Gear Reviews

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 …

As part of my effort to reduce the weight and bulk of my hiking kit, I recently invested in the Gossamer Gear G4-20. It’s one of the lightest hiking packs available at that capacity, and very different in style and construction to the likes of the Osprey Atmos 65 (see review here), and Deuter Guide 35+ (reviewed here), that I’m …

Introduction This week we’re going to review the Deuter Guide 35+ rucksack, one of my ‘go to’ pieces of gear for hiking and expeditions. Before we delve into the ins and outs of this pack, let’s take a quick look at the company to understand why they get their outdoor gear manufacturing process right. Born in 1898, the company was …

Introduction I’m currently working on a bit of a project to reduce the weight of my hiking kit. I’ll talk more about that in a future post but, for now, I’m focusing on one of the heavier items in most people’s kit; a stove. A stove is pretty much a must-have for any hike of more than a day or …

What is the Garmin Earthmate? Before we get into the nuts and bolts of this Garmin Earthmate review, let’s get a high-level view of this app is all about. And an idea of why I love it. Oh! I think a little bias has shown through… comments like that are best left until the end of the review. Oh well, …

Built to Send X1 Alpine Rucksack Review Looking for a pack that provides a decent crossover between traditional rucksack and an alpine/mountaineering pack? You know, the kind of gear that’s equally at home on the rockface or the trails that meander the wild countryside. If so, maybe now’s the time for you to take a look at the Built to …

The claim: the Hoka Challenger ATR 6 running shoes are light, adaptable, and apparently defy convention. Rugged and well-cushioned, they are designed for optimal grip no matter what terrain you’re running on. And they’re environmentally friendly. At least to a degree – the yarn used in the ATR 6’s construction is manufactured from recyled material. So, how good are they? …

Note – TrekSumo’s first ever video is a video review of the Rab Skyline Cap. If you’re interested in this product, please do go watch the review video and of course we’d love it if you could give it a ‘like’ and maybe even subscribe to the channel. This text version of the review of the Skyline cap will cover …

A video version of this review is available on our YouTube channel, and below. It covers most of the same ground as the text review but they are not word-for-word identical. If you’re a fan of the blog, it would really help us if you could like the video and maybe even subscribe to the channel. One of my principles …