Jake

I’m Jake. I grew up absolutely loathing being dragged on walks and up mountains by my parents, but some time when I was a teenager that changed and I hiked around the Isle of Arran with my brother. After that, I was hooked and I’ve gone on to hike all over the UK, climb Mt Washington and the presidential range in the US, and walk some of the PCT.
When I’m not hiking, I’m a keen runner and have completed half a dozen Marathons including London, New York, San Francisco (that’s hilly, that one!), Paris and Brighton. I also used to be a triathlete but I completed an Ironman in 2014 and have barely been back on a bike since!
Alongside that, I’m a serving officer in the British Army Reserve and have deployed on operations overseas. I live in Brighton with my partner and our dog. They are also both keen runners and hikers, which is convenient, although one of them can’t be trusted not to chase rabbits.
Posts I’ve written
- Alpkit Specta Pullover Glove Review
- PreTents Soloist: Lightweight tent review
- Therm-a-Rest Saros 0F/-18C Sleeping Bag Review
- Hiking route guide: Cairn Gorm and the Northern Corries
- Hiking Route Guide: Ben Vorlich from Lochearnhead
- Rab Muztag GORE-TEX® Pro Jacket
- Lowe Alpine AirZone Trail 35 Backpack Review
- Apricoat EcoDown Jacket Review
- Rab Generator Alpine Jacket Review
- Gossamer Gear G4-20 Review
- Ultralight camping stove: MSR Pocket Rocket 2 and Toaks 550ml Titanium Pot review
- Rab Skyline Cap Review
- Rab Phantom lightweight waterproof review
- Rab Kinetic Alpine 2.0 Review
- Hiking Brand Deep-Dive: Rab
- Best camping showers of 2022
- Therm-a-Rest Corus 20 Review
- Quilts v Sleeping Bags – how to get a good night’s sleep on the trail
- Best military watches: tactical watches for military personnel
- Garmin inReach Mini Review
- Best lightweight synthetic insulated jackets for men – 2023
- Five great last-minute presents for hiking enthusiasts
- All your Garmin Tactix Delta questions answered
- How can I reduce my pack weight for hiking
- Garmin Tactix Delta Review
- Q&A: How to stay warm when camping
- The Yorkshire Three Peaks – an almost perfect one-day hike
- Q&A: Should you wear GORE-TEX boots for hiking?
- Rab Cirrus Flex Hoody Review: Lightweight, Synthetically-insulated Jacket
- Garmin Fenix 6 Review
- PreTents Ridgeline Review: a serious 2-person expedition tent
- Osprey Atmos 65 Review
- Garmin Instinct Review: The Ultimate GPS Watch?
- How to use hills to massively improve your running
- Garmin Vivoactive 3 Review: Initial Thoughts
- Therm-a-rest NeoAir XTherm Review
- Osprey Duro 1.5 hydration vest review
- Mini Camino del Norte: Irun to Bilbao
- Wild camping in England and Wales – Laws and Advice
- How to get into the Virgin London Marathon
- How to create your own marathon training plan
- Intro to Winter Skills in the Cairngorms
- Review: Rab Alpine Microlight Jacket
- Review: Bose SoundSport Wireless
- 5 tips for coping with rain on multi-day hikes
- What’s in my foot-care kit, and why
- Review: Rab Ascent 700 Sleeping Bag
- My Seven Carry-on Essentials
- PCT Section J – an alternate kit list
- Pacific Crest Trail Section J – a Kit List
- Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail – Section J
- Camping food reviews: Eat well, hike easy
- Snowdon Hike
- Guest Review: Outdoor Research Transcendent Hoody
- Don’t make resolutions for the New Year – make habits for life
- Six things I’ve learned after more than a month of wearing the Garmin Vivoactive 3
- How to repair a down jacket
- Rab 50l Kit Bag Review: The ideal travel and carry-on bag
- Review: Vango Contour 60+10
- 5 Wild Camping Tips I Can Offer You
- Hiking Mount Washington, and a Presidential Traverse
- SOFREP Crate Club – August Crate Review
- Hiking and Wild Camping in Scotland
- News discussion: enforcement of safe hiking
- Six reasons I’m not convinced by the Apricoat
- Kit planning for a 3-day off-track hike
- SOFREP Crate Club – July Crate Review
- SOFREP Crate Club – June Crate Review
- Four essential purchases for day hiking
- First time marathon tips: A graphic
- Camping Food Roundup: What makes rations great?
- Rab Sleeping Bags: The Ultimate Guide
- UK Knife law – a guide for campers and hikers
- What OutdoorGearLab Doesn’t Understand About the Arc’teryx Atom SuperLight Down Jacket (and Many Other Things)
- Enlightened Equipment Revelation Review
- Review: Rab Electron Jacket
- The power of interval training
- A navigation workshop in Brecon
- Salomon X Ultra 2 GTX shoes review
- Review: Rab Xiom Jacket
- Longread: Competence, confidence and experience in risky sports
- Review: Arc’Teryx Squamish
- An introduction to layering
- Review: Arc’Teryx Atom LT Midlayer Jacket
- Review: Jetboil Zip
- Review: Rab Baseline Jacket
- Review: Patagonia R1 Full Zip Jacket
- Making time
- Review: eGlove Sport
- The SAM Splint
- The 10 essentials – a systematic approach to hiking safely
- Guest Post: Patagonia Nano Air Review
- Presidential Traverse – My kit list
- Winter Running Kit: Prepare For The Chill
- A real throwback – a trip to the Western Desert
- Ice climbing
- Guest Post: Westcomb Apoc Review
- Gallery: the Kumbh Mela – visiting the largest gathering of people on the planet
- Running safety tips
- Tips for first-time marathon runners