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When given the opportunity to join a trek in the Scottish Highlands, I jumped at the chance. Being a regular hill walker on the North York Moors and with a few multi-day hikes in the Lakes under my belt, I had done very little, on foot that far north. My kit choices for the weekend were selected based on a damp but calm weather forecast and potential overnight low temperatures into mi …

As a cold sleeper, I find the combination of the Nemo Women’s Riff 15 Sleeping bag and the Tensor Insulated sleeping mat perfect for 3 and 4-season use in the UK. The spoon shaped Riff 15 has 825g of down in the Women’s (and 540g in the men’s) and 800 fill power in both versions giving a comfort limit of -9C for both men and women. As a side sleeper, I find the Riff has the ben …

This is a tent we are certainly familiar with, having been one of the first pieces of kit we tested and  reviewed for UOG back in 2017. The Orion II UL is back with us again with a few updates for added strength and more liveable space internally. Previously we commented on how impressed we had been with the weather resistance of the  Orion II UL. The new DAC poles have b …

With a weight of 650 grams and an R-Value rating of 7.1, this is a mat reserved for the winter seasons or travel in below freezing environments. These were our first thoughts when first looking up the specs for the Ultra 7R. What we found out after only our first few nights sleep is this is a mat which we kept reaching to place in our kit over a winter season that fluctuated widely in t …

High Street - Lake District Eastern Fells and my Border Collie Gaston The newest addition to the Phase range from Montane, the Phase Nano is the lightest and most breathable Gore-Tex Jacket from  Montane. Aimed at trail runners and anyone looking to move fast and light, the Phase Nano has a lot of features to offer, for such a lightweight jacket, two hand pockets, …

The original Roclite Pro G 400, released in 2020, and are one of the best pairs of hiking boots I've tried; hard-wearing, supportive and very light. They went on to win the prestigious "Footwear of the Year" category at that year's Outdoor Awards show. So, when Inov8 announced they were revamping the trail shoe for 2023, I was keen to get my hands on a pair. The  Roclite Pro G …

Exped’s Lightning 60 rucksack has recently been updated to be lighter and tougher, whilst importantly keeping its minimalist roots. We gave the Lightning 60 some heavy use in the Cairngorms and the Isle of Arran to see how it would fit into life for multi-day wild-camping in the late Scottish winter months. With a weight of 1180 grams and a high capacity of 60L, you’d expect the low w …

For longer journeys an extra pair of footwear can come in very handy. This will often be a super light option to wear around camp after a long day in the hills. Letting your feet relax, breathe, and recover is not only for comfort but also helps prevent foot niggles and injuries. This is all part of self-management on route and will ultimately make your overall journey as easy as possib …

Thermarest had, for us, changed our approach to wild-camping when we first received a NeoAir XLite around a decade ago. We have now used the XLite and XTherm as our core piece of kit for multi-day wild-camping group activities since we started our business 9 years ago. We suppose that once you put trust in a product it’s easy to stick with it, with  Thermarest offering a dependabl …

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 …