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I spent 2 whole weeks, day in, day out in  Haglofs rugged flex Pant, a soft shell, durable hiking trouser. I walked a coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland and, wanting to save weight, brought one pair of trousers to hike in, and a Marino woollen base layer to sleep in, so this pair of trousers and I became well acquainted, they come with one caveat, as I will get on to, but overall …

I have been fortunate enough to hike almost 300 miles with this pack, I first took it out on The Great Outdoor challenge, a coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland, and also the Cleveland way, so it’s fair to say we are well acquainted. It’s American in design, rather than the more classic European style, so at first, it appears bulky as it has no compression straps, though you won’t notice …

The Gorilla 40 rucksack has been in the Gossamer Gear line up for many years and had remained largely unchanged since 2015 but was updated for 2021. This has been the first opportunity to test the updated version, the Gorilla 50. There are several changes including: An increase in its capacity to 50 litres (without increasing weight, in fact we found Gorilla 50 to be slightly li …

When we first saw the specifications for the  Wechsel Bella tent we couldn’t wait to try one. There are so few freestanding tents with external poles that are also lightweight. On paper, the Bella looked like a perfect 3 season tent for the UK. The advantage with the use of external poles for the UK is the ability to pitch the tent as one. It’s often wet when camping in Northern …

We have long been fans of Soto stoves, especially the innovative Windmaster stove. We love the Windmaster’s quality build, ability to work in windy conditions and regulator allowing for consistent performance in the cold or with a near-empty canister. It’s a ground-breaking design that the competition has copied. There are however a couple of potential problems with canister stov …

Quilts have been a popular choice amongst American backpackers for years but took longer to gain popularity in the UK. We have seen a significant increase in quilt sales and enquiries over the past couple of years. There are clear pros and cons of a quilt vs. a sleeping bag, read our article here ‘Why choose a backpacking quilt?’ As a long-term user of mummy sleeping bags, i …

Making sure we have safe drinking water is a key consideration for us. Especially when looking at group activities over multiple days. Even a slight illness in the group can lead to the disappointment of an early finish. So having a device which you can trust to provide safe drinking water from most outdoor sources cannot be overlooked. Fortunately, there are now many water filtra …

The  Xenair from Rab is a synthetic jacket comprising Primaloft Gold Active+ insulation, in a low profile that can be used as a mid-layer for winter, or as a stand-alone jacket for use in autumn and spring. At 337 grams in a medium size, it’s a fairly lightweight jacket, and certainly feels so when worn. A relaxed, comfortable fit, with a nice amount of length in the arms, …

The  Perimeter 50 rucksack is a mid-weight pack with a ton of features including fine adjustments to back length, shoulder width, and hip sizing.  Granite Gear says, “Body Diversity, every person has a unique build, shape, and size. Your pack should fit accordingly.” Weighing in at 1500 grams may sound heavy compared to a lot of modern packs of a similar capacity. This …

Of all the usual gear chatter amongst the outdoor community, underwear is probably the least discussed, yet a crucial piece of kit to choose correctly.  Saxx has produced a range of high-wicking underwear with us receiving the  Volt. A highly breathable mid-length boxer, which Saxx say are, ‘Designed for the go-getters, workout or play sports in complete comfort with our …

The FreeLite series gets a makeover and is now lighter than its predecessors. Poles weigh 226g Flysheets weigh 416g Inner tent weighs 338g Total weight 980g The tent I was given to test has a dark flysheet but this didn’t seem gloomy in any way. We camped in high summer and the weather was good so the tent hasn’t had a long term test nor tested in stormy conditions. …

The  Black Diamond Distance tent is a good example of the kind of tent I look out for – it’s spacious for one person (although Black Diamond says it’s a two-person), has a good head height and is very lightweight. It achieves its lightweight tag by being single skin and utilising your trekking poles as its support structure. Also, there’s no porch for storing gear – so using the …