This is the Outdoors Show that was held in Birmingham at the NEC and was sponsored by The Ordnance Survey but not anymore, there is no sponsor and now it's in London.
Over the last few years the show has been losing its Mojo and this year it seems to have lost it completely.
As the show was only around the corner from me, I had to go even if it was going to be awful. A few of the big brand names were there but with pretty small stands compared to previous years, Garman and Memory map are there but only showing off there GPSr's with maps built in.
Cicerone looked to have a much smaller stand but still seems to have most of their range of books on show.
Again there looks to be an increase in discover... [insert name of country here] stands and strangely food stalls, showing great British food.
Bushcraft and survive skills magazine has a stand with demo's on how to light a fire and how to cook with a dutch oven, subjects that seem to have been covered 100s of times.
Two big high street chains are there in the forms of Blacks and Decathlon to cater for your average walker, and with Craghoppers and a couple of stalls selling discounted apparel.
Names that were missing Alpkit, Terra Nova, Inov8; in fact names that most of the lightweight backpacking community look to for equipment.
In fact there is a general lack of walking equipment on show; no major tents, only a few from the Blacks/Decathlon ranges, hardly any sleeping bags, mats, cooking equipment.
In previous years there has been a theatre were you get a free ticket to see the likes of Brian Blessed, Kate Humble plus a few other celebs give a talk; this year there is an extra charge (between £35-20) to see the likes of Ray Mears, Simon King ,and Ben Fogle, the less said about this the better.
Personally I think THAT this Outdoors show has had its day but there is a 'new' Outdoor Leisure Show in Birmingham next month, which will have the likes of Alpkit, Terra Nova, Vango and quite a few that wasn't at the Outdoors Show.
