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Selection: There's never been any doubt in my mind that if I was going to camp on snow then I'd want an Exped Downmat with me, a mat with a high insulation value is essential for winter camping. Until recently the standard Exped Downmat was a relatively heavy option at 880grams for a Regular, then cam along a plethora of Exped Downmat 'Ultralight' mats which had lighter face fabric, no integrated …

I was looking for a bag for an early summer trip round the Tour of Mont Blanc and decided to give Thermarest's Auriga Blanket and sleeping system a try. I've always steered clear of backless sleep systems because I tend to toss and turn quite a bit at night and it always seemed to me that I'd be expelling air out the sides every time I moved.The Auriga Blanket has a boxed foot that you can slip ov …

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The Six Moon Designs Fusion 65 was the pack I chose for my 8 day backpacking trip to Peru. At 65 litres it allowed me the volume required to carry the 10 days food required. At the start of the trek I reckoned I was carrying around the 35lbs mark (16 kg), which is the upper limit of what I want to carry on any trip.I have to say that I was pretty happy with the comfort even at this weight. Th …

UOG Review of MSR Hubba HP TentSelection: I was after a tent for a 6 day backpacking trip to Scotland in May taking in quite a few munros, which could result in some high camps. The weather can be pretty rough even at this time of year and it could get quite cold. I looked at the Hubba NX which is the latest version of the classic Hubba series, however, although the NX is lighter than the HP the H …