An innovative functional and comfortable daypack The Lowe Alpine Aeon 27 is a neat little daypack with an unusual back system. Packs in the sub 30 litre range usually have fairly simple harnesses as they’re not designed to carry much…
A warm weather shirt with sun and insect protection In warm weather I prefer to wear a hiking shirt rather than a wicking base layer as I find one cooler and with more useful features, especially pockets and roll-up sleeves.…
A Pair Of Sun Hats In recent weeks the most important outdoor gear has been sunscreen, dark glasses and sunhat. There’s a stack of waterproofs waiting to be tested if it ever rains again but for now it’s been heat…
Comfortable waterproof/ breathable socks Bridgedale’s new waterproof Storm socks have a three-layer construction with a waterproof/breathable stretch HydroTech membrane sandwiched between a merino wool/wicking synthetic inner and a tough nylon outer. Lycra in the inner and outer means the whole…
A comfortable and tough hat for sun protection Twenty-eight years ago I discovered Tilley Hats in the town of Whitehorse during a walk south-north through the Yukon Territory in Canada. The sun was much fiercer than I had expected this…
Osprey’s innovative AntiGravity pack updated Osprey’s AntiGravity (AG) back system was launched two years ago. For this innovative design Osprey took the tensioned mesh back system and extended this to include the hipbelt, resulting in the latter hugging the hops…
A lightweight easy to fill collapsible water bottle Water containers are utilitarian bits of gear that little attention is paid to as long as they work. For backpacking they need to be lightweight, reliable and to pack small when empty.…
An unusual retro-look rucksack Millican is a small company based in the Lake District who make ‘practical and ethical products that last a lifetime’. The name comes from Millican Dalton, the self-proclaimed ‘Professor of Adventure’, who lived in caves and…
An unusual highly breathable down/synthetic midlayer