Gear Reviews

Another Garmin Connect Review? Yeah, but this one is good! What is Garmin Connect and why the review? First, let me say this: if you own a Garmin watch and you haven’t installed Garmin Connect on your smartphone you need to do it now! Done? Excellent, let’s continue. Let’s cover off both these questions fast and move on. Garmin Connect …

In my pre-Christmas post about gift ideas for hikers, I featured the Garmin inReach Mini. While it may initially seem less exciting than one of Garmin’s activity watches, or a new down jacket, it’s the perfect thing to buy for anyone who likes going on adventures and needs a way that they can both summon help and communicate with people …

The OEX Stratoshpere: big name softshell quality at a price you’ll like. Hi, today we’re going run through an OEX Stratosphere review. Softshell jackets became a fetish of mine after I tried on a North Face during a ski to the North Pole. I was hooked. The fit and flexibility were like a second skin, unlike some of the hardshells …

Because it’s such a fully-featured watch and has so many settings and options, it was hard when writing my Garmin Tactix Delta review to cover all the questions people might have. To try to remedy that, and after a couple of months of wearing it myself and figuring out the answers to a lot of my own questions, here is …

Introduction I made the decision to buy a Garmin Tactix Delta after borrowing a Fenix 6 earlier in the year for review purposes. Much as I love my Garmin Instinct, it was a little hard to go back to it after a few weeks with the Fenix’s big full-colour screen, detailed health-tracking functionality, weeks-long battery life, and advanced navigation features. …

Introduction COROS are a relatively new contender in the sports watch arena and they’re definitely worth considering if you’re in the market for a serious upgrade. Admitedly, the Apex is aimed squarely at triathletes with a claim of being, “The best watch a triathlete could ever own.” But don’t let that put you off – this COROS Apex review is …

Treksumo was created with hiking and trekking in mind, but from time to time we step off the well-beaten hiking routes in order to explore and review gear we think should have a place in your packing list. A good example of this is the hiking boot alternative category as today we’re going to be walking through a quick Altra …

The last few times I’ve bought insulated jackets I’ve tended to go for real down. It’s warm, compressible, and it just felt like the ‘superior’ option versus artificial insulation. Fleeces aside, my only synthetically insulated jacket prior to buying the Rab Cirrus Flex was the very lightweight Arc’teryx Atom LT. However, on a trip to the Cairngorms a couple of …

Introduction The Garmin Fenix 6 is, essentially, Garmin’s top-of-the-range activity watch (with the debatable exception of the almost-identical Garmin Tactix Delta). It has ended up at the top of the food chain in almost every category: not only is it their most fully-featured hiking and navigation wearable but also one of their only watches with true multisport functionality for triathletes, …

Introduction PreTents is a new arrival on the tent scene, but with some serious pedigree behind it. Though information is currently fairly sparse online, the brand is a new venture between Hong Kong-based cottage outdoor gear designed Tara Poky and well-established Chinese tent manufacturer The Free Spirits. In the UK, PreTents can be purchased from Valley and Peak, who kindly …