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Who is Big Agnes? Big Agnes is one of the most tried and tested brands we sell here at Ultralight. Their fantastic tents, such as the flagship Copper Spur and the Fly Creek, were the first thing to really take off in the UK. Since then, the wider range of Big Agnes tents and shelters have been supported by some great sleeping bags, sleeping mats and accessories. We are looking forward to the excit …

On paper the Marmot Phase has impressive stats, by using ultra-lightweight Quantum GL fabric and certified, responsibly sourced 850 Fill Power down it achieves a comfort rating of +6C and a comfort limit of -1C, this is at an overall weight of just 506grams or 539grams if you include the stuff sack. So, by deducting the weight of the down from the total the shell of the bag comes in a …

Hydrostatic Head (HH) is a way of measuring how waterproof a fabric is. The resulting measurement in millimetres relates to how high a column of water standing on the fabric would need to be before the water would penetrate the fabric. For the best fabrics results can be as high as 30,000mm, i.e. 30 metres high, before it would penetrate the fabric.

Straight out of the packaging you can see that this is a product of very high quality. The mat is incredibly compact and instantly nudges the memory back towards the bulky foam mats that would have to be strapped to the outside of your rucksack. How things have changed! Certainly, some of the most innovative designs of modern lightweight trekking have to be the advancements in sleeping mats. Ultra …

Fjallraven are well renowned for producing quality-built clothing which may weigh in slightly heavier than other brands, but always delivers when it comes to long lasting performance. On receiving the Bergtagen Thinwool SS it’s plain to see that this is a t-shirt with functionality in mind.

Exceptional equipment doesn't just happen, its often the result of years of refinement and redesign, incorporation of new technologies and looking at problems in a new way. Before any product gets to launch it needs to be rigorously tested in the real world by real users. It needs to have durability built in and still function in severe conditions.Design, Manufacture, Test, Repeat.Here we take a l …

There are three main types of synthetic insulation and we discuss them here and give other advbice on choosing sythetic garments.

On first impressions the Nemo Riff 30 is certainly no ordinary bag. Once removed from its cotton storage bag it opens out and lofts easily with an appearance usually found with a sleeping blanket instead of a traditional mountain bag. Nemo claim the Riff 30 allows extra space for those who prefer to shift positions throughout the night and this is evident before getting into the bag.

15lbs or 6.8Kg is a magical figure – it’s about the base pack weight you can achieve for an extended three season backpacking trip without really compromising on comfort or sacrificing any of the key pieces of gear; such as tents, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and rucksack.

Carry Less. Do More.Engineered for endurance, performance and comfort. Montane's Rucksack range allows you to choose from a wide selection of lightweight backpacks, vest packs and waist packs designed for hiking, trail running, trekking and climbing. From your daily commute to long distance trail run, there's plenty of options from Montane to store and transport your kit safely.TrailblazerTrailbla …

Rab’s Guide Gloves are popular among winter mountaineers throughout the UK. When receiving the Guide 2 GTX we were obviously eager to see how this new model matched up against our trusted older pairs. Rab’s new partnership with Gore-Tex is the obvious stand out change, plus the use of their warm waterproof technology which claims to be highly insulated, waterproof, windproof, breathable, and guara …

The first point we need to raise for this review is that with receiving a prototype we can only write about the Ultra Mythic 180 in this current form. We would expect the final product to have slight differences in weight and design. Also, the EN temperature ratings are currently only estimates and taken using fill weight just below 180g.We had heard rumors that Rab were due to launch a new line o …