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Gear & Far | Testing Kit In The Welsh Outdoors

Our colleagues at Outdoors Magic have been busy trying out gear in Snowdonia

Our colleagues over at Outdoors Magic have just returned from a fortnight-long trip to that wild northwestern corner of Wales, a trip with the principle aim of testing gear for their huge annual product guide. 100 items were put to the sword. Everything from tents and sleeping bags to waterproof jackets and base layers, each one assessed over a period that saw switches between blistering sunshine and blizzards. 

A few bits of kit apparently stood out from the rest. We’ll let their editor Will Renwick run you through them…

Eryri, or to use its English name, Snowdonia: a place where craggy, tightly-clustered mountains perch alongside the Irish Sea, all at the mercy of the mischievous weather often funneled up from the Atlantic. A place that’s useful for discovering thresholds and limitations – for body and soul, certainly, but for gear too. 

Leki MCT 12 Vario Carbon Poles

Credit: Chris Johnson

At 400g a pair, these are as light as poles get – certainly as light as folding ones get anyway. It’s the clever attachable gloves that really impressed us, especially when using these for trail and mountain running. It allows a technique, similar to nordic skiing, where you can swing the poles in a rhythmical and fluid way and without having to grip them tightly, ultimately fostering speed, better balance and greater energy efficiency as well.

Read the full review here

Aku Alterra Hiking Boots

Credit: Chris Johnson

The Elica technology Aku have used in the sole unit of this three-season hiking boot really is quite remarkable. It makes for a fit and stride that feels quite different to other boots – and for all the right reasons. The result of years of R&D by Aku working in conjunction with university laboratories, this tech is focussed around minute biomechanics that create a natural rolling motion, bringing shock absorption and extra cushioning in specific places to ultimately reduce skeletal impact overall.

Plenty of other aspects to like about the Alterras too, including the waterproof and breathable membrane Gore-tex membrane, grippy Vibram Octopus sole and the quality leather upper which brings an almost sock-like fit.

Read the full review here

Fjallraven Trekking Collection

Credit: Chris Johnson

Planning a long-distance walk this year? Fjallraven would be a good brand to turn to for trekking kit. Their Abisko Lite Trekking Jacket, which is made using their eco-friendly and water and wind resistant G-1000 Lite Eco fabric, certainly came in handy in the mixed conditions we had exploring Snowdonia’s Moelwynion range in May. The Keb trousers, also pictured here, were equally impressive, with durable but comfortable fabrics and excellent ventilation options too. There’s something about the cut and fit of Fjallraven clothing that we really love at Outdoors Magic.

Read the full review here

Hanwag Banks Collection

Credit: Chris Johnson

With its GORE-TEX membrane, ethically-produced leather that’s free from eco-hazardous chemicals, and Vibram Endurance Pro sole, there are plenty of quality design aspects used across the Banks range. What really elevates it for us however, is the options you get fit-wise. There’s essentially a Banks boot for every foot shape, including those with particularly wide or narrow feet. People with bunions are also catered for.

Read the full review here

Helly Hansen Verglas Infinity Shell

Credit: Chris Johnson

This technical jacket uses Helly Hansen’s extremely eco friendly and durable Lifa Infinity three-layer system, with a breathable and waterproof membrane constructed without the use of any hazardous chemicals and then a face fabric made from recycled materials and with a water repellent treatment that’s totally free from PFCs. 

In terms of features, you’ve got two huge chest pockets that sit high above the hips so you can still access them while wearing a climbing harness or backpack hipbelt. There are adjustable cuffs, zips for ventilation at the armpits and the hood is helmet friendly.

Read the full review here

Keela Talus Jacket

Credit: Chris Johnson

With 60gsm of PrimaLoft Gold synthetic insulation and a total weight of 600g, this is one of those warm and cosy jackets that’s certainly light enough to be carried in a backpack without being a burden. In the warmer months, it’ll be a particularly good option to have for those evenings at camp and it’ll serve well as part of a layering system when winter comes round. 

In case you’re not familiar with PrimaLoft Gold fill, it’s a partially recycled material that’s light and lofty like down. Unlike down however, it’s able to provide insulation even when it gets wet. It’s all housed within a surprisingly tough fabric as well, one that uses Cordura ripstop threads. Not bad at all for a jacket that costs a very reasonable £140.

Read the full review here

Haglofs L.I.M Collection

Credit: Chris Johnson

L.I.M – that means less is more. This head-to-toe range by Swedish brand Haglofs is designed for those journeys where you want to go fast and light. The key item, or at least the one that stood out the most to the Outdoors Magic team during our testing, is the lightweight L.I.M GTX Jacket. This features Gore-Tex Paclite Plus waterproof technology, a two layer system involving a breathable membrane that’s glued to a thin but durable outer fabric. There’s no heavy backer material on the inside, with an abrasion resistant coating featured instead, and that means this comes in at the light weight of just 230g.

Read the full review here

Polartec Power Grid

This item we’ve chosen to include isn’t a product per se, it’s actually a fabric and a rather good one at that (especially when it’s featured in baselayers).  

Polartec’s Power Grid fabrics use a patented grid construction which brings numerous benefits. First of all, it has amazing thermal efficiency, keeping you warm without the need for masses of bulky fibres. It’s also got a nice stretchiness to it, bringing a close comfortable fit. 

Then there’s the wicking ability. Power Grid features a bi-component knit with hydrophilic yarns on the next-to-the-skin side. When you start to sweat, these yarns will draw the moisture off the skin and push it to the outside of the fabric before spreading it out so thinly that it’s able to evaporate quickly and easily.  

Keep an eye out for that Polartec label when you’re shopping around. Super impressive stuff.

Read the full review here

Lowe Alpine Cholatse Backpack

Credit: Chris Johnson

The Lowe Alpine Cholatse is one of those incredibly versatile packs; the kind of thing that’s adaptable enough to suit anything from summer multi-day treks right through to winter walks where technical kit’s required for safety. You’ll be able to store a helmet on its front for instance, then there’s an ice axe head locker as well. Other useful details include tip grips for trekking poles, a rain cover stashed at the base and glove-friendly zipper tabs.

The back system and harness work excellently, with a sliding back panel that allows you to refine the fit quickly and with zero faff, comfy foam padding throughout and then a slightly raised trampoline mesh for breathability.

Read the full review here

Kelty Rumpus 6 Tent

Credit: Chris Johnson

This is a good value and zero faff tent that, from what we’ve seen, makes a great basecamp for summer trips with your friends. Putting it up and packing it away is all incredibly easy and quick, it’s got a lovely covered porch space that you can park up a few camping chairs inside when there’s rain, and there’s bucket loads of sleeping, standing and storage space. Granted, it’s nothing too technical but we all kind of like that about it.

It’s worth checking out the vast collection of accessories and equipment that Kelty has to offer as well. These guys know how to do camping in style.

Read the full review here

Platypus Quickdraw Filter

Credit: Chris Johnson

If you want to lighten your backpacking load, one of the first things to do is to get yourself a decent water filter. At just 101g, the new Platypus Quickdraw is just about as compact and lightweight as they come. This thing’s capable of filtering up to three litres a minute or a litre in 20 seconds, safely removing any nasty stuff like bacteria or protozoa and it’s easy to keep clean too.  The big advantage, in our eyes, is you don’t have to laboriously suck on it or use a pump in order to draw water – just squeeze the bottle and you’ll get a nice, steady flow.

Read the full review here

The North Face L6 Cloud Down Jacket

Credit: Chris Johnson

780 grams, 800 fill power and a Futurelight membrane on the arms and shoulders for waterproof protection; this jacket is designed to be worn explicitly in cold climates, whether that’s standing around on frozen belay ledges in Rjukan, battling jet-stream fuelled storms in the Scottish Highlands, or bagging airy alpine summits.

What’s particularly interesting about it is that its baffles are all fused together at the seams, and that means greater thermal efficiency and very little chance of any of that precious down fill escaping. This was the jacket our team were all fighting over on the colder days during our test trip to Snowdonia.

Read the full review here

CimAlp Performance 3F Hardshell

Credit: Chris Johnson

We found lots to like about this practical and versatile waterproof, especially given its reasonable price (the RRP is £191.58 but it’s available for £115 at the time of writing). Its construction is commendably eco-friendly, employing organic dyeing, bluesign-certified manufacturing and a PFC-free DWR Teflon EcoElite treatment derived from renewable resources. The 3-layer fabric is very comfortable, with a pleasant next-to-skin feel and it’s well-made and finished nicely. At 530g, it’s fairly light for a 3-layer jacket; particularly when you consider how durable it is. 

Read the full review here

Nikwax Sweatproofing

Credit: Chris Johnson

Normal washing detergents can be pretty bad for baselayers made from synthetic fabrics as they can install hydrophobic properties into the yarns, in turn damaging the wicking potential. From what we’ve discovered at Outdoors Magic, to avoid this problem it’s well worth giving Nikwax’s BaseWash and BaseFresh solutions a try. Used together, these will gently lift out any dirt and body oils from fabrics, remove smelly bacteria instead of simply masking it (which normal detergents can be guilty of) and they’ll freshen things up so that sweat gets lifted off your skin and pushed into the atmosphere super quickly. The two solutions can be used with your normal laundry load and, best of all, they’re eco-friendly – even the bottles are made from recycled and recyclable materials.

Read the full review here

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For more from our Wales Issue 

Check out this year’s Outdoor 100 here.

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