Blog

With the forecast showing a brief lull in the usual October wet weather pattern, a chance for a quick bash up a couple of the Mamores Munro mountains just near Kinlochleven was not to be missed. This also gave me an opportunity to try out the new Liteway Gramless 35 litre rucksack. This is an ultra lightweight day bag made from 70D Ripstop Recycled Polyester, which offers excellent …

I took the Rab Muon 50 litre pack on a short backpacking trip to Scotland, grabbing 10 Munros in the process, new for Spring 2024 this was the first time I’d carried it. I was carrying about 11 kilos all in, so was travelling pretty light. The first thing to note is that a weight of 1062 grams for the men’s and 1036 grams for the women’s pack is pretty good. We always say a kilogram for …

The Muon packs from Rab blend cutting-edge materials and a well-thought-out design, resulting in a pinnacle of innovation. Constructed with incredibly durable and lightweight Spectra® Ripstop fabric, these backpacks embody sustainability by incorporating 85% recycled materials without compromising performance. Rab's ND Narrow Dimensions packs are built with different proportions to our Regula …

When Black Diamond announced the Beta Light 45 backpack earlier this year, I was intrigued by its unique appearance and impressive stats. Black Diamond kindly provided the Beta Light 45 backpack and the Beta Light Pack Sattelite Bag for my upcoming TGO Challenge, a two-week coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland. The Beta Light 45 and Beta Light Pack Sattelite Bag feature a sleek, modern de …

The Montane Trailblazer 25L is a meticulously crafted backpack to elevate your hiking experience. This innovative pack seamlessly blends comfort, functionality, and sustainability, making it an ideal companion for day hikes, gym sessions, and daily commutes. With its 25-litre capacity, I found the Trailblazer 25L a perfect-sized day pack for hiking and hill walking. It was large enough to …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …