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When considering what pieces of kit to take on a lightweight expedition, a coffee press probably isn't high on the 'essential' list. But then again, we are into those colder months and as guides our job is provide our clients with as much comfort as possible. So, at a mere 44 grams, the MSR Windburner Coffee press has made its way into our kit on many occasions. Freeze dried coffee just …

MSR Windburner 1.0L Stove ReviewWhen MSR heard that I was heading to the Highlands they very kindly offered to let me test one of their Windburner stoves. I was mostly taking food of the freeze dried variety so wanted a stove mainly for boiling water. It looked a great option with fast boil times, impressive performance regardless of the wind and good fuel consumption. The only real negatives were …

This was the first time we have used a plastic peg and to be honest we were quite unsure why you would substitute a metal peg for a softer alternative. Constructed of strong ABS engineered plastic with an anodised aluminium tip to improve their lifespan, they are described as providing a lot of holding power, so we were looking forward to seeing how they pair up against our typical setup …

MSR Access 2 ReviewWhen MSR heard that I was heading to the Highlands they very kindly offered to let me try one of their new Access tents. Mark at UOG had previously tested the Access 1 tent earlier in the year in snowy conditions so I had no doubt it was a great choice for this trip. He’d been extremely impressed when using one in the Cairngorms so I was looking forward to trying one for myself. …

MSR Access 1p - 4 Season TentMSR's Access tents are excellent - a four season tent weighing in at a shade over 1.3kg is a noteworthy achievement and I was delighted to have the opportunity to test one on a short excursion in Scotland during February. I was mightily impressed, the pole structure works amazingly well so the tent kept its basic shape despite strong gusty conditions.The Access tents a …

Light, warm and strong - the ultimate tent for winter backcountry touring.Built to be the ultimate shelter for winter backpacking, backcountry skiers and snowshoers, the Access 2 tent is lighter than a mountaineering tent, but warmer than our backpacking tents. Limited mesh on the tent body offers greater warmth on frigid nights, while the light and packable design saves you precious energy on the …

Having used these pegs for around four years now we can safely say we have a very good understanding of the capabilities of this product. Weighing in at a mere 10g per peg, they knock nearly a third off the weight of their bigger brothers - the full size MSR Groundhogs. Bearing in mind a standard solo/two-man tent uses approximately 8-12 pegs, this is an overall saving of around 66 grams. So if yo …

MSRNook:Positive:Adequate space for 2Pitches very tautEasily pitchedLightweight but durableGood ventilationFly pitches high so there's a gap between flysheet and ground - great for ventilationNegative:Some sort of attachment for the inner to the flysheet would make for even more internal spaceSome condensation when not using guylines in the middle of the flyThe MSRNook performed well while at the …

MSR Pocket Rocket 2 reviewed by Succinct Gear ReviewsThe MSR Pocket Rocket 2 is a small canister top stove designed for 'minimalist' travelers. It is tiny, weighing in at 75g with foldable arms making it very compact when stored away into the provided hard plastic case. MSR give a figure of 3.5mins for boiling 1L of water (we repeated the test in 2.5mins in a calm environment).The stove performed …

The Carbon Core stakes are MSR's lightest full-strength tent peg, weighing a tiny 6 grams per stake. When first handling the stake it's hard to imagine they will hold up to the strains of a mountain tent especially in the tough ground conditions throughout the colder months. The outer covering is made up of aluminium to offer the strength needed, whilst saving weight with a carbon fibre core. …

The WindBurner Personal Stove comes with a 1.0L hard-anodised aluminium pot which has a heat exchanger on the base, when coupled to the burner it provides a system that is impervious to wind. Like all systems that use a heat exchanger to focus the heat onto the bottom of the pan the WindBurner is best used for heating water to add to dried foods. Because these stoves are very efficient they can’t …

The first thing to strike you about the MSR WindBurner is its compact nature, packing neatly with both its gas canister and burner within the pot. This will appeal to anyone who has struggled to get all of their cooking equipment gracefully and efficiently into their rucksack, particularly after a mountaintop brew break in driving rain. The system includes a cup, which while can be useful, is actu …