Berghaus

One of the first brands people often ask for when they step into our stores looking for outdoor clothing. Berghaus' relationship with GORE-TEX continues to bring us some fantastic jackets, with 2017 seeing some new affordable GORE-TEX jackets landing in our stores. That coupled with hardwearing walking boots, and their freeflow rucksack technology, Berghaus really are a brand for all your adventure needs.

Richard Leedham, Berghaus Brand President had this to say about their win:

"This is great news! The team here at Berghaus works extremely hard to create the best possible kit for anyone who wants to explore the outdoors. We’re very proud of our products, but it’s what the public thinks of them that matters the most. So, we’re delighted to have earned so many votes from GO Outdoors customers and staff, and this award will spur us on to develop even more great clothing, footwear and equipment. The good news is that we already have some very exciting innovations in the pipeline for outdoor enthusiasts to look out for during 2018."

Congratulations to Berghaus, the Best Outdoor Brand of 2017.

Paul Kirtley's Blog

When it comes to spending time in the great outdoors you want to be prepared. You want the best possible advice on how to set yourself up for any conditions, how to cook the kind of food that keeps you going all day and how to survive in the wildest of terrain. Over the past twelve months we, and so many of you, have found no better source of this kind of information than Paul Kirtley's Blog, the winner of this year's Best Outdoor Blog category in the GO Awards.

Over on the site Paul provides plenty of great tips and advice, calling on all of his outdoor and wilderness experience that have led to recognition from none other than Ray Mears. In the past few months he has covered everything from recommendations on the best books to read before you venture out through to advice on avoiding midges and how to make the perfect cup of wild tea.

Here's what Paul had to say on his win:

"I'm delighted my blog has been voted the winner of the Best Blog of 2017 in the Go Outdoors Awards. All the blogs in the shortlist are high quality and I was delighted just to have been selected for consideration among them. Being voted the winner is testament to the followers of my blog, who enjoy my articles, videos and podcasts. If it weren't for my readers, viewers and listeners, there would be no purpose to my blog. I'm honoured so many people gain value from my material. I thank everyone who voted for my blog. I also salute the other bloggers who were shortlisted. I appreciate how much time and effort goes into creating a good blog. Well done to everyone involved for sharing their outdoor passions with the world."

Congratulations, Paul! Keep up the great work!

Craghoppers Kiwi Trousers

For 2017, we decided to start a Hall of Fame for products that have become the very fabric of the outdoor industry. This award is to recognise products that have stood the test of time and although may evolve as technologies improve, are an ever present in the brands range.

This year you've crowned the Craghoppers Kiwi Trousers as the first Hall of Fame inductee, and here is what they had to say about it:

“Wow, Craghoppers winning the first ever GO Hall of Fame Award for our legendary Kiwis? What an honour! With over 7 million pairs sold and many thousands of miles walked in them - we knew we were onto a good thing and we are incredibly proud of fabulous Kiwis trousers.” Jim McNamara MD Craghoppers

Last year Craghoppers celebrated 20 years of its iconic Kiwi Trousers

In 1996, Craghoppers welcomed the first pair of Kiwi Trousers to its clothing collection. Since then, the Kiwi has taken centre stage as a best selling British phenomenon. Having sold 48,000 pairs last month alone, it is clear that Kiwi’s remain the nation’s go-to when it comes to walking trousers.

The original Kiwi classics still feature in Craghoppers’ outdoor collection, as do the Kiwi convertibles. However, they have been joined by a new generation of walking trouser – the Kiwi Pro Stretch – to provide extra agility for more active pursuits. Other more recent editions include the Kiwi Pro Elite, Kiwi Cargo Trousers, Kiwi Pro Winter Lined Trousers, and Kiwi Trek Trousers.

Twenty years on from the birth of the Kiwi’s, fellow adventurers still tell Craghoppers that the Kiwi Trousers occupy a unique place in the evolution of outdoor wear, and they remain one of the brand’s most popular styles.

Also nominated this year: Rab Microlight Alpine Down Jacket, Montane Prism Insulated Jacket, Vango Icarus Tent, Scarpa Terra GTX Walking Boots and Berghaus Mera Peak

Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket

One of our best selling down jackets year after year, the Rab Microlight Alpine isn't just popular with our customers (over 90 reviews and it's still a 5 star rated product), it's popular with our staff too as this is the second year running that the Microlight Alpine has won this award.

Stylish and warm, technical and packable, the Microlight Alpine really is a catch all jacket for the colder months, no matter where you are. In 2017 we stocked our largest range of this jacket to date, including a number of online exclusive colours as well as a slightly longer length version, so you could really choose the jacket to suit your style.

The Microlight Alpine narrowly missed out on the Hall of Fame award this year, and we've no doubt it'll remain one of our most popular insulated pieces.

Scarpa Terra GTX

Another second year winner, the Scarpa Terra GTX are the pair of boots that most of our footwear staff would recommend if you asked for their personal choice.

They've got the look of a classic walking boot, and the pedigree from Scarpa to give you the knowledge that you're getting a great pair of boots. With over 140 reviews across both Men's and Women's styles, there are plenty of opinions on these boots for you read through, but for the second year in a row, GO staff have voted the Terra GTX as their favourite footwear of the year.

Coleman Mosedale 5 Tent

The Mosedale was the hit of early 2017, you lot snapped up this tent at an incredible rate, and we sold out of it before the summer even began. The reason the Mosedale 5 was so popular with staff and customers alike, was due to it being part of Coleman's 'Black Out Bedroom' range, which meant that you could sleep soundly at night without being woken up at sunrise.

We're delighted to be bringing this tent back again for 2018, so those of you who missed out this year will have another chance to check out the fantastic technology used on this affordable family tent.

Calibre Bossnut V2

The Bossnut breeds excitement wherever it goes, the winner of Singletrack Magazine's 'Best bike under £1000' award, and a firm favourite among the cycle techs out in our stores. Launched in 2017 as the sequel to the award winning first version of the Bossnut, the V2 is living up to the Bossnut name more than adequately.

The main theme around why people love the Bossnut range is that it's simply a lot of mountain bike for it's price tag. If you're thinking of going full suss, it's a great bike to start your journey. We sat down with Mike from Calibre bikes, and he's informed us that the plans for Calibre in 2018 are huge and we can't wait to see what rolls off of production next.

Words can only tell you so much about a bike though, so if you want to see what the Bossnut V2 is really all about - check out Calibre Bikes rider Kenzie Nevard sending it at Revolution Bike Park.

OEX Vallo Rucksacks

All we ask for from gear is for it to work hard for the price it costs. The OEX brand is constantly developing it's offering to try and make the products as cost effective as possible and get you out exploring. Their slogan 'Explore More, Expect More' lets you know that they'd rather have you outdoors than saving up for expensive kit.

The Vallo range of rucksacks fits that ethos well, they're reasonably priced among other rucksacks around, and pack all the features you would expect from a good walking pack. With a range from a compact 28L day pack, through to a large 70L rucksack, you'll be able to find the right pack for your needs.

Nebo LiL Larry™ Torch

Not all gadgets have to be high price technology, the LiL Larry™ has undoubtedly been the hit of the season among GO staff, and it costs less than £10.

A pen style torch with 3 settings: full beam, half beam and emergency flashing red light. At 250 lumens, the full beam on the LiL Larry™ is incredibly bright and is proving popular with winter walkers. The strong magnet on the bottom of the torch helps keep it in place on a metal surface while you work with your hands, ideal for our bike techs.

It's small enough to keep with you at all times, to help navigate or draw attention to yourself. One cell can even be removed, and the torch work on just two batteries instead of three. An incredibly useful little gadget available at the till point in all GO stores.

GO Outdoors Edinburgh

For the first time since the GO Outdoors Awards began, this year we opened up the voting to GO customers to vote for their favourite GO Outdoors store. In an incredibly close vote, Edinburgh topped the list, pipping Liverpool by just a handful of votes.

We contacted Iain, the Edinburgh store manager, who had this to say:

"We are absolutely delighted and feel incredibly privileged to be voted our customers favourite store for 2017. We look forward to continuing to help our customers get outdoors in 2018 and love it as much as we do."

A big congratulations to Iain and all the colleagues in GO Outdoors Edinburgh!