Jon and Jen wrote:Can't find Therm-a-rest Neoair xtherm anywhere, just missed a second hand one on ebay as my £145 bid was not enough! Trying to buy an MSR Elixir 1 man but again, everywhere is sold out. Need to replace my Alpkit Brukit, sold out! Is this covid related? Can anyone advise reasonable alternatives with similar specs/prices.
So frustrating, trying to lighten the load for the SNT but running out of time.
Yes, mostly Covid with a hint of blocked Suez and a lingering taste of Br***t leftover (the latter mostly about buyers being cautious to see how the heck the new system works I suspect, with a slight impact on delivery speed). The biggest factor now is the impact of Covid on the whole supply chain, with factories on massive catch up plans, and from listening to my own suppliers, huge amounts of uncertainty over lead times and production. In the logistics chain, containers are in short supply, as many ended up in the wrong places at the wrong time.
On top of this, last year stripped many outdoor suppliers of huge amounts of their stock, thanks to the popularity of the outdoors last summer, so they're starting from a lower stockholding than usual.
An alternative to the Alpkit Brukit is the Jobsworth X2. Very, very similar, the Alpkit just has a few slightly nicer touches to it. For the price, it does the job well; I bought one as a temporary stove and have ended up using it more than others.
Not sure on the comparable models, but Exped is normally the key alternative to Thermarest.
Tent wise, maybe have a look at the Naturehike and LuxeOutdoors offerings.
Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:25 pm