Blog

Mountain Equipment's Lhotse/Manaslu jacket has long been a Trail favourite (it won best waterproof jacket in our Gear of the Year 2021 awards), but for £130 cheaper the Makalu is another great option at an excellent price. Made from Gore-Tex Performance using both 50-denier and 75-denier fabrics, the Makalu has a minimum HH rating of 28,000mm and an RET breathability grade of <13. It has a full …

With the relaunch of the Extrem 'sub brand' this winter, Berghaus have created a range of mountain-focused apparel that is clearly distinct from the more mainstream products that are its bread and butter these days. The MTN Arete Ultra Down Hoody has certainly been designed with the mountaineer in mind, this being reflected in many of its features. The helmet-compatible hood has a wired peak, plus …

Given that Rab have been making sleeping bags since their very first hand-stitched down bag in 1981, it's perhaps a surprise that they haven't ever made that other crucial part of the sleep system - the sleeping mat. Well they have now, and the new range that launches this spring includes four inflatable models and one self-inflating mat. The mats range in R-Value from 3.8 to5.8, and the weight ra …

The Guide glove sits in the middle of the Mountain Equipment range, and, in this test, is most similar to the Alpkit Gabbro. It is warm enough for most activities while being dextrous enough for winter climbing. I was happy to place get ar, tieknots, put on crampons and lead winter climbs while wearing these gloves. They also have wrist tethers which is a big plus point for me, for the odd occasio …

The holy grail of insulated jacket design is warmth, weather protection and durability with minimum weight and pack size. Usually, something has to give - but Rab's Generator Alpine squares the circle better than most. It uses cutting-edge synthetic PrimaLoft Gold with Crosscore fill to deliver plenty of warmth, all wrapped in a durable shell. Yet it also manages to be impressively light and packa …

New for autumn/winter 2022, the Mythic Ultra features an ultralight Pertex Quantum outer and 900 fill power down to deliver "the next generation of warm, lightweight and packable insulation", according to Rab. To further enhance warmth, Rab's TILT technology reflects heat back towards your body, while features include a helmet-compatible hood, YKK zippers and a body-mapped design.VERDICTA high-tec …

850 Fill Power down / -6.6 Comfort rating / Regular Length / Wide / 683 grams Fill Weight (Regular Wide) 479g In the right conditions quilts are an amazing way of sleeping outdoors,  Enlightened Equipment specialise in quilts and are very good at it. When Summer camping you can sleep under a quilt and feel really comfortable compared to the restrictions of lying inside a co …

850 Fill Power down / -9 Comfort rating / Regular Length / 1007grams Inner bag weight 482grams / Outer Bag weight 530grams Inner bag Fill Weight 227g / Outer bag Fill Weight 198grams I have a natural aversion to this type of product because multi-functional products often tend to be less effective than individual products designed to fill a specific niche, however I was v …

There are so many good down jackets available that it can be difficult homing in on the one for you, not surprisingly your first thoughts should be about how you want to use the jacket, a decent warm jacket is an essential piece of backpacking or trekking kit even in the summer if you are travelling high in the mountains and in this scenario you want something that is lightweight and ha …

Osprey’s Exos packs are best sellers; and for backpacking loads over say 15kg they are a good choice, offering a comfortable carry at a low weight. Typically weighing in at 1.3Kg there are lighter options for ultralight backpackers where the target weight is around a kilogram for a fully spec’d backpacking rucksack of between 50 and 60 litres capacity. A few years ago  Osprey p …

Winter arrived early and was cold here in the UK, so I was incredibly grateful to be offered a chance to test out the SuperStrand LT Insulated Hoodie at the beginning of December. I've been using this jacket as my primary insulation for over three months now, not just in the hills but in my day-to-day life as well, and I'm a big fan of this lightweight synthetic jacket from American bra …

January 2023 graced us in the north east of England with a drop to sub-zero temperatures, a scattering of snow and a calm northerly wind blowing through. We can normally camp here year-round with 3-season kit, however when a wintry blast coincides with the arrival at Basecamp Gear of MSR’s new  Tindheim 2, 2 person, 3 season tunnel tent it seemed only right to take it for a n …