Gear Reviews

Earlier in the year, I was sent a pack for testing by Lowe Alpine. The reason I mention how I came by it is because the Lowe Alpine AirZone Trail 35 isn’t a pack that I would have bought myself right now. To be clear, that’s not because it’s not a good pack (it is – I’ll say that now), …

Intro Okay, let’s get this Akaso Brave 7 LE review started! The Akaso Brave LE 7 (I’m paranoid about damaging the front facing screen…) In recent years the action camera market has been flooded with cheap alternatives to the current ‘big daddy of them all’, GoPro. Take a look in any store, online or bricks and mortar, and you’ll be …

The Mountain Equipment Redline sleeping bag is a recent addition to my extreme camping gear stash, and I’ve decided it’s time to review it. Before we launch into this review, it’s useful for you to understand why I chose this bag.In January 2022 I set off to ski 600 miles across the north slope of Alaska. At that time of …

This week I will be reviewing the Montane Extreme jacket. It’s a soft shell outer layer designed for working in extreme cold environments. This is a recent addtion to my outdoor gear wardrobe, bought on the advice of my teammate before we skied, or didn’t ski (a long story) across the north slope of Alaska. And I’m glad I took …

A few years back, I wrote an article about the kickstarter campaign by a company called Apricoat, making a waterproof jacket that they described as the ‘ultimate adventure jacket’. Although not a review, my article (which was not very complimentary, to be honest) attracted a bit of attention. I stand by everything I said in it, although I do think …

It was a particularly damning Hebridean downpour in November, the kind that you just accept will set in for ‘weeks’ rather than ‘hours’, I clenched my fists to wring out my gloves but there was nothing I could do about my wet feet until I got back to base.  My Keen hiking boots (a sneakily cheaper boy’s size 5 purchase) …

The Generator Alpine Jacket is Rab’s brand new, highest-specification, synthetic insulation belay jacket specifically designed for ‘gnarly Scottish winters’. There are a few things in there that made it appealing to me, not least that I’m about to move to Scotland, but that description can also be unpacked to tell you a fair bit about what this jacket is and …

Intro Yeah, that headline was a bit a mouthful, in part because I don’t know how to pronounce the manufacturer’s name. Is it ‘amaze’, or ‘ama’, like the Amazon river (and that sizeable retailer birthed by Bezos)? I guess that’s less important than an actual review. Let’s take a look at the Amazfit T-Rex Pro and see if the hype …

Intro Hi, today I’m going to review the Montane Icarus jacket which I bought a few weeks back. First, a little story of how we came to meet… It’s not often I buy a new lightweight insulated jacket – they tend to be worn until they disintegrate or are lost on one my expeds (farewell Rab microlight, I will miss …

Some time ago, Jake wrote an in-depth review of the Apricoat Adventure jacket. All I can say is that he wasn’t impressed! Recently, the manufacturers approached us to carry out a follow up review of their latest offering: the Apricoat Adventure 2.0 (a review Jake declined to wite!) The task was left to me. And I decided to unleash the …