When Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard spoke at Stanford in November about Patagonia’s involvement in the sustainable apparel coalition, you know that something is brewing. Since the Californian brand joined Wal-Mart in 2008 about creating the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the two companies have driven their quest to ‘Use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis’ by creating the Higg Index to measure the environmental impact of products.

As barefoot technology begins to take off I thought I’d get hold of the New Balance Minimus Trail to see whether minimalist really is the way to go. After years on gel and air tech I was warned that the shift to barefoot can be harrowing so I set out on the trail for two heavy sessions; the first testing was to see how much things would hurt without the extra padding and my decade-old running technique, and the second was there to really assess what benefits the low profile offered.

I arrived in downtown Steamboat during a few weeks before London’s 2012 Olympics utterly bewildered – a Brit lost at sea. A few days before flying arriving to the Mile … Read more

Set in Winter Park, Colorado, the Colorado Freeride Festival is a multi-day event that does it’ best to show how hurling down a hillside on a bit of metal and leaping over a heap of dirt can be a lot of fun.

Despite being one the smaller islands in the Gulf of Thailand, corners of off-road Koh Tao remain very leafy and teem with nature to explore on two wheels. Rutted roads … Read more

Level 1 Productions dropped this trailer to their upcoming film, Sunny. Directed by Josh Berman and Kyle Decker, the film takes a ridiculous colleciton of athletes through Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, … Read more

Alpine Bike is a new mountain biking route recently opened up in Switzerland which offers an entire traverse of the magnificent Swiss Alps.

Scott Jurek’s race history is mighty, packed with wins at from most elite ultra marathon trail and road events including the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-mile Ultramarathon, the Miwok 100K, the 153-mile Spartathlon and his signature race, the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run which he has won seven times in a row.

The tour began simultaneously in Cape Reinga (North of the North Island) and Bluff (South of the South Island) at 8am on Saturday April 14th, from where cyclists routed 700 kilomtetres over eight days to the Beehive in Wellington on the south of the North Island. Cyclists were able to choose which route they took, either by linked South with North, or by completing the ride entirely on the North Island. The optional routes gave rides the chance to experience very different terrain from Queenstown to Wanaka, then Twizel, Tekapo and Fairlie on the South Island, or Waitomo, Wanganuie and Wellington on the North Island.

John Murphy, M83, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky

Vimeo Awards 2012

In so many ways, Newton Running just gets it right. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Newton not only pushes out a great product, but markets and promotes it with a refreshingly sophisticated efficiency. On the product side, they’ve revolutionised the way we think about footwear by conceiving of their Land-Lever-Lift philosophy in a shoe that is meant to last. Meanwhile, their marketing has focused on the lifestyle of running – heralded by the snappy slodan, ‘Hello Better’. Go to Newton’s photos on their Facebook Page, and you’ll see a number of images displaying their distinctive tread, part of the brand’s focus on designing and promoting a durable product. I’ve been wearing the Newton Distancia since Thanksgiving 2011, and haven’t felt more excited about running training since.

In tracing this theme, automotive-manufacturer Subaru rolled out their ‘Work Play Love’ Tour during the past two months. The company visited some of the US’s most desirable places to work, setting up stalls and games at 50 companies across the country. Subaru and active lifestyle partners such as KEEN, Icebreaker, Yakima, Prana, Trek, Outdoor Research and Osprey made more than 50 fresh air therapy stops with their fleet of 2012 Imprezas, unloading their outdoor games, DIY trail mix station, product demonstrations and giveaways.

Next month Ines Papert and Arc’teryx will be touring the UK to present the Harbin Roadshow, starting at Kendal Mountain Festival on 17th November. The show consists of a photo exhibition … Read more

Earlier this month, an unusual event took place in the Koh-e-Baba Mountain Range in the central Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan. For just the second time, the Afghan Ski Challenge (ASC) found its form, … Read more

Set in the high Pyrenean mountains of South West France, the Grand Raid des Pyrénées is one of the most beautiful trail runs in Europe. Since 2008, the event has … Read more

In the eyes of a number of adventure’s premium goggle brands, bigger is always better. To them, wider lenses, fatter frames and substantial straps are more than just effective branding. This season, Dragon Alliance have reassessed this paradigm, releasing in their APX goggle and a new perspective that has reigned supreme across the northern hemisphere since December.

Every season a series of ‘must get’ products emerge from the looms of the top adventure brands around the world. This winter, Patagonia has placed a major focus on its new line of breathable and waterproof shells, teaming up Gore-Tex to ensure that the quality of their garments stay at the top-end of adventure apparel and manufacturing ethics.

As Canada’s third largest city, Vancouver has a problem that often goes unreported – homelessness. At the end of January, I made a pilgrimage to the headquarters of Arc’teryx in the city … Read more

History and guide to Steamboat, Colorado in the Rockies of the USA. Skiing in Steamboat offers some of the best snow conditions in North America.