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On first impression, the Fire Maple stove is made of materials that feel to be high quality and durable, which is a pleasant surprise given its low price. When comparing it to other all-in-one stove systems, it’s a similar size and weight, with a size of 128mm × 173mm, and a weight of 511g without gas.The components of the stove fit well together. This nesting design is always welcome when it come …

UOG Review for Kahtoola KTS Crampons and Tote SackThe night before we set off we’d booked a Bed and Breakfast in Fort William, just to make sure we had a good start the following morning. We’d both brought along Kahtoola KTS Crampons as well as Hillsound Trail Crampons – leaving the choice of which to take to the last minute when we could look up and see how much snow was on the tops.Although we d …

At 240g, the Petzl Ride is light, it weighs less than half as much as some of our other ice axes! This short and light axe is an ideal addition to the axe arsenal for routes that involve mostly rock with only some ice/snow (i.e. descents/approaches from alpine rock routes) or for carrying on a ski tour where its use is unlikely.We like short ice tools and really believe that the places where a lon …

UOG Review of Fire Maple FMS-F5Selection: I was after a stove for a 6 day backpacking trip to Scotland taking in a number of munros with a possibility of camping quite high. The weather can be quite rough, even in May, so I decided to take a liquid fuel stove that would be reliable in cold and wet weather, and fast when I needed it to be, the Fire Maple F5 is our lightest liquid fuel stove by quit …

SOTO Muka Stove The MUKA stove is a liquid fuel stove that will burn either unleaded petrol or 'White Gas', (White Gas is a particularly refined petrol sold in outdoor shops, hardware shops and other outlets in various countries - in the UK it is most often seen as 'Coleman Fuel'). From the outset I'm going to say that its a wonderful piece of engineering that addresses all the 'dislikes …

Over the years we have used a number of toilet trowels with varying degrees of success, with many not standing up to robust use and often snapping or bending when digging hard ground. Our needs are pretty simple in terms of a tool for digging ‘cat holes’. Basically: Is it strong enough to withstand continual use? Is it lightweight? Is it easy to use? And, ultimately, will it do the job it is princ …

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 …

Deciding whether a solar charger is going to be enough to keep your IT going without the backup of a wall socket or USB port is about as tricky as predicting the weather, in fact both are inextricably linked. Harder still is finding a solar charger at a low weight that stands a chance of keeping the power flowing to your devices.We’ve used very small charging devices on treks in the past and the p …

Petzl Sirocco Helmet reviewed by Succinct Gear ReviewsThe Petzl Sirocco 2nd E helmet is in the same line of helmets as our recently reviewed Mammut Wall Rider (unlined expanded polypropylene helmet). Unlined EPP helmets push the limits of the ultra-light helmet all whilst remaining highly resistant to impacts though at a sacrifice to the cost and to some extent aesthetics. The first EPP helmet (Pe …

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. …

For multi-day trekking we can all appreciate the addition of a pillow when you’re hunkering down for the night after a long day on the hill, but the added weight and pack size of the item often means this is a luxury that’s left at home. So the idea of a super-light solution is very welcoming. When we first got to hold the Marmot Strato Pillow,we were taken back by how small and light the pro …