"There's little point me doing what I do unless I can communicate, be informed and share. Alone in some of the worlds most isolated wilderness locations on the planet the most effective way for me to do this is through my laptop. To send text with exciting image attachments, critical video, audio files and data, I want to feel confident with whatever IT gear I use.

"My days are difficult at the best of times. While on my sled gear remains frozen solid in brutal cold, including my laptop. It survives a punishing routine of being knocked around while the dogs and I scale up and over ice rubble higher than a double-decker bus. Condensation has always been a problem using a laptop in my tent. I used to wait 5 hours to boot up. Not any more. Panasonic's light CF-18 Toughbook fires up effortlessly in less than two hours after being warmed up from - 51°C."

Panasonic feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• 08/2007 Summit - Fast Food
• 12/2006 Optician magazine
• 10/2006 Summit - Expert Q&A
• 01/2006 Geographical – Outdoor Technology
• 12/2005 Dogs Today - Training Trial
• Spring Diary 2005
• 05/2005 Geographical - Explorer’s Essentials
• Winter Diary 2004/5
• 09/2004 Summit – Remote Control
• Mackenzie River Diary 2004
• 07/2004 Dogs Today - Dear Diary...
• 07/2004 Practical Photography – Extreme Travel
• 05/2004 Panache (Panasonic in-house magazine)
• 05/2004 Hertfordshire Mercury, UK
• 04/2004 Packet Series Newspapers, UK
• 04/2004 Lincolnshire Echo, UK
• 04/2004 Summit – Ice Cold
• 01/2004 Land Mobile - Polar Power

 
"RAB manufacture clothing for pitiless weather conditions. Proven materials and continually up-dated detailed innovative design features isolate RAB from rivals. All the down jackets I've worn throughout journeys in the last five years were designed and made by RAB.
 
"I also train in forty below zero temperatures and keep warm layered with RAB's versatile, breathable, windproof Vapour-Rise Pertex Equilibrium range of Stretch Top, Trail Top and hooded Trail Smock. Combined with the pants this high wicking fabric keeps up with my colossal energy output."

RAB feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• 01/2008 VIEW – Arctic Junkie
• 08/2007 Summit - Fast Food
• 12/2006 Climb – Kit List
• 12/2005 Summit – Cold Sweat
• 12/2005 Dogs Today - Training Trial
• 2005 Entire Arctic summer
• Spring Diary 2005
• 06/2005 Dogs Today - The Three Musheteers
• 05/2005 Geographical - Explorer’s Essentials
• Winter Diary 2004/5
• 10/2004 Wandsworth Borough News – Pole Position
• Mackenzie River Diary 2004
• 06/2004 Dog World – Driven by Pure Passion
• 05/2004 Hertfordshire Mercury, UK
• 05/2004 Grantham Journal, UK
• 04/2004 Packet Series Newspapers, UK
• 04/2004 Lincolnshire Echo, UK
• 04/2004 Summit – Ice Cold
• 03/2004 British Runner - The Sessions from Hell
• 02/2004 Asthma Magazine - Arctic Adventure
• 01/2004 Land Mobile - Polar Power
• 04/2003 Dogs Today - The Last Push
• 03/2003 Dogs Today - Unbearable Lightness of Being
• 02/2003 Dogs Today - The Pull of the Wild

Rab Carrington, Founder: 

Since working with us he has furnished us with many ideas for design and fabric suggestions which help him to survive in the lowest of temperatures. These ideas will help us at RAB to design for the general mountaineer and also furnish expeditions heading for the polar regions." 2003

(Postcard to: Neil McAdie, Marketing Manager, RAB Down Clothing Equipment 29th February 2004)

 
Outdoor Designs feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• 12/2006 Climb – Kit List
• 12/2005 Summit – Cold Sweat
• 2005 Entire Arctic summer
• Spring Diary 2005
• Winter Diary 2004/5
• Horton River Diary 2004
• 09/2004 Summit – Remote Control
• Mackenzie River Diary 2004
• 04/2004 Summit – Ice Cold
• 01/2004 Land Mobile - Polar Power

 
"I feed Nutrience Active and Nutrience Junior to oversee the nutritional well-being and ultimate health of my dogs to reach their full potential as the ultimate working dog breed. No easy task. My kennel plan revolves around D.N.A., food and training. For food, digestion and intestinal stability are vital factors. Nutrience works like no other make of dog food."

Hagen feature in Gary’s diary and published articles:

• 08/2007 Summit - Fast Food
• 10/2006 Summit - Expert Q&A
• 01/2006 Dogs Today Dear Diary...
• 12/2005 Summit – Cold Sweat
• 12/2005 Dogs Today - Training Trial
• 2005 Entire Arctic summer
• Spring Diary 2005
• 06/2005 Dogs Today - The Three Musheteers
• 05/2005 Geographical - Explorer’s Essentials
• Winter Diary 2004/5

“The innovative 340g FlashTrax mobile 40GB hard drive, with its high-speed transfers, can safely store over 6,000 6MB RAW files from my media cards. Journey over, I plug in with USB connection and the Flash Trax appears on my laptop as an external hard drive. I simply drag copy all the images, sort outtakes, organise the keepers, email and burn on to CDs.”

SmartDisk feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• Spring Diary 2005
• Horton River Diary 2004
• 09/2004 Summit – Remote Control

 
“I use SanDisk’s Ultra CompactFlash 256MB cards. These digital media cards remain stable in extreme cold and shooting RAW files I can expect to hold 38 images per card. These Type 1 cards have no moving parts inside and are very quick to down load my image data.“

SanDisk feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• Spring Diary 2005
• 09/2004 Summit – Remote Control

 
“I go to extraordinary lengths to keep and eat myself healthy. I’ve the same dedicated attitude for my dogs’ diet too. I always want to watch my puppies grow from a healthy start. My kennel-breeding plan is long. I prefer winter litters. Coming into a cold polar dark world puppies potentially develop the best double-furred coats. By cold I mean minus 40°C. Training my dogs is down to me. Quality supplement nourishment I leave to Petlife’s Whelpi, the closest approximation to bitches milk. Given as a feed supplement to pregnant, nursing bitches or orphaned litters, resistance to disease is increased, milk formation encouraged and general condition improved.

Over long periods of time PetLife's Vetbed remains dense and ice free to provide valuable insulating properties. Some synthetic furs tend to ice up offering no insulation for the dogs in extreme cold, but not Vetbed. It also proves to be a valuable addition to the bottom of flight crates."

Pet Life feature in Gary’s diary and published articles:

• Mackenzie River Diary 2004
• 07/2004 Dogs Today - Dear Diary...

 
"My dogs carry the weekly shopping and sometimes we go off for months at a time. My pack contains supplies and my dogs carry a third of their body weight in their own food. We cross hundreds of rivers and tend to bump into wildlife like bears and wolf packs. My Ruffwear packs survive a slog of constant wear, fangs and me. I’m not delicate with gear."

"The sun doesn’t set throughout Arctic summers and UV rays can bleach coloured materials and rot stitching. Perpetual dark polar winters are simply brutal. Cold enough for spit to turn into ice cubes, the savage cold can alter material and zip dynamics making them brittle. Ruffwear packs don’t alter. No other dog pack system has been so violently tested as Ruffwear’s Palisades Pack and Approach packs. I know about other dog pack brands, enough not to be impressed."

Ruff Wear feature in Gary’s diary, published articles and newspaper coverage:

• 08/2007 Summit - Fast Food
• 10/2007 Outdoor Trade Show, Stoneleigh, UK - Poster endorsing Palisades and Approach dog packs
• 09/2006 OE Outdoor Enthusiast – Advert endorsing Palisades and Approach dog packs
• 12/2005 Dogs Today - Training Trial
• 2005 Entire Arctic summer
• Spring Diary 2005
• 06/2005 Dogs Today - The Three Musheteers
• 05/2005 Geographical - Explorer’s Essentials
• Winter Diary 2004/5
• Horton River Diary 2004
• 10/2004 Wandsworth Borough News – Pole Position
• 06/2004 Summit 34 – Bear Essentials
  

 
"Individuals operating with elite military units from around the world introduced me to Arktis specialist webbing gear. From here on I began to use it on polar expeditions. Arctic cold can cause blood vessels to constrict increasing the resistance to flow. Simple tasks then become a struggle. It pays to be organised. Arranging my own Arktis chest rig allows daily essentials such as food, navigation tools and medical kits to be ordered and close at hand."

Arktis feature in Gary’s diary and published articles:

• 08/2007 Climb – Reaping What You Sew
• 12/2006 Climb – Kit List
• 12/2005 Summit – Cold Sweat
• Spring Diary 2005
• Winter Diary 2004/5
• 06/2004 Summit 34 – Bear Essentials

 
“I used a Cerro Tore 95litre from Lowe Alpine during my 2004 summer journey. For 36 days it enabled me to carry 120lbs of gear across hundreds of rivers and 400 miles of tundra. Not all packs manage to survive forty below. This winter I’ve been using the Alpine Attack 40. The zips don’t crumble and the pack material doesn’t become brittle enough to crack. “

Lowe Alpine feature in Gary’s published articles:

• 12/2005 Dogs Today - Training Trial
• 06/2005 Dogs Today - The Three Musheteers