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Rab’s latest range of winter jackets look to be creating a lot of interest, with the Generator Alpine showing early signs that this could be a cold weather jacket specifically with British winter conditions in mind. “Built for exposed climbs and formidable winter weather, the new Generator Alpine …

How do Scarpa describe their new Rush Trek GTX boot? RUSH TRK GTX is the new benchmark for all day long and short mountain hike. It is a boot made in the name of comfort with technologies that reduce foot fatigue during the hike. It represents a culmination of soft comfort, solid stability and a lightweight feel. H …

About the author: I’m not a foot specialist or medical practitioner, but I have walked thousands of miles on some of the best hiking trails in the world, I know what works for me but we are all different – the aim of this article is to outline the choices you will be faced with when choosing your next hiking footwear, choices which you should make for yourself rather than accept what I do. …

20 years ago, whether you were a man or a woman you bought a ‘sleeping bag’, these days there are gender specific sleeping bags available so you would buy either a man’s sleeping bag or a woman’s – or would you? We’re not sure, so this article is about the differences, why is a woman’s sleeping bag different, and are those differences important to you? We have female customers who buy m …

Polartec are a legendary manufacturer of performance fabrics for the outdoors, we summarise their range featured in our products here - click through the links on this page to learn more about each on, including what we think.

Sea to Summit have thought about the design of the  Alto tent very carefully, trying not to recreate what's already available and fans of the brand will not be disappointed with this tent. We took the Alto TR2 Plus version out for a three-day backpacking trip at the beginning of April when the weather was very cold but quite clear. The cold conditions (sub zero) required largis …

Our thoughts on packagingAt Ultralight Outdoor Gear, we want to minimise our impact on the planet. That means we have a duty to look at our packaging and its impact on the environment.The most important part of the process is what happens to these materials once they have fulfilled their purpose of safely transporting your order to your door. These materials become waste and what happens to that w …

Costs As always we give details of what we spent for the whole trip, due to accommodation costs it could be done more cheaply or more expensively depending on the choices you make. Spending Essential Insurance Mark £57 Insurance Jacqui £57 Lateral Fl …

Getting there We left the house at 7.30am on the 17th September and drove to Manchester Airport for a 9.00am Easyjet flight to Geneva. Progress through the airport was fairly normal, I think fewer travellers offset any additional time for Covid checks and the flight left on time at 11.00am. A new policy at Easyjet specified cabin luggage as only 45 x 30 x 20cm so we booked a hold bag …

In September 2021 I would have loved to travel to Nepal, I’ve backpacked in many places around the world but never been there – it’s a serious omission that I was determined to sort out, but that was before the pandemic. September 2021 then was allocated to a trip to Scotland. In August a window of opportunity opened to visit Switzerland, my partner and I were both double jabbed and were ther …

The Mammut Kento HS claims to be a hard-shell jacket that is ready for changing conditions in the mountains. Weighing in at 452 grams in a size medium this can be considered a mid to lightweight jacket. It packs down small so made for an easy addition to our kit for days when the weather could not quite make its mind up.

The Nemo Tensor Elite Short Mummy Sleeping Mat is one of the lightest full-length inflatable mats available, delivering impressive comfort for its weight. At just 268g, it’s hard to overstate how feathery this mat feels in your pack. The 10D nylon fabric keeps it incredibly light while offering reasonable durability—though care is needed on rough ground. At 8cm thick, it provides …