The PrimaLoft House - A Better Way Of Product Testing?

One of the few benefits that ‘harmless drudge’ outdoor writers receive is the opportunity to test products in the wild. Perhaps a visit to a factory, a one on one with the CEO and then a trip to the slopes or the great outdoors. These visits can be very effective ways to tell a brand’s story. However they can also be disasters; when 2, 4 or 8 outdoor writers are gathered together there will be... personality clashes, differences in skill and fitness, the drinker, the sleeper in, the blogger and the blagger. Pity the poor PR who has to handle this potential hand grenade with an occasionally loose pin.

PrimaLoft, working with East River,  one of the UK's leading outdoor PR companies looked at the problem differently. Each writer knows what they want to do and see so why not just let them get on with it. No distractions, no personality clashes. Give them the keys to a luxury house in Northumberland, fill the fridge and leave them with a pile of outdoor toys to play with, all supplied by PrimaLoft. Having run for 3 years the concept is well established.

So PrimaLoft, the global leader in advanced material technology, recently opened its PrimaLoft House on the stunning Northumberland coast in Bamburgh for a period of six weeks. Teaming up with various brand partners (from Rab, Montane, Helly Hansen, Endura and Berghaus, to Jack Wolfskin, Stone Island, Voited, Keela and Hestra), PrimaLoft was keen to offer journalists a unique and enjoyable way to learn more about the brand and its Relentlessly Responsible mission to develop innovative technologies that elevate performance and sustainability.

Attracting journalists from specialist outdoor media and tech and lifestyle titles such as Stuff and Red Bulletin, guests were able to stay in the PrimaLoft House for up to three nights and enjoy various outdoor activities experiencing the comfort, warmth and weather resistance of PrimaLoft. Products were certainly put to the test during some of the stormiest Northumbrian weather, including Storm Babet.

Their team stocked the house with jackets, boots, comforters, pillows, blankets, gloves and more, and gave writers a chance to interact with the wide variety of PrimaLoft products on their own terms.

Even the duvets and pillows featured PrimaLoft Bio and were supplied by The Fine Bedding Company. Specially commissioned artwork adorned the walls and there were opportunities to subtly learn more about PrimaLoft throughout the house.

I was lucky enough to stay in this outdoor toybox for a few nights and it’s definitely a bettor way to highlight the PrimaLoft brand. Most outdoor journalists are knowledgeable; they know the landscape and they know the products they want to see and try. Rather than being led by a strict timetable and a PR with a cattleprod, the PrimaLoft House allowed me to have another half hour in the embrace of the Fine Bedding Company and then open the curtains and decide if if was a Montane or Jack Wolfskin sort of day.

As a skier it was inevitable that I’d look for somewhere with a snowsports connection to try out the wonder fibre products. Though Northumberland can be bracing in October it’s rare to see a white landscape. However the College Valley estate, around 40 minutes from Bamburgh is one of the crucibles of British Snowsports. Just after the second world war a group of hardy skiers and climbers formed the Dunsdale Ski Club. They rented a large farmhouse and after a while they became bored with hiking to earn their turns so with classic British ingenuity they found a tractor and built what was certainly the first ski lift in England and almost certainly in the UK.

The club is long gone with a diminishing number of surviving members, fewer than 10 at the last count but the club’s alumni included national coaches of the Canadian and English ski teams and one of the team which developed Whistler ski area. Another was a founder of the Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors.

The club started the development of a number of small scale club ski areas which continue to operate in the North Pennines, now with Poma lifts and in one case a grooming machine.

Little is left of their ski lift but Helly Hansen and PrimaLoft kept me warm as I trekked past the old farmhouse they based themselves in before they carried their wooden skis to the snow filled Bizzel . It’s now available to hire as a bunkhouse, keeping some of that outdoor spirit alive.

During the Second World War it was often the combination of atrocious weather conditions coupled with less advanced navigation systems and simple inexperience that claimed the lives of several Allied airmen – and Germans too – whose planes crashed on the Cheviot and its surrounding hills. Their wreckage remains and one ski club member decided to put it to good use, saying “We fitted up a workbench for cooking, although an attempt to finish it with a section of fuselage rescued from one of the crashed bombers on Cheviot failed when, despite prolonged hammering, the curve refused to straighten.” This of course in the 1950s when different rules applied.

Kept warm and dry by PrimaLoft we returned to the PrimaLoft House and relaxed in the hot tub before a walk into Bamburgh for food and drink in the The Bamburgh Castle Inn and food in The Potted Lobster

After a day in the hills, more reluctant walkers can fulfil their Harry Potter fantasies in Alnwick Castle and plot revenge in the Alnwick Garden’s poison garden. Hemlock tea anyone?

For most of the year the PrimaLoft House is known as Restharrow Lodge. Sleeping up to 8 guests, this is the perfect luxury lodge for a group of friends or family. The lodge is pet-friendly, so your furry friend doesn’t have to miss out on the fun. Located just outside of Bamburgh, this is the ideal spot for guests wanting to explore the beautiful coastline and nearby towns and villages.

Boasting modern and luxurious furnishings, the Restharrow Lodge is a home away from home. The lodge has everything guests will need for a stress-free holiday in Northumberland. The open plan living, kitchen and dining area offers lots of natural light, cosy places to relax and luxurious touches including a woodburning stove, flat-screen tv, large dining table and fully equipped modern kitchen. Cook up a storm and enjoy eating and relaxing together in the evening. In the summer months, you can open the floor to ceiling window doors which will lead straight out to the large decking space. The decking area offers a large corner sofa and a hot tub, perfect for soaking after a day of exploring. There are 3 bedrooms, two double bedrooms and one bedroom with 2 bunk beds, perfect for a big family with children.

So did the PrimaLoft house show PrimaLoft at its best? Almost certainly yes, the opportunity to try a range of products with friends and partners at your own pace gives a much more real world showcase than an 7.30am alarm for a bleary breakfast and schlep to the next location to tick off.