Rohantime needs a Strapline

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Read about how Rohantime got its name

Wild Vision a visual feast

A series of shows from John Beatty, widely acclaimed as one of the best, nature, travel and adventure photographers in the UK

John Beatty has been a friend of Rohan for many years. Not only does he take many of the most striking images in our catalogues, he also regularly runs exhibitions and talks at our events. He generally fits in as a very Rohan sort of guy. John’s work takes him to some of the remotest areas on the planet – the sort of wild places where Rohan clothing really comes into its own. John’s shows started on the 3rd October and have been well received at all four venues. The shows are both entertaining and a visual feast. Do your best to make a show if you can.

More information on the lecture series or check out the lecture tour dates see the video clip

Rohan pillow talk

Why this train?

This night on this train? The Calcutta to Delhi train is one of the classic overnight Indian journeys. In India the train service is split into multiple classes. You have the scrum and battle of unreserved third, and frankly that class scares me. Then you have reserved third that is not much better, but at least you don’t need to fight for your seat, not that you would particularly want it when you get it. Then you have 3rd sleeper, which requires a career in Olympic gymnastics to use as each birth has beds stacked in triplicate up the wall. Next comes 2nd AC, which is where we aim for. It is like 3rd, but the beds are in the much more reasonable double bunks and you get a pillow. Or at least you should. It is a very late train tonight when we join at Agra, and the rest of the hundred person carriage is fast a sleep, something that I will not be able to join them in as, (a) the snorers have started in earnest and (b) I don’t have a pillow.

Trying to be as quiet as possible I search the small berth for the missing item. The white sheets are folded in place at the end of the bed, as is the rough and itchy looking blanket, but there is no sign of the pillow.

It was at this point that my Rohan Cloudbase Jacket came to my rescue. You see Rohan gear often comes with a built in “packpocket”. This nifty hidden section allows the entire Jacket to stuff into a small zippered pocket. It is great for packing into small nooks and crannies of ones rucksack saving on space when not in use. It also makes the jacket into a neat little pillow shape. A quick rummage though my rucksack and I have it.

You never know when a something designed for one use will be perfect for another. For some, being able to pack down ones jacket into a pocket would be an over-the-top feature and hardly essential. But for me, it is the little features that add the most weight when the chips are down. This is what I was telling myself as I tried to sleep on the train, but as I said the snorers had started in earnest and the decibel rating of the man across from me, by far the worst, is like a clap of thunder. What to do? Unzipping the packpocket I extract one arm of the jacket and zip it back up enough to secure it, thus giving me what is essentially a soft headed mace. I concentrate for a moment on what I am going to do and then swing it out across the gap between our two beds. It clonks into his body and in the same motion I snap it back and slam down my head onto it. The man wakes and looks around in confusion and anger, but I am innocently asleep. Then he turns over, mumbles something in Hindi and goes back to sleep. Only this time without snoring.

Success! Yes sir, you can never tell when a small feature can be used for a triple purpose. I will promise to keep innovating if Rohan does!

By James Bell

James and Francesca quit the London life to travel around the world.  They are writing about their adventures at www.outsidecontext.com

Other posts by James and Francesca Rohan Anywear Always &  Rohan Travelling Light

Wild Vision update

Wild Vision is now underway 3 venues down 15 to go
John Beatty is now on the road with the Wild Vision tour of the UK coming to a venue near you soon.
A first night quote:

“The first night went really well – a good audience and no technical
hitches at all. People seemed to really enjoy it – we had lots of
positive feedback and the venue manager was very impressed”.

John Beatty has been a friend of Rohan for many years. Not only does he take many of the most striking images in our catalogues, he also regularly runs exhibitions and talks at our events. He generally fits in as a very Rohan sort of guy. John’s work takes him to some of the remotest areas on the planet – the sort of wild places where Rohan clothing really comes into its own. John’s shows are both entertaining and a visual feast.

Catch up with John this month at the following venues:

Fri 9 BOLTON Albert Halls

Thur 22 LONDON Royal Geographical Society

Fri 23 EASTBOURNE Congress Hall

Sat 24 GUERNSEY Whittaker Hall

Wed 28 STIRLING Albert Halls

Sat 31 ISLE of LEWIS An Lanntair Arts Centre

Do your best to catch up with the Wild Vision tour and check out all the venues

Wild Vision on the road

Wild Vision is now underway 1 venue down 18 to go.

John Beatty is now on the road with the Wild Vision tour of the UK coming to a venue near you soon.

A quote from the first night:

“The first night went really well – a good audience and no technical
hitches at all. People seemed to really enjoy it – we had lots of
positive feedback and the venue manager was very impressed”. 
 

• Catch up with John this week at the following venues:
• Wed 7 – Royal Spa Centre Leaminton Spa
• Thur 8 – Pavilion Theatre Rhyl
• Fri 9 – Albert Halls Bolton

Read about the Wild Vision tour and check out all the venues

Rohan on the CDT

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce the third guest post for Rohantime from Chris Townsend.
I really appreciated and enjoyed the first and second post from Chris. From your feedback many Rohantime readers enjoyed them as well. A big thank you Chris.”
Sarah Howcroft.

Rohan on the Continental Divide Trail

Chris Townsend

Three years after completing the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) I set out on a longer and more adventurous undertaking, the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), which runs for 3,100 miles down the Rocky Mountains from the Canadian border to Mexico. Back in 1985 there really wasn’t much of an actual trail and few people had hiked the route, making it a serious and exciting venture. The number of Continental Divide Trail signs I saw on the 51/2 month 3,100 mile walk could be counted on one hand. The route was a mix of trails, old dirt roads and long cross country sections. Sometimes I was route finding in dense forests on steep mountainsides, at others treading narrow rock ridges high above the forest. For the last 500 miles in New Mexico, where the Rocky Mountains dwindle away I was mostly in open desert country with little shelter and across which swept strong dusty winds. Overall the weather on the CDT is wetter, cooler and stormier than on the PCT. For several weeks in the Colorado Rockies and then again for the last week in the Mogollon Mountains of New Mexico I had heavy snowfalls to contend with while throughout the walk thunderstorms were a hazard. I learnt how quickly I could run with a heavy pack when caught in the open with lightning flashing all around! Even more than on the PCT my clothing needed to be capable of dealing with a huge range of conditions including freezing cold, hot sun, high winds and heavy rain. Added to the weather was the fact that the first 1,000 miles or so was in grizzly bear country, which meant not cooking or storing food in my tent, regardless of the weather. I carried a small tarp to erect as a cooking shelter in rain but was dependant on my clothes to keep me warm. I couldn’t rely on my tent or sleeping bag for warmth. You really don’t want your sleeping bag to smell of food in grizzly country!

In the years between my PCT and CDT walks Rohan had developed new designs and introduced new materials, most noticeably a light, thin synthetic fill for insulated garments. Because Rohan didn’t make warm clothing in 1982 I’d carried a pile jacket and a down vest on the PCT. On the CDT I took Rohan’s new synthetic insulated Sohao Jacket and Wild Vest, a combination that was lighter and more compact than the PCT clothing and just as warm. As the garments were shelled with polycotton they were also windproof, unlike the pile jacket, and quick drying and reasonably warm when wet, unlike the down vest. These properties were important in the Rockies, especially when cooking and eating outside. Worn together the two synthetic tops kept me warm in below freezing weather whilst I was sitting outside waiting for the dinner to cook with no need to protect them from wind or rain.  Today similar garments are found in every outdoor shop. It’s only in the last decade they’ve become popular though, twenty years after Rohan first made them.

As on the PCT I wore a wicking Cool T throughout the walk but with a new wicking shirt called the Jekyll over it in cooler weather and the polycotton Moving On windshirt when it was breezy. Only in very cold weather did I walk in the Sohao. On my legs I wore Shorts or Bags, depending on the temperature and the mosquitoes, while in rain I wore a new Rohan Gore-Tex top called the Master Jacket. This set of clothing was light and compact and gave me a variety of combinations for different weather conditions. I was never too cold, too hot or wet so it all worked well. It all proved durable and lasted the whole rough and rugged walk.

The CDT was a wilderness adventure, a much wilder and more arduous walk than the CDT. But the reward was months spent in spectacular mountain country from the snowy peaks of Glacier National Park to the spouting geysers and bubbling mud pots of Yellowstone and the red desert cliffs of New Mexico. The walk was a magnificent time of my life and one I will never forget. I came back to magazine editing and writing and the direction of my life was set. Rohan was an essential part of that, both with the clothing and the encouragement and support of Paul and Sarah Howcroft. I will never forget them either.

Rohan clothing used on the CDT with weights in ounces.

Cool T 4
Jekyll shirt 9
Shorts 7
Bags 12
Moving On II 10
Sohao jacket 24
Wild Vest 14
Master Jacket (Gore-Tex) 21

Photos : Chris Townsend in early Rohan Clothing 1979 – 1985

New Rohan Pinnacle Jacket

Tim Jasper – Previews the Rohan Pinnacle Jacket.

Tim Jasper – Rohan Design Director talks about the new Rohan Pinnacle Jacket.

Waterproof and breathable 3 layer outer fabric, new waterproof aqua zips.

Supreme endeavour and state of the art technology.

• Product Rating No Rating

John Beatty – Wild Vision Tour

John Beatty on the road with Wild Vision.

Wild Vision is coming to a venue near you, 19 venues from the Isle of Lewis to Barnstaple in theatres, art centres and concert halls. John is a captivating and inspiring storyteller and Wild Vision is a chance to hear about his extraordinary life. So no excuses for not being able to get to a venue. Rohan and John Beatty have got together with Speakers from the Edge to entertain and inspire you with the Wild Vision Tour, something very special to brighten up this Autumn/Winter. Check out the Wild Vision Tour and booking details for a venue near you.
Rohantime will be featuring John’s tour and talking to some of you lucky enough to see Wild Vision and share your experience on Rohantime.

For the first Rohantime Wild Vision post, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity for us all to learn a little more about John.

Q. Do you remember the first photo you ever took?

A. My Dad had a Box Brownie C. that made 2.4” negs. He took thousands of pictures of our family holidays. I remember being allowed to take an occasional picture when I was about 4 years old in Anglesey. I remember the tiny eyepiece and the shutter lever and the red back window that showed the film number. My first camera was a Kodak Retinette I bought from Oxfam for 50p in 1968.

Q. Does making a living out of a love of capturing wild places diminish  the experience?

A. Not really, because it does satisfy my urge to communicate, and in my case, the wonders of the natural world. Before being a photographer I used to teach PE and Geography, I was communicating… and now it’s the same… photography in its many creative  forms, in print or projection is a very direct way of expressing one’s ‘vision’, like an archer loosing an arrow!

Q. Has the job of the “nature photographer” changed as radically as their equipment over the last two decades?

A. Yes it has! The greatest change has been in the science and subsequent knowledge of natural history. A good nature photographer has to be a good naturalist. More is known now than ever before about species and habitats. In the wild, a photographer has to have the knowledge of a geologist and stealth of a hunter. Unfortunately, there are many ‘tricks of the trade’ that now enable an illusion of wildness and wildlife encounters to be created, like ‘model’ animal farms, captive species and infra red beam image capture triggers, that are passed off as ‘wild’ encounters. It is generally quite easy to distinguish between the two approaches. Also, digital images are infinitely cheaper to shoot than film so many more are taken, and shutter speeds and image quality are vastly improved today.

Q. What shot that “got away” hurts the most?

A. D’you mean like spotting Lord Lucan on Market Street in Manchester! No seriously, many many shots get away, mainly because I don’t carry the cameras all  the time. Many amazing images pass across one’s eyes in a lifetime of travels. The worst “got away” of all by a long way was at the end of a family holiday  in Moab Utah. We had two weeks of wild camping, canyon hiking and biking slickrock trails, and I climbed the Castleton Tower in the desert. With 44 precious  rolls of Fuji Velvia film, I thought it a good idea to pass it around the x-ray scanning at JFK on our way out. Sadly, I forgot to collect it from around the screen! Back in Manchester I called through to JFK, they said it was mailed to me but there is still no sign after 8 years!

Q. Is the explosion in the mass capturing of images (digital cameras, mobile phones) changing the way people view images?

A. Yes it is, and it’s a good thing to happen. Photography was once the preserve of science, then it became the creative new genre within fine art. Today with mass image capture ordinary and everyday life happenings are being recorded by almost everyone, in a ‘flick of the eye’ reportage style. Millions and millions of images on computer screens or in print are shared across the world continuously. These changes celebrate the narrative in life and leave the professional photo art world intact and credible.

Q. Lastly what would be framed in your perfect shot – perhaps the one image to define you as a photographer?

A. The cover of Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin  album 1963, a snowy street scene of a 21 year old Dylan and girlfriend Suze Rotolo in 60’s Greenwich Village, New York,  is just about the perfect photograph I would wish to have taken…. Oh, or my children running knee deep through a hay meadow.

Catch up with John and have a great night out at a venue near you.

International Rohanism

25 Years of International Rohanism – Still Going Strong in the Highlands

OK. I admit it. I’m a Rohan snob! I love the design, the branding, the imagery, and I like the clothes functionality a lot.
I bumped into the relatively little known brand (at the time) in a classic outdoor/camping shop – “White & Bishops” in Northampton. It was probably around 1985. At the time I was halfway through my 26 years in the army. I was really fit and a fanatical orienteer, runner and hillwalker. The Rohan style suited me perfectly and I bought my very first Bags, short sleeve shirts, and the classic Moving On. I wanted to look smart after events, and be comfortable on the hills. Some of us orienteers were a bit snooty about the merits of “cunning running” or “the thought sport” and I certainly felt that the Rohan brand portrayed something a bit different. Whenever I saw another athlete or walker wearing Rohan, I can recall thinking “must be a decent sort – and obviously discerning!”
Army service took me to Cyprus with the UN Peacekeeping Force and to Hong Kong. Lots of hill walking and outdoor events in those places and the Rohan clothes cupboard grew ever larger – shorts, more bags, more shirts. Jan, my wife, became a great fan too – we were a walking Rohan display stand!
The last 20 years have seen a switch from running to cycling – with very many lightweight bike tours to Europe and the USA. My after ride apparel was ALWAYS Rohan. Its small pack size, light weight, quick drying was perfect for the cyclist who likes to look smart in the evenings. The wardrobe continued to grow with the addition of even smarter designs for work, and linen trousers and shirts for warmer climates. Longevity was becoming a problem – Rohan materials don’t wear out! I’ve only ever managed to seriously scuff /rip one pair of bags – on a particularly challenging scramble up Jack’s Rake in the lakes.
I now live in the outdoor paradise of the Scottish Highlands and have the great good fortune to work for the very outdoorsy Scottish Natural Heritage. It’s a bit of a mission for many of us to wear chic outdoor kit suited to the office. Rohan wins again! On a good day I’m Rohan clad from head to tail – including shoes and travel bag – bliss! And riding my Brompton folding bike to our Edinburgh office in Rohans is just great.
My eldest daughter lives in London and she’s a member of the “Urban Chic” lady cyclists collaboration. She now has my 25 year old, pristine condition Moving On jumper and it has many admirers in that group of discerning city cyclists – that’s Rohan longevity for you.
I’m typing this note after a splendid day on the hills with my ex-army mates – high on the Glenlivet estate. My Silver Trail Treckers and my current favourite Jungle Vest were great. I have enough pockets for all my toys: binos, camera, Blackberry, GPS ……
Its a great life and Rohan adds value to it. Next month it’ll be time for my annual visit to the lovely Long Preston shop where I hope to indulge in some of the latest design – ready for the looming bike trip to the Dordogne.

There are some Rohanist pictures on my web album and more interspersed in my blog

All the very best to my fellow Rohanists.
Mick
Mick Heath MBE

Rohan Bags

Rohan Bags New Colours

They’ve been telling us they wouldn’t sell for 30 years.
At first they told us they would never sell because they were too futuristic.
Now, they tell us they won’t sell because they’re not ‘fashionable’ enough.
Yet every year Rohan Bags are our best-selling trousers.
Good job the only people we listen to are our customers.
We know of Rohan enthusiasts who own six or seven
pairs. And people who refuse to throw away pairs that are
over twenty years old – they may have been relegated to
gardening duty, but that’s great. They’re still giving good
service and great value for money.
Rohan Bags – and we’re very proud of this – are the polar
opposite of today’s disposable, frivolous ‘fast fashions’.
They just work. It was true 30 years ago and it’s true today.

Introduced over 30 years ago, the iconic Rohan Bags are the original multifunctional outdoor trousers and the blueprint for all contemporary travel trousers. Everything in orange (and, whatever they may say, everyone  else’s) owes a little something to the groundbreaking inspiration behind Bags.

Lightweight, quick drying and highly resistant to UV radiation, they feature four security pockets, two hand pockets, side expansion panels, reinforced seat and knees and,of course, our trademark accessory D-ring.

A few Bags facts: Drying Time 3 hours, Weight 335g, Packed Size 700ml, Fabric: Rohan Airlight (50% cotton, 50% polyester). Sizes: 31″ Reg leg 30-42,  Unfinished leg 30-46,
See all the Bags colours (Red Ochre only available in unfinished).

Read a selection of Rohan Bags stories on Rohantime:

Bags Price Index

Bags Price Index Update

Buckling Clever

Back to Bags

Your Rohan Bags

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