Camping
29th Sep 2022 Alpkit Elan Bivvy Bag / Tent
I've had a bivvy bag of some description since I was a teenager. My first trips were with orange survival bags which invariably ended up full of holes as they doubled as awesome sledges! I was...
24th Feb 2021 Gibbon Slackline
I've had a few slack lines over the years. The early ones were simply lengths of webbing that we would tension between two anchors using pulley systems and karabiners. There was always a...
30th Oct 2018 Thermarest Questar Sleeping Bag
It may come as a surprise to learn that Therm-a-rest don't only make sleeping mattresses. So successful has their brand awareness campaign for what is generally seen as the original mattresses,...
18th Apr 2018 Platypus Water Filter - Gravity Works 2l Complete Kit
Last summer we found ourselves in California visiting friends. During the trip we spent some time in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a stunningly beautiful area crammed full of rivers and lakes....
22nd Sep 2017 Kitchen Sink - Sea To Summit
A very handy addition to our camping kit. It's been used for water carrying, washing up, crabbing, muscle filtration (of the shellfish variety!), water collection, and as a shopping bag! It...
21st Sep 2017 Ordos 2 Lightweight Tent - Alpkit
Lightweight tents have been around for some time. Driven by two-day mountain marathon events where pairs of competitors race in teams carrying all of their kit and food weight became paramount...
31st Jul 2017 Ruffwear Kibble Kaddie
Of all the things I never thought I would end up reviewing this has to be high on the list. But it's actually very good! Essentially it's a durable bag for keeping dog food in whilst on the go....
27th Jul 2017 Concertina Wind Shield from Alpkit
With the foil shield that came with my stove finally biting the dust it was time to get a replacement. The Concertina weighs a little more than a plain foil option, but is clearly superior in...
11th Jul 2017 Alpkit Lampray Light
LEDs are well and truly immersed into the lighting market now so it is no surprise that Alpkit have done what they usually do - take a look at the other stuff out there and design something...
4th Jul 2017 MSR Flex 3 System - Cookware
MSR have a certain genius for designing clever kit. The Flex Systems are essentially nesting sets of cooking pans, plates / bowls, and cups. I'd intended to get the Flex 4 System as we are a...
26th Jun 2017 X-Pan 21 - Sea To Summit
Another well designed bit of kit from Sea To Summit, but it comes at a price. At 21cm (8 inches) this is a pan suitable for cooking, say, a breakfast for 2, or pancakes, or frying up some veg...
22nd Jun 2017 Type-2 Holidaying - Loch Hourn Sea Kayaking
I'm sitting here at my desk whilst rain literally lashes the window. It's Tuesday evening, nearly 72 hours since we arrived home from out half term holiday. I'm tired, my hands are sore with...
21st Jun 2017 Sea To Summit X-Pot 4l
On our honeymoon in India many years ago my wife and I spent a memorable couple of hours in a hot and dusty market somewhere in Rajasthan buying a set of aluminium cooking pots which we have...
16th Jun 2017 Mashk Portable Camping Sink from Alpkit
On a recent sea kayaking trip to Loch Hourn we took a couple of these sinks with us. They are awesome. Long handles mean that they are easy to carry, even when full of dishes. Having two...
15th Jun 2017 Sea To Summit Folding Bucket 10l
Folding kitchenware has been around for years, but it has come of age more recently with a whole host of materials and designs giving rise to some very useful and helpful products. The Sea To...
13th Jun 2017 Landar Camping Stove - Alpkit
We headed to Scotland for half term, a large group of is with plans to cook together. Last year's trip had seen a vital component of our main stove forgotten at home so we had to make do with a...
4th Apr 2017 Lightweight Folding Chair - Mountain Warehouse
I love the fact that a piece of kit seems to have run its development course, and arrived at something that can't really be bettered, and then some bright spark has an idea. Sometimes these...
11th Oct 2016 Thermarest - NeoAir Dream
Probably the best testament to the comfort of this mattress came on the day it arrived. We had some friends visiting and the subject of sleep came up. I'd pumped up the mattress when it...
29th Sep 2016 Sea To Summit UltraLight Mattress
Sleeping mattresses seem to be getting smaller and smaller. This one from Sea To Summit is a teeny 7.5cm by 17cm when rolled up and weighs in at just 395g. That's seriously small and...
12th Jul 2016 Salewa Fusion Hybrid -8 Sleeping Bag
I was after a sleeping bag for comfortable nights in the UK that packs down small, doesn’t weigh much, and is warm. The Fusion Hybrid concept is basically a 50 / 50 mix of down and synthetic...
20th Jun 2016 Berghaus Expedition Light 80 Rucksack
I remember the days as a teenager, hefting stuff around on overnight camping trips in Scotland, Wales, Spain and even Greenland. There was a fair amount of stuff to carry - sleeping bag, foam...
12th May 2016 Salewa Alpine Hut III + III Family Tent
Our beloved Vango Equinox family tent has finally given up the ghost so we needed to replace it. Sadly Vango have discontinued the Equinox so I began to look around. An hour spent perusing the...
27th Nov 2015 Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mattress
Retailing at £35 this inflatable sleeping mattress from Alpkit epitomizes the company's approach to outdoor kit. It weighs 454g and at 180cm is long enough for most adults. It's the last of four...
13th Oct 2015 Alpkit Brukit Stove & Billy System
Alpkit Brukit Review I already own a number of stoves so felt a little indulgent getting this one, but a) it's inexpensive, and b) it fills a very useful gap. Retailing at £35 for both the...
29th Sep 2015 Nikwax Tent & Gear Solarproof
A couple of months ago I too our old Quasar tent out of storage and used it for a night as we needed an extra tent. Nostalgic soon turned to frustration though as the twenty year old material did...
23rd Sep 2015 VauDe Power Lizard Lightweight Tent
VauDe Power Lizard Review Before starting on the review I have to say that I love the name. Power Lizard! Tents seem to have a long history of cool names. Perhaps it's a factor of them having...
30th Jun 2015 LED Lenser NEO Headtorch
This isn't a torch to run or cycle with, but it's one I often take running and cycling, as well as camping, and most other occasions when I know a torch is going to come in handy. Why? Because...
5th May 2015 Xsories Sneaker Bank
It's clearly becoming ever more important to have a power source with us as a back up charger for your phone, camera, watch or any one of dozens of other electronic devices that accompany us in...
15th Apr 2015 Life Of A Tent
Not exactly a Blog post in its own right, but a pointer to an entirely new Blog called Life Of A Tent that I created yesterday to follow the life of one of our tents, reviewed here last year.
7th Nov 2014 Coleman CPX 6 quad Camping Lantern
Introduction Every now and then somebody invents something quite clever and this is one of those things. Essentially it's a large camping lantern that will light a table, cooking area or tent...
16th Oct 2014 Quickhiker Ultralight 4 Tent - Decathlon
Introduction It came as something of a surprise to discover that very few tent manufacturers make a lightweight 4 person tent. I discovered this ahead of a recent cycle touring trip to Denmark....