Ultralight Outdoor Gear Awards 2023
Posted by Andy Neil on Dec 22, 2023
2023 was an excellent year for new ultralight equipment and clothing, and we wanted to highlight some of our favourite gear that hit the market this year. Some pieces, like the Montbell Plasma 1000, pushed the limits of what it means to be ultralight even further. Others, like the Nemo Tensor Extreme Conditions sleeping pad, showed real innovation by raising their R-value to an industry-leading 8.
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10 Tips for Wet Weather Backpacking
Posted by Mark Richardson on Oct 11, 2023
#1
Take a Waterproof Cap: The hoods on
shell jackets are generally pretty good, some have a decent peak but the
lighter weight ones can be poor in this respect. None of them can beat wearing
a waterproof cap under the hood though, the large peak keeps the rain off your
face and it helps keep the hood from shifting when you turn your head. #2 Two
bags are better than one: Check
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Exped Winter Kit List
Posted by Andy Neil on Sep 19, 2023
As
the nights are drawing in and the temperature is starting to dip, we are
excited about the prospect of the upcoming winter camping season. Winter
camping can be more challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Cosy
nights curled up in the tents, crisp frosty mornings, and dark star-filled
skies are all only a few months away. So, we have teamed up with our friends at
EXPED to de
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Gregory Focal 58L Review - ''A robust carrying system, packed full of features and for a weight of 1.3kg''
Posted by Chris Futers on Aug 15, 2023
This year’s ‘The Great Outdoor Challenge’ (TGOC) allowed me
to take the Gregory Focal 58L rucksack out into the Scottish Highlands, whilst
I’d attempted to make it from Plockton in the West to Montrose on the East Coast.
For the TGOC, most look for a pack size between 45 litres
(minimalist, certainly compromises to be made on kit) to 70 litres (preparing
for all eventualities with a few e
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Flex Capacitor - Expand Your Gear, Extend Your Adventures
Posted by Fran O'Donnell on Aug 11, 2023
The lightweight backpack of your dreams is here. Meet the versatile pack that hauls it all. The Flex Capacitors is a beast of backpacking pack, constructed from durable nylon for rough conditions in the backwoods and built with adjustability in mind. Loosen the expanding horizontal gussets for cargo capacity on longer backpacking trips, or cinch it tight for smaller, compact loads on fast summit d
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Big Agnes Prospector 50L Rucksack Review - "A triumph of a pack with loads of great features'
Posted by Trek Scotland on Jul 19, 2023
Big Agnes would not be a name that springs to mind when
considering a proper expedition backpack. To be completely honest very similar
to choosing footwear we often tend to stick to the brands we know are tried and
tested. A backpack can be a very personal item and an ill-fitting pack that
causes issues on route will inevitably ruin an otherwise enjoyable trip.
To quickly skip to the e
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Andy’s 2023 TGO Kit List
Posted by Andy Neil on May 09, 2023
May means one thing here in the Ultralight office, The Great
Outdoors Challenge, or the TGO for short. We are incredibly proud to be a
sponsor of this communal coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland. Three of our team,
Danny, Chris and myself, are participating in this year’s TGO, so I thought I’d
give you an insight into what’s in my pack and some of the gear I’ll be taking
for this year’s chal
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Exped Lightning 60 Rucksack Review - “This really is a tough piece of kit with a low weight of just above 1kg for a 60-litre pack”
Posted by Trek Scotland on Apr 17, 2023
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
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Osprey Exos Pro 55 Review - “I was impressed by the capacity of the pack!”
Posted by Mark Richardson on Feb 23, 2023
Osprey’s Exos packs are best
sellers; and for backpacking loads over say 15kg they are a good choice,
offering a comfortable carry at a low weight. Typically weighing in at 1.3Kg
there are lighter options for ultralight backpackers where the target weight is
around a kilogram for a fully spec’d backpacking rucksack of between 50 and 60
litres capacity.
A few years ago
Osprey p
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Granite Gear Crown 3 Review - “An ideal pack for long distances without resupply”
Posted by Mark Richardson on Oct 18, 2022
A 60 litre rucksack with a
decent harness and weighing around 1Kg is a key product for us, and in my
experience Granite Gears ‘litres’ are a bit bigger than some other pack
manufacturers, this manifests itself in the fact that the Crown 60 seems
significantly bigger than some other 60 litre packs. I think this is because
Granite Gear only count the main compartment when quoting the capa
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Gregory Stout 60L Review - “We were very impressed with the overall build quality.”
Posted by Trek Scotland on Sep 15, 2022
The Stout 60L backpack from Gregory is a backpack built for multi-day trekking, well suited
for our activities through winter and summer in the Cairngorms and Northwest
Highlands.
At a total
weight of 1758 grams, including the rain cover, this is certainly not for those
who scrutinise every gram. As with the previous Gregory packs we have used, the
focus is more on comfort,
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Mariposa 60 Rucksack Review - Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 29, 2022
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
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