gear was packed and ready to go for the next day. Skiing was on the cards regardless.

Waking up to snow on the ground in Christchurch was a good sign. After some deliberation over where to head, we were off in the general direction of Arthurs Pass (the discussion could continue in the car). Anywhere was going to be good.

It doesn’t happen very often in New Zealand, but conditions were perfect. The fresh snow was deep, light and untouched. It was apparent that all of the essential ingredients had aligned to deliver the best snow in years... For the ultimate powder, heading backcountry is the way to go. The day consisted of several hours of skinning for two of the best runs of powder skiing in recent years.

It wasn’t going to end there. When conditions are this good you’ve got to make the most of it. Sunday and a day off work on Monday was essential. No explanation necessary when you work at Cactus.

Thanks for the photo (top right) Julian O'Neale.

Featured: SPG Gloves, Patrol Pack, Lifties, Mountain Jacket

Check out all of the specs, sizings, colours and info here.

WINTER PHOTO COMPETITION

Seeing all of the Cactus gear up on the mountain has excited us and we want to share the action. Send us your best pictures with the 'Cactus' logo in them and be into win a $250 Cactus voucher. You can email them to marketing@cactusoutdoor.co.nz, post them on our Facebook page or hashtag them on Instagram with #cactuswintercomp. 

Ts&Cs: By sending us your photo you give us permission to use it - but we'll definitely credit you. The photo must have Cactus gear in it. Competition ends 31st August. 

Things are progressing along with Roo's renovation project house. 2 weeks until Camine and Leela come home - chief photographers! It still looks like a construction zone but things are ticking along well. Bathroom is functioning and kitchen isn't far off. Started putting the new roof on today. 40 more days until Roo needs to go back to work in Nelson. The countdown is on! 

Week 10

Week: 8

Day 50: Return from Nelson with more timber and a picnic table I made in the fall.

Day 51: Replace bathroom window. Ripped out bathroom lining. Hot water cylinder arrived. DOC came to remove pampas.

Day 52: DOC removed more pampas. Friends chopped wood and pulled nails out of ceiling and bathroom. Replaced bathroom and laundry walls.

Day 53: Hot water cylinder installed. Laundry set to gib. Wrapped up the work from the weekend.

Day 54: Wetback hooked up. Electrician ran wires in laundry and bathroom. Old hot water cylinder removed.

Day 55: Measured up and arranged new roof. Lots of rain, flooding in Hokitika. Umbrella/rain jacket required in living room, wheel barrow and multiple buckets catching water in the living room. Weather proofed outside walls. Hot water cylinder filled up, now have hot water but no shower or bath.

Day 56: Bathroom floor down. Laundry ready to gib.

Week 9

Day 57: Fix kitchen floor. Fixed west kitchen wall, more contemplation of kitchen layout. Fix roof on another house after heavy rains in Hokitika

Days 58-61: Tramping with Tai Poutini polytechnic on the Mole tops. 

Day 62: focus on bathroom, plumber has been while I was away. Figure out shower. Friends came around, continued digging out porch area and landscaping. Enjoyed sunshine.

Day 63: Leveled bathroom wall for shower, picked up shower and got it ready to install.  

I just rode in to work the other day in a full on southerly bomb. And contrary to what most (non Cactus) people might think, it was awesome. 

Day: 37: GIB West bedroom walls. 

Day 38: GIB lounge walls. Fire and flue installed. Plumber started to work on laundry and toilet.

Day - 6 Indiana Jones is not a fiction but documentary!

I am sweaty, dusty, hungry and exhausted. My driver and me drove today towards the start of the Mt Everest Circuit Trek as there were numerous landslides reported by various international teams, including a landslide that impacted on a township. The road there was adventurous at good times, scary at bad times. The place is only 50km far away, but it took 4 hours of unsealed roads (donkey tracks really, but couldn’t see donkeys just Himalayan Cows). Singati, a small township, was visited by the Turkish USAR team for a few days with a helicopter to recover several bodies but apart from this there was no relief coming in at all. The Dutch Red Cross only managed to reach this place two days earlier. They are setting up and trying to help. The town itself is at the base of a steep slope, not too dissimilar to Redcliffs or Peacocks Gallop in Sumner. Now these slopes down fare well when vigorously shaken. The large boulders that got shed from the upper slopes buried the main road and impacted several houses. Nepalese houses have similar impact resistance to NZ houses, i.e. none whatsoever. According to our interpreter there were still bodies buried in the debris. The largest plant and excavator they have in town is a JCB, essentially a tractor with a backhoe. I recall it took Sally and me nearly two days of preparation and execution to recover one body in the Port Hills and the debris was much much less than in Singati.

The Geotechnical Extreme Event Reconnaissance (GEER) team was not able to go much further due to road blockages as late as last week. The mighty Mahindra did manage to cross some recently cleared landslides along the true right of the Tama Koshi River that flows from Chinese Border. We wanted to check on the road conditions as further upriver a town and garrison of the Nepalese Army is stuck due to road blockages and apparently they are trying to reach Singati from top down. We continued across many cliff collapses and landslides. Eventually we couldn’t go any further as the road was simply gone. A lone 25 year JCB tractor was idling in front of a 60,000m3 landslide, but it did an amazing job getting here. On the other river side we managed to go another few kilometres upriver when the track just finished. Power lines were almost all on the ground as the support posts were hit or knocked off and it was disconcerting to step across high power lines, despite well knowing that no power can reach it. Across the river the road was covered over hundreds of metres with landslide debris and rocks kept raining down from the 200 to 400m high near vertical slopes – not a place to be. There was also a hilux type truck partially buried and hit by rockfall, the locals mentioned that three people passed away over there. They also mentioned that there should be more casualties buried as it was a busy road. While we had lunch I ate Lhasa chicken and wasabi corn chips and Jimmy crunches deep fried corn we encountered about two dozen people trekking up the valley across the landslides with much needed supplies before the monsoon season hits.

I took my trekking gear and we decided to see if the situation around the next corner improves, knowing well we are going closer to the epicentre of the large aftershock. We came to a cable bridge and two locals just crossed it – safety check done (two locals = my weight). I crossed the 100m long cable bridge while humming the lead tune from Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom. The village on the other side by the confluence of two rivers was abandoned, as were all previously visited villages. We essentially were trekking through ghost towns. Apparently people took their meagre belongings, their animals and trekked out to settle somewhere else. Essentially leaving their ancestral homes for good – a quite sad sight. A some point we decided to turn back for several reasons: a) locals were reporting ongoing landslides and ground moving as they were trekking across it; b) it started to rain and c) I was tired. It would have been great to have a drone

On the way to base from Singati I tried to log all areas where rockfall impacted the road and gave up as there were just too many places. I have seen a slender power hit at least twice by rocks, talk about lighting never strikes twice the same spot. I have also seen boulders the size of cars and houses that rolled or slid downhill. One old temple and cremation ground on a ridge line was missed by numerous boulders, guess like real estate location is all!

Dinner was Indiana Jones style in a tin shed cooked by a women who was about 300years old. It featured Nepalese ‘chicken’ curry and every time my colleagues tried to find out which part of the chicken he is eating she nearly fell backwards laughing. I tried to tell him that there are things you simply don’t want to know! Irrespectively if it bleated, barked or whistled it did beat Lhasa Chicken. Every dish was presented with style and panache, in a similar style featured in the Indiana Jones movie. There were 20 of us cramped into a 3 by 6m tin shed on poles, plus all the furniture and kitchen the entire family had. Now 24 hours later all stayed down and in – mission successful.

Day 7 – the return to Kathmandu

The drawback camping near a military garrison is that they blow the horn at four bloody morning! And not just once, but more or less continuously. Also the chap manning the instrument should have got some lessons – he was terrible at it. The trip home was more or less like all road trips in Nepal, long winded and terrifying at times. Essentially the track or road is just wide enough for one car or truck. Driving here is like an endless game of chicken, played on a 45degree or steep slope, at speeds in excess of 40km/hr, by people who believe in resurrection rather than final death - great. After six hours to cover 150km back to Kathmandu even as a passenger one is exhausted. I also note that I have listened to one CD for five days. The driver humming happily along Celine Dion, Rammstein and Metallica.

Driving in Kathmandu is, as mentioned earlier, shear insanity and motorbikes and utes engaged in a game of dare. Traffic lights (those few that exist) are an indication only, centre line or actually any road markings is being completely ignored and just for fun if there is grade separation (concrete lined green bit in the middle of the road for cows to graze on) then everyone ignores it and drives either side of it. Unbelievably pedestrians manage to cross the busy roads without being killed – hence I understand their believe in the divine.

Now I am back at the hotel and as a thank you to my driver I donated all chicken to his family. He was really happy about this – not sure if he knows that it is Lhasa chicken. As I write this there is a wedding going on downstairs. Music – cat being beaten to death mixed with techno – lovely. Need to find dinner and meet the team! Let’s see what the wedding dinner might be?!

Day 5 – Snakes and Squatting Toilets

It is something about this subcontinent that goes under your skin. I wandered off to this afternoon to inspect a gabion wall only to discover that essentially every second gabion is a cobra nest (might be another snake, but I have not stopped long enough to check it out). Anyway this one a new one for the Safe Work Method Statement back at work. The local looked at my Cactus pants and was of quite the opinion that cobra would not strike through this – Not to worry mum I am not about to try this myself – I am looking for another fool.

The other pain I discovered, is this country’s love affair with squatting toilets. Firstly the lock is only on the outside (yes outside), not sure if there is some form of incarceration technique or punishment to be locked into a foul smelling dark dungeon. Anyway at the end of this ‘holiday’ I will become a certified bomber pilot.

This morning started like most in a camp, getting water, doing ablutions (squatting toilet here we come once again), cleaning out tent as it gets dusty and making breakfast. The army is coming round for and distributes cooked rice to children and they asked me if I want some as well? I must have looked starving I guess?! And no I did not take the rice – I was cooking chicken. In hindsight they might have seen the packet and felt sorry?

One thing is amazing, I am the third day away from showers and I am grimy, smell bad (not as bad some locals – though) and dust is pretty much in every crevice. There are people next tent over who hiked for three days to reach the camp, two of the group are about to give birth in the Norwegian Red Cross hospital across the camp and they look like they walked off a stage and had their clothes cleaned and their hair professionally done. Definitely starting to look like a bad example of western culture. I like to say that travelling with a butler would have been my choice.

Before we broke camp I walked across the camp to a family that walked in for a fair distance to ensure that the baby is born in a safe place. As per Brenden and Jenny’s wish I donated $100 to this family for supplies for the new arrival as mum is now a widow and in this culture it is very difficult to manage a household with a husband. The money will ensure that she can get enough corrugate iron and nails to have a home before the rains arrive next two weeks. She promised to call the baby Jenny or Brenden, but I am not sure she got which one is which gender. There might be a girl called Brenden about the Shindupalchok village.

I commandeered a mighty Mahindra, the finest Indian export, to drive to a neighbouring district as there are several villages affected by rockfall, landslide and cliff collapse (where did I see this combination before?). The local magistrate wanted to see if it is in fact as bad as it was portrayed by some US researchers who went through here a few weeks ago. The drive over several passes was not just stunning by scenery but it also became clear that if the place is not near vertical it is used as a paddy.

When we went over a high pass there were several very loud pops and it turns out that the entire boot was covered by wasabi crisps as the air pressure was too low that the packets started to pop. Ah, yes I forgot to mention that I bought a few packs of wasabi potato chips to go with Lhasa Chicken. Actually the shop owner couldn’t sell it as it apparently tastes horrible – I agree with this! Most were lost in the pass crossing anyway. More Lhasa chicken –hurray! This morning at the tea house I witnessed a chicken being killed right next to me. But we had to leave before it could be processed into something non Lhasa flavoured.

Along the way to meet my other EERI colleagues I noticed partially collapsed to totally collapsed buildings including a very impressive pancake collapse on a steep slope where the debris run out for about 100m. Equally impressive was a building on its side, not just leaning – that is actually quite common.

On the last pass the mighty Hamindra Scorpio ( Factory forgot the ‘n’ I presume) make very strange noises and came to a halt. Half an hour later we were back on the road. I never found out what was broken, but cannot for the life of me fathom what a 10mm spanner and large hammer could be made to repair.

Tonight we are staying at the Civil Defence HQ in the Dolakat District at about 2,300m elevation. Much to my misery the driver put my tent into the wrong truck and I found myself without one! However, across the road is the Chinese Red Cross and after some confusion, bargaining and waving my finger about, I have now for two nights one of their emergency shelters for testing and evaluation purposes. Poor beggars didn’t speak a word English and my Nepalese translator who is fluent in Chinese was too much amused to help them out. I shall report if the accommodation was adequate.

We met the local Magistrate or Governor who was a cartoon character representation. He sat behind a large dark timber desk with marble inlays, had his duties from army, armed police and civil defence  sitting in chairs alongside and receive every 5minutes a call on his mobile phone (a big status symbol here). We sat on the most uncomfortable couch I ever sat on and it was in wrapped in cling film to prevent us savages dirtying it (he had a point here I admit). Anywho we had a good laugh (with him) and offered to help his engineers.

Dinner was Nepalese chicken curry (it was NOT chicken and I wasn’t about to ask!) and I hope not see Mr Squatter tonight again. It was a risk based decision, Lhasa Chicken or having dinner in a ‘restaurant’ in a slightly damaged RC frame. Hunger decided that hazard might be worth taking. They had cold beer, screw the damaged RC frame! I even attach a picture of the curry – for evidence gathering purposes if nothing else.

Tomorrow we are visiting with the municipal engineers (who have no clue about land stability) an area where 25,000 people are cut off by a landslide since the first EQ. I had various information about this cannot wait to see this.

Another funny thing I noticed in Nepal as in other poor parts of the world is to give the population something they never needed in the past, can barely afford and it changes their interaction with each other – the mobile phone. Even in the most remote corner is a mobile cell tower with data connection.

Anyway over and out, from the foothills of the Himalayas. As usual some photos and feel free to forward to friends.

Day 4 – Jautara town

First thing first – I have never seen a place that smashed up like the rural town of Jautara. Even news could not show the scale of destruction that we have seen. We spent most of the day walking down one road and back another. We counted the number of houses that were undamaged (fat zero here), green, yellow or red placarded. In many cases there was no sign as the building collapsed and was strewn across the ground.

The main house types are either stone masonry, which performed like one would expect a mud brick house to perform; Unreinforced masonry was a close follow up in term of performance. Reinforced concrete frames with brick infill walls did marginally better, and actually most survivors are well detailed and built RC frame houses. I let the picture speak the story but sufficient to say that I am deeply affected by both the damage I have seen but also the resilience the people show. It is less than two weeks for the monsoon season and then for three months every road will be shut.

The camp we are staying is being reshuffled tomorrow after our departure to allow for some more long term plans to be forged. Most the people have been given or could afford are Indian made corrugated iron sheets. This will then somehow fastened to a timber frame and it should keep the worst of the weather out. I note that it regularly dumps here 100mm per day during monsoon season.

In the early afternoon we had an appointment with the magistrar engineer in his office and discussed his job and challenges ahead. It is amazing that the same issues that we in CHC had to cope with are arising over here. The society and culture couldn’t be more different – yet there is commonality.

Despite us asking if there are any geotechnical issues (and yes there are many!) he only in closing comments mentioned this village some 15minutes away that was affected by a land slide. His second in command drew a map but eventually said he will come along.

After 15 minutes we were not anywhere near a land slide. Also the road, initially a track, deteriorated to a rutted mountain goat track that kept climbing. We drove for the next 1 hour through remote farming villages where not one, not one!, building was standing.

After some further interesting hairpin bends we arrived on top of a 250m high cliff. There were cracks in the cliff top that were most impressive and the cracking continued to about 25m back from the edge. After careful assessment and looking at all my site safe procedures I had a look over the cliff edge and noted that there were thousands and thousands of massive boulders that dropped and were laying all over the rice paddies.

At that time a young girl came around with her guardian and we got chatting as her hand was in plaster and she had some bruises that were healing. Turns out that she is the sole survivor of the buried village at the base of the cliff we were standing on. Brought the reality home and made for a sombre drive home.

IT'S BEEN A BUSY COUPLE OF WEEKS IN HOKITIKA...

Day 15: Beautiful walk on West Coast Wilderness Trail for Mother’s Day with wife, daughter, and mum! Frame ceiling in west bedroom.

Day 16: Removed hearth below floor line from old fireplace in south bedroom for access to front end of house for insulation and plumbing. Started on laundry, pulled up floorboards.

Day 17: Replaced a couple piles in laundry, leveled floor.

Day 18: Replaced joists and bearer in laundry. Sprung a leak in very old pipe.  No water for the day.

Day 19: Replaced a few rotten studs. No water for most of the day.

Day 20: Moved all laundry appliances to bathroom. Plumber came.  We have water again but washer not working. 100 more days to go.

Day 21: Tree planting and tidy up outside. Fixed problem with washer.

Week 4

Day 22: Chop up kindling. Got rid of more bricks: Someone wanted old bricks to make a pizza oven. Happy they went to a good home.

Day 23: Laid plastic and installed insulation under two bedrooms.

Day 24: Laid plastic and installed insulation under third bedroom and living room. Fixed sink… oops.  While under house discovered the kitchen sink drain/pipe didn’t connect so sink was draining onto ground under house.  Had been wondering why it was so wet under the house.

Day 25: VERY SORE. Feeling a need to do casual work for awhile. Tried to fix printer. Bought new printer. Tidy up construction zone a bit. Arrange replacement weatherboards.

Day 26: Replaced window in west bedroom. Prep west bedroom for GIB. Replace window in laundry. Arrange installation of fireplace.

Day 27: Move bedroom from lounge into north bedroom. Sent wife to Nelson to pick up D/G windows. Remove hearth below joists. Remove door in living room. Remove firepit outside Arranged tounge/grove flooring. Got cement mixer.

Day 28: Dug out bamboo roots. Lowered old fireplace to ground level. Fixed a couple piles. Dug big sandpit on west side of house.

Week 5

Day 29: Acquired large Rimu beams from friend.

Day 30: Frame up ceilings in west bedroom and living room. Change kitchen around. Still pondering kitchen. Drove to Hari Hari for timber.

Day 31: Frame flue space in living room. Install insulation and GIB ceilings in lounge and west bedroom.

Day 32: Patch floor in living room where fireplace used to be. Arrange plumber. Frame up hearth for new fireplace. Timber from Nelson arrived.

Day 33: Poured cement for new hearth. Picked up new fireplace from Mitre 10.

Day 34/35: Heaps of family in town and wife very sick equals not much time to work but plenty of time to ponder next steps.

A cactus customer and chief engineer for Christchurch Earthquake recovery, Jan, has been asked to help out in Nepal. He's been there only a few days but has sent us through several updates. It's great to hear and see what's going on over there first hand from Jan as we don't seem to hear anything through the media anymore. We've hooked him up with some Cactus gear (as a tiny token of helping out) and we'll be following his progress over the next few weeks. Check back here if keen to track Jan's work. 

Here's the first update from Jan:

Kathmandu

A walk through town indicates that Kathmandu is a busy town and people are getting on with life. In many places the rubble has been removed and temporary repairs are underway. Walking through the the older districts where older brick houses stand the damage from the earthquake is much more telling. Houses are supported by bamboo sticks and houses are riddled with cracks. Some fully collapsed buildings are still present and the smell of decay is in the air. The alleys are very narrow sometimes only 2m wide. People, motorbikes and incredibly some cars try to negotiate these narrow passages. Houses either side are four to six stories high. Not the ideal place to be in an earthquake. There is the occasional collapsed multi storey house. People of all ages are sorting bricks and stacking those for reuse, and trying to retrieve any undamaged goods, not many remain. I am asking some bystanders what they are looking at a particularly nasty collapsed house that took the neighboring houses down as well. One family is missing and likely to be still buried in the collapsed house, chance of rescue is not there but the wider family is hoping to receive the bodies for a funeral. I bade my farewell and it is returned with a cheerful Namaste. 

Tomorrow I will be meeting my ERRI team and my local contact for the Forgotten Sherpas Trust for which I brought some much needed relief goods along from NZ. Thanks to those that have generously donated and helped to organize.

Day 2

Curry for breakfast! Actually not too bad, but before praise is being given I shall wait at least 24 hours.

After breakfast I met with Dawa a local guide representing the Forgotten Sherpas Trust. We had a cuppa tea and discussed life after the earthquake. He is already in recovery stage by filling in all the cracks in his home and seeing if there are trekking groups for the autumn season as this spring season was cut short by closing most passes. Things did not help with Everest Base Camp being closed after a massive avalanche and many of the guest houses on the popular trekking routes collapsed.

After our cuppa I showed him the 50kg of gear I brought along from NZ. I put out a call and many of our friends and business colleagues have answered. I worked with the Warehouse in Northwood and we purchased several hundred dollars of emergency equipment, clothes, crayons and scrapbooks for kids and water purification, etc. The warehouse gave everything away at cost - great. AirNZ chucked everything on the conveyor belt wishing their best and it was delivered to Nepal – great service.

Dawa was overwhelmed with gratitude, but he came with a motorbike hoping for only a full shopping bag. But after calling his friend we got all goodies into a very small taxi. They plan to prepare all goods early next week for the long trek to the village. All in all mission complete - thanks to all who donated and helped.

The afternoon I visited a refugee camp and took a recon trip across town, caught up with the Canadian Defence Force working from the Hyatt, and generally found my feet in this buzzing town. The Hyatt funnily a 5 star hotel had across the manicured lawns dozens and dozens of tents with refugees and NGOs. A quite bizarre sight. It actually looked like Everest or Annapurna Base Camps and this confirmed to be more or less correct as most trekking outfits donated their tents and equipment to homeless people. Most tourists did either evacuate or did not make it into the country. This will be the second year running with hardly any summits as a number of peaks are closed for the second year running. This does impact on the local economy. Yesterday's shopping trip indicated that a Mountain Hardware backpack is available for as little as $60, fakes go for $20. The shops literally sit on their goods and no one is buying - or is there one?!

Later I inspected the a very large temple as it turned out Dawa is a former monk and offered to take me around and offer local insights.  The temple top is very damaged but did not collapse. Guys in high viz jackets balancing on bamboo sticks held together with twine are inspecting the 40m high structure. Could not find a single tag on the 'scaffold' - the view though was amazing! We ate late lunch at at roof top restaurant to typical Nepalese and Indian tunes (think: cat being tortured).

This evening the work part starts with meeting the GEER team. The guys from the GEER team arrived this afternoon for the Tibetan border lands inspecting hydro power plants. Incredibly as they piled out of their truck I knew three out of four - bloody small world of disaster tourism!

And in the local news:

• The government suspended all new building consent work to enable reevaluation of structural designs

• Geotechnical engineering input will be required for all new multi storey buildings, but the definition is yet to be found what a multi storey building is

• Structural engineers are calling to replace bricks with lightweight alternatives

• The building code (or what passes for it here) is being reviewed and structures are being assessed against it- introducing the concept of NBS

• The local government is calling for more cement in mortar (presumable so the brick walls falls over as a big block the next time round - haven't figured that one out as yet). The wall surrounding the Kings palace failed on two sides and local contractors are rebuilding the wall (yes - using the same bricks)

• Sadly many slopes are expected to fail in the upcoming monsoon season and villages are trying to get much needed supplies through passes and gorges before those are cut off. There are still very many families living in tents and strong winds that come with the monsoon are expected to tran this arrangement.

Week 3 of the Revell Street reno in Hokitika

Trees for Canterbury in Cactus gear

Trees for Canterbury is a well-established community organisation aimed to employ, educated and regenerate. The idea was conceived – to create small nurseries that could supply community groups and organisations with the trees that they required.  The main initial sites of the Trees For Canterbury project were Cathryn’s back yard and Nicho Greig’s back yard. Back yard nurseries were set up in various other places around Christchurch and eventually all this was focussed on a site in Opawa Road. For more information go to their website.

Cactus likes to join forces with great organisations like Trees for Canterbury so has happily provided a few of the Trees for Canterbury volunteers with some Supertrousers - perfect to get dirty and wet in. These pictures are from a planting a couple of weeks ago at Styx Mill. What a great turn out. 

Bradley Myer returns from South Georgia impressed with his Cactus gear

I have just returned to New Zealand having spent the last 3 months in South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. South Georgia is an isolated island deep in the South Atlantic Ocean. Because it is in the southern hemisphere it experiences the same seasons as NZ. However, the average temperature in January (summer) is only 5°C.

South Georgia is a mountainous island with peaks that rival Mount Cook. It is one of the worlds premier wildlife hotspots with huge colonies of King Penguins, Antarctic Fur Seals, Elephant Seals, Albatross and other sea birds.

My role is the management of invasive plants which were introduced as a result of the whaling that went on in South Georgia between about 1900 and 1960. At one stage the island had a population of more than 2000 people. Today there is no resident population. Rats have recently been eradicated along with a population of reindeer that were introduced from Scandinavia about 100 years ago.

Although the temperature varied a lot while I was there, there were some very cold windy days and I was very happy that I was wearing my Cactus Mountain Jacket, Lifties and wonderful SPG gloves. This gear handled everything from seal bites to snow, hail and sub Antarctic gales with ease. I recommend this gear to anyone spending time in the outdoors.

Bradley Myer

Kaitiaki o Ngahere

Another episode from the Hokitika Reno at Revell:

Roo and his family have taken on a fun DIY project in Hokitika for the winter - they've purchased a rather run down house and plan to renovate. We thought it sounded like great entertainment so plan to track the progress over the next four months. Roo's a massive fan of Cactus and has been a customer for years so of course, there will be Supertrousers worn throughout the process. Here's a list of jobs: 

Here's an update from Gus and the team up in the Coromandal Peninsula.

A few more shots of the boys cladded up in Cactus gear working at Scott Base on the Hilary Field Centre Project! 18 000 pavers individually laid with love in the Hanger with temperatures dropping down to -30. Thanks Antarctica New Zealand Pictorial Collection for the photos. 

Being a small NZ company we take all customer contact very personally and seriously. This is a huge advantage to being small - we can actually take on board new ideas, make alterations and do repairs to make your Cactus gear last as long as possible.

This will be a handy 'go to' place if you have queries - as we often get the same question pop up repeatedly. 

A common query is whether a product repair will come under warranty or not. We warranty our products for faulty materials or workpersonship for the life of the product. If you have a warranty enquiry there are two options. Both require your product to be scrupulously, meticulously, immaculately clean. Our staff will not touch them otherwise and our precision machinery hates dirt so we'll have to send them back to you to be cleaned if your items turn up dirty...

You can come in and see us at 90 Fitzgerald Ave in Christchurch or you can give us a call on 0800 122 682 or email. In either case we'll assess the product, determine if it is a warranty issue and either perform the repair or contact you to discuss the options.

Sometimes the product issue will be due to wear and tear, but sometimes it is a manufacturing fault - after all we do use humans to make these products. You'll be shocked to know that even Cactus isn't always perfect.

Here's an example. Adrian sent this message:

"I brought a pair of the trade shorts last week and wore them today for the first time. I just noticed that the stitching above the zip is all coming undone. I have attached some photos of the affected area."

In response, we simply got Adrian to send the shorts back to perform a repair. These shorts have been brought back to life! 

In general, Cactus gear shouldn't fail and we stand by our guarantee that it won't. If a product does get a hole from punching a nail gun in the wrong place or gets worn down by general wear and tear, we still love to help out. There's nothing worse than saying goodbye to your favourite pair of pants. We (our amazing machinists) can repair garments to breath new life into them quickly and easily so make sure you get in touch before giving up on your favourite Cactus gear! 

This is a picture of Tom's medical bag in action - Top Gun Enduro in Nelson - bottom of 629. It's a Cactus Nort. An ideal bag for when he helps out on Mountain Bike races. Looks like it might be due for a rinse off. 

This is the construction team who are based in Antarctica working on supporting the major reconfiguration of the Hillary Field Centre (HFC). This $4 million project will be completed over the next two construction seasons enhancing both the quality of Antarctica New Zealand's science facilities in Antarctica and New Zealand’s position as a leader in terms of science capability on ice.

Simon Shelton, Project Manager, Antarctica New Zealand chose to kit the guys out in Cactus pants “It's great to work with a company with similar values and support some other hardworking Kiwi's”

We hope to track the progress and keep you updated on progress here. 

We're lucky enough to have had the opportunity to help out with a great project happening at the moment. Gus and his partner Sarah along with a crew of awesome helpers are building a radically sustainable home for their young family in Hikuai on the Coromandel Peninsula. It's an Earthship house. Pictured are some of the team in their Cactus get-up.

A little bit about Earthships:

An Earthship is a passive solar house that is made of both natural and recycled materials. The main components being used are earth rammed car tyres, cans and bottles.

Earthships are designed to work as autominous buildings using thermal mass construction and a natural cross ventilation system that is assisted by thermal draught  to regulate indoor temperature. 

Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources, especially the energy from the sun.  

Earthships are buried into the ground. All rooms are connected by a long coridor which is also used as a green house. All grey water runs into a botanical cell along this coridor.

The whole north facing side of the house is made up of 70 degree glazing admiting lighting and heating. 

The thick dense earth-rammed tire walls provide thermal mass that naturally regulates the interior temperature during both cold and hot outside temperatures. Low e glazing would be perfect for this.

Above this glazing is a 37 degree flashing for pv solar panels to harness the suns energy for electricity.

We are looking forward to following the progress and will have updates here throughout. For more information check out their facebook page here. 

Pretty much everyone from here at Cactus got some time off over Christmas. As you can see in this beautiful 'muntage' there was a bit of Cactus gear put to good use. Cactus Supershorts for a spot of fishing. Rhona in her Tee and Gold Digger Hat. Paul and Emma hiked Mt Owen with their matching Patrol Packs, Daryl and his mates put the Nort to the test biking, heavy duty DIY action at Daryl's place (well Kate worked hard), Jan biked the St James cycle trail with her faithful Zero and of course Juliette and co managed to fit in a spot chilling by the lake. 

Cactus friend and awesome photographer, Camilla Rutherford gave her hubby Tim a Cactus tramping pack (The Hector) for Christmas and he put it to the test over the break. These photos are taken on the West Coast of the South Island. Although it's not highly recommended, Tim's tramping in his Cactus Shorts as well. What a trooper! Please note that he's spent some time breaking them in to a soft, 'trampable' condition pre tramp. 

Thanks Camilla for the amazing photographs. To check out more of her stuff head to her website. We have a few more of her pics up our sleeve so keep an eye out. 

A big welcome to our latest and greatest new back pack the Nort. It's a combo of the best bits from our Moonunit and our Zero. It's the ultimate mountain biking pack but can also be used as a daypack, for commuting, outings, picnics and what not. 

Bladder compatible, internal fleece lined pocket for your sunnies, external pocket for your banana and a good tough waist belt. 

For all the details and specs check it out here. 

Great article on Jamie in this months Bike magazine. Here's an excerpt but make sure you go and get yourself a copy to check out the entire piece. Great photos by Camilla Rutherford and words by Mike Ferrentino.

It was a great day out in Lyttelton on Sunday for the annual Lyttelton Urban Downhill mountain bike race. We hope that you made it if you were in Canterbury. Cactus is always stoked to be a part of such an awesome day.

Andrea Murray, race organiser did an awesome job organising the event with a great turn out of both competitors and spectators. 

Cam Cole won the race with a time of 1 minute 36 seconds. 

We often get asked how best to care for your Cactus Supertrousers... the answer being to just wear them and not wash for as long as socially acceptable. But when the day comes that you can actually smell yourself and you can't really put it off any longer, we've made a short video with a few methods of washing. ]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2014 23:31:20 +0000 https://www.cactusoutdoor.co.nz/blog/Mario/

Meet Mario. He's just come back from China and wrote us a nice wee note...

Thanks for making such incredible pants!!
Just returned from a Trad Climbing trip in China and used a pair of Supertrousers. Two weeks of hiking and climbing sandstone cracks - best & strongest climbing pants I ever had.
Here are some pics...
Cactus meets Cactus in Li Ming 
And by the way "Its the best trousers on the planet"

Cactus made an appearance at the 2nd Annual Smash Palace Motorcycle show in Christchurch on Saturday. 

There were a few Supertrouser wearers there including Michael Dobson (of Two Cats Garage) from the Kapiti coast, a Cactus customer who rode his bike from Kapiti Coast through the Molesworth to the Show. (His bike is the BMW pictured with the Cactus sticker).

RDU’s James Meharrys was there with his custom ride (bottom right).

It was a really good day and we'd highly recommend checking it out next year!

This is a long post but well worth a read - a great story from a happy Cactus customer! 

Greetings fellow converted Cactus pilgrims,

About a moon ago at smoko a few subbies were giving me stick about the state of my work pants coz they had a few rips and were getting a bit worn. I told the cheeky buggers that they were NZ made as I only buy kiwi made and will get a new pair soon.

He told me I should check out Cactus Supertrousers as he had a pair on and recommended that they were bullet proof with a no nonsense life time guarantee, sounded too good to be true. I told him I would go and check them out. Was about a week later that I made it into your wicked store, bloody stoked you open tradie hours. I got yakking to the bloke there telling him that I was after a tough pair of pants that need to be practical. He showed me what they had and I said I should try on some Supertrousers. Wow they seemed stiff and reminded me of the first time in the saddle. They were a bit long but no need to stress coz the bloke said that they hem them to fit so I left them with him and explained that I was heading bush in a couple days and would I be pushing shit up hill to have them done by then, no worries he said so off I went. Later that night I thought maybe a size smaller and a bit longer hem would suit me better so the next morning I rang and left a message asking if i could be a pain in the bum and change my order. They rang me back and said no worries and will buzz me when ready to pick up.

Was sitting down at arvo smoko when I got a txt to say they were ready, bloody heck 2 days early is this for real I thought to myself.

I went straight there after work and sure enough they were ready for their new owner, I got yakking to the young lady at the counter and she joined me up to the Cactus Club. The next day I chucked them on loaded up the ute and headed for the wonderful West Coast to put them through their test. Got to the batch nice and early got the ute unloaded, gassed up the chainsaw and headed to the hut. On arriving we saw there were a few big branches that needed to be trimmed. I looked at my Cactus pants and laughed as they were about to get nice and dirty. I was about 20 meters up an old Birch tree with me chainsaw cutting wind blown damage. I got down and my pants would no longer be the same as they were covered in saw dust and chainsaw waste, we tidied up the branches and headed back to the ute. It started pissing down I had the chainsaw in one hand and the fuel in the other when all of a sudden I arsed up and was covered in mud from head to toe, all I could hear was a lot of laughter from the young-in 'fair enough' I told her, by the time we got back to the ute you could not recognize my pants as they were covered in mud and wetter than a drowned rat. We got back to the batch to a nice warm fire. I had planned on changing out of them but they dried in no time (is this for real?) a pair of pants that can handle abuse and dry so quickly.

The next morning I chucked the billy on and went outside to see what the weather was doing. I looked up at the awesome Paparoa range and thought what a nice day to climb a mountain so I mustered up the troops and headed for the hills, a few hours later still wearing my new Cactus pants we made it to the Top Hut. We left in the heat of the sun and arrived in the snow but yet they still felt good. We made a brew and I sat on the roof looking out over Blackball and the Grey Valley. I took a couple of photos and enjoyed the moment. The photo attached is the same photo, yip that's my 3 day old Cactus Supertrousers looking worse for wear but bloody comfortable. Well maybe the guys were right, maybe they are the ultimate all round pants. The next day we got back to the batch and gave them a good shake and chucked them back on and they were ready for the pub. You don't need to wash them, it's like they clean themselves 'bloody unreal'! Well a few weeks have passed and they are still going strong. Cheers to the Cactus Clan for a wicked experience and for keeping it kiwi.

Regards

Corey - a bloody happy bloke

Dear Cactus team,

I’ve been a fan of your gear for years, proudly wearing your supertrousers and jacket pretty much everywhere and singing the praises of these garments to anyone who will listen – but it’s the remarkable performance of one of your smaller products that has finally prompted me to write a long-overdue testimonial to the quality of what you make.

More years ago than I care to remember I purchased my first piece of Cactus Outdoor equipment – a black and blue pod wallet.  For more than a decade it accompanied me everywhere, protecting a succession of cell phones from the elements and occasional impacts associated with running, mountain biking, and several thousand earthquakes until one fateful day in December 2012 when it mysteriously disappeared somewhere between my home and my then place of work at Knox Church on the corner of Victoria Street and Bealey Avenue.   I was more upset at the loss of the wallet and the military issue dog tags it contained than I was at losing my ageing iphone – but after searching everywhere I could think of, I reluctantly accepted that it had gone, bought a new iphone (which was sadly too large to fit the Cactus pod wallets then available) and moved on…

Imagine my surprise when, on a warm spring afternoon in October 2014, two friends from the Knox Christchurch congregation appeared on my doorstep with something very familiar:  the pod wallet I had lost nearly two years before.   In anticipation of the rebuilt church re-opening, a working bee had been held in the car park and garden, in the course of which my long-lost pod wallet came to light. Opening it revealed a five dollar note still dry and able to be used as legal tender, several business cards and an emergency contact card a little worse for wear but still clearly legible, my dog tags and an iphone 3 still in working order – and all this despite having been exposed to rain, wind, and several snowfalls  throughout 2013 and most of 2014.  The zips, whilst a little ‘crusty’, still functioned, and after a gentle wash my vintage pod wallet looks almost as good as new.  My dilemma now is whether to bequeath my trusty pod wallet to my wife or son, both of whom have laid claim to the old iphone – or to keep it and put it to some other use.   One thing is certain:  given how well my old pod wallet withstood the ravages of time and nature,  I will certainly be paying a visit to Cactus to see whether one of the latest batch of pod wallets is capable of housing my now ageing iphone 4!

Yours in awe and respect!

Geoff King