A review of the The Outdoor Swimming Guide. Over 400 of the best lidos, wild swimming and open air swimming spots in England, Scotland & Wales This is a glorious book. Even the cover made me want to dive right in! The guide provides a comprehensive overview of more than 400 swimming sites in England and Wales, […]
A review of the Kovea Spider gas stove, a light & compact 4 season remote canister stove. The first stove I owned was the small Trangia 27 meths stove and this served me well for my initial camping and bivouacking forays (I still have it) but a some point I started to use gas canister stoves. […]
A review of the best gear I’ve used in 2020. I haven’t bought much equipment this year because of COVID, so the gear mentioned below is not necessarily new kit but are the items that have been most frequently worn in 2020. All the items have been well used and tested in variety of tough […]
With this lovely spell of sunny weather at the beginning of April I decided to treat myself to a new pair of shorts. I wanted something not too technical that I could potter about in and maybe use for some rock climbing and bouldering so the Patagonia Stand Up shorts seemed a good choice. I’ve […]
This is a up-dated version of a post on clothing and equipment for Scottish winter walking and mountaineering first published in 2017. Not much has changed but some brands have some new kit that I have now included in this up-date. BootsPossibly your most important items of clothing and equipment for Scottish winter walking and […]
A review of the best gear I’ve used in 2019. All the items have been well tested in variety of tough conditions. Mountain Equipment Tupilak 45 I’ve owned a lot of packs over the years and the Mountain Equipment Tupilak is definitely one of my all time favourites. It fits all the criteria that I’ve […]
There isn’t very much to say about chalk bags. You put chalk in, tie them round your waist and go climbing. a chalk bag is a simple item of equipment. However I found myself really liking this one and have felt compelled to write a few words. Built to Send are a small, UK based […]
Blue Ice Warthog is made by a Chamonix valley based company producing niche climbing, mountaineering and skiing products specifically for instructors, Guides and Alpinists. I used the Blue Ice Warthog 40L for two months of Scottish winter while working for Jagged Globe and I’m using it now as my everyday work and crag sack. It fits […]
Choosing equipment and clothing for an Everest Base Camp trek isn’t particularly easy. You will be in the mountains for a least two weeks and the temperature can vary widely. It can be swelteringly hot, it might snow and rain is likely. You will be limited by weight and you won’t be able to wash any […]
Scarpa R Evo Review November 17 update – the new model in fetching blue and grey rather than funky orange – is just as good judging by the last month in some pretty cold and wet conditions. The older ones didn’t make it back from Nepal, but they didn’t owe me anything… A very comfortable […]