Osprey

World leading pack and luggage brand, Osprey are kitting us out with their bikepacking bags, packs for skiing, biking, ski touring and hiking along with any number of accessories to keep our gear sorted along the way. They have supported Huw for close to 20 years and Laurence too has had a long relationship with Osprey.

Nemo

ZZzzzzz……sleep, sleep……let me sleep. There will no doubt be times on Alpine Odyssey Aoteraoa when we could sleep anywhere, on anything. But most of the time we’ll be comfortable in our Nemo tents on our Nemo mats in our Nemo sleeping bags with our golden (!) locks resting softly on our Nemo pillows (yes we all go soft eventually). Great to continue a long relationship with the brand and their lightweight gear.

Ground Effect

On the bike now for over 30 years, the former employer of Laurence and a supporter of Huw for a big chunk of that time, Ground Effect produce (yes actually in Aotearoa/NZ!) the finest of cycle clothing. Its certainly going to meet head on, all the elements on our journey. Ground Effect has stayed true to its roots throughout and supports cycling in so many different ways.

Adventure South

A leading cycling and walking tour operator in Aotearoa with a full programme of tours across the country. Huw has worked with the crew at Adventure South for some time and their advice on routes and more is always welcome.

Black Diamond

One of the pre-eminent brands for technical climbing, alpinism and skiing gear, we’ll be using Black Diamond Helios Carbon skis as we ski down, sometimes up and sometimes flat on our faces, right across the skiing landscape of NZ and its stunning alpine mountains. Talking of flat on faces, the last (and hopefully only time) Huw has broken a pair of Black Diamond skis, was when, in classic Scottish whiteout conditions over 30 years ago, he skied off a cornice that turned out to not be a cornice but the edge of river. Smashing and clattering onto rocks in the river bed, it is no wonder one ski had a 90 degree bend in it after!

Scarpa

The finest outdoor footwear on the planet and indeed the most excellent of ski touring boots whether Alpine Touring or Telemark. A pair of Scarpa Maestrale AT boots kept Huw's feet in good order for Alpine Odyssey Australia. His first pair of plastic telemark boots were first generation Scarpa T2's in 1992.

Ski Selwyn

Definitely not to be confused with a ski area of a similar name in Australia, the Selwyn District in the South Island showcases a necklace of six Kiwi ski field gems - Temple Basin, Craigieburn, Broken River, Mt Cheeseman, Mt Olympus and Porters. The first five are indicative of the very essence of the unique NZ Club skifield scene, while Porters is a small but mighty commercial skifield.

ATK Bindings

Holding us onto our skis and perhaps occasionally releasing us, are magical little free ski/touring bindings crafted in northern Italy. Light (remember how much we will be carrying all our gear on bikes etc) and solid for both resort skiing and the backcountry, its great to have ATK on board.

Smith

Protecting our eyes and our bonces, Smith have a pretty important role to play. Sunglasses and goggles for the former, bike and ski helmets for the latter. Huw will have prescription lenses and Laurence chooses lens colour carefully to help his vision issues.

MAProgress

Everyone loves a good track and we're not talking about music. Back in 2014-15 MAProgress allowed the world to see where I was on my yearlong circumnavigation of the Mediterranean. Rather fittingly, given they are a New Zealand business, in 2025 they are kindly providing a tracker and online tracking tool for our traverse of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Quest Bike Trailers

Researching possible trailers to tow behind our bikes, imagine our surprise when we came across a Kiwi company making them in the middle of the Southern Alps. Quest produce a bike trailer well proven in harsh conditions. It comes with a roto-moulded gear pod to hold some of our luggage and Quest have custom made rack that will hold our skis to the trailer.

Michelin

Laurence and I will be mimicking the famous Michelin man under our layers of clothing trying to stay warm on Alpine Odyssey Aotearoa. Some might say Huw is mimicking him before the journey with a mid layer developed to fight the winter chills ahead! Michelin tyres will, in their rubbery way, be our key connection between bike and trail, bike and road.

North Wave

Waving goodbye to the most Northerly point of NZ at the start of our journey, we'll be using North Wave bike shoes, including some specifically designed for snowy, wet conditions.

Real Meals

Huw first got a taste for these freeze dried, NZ made meals a few years ago and can honestly say, after decades of trying various brands on expeditions and journeys, they are the best I've tasted. Real by name, nutrition and niceness! And back in the day, Laurence used to race against Nathan the Real Meals founder! So it's grand to have them on board for the times we're away from civilisation and in need of good, fast food at camp.