Posts filed under 'Reviews'
April 8th, 2007
I’ve been pondering for a while over buying a new jacket, and i was browsing around Cheshire Oaks, when i found a nice lightweight jacket, unfortunately i gave in. And i think it was the best purchase i have made for a long long long time.
First things first, its a 5in1 jacket, ie 1 – body warmer, 2 – body warmer with windproof layer, 3 – windproof body layer, 4 – windproof jacket, and last but not least 5 – windproof jacket with a thermal body liner.
Designed for biking this jacket comes with a pack away pouch, and some quick release mounts for your bike, so you can attach it to the frame of your bike. I think its a really good feature and means you can easily take it with you.
I’ve used this in windy, rainy, bright weather and every time it has been fantastic, I tend to use it with a wicking base layer, and a micro fleece if it is cold when i’m walking, but due to its light weight and very high breath-ability it always just right.
If it does get too warm there is always the option of taking the sleeves off to make it that bit cooler.
For walking, biking, anything, this jacket seems to do it all, i picked it up for about £100 and its worth every penny. Especially because it works in cold miserable conditions but is definitely small enough to fit in the smallest of day sacks, as a back up during hot conditions.
If i could describe it in one phrase, “versatile enough to use winter to summer and great value”
March 25th, 2007
During the Outdoor Show i had a play with a few GPS devices, with the entry level Garmin eTrek & GPS60 appearing the best combination of value and features. I ended up spending the extra money and bought the GPS60 because i found it much more versatile & it had an extended battery life (28hrs). The USB cable is standard with the box, along with the Trip and Waypoint manager, belt clip and hand strap, i also got a Garmin neoprene case & how to use GPS book free as a bundle offer at the show.
I found this more versatile due to more easy to use buttons and a customisable display which can show upto 8 Data Fields from a selection of over 30 trip details. Although it isn’t one of the all singing all dancing GPS units it does exactly what i want, which is to record the track & give us bearing and map location if we ever needed it, and to be rugged enough to sustain the odd drop & be atleast splash proof. Mainly because i would rather use a map to navigate than the GPS itself.
Well down to the proper test, we used it on ‘Patterdale to Fairfield, Helvellyn & Swirral Edge‘ walk, and it did exactly what we wanted. Compared to Nige’s Magellan eXplorist the interface was very fast and just as easy to use, when we got used to it.
The belt clip which comes in the box works out really well clipped to the shoulder strap of a rucksack and i found if you used the hand strap to secure it the was enough maneuverability to use the GPS safe in the knowledge it wont fall down a cliff.
As expected the Garmin interfaces easily with Memory Map, with all the expected features, also there are are plenty of accessories available for attaching to bikes etc which make this unit quite versatile.
All in all i really like this GPS, and prefer it to Nige’s, but its horses for courses, and in the words of some bloke at the Outdoor Show, ‘I’ts like trying to suggest a car, what suits me wont suit everyone else’. If you want entry level GPS for around £150 i can recommend this unit.
March 25th, 2007
Outdoors Show bargain, Montane Terra Pants under £50, Nige & Martin & almost eveyone else we know swears by Montane gear. So i decided to join the band wagon.
Only used them once so far but, excellent! Well made, look like they will be pretty hard wearing and the ventling down the sides really helps you self regulate your temperature…. A really good piece of kit.
A short review, but how many times can you say excellent!
January 4th, 2007
It’s been a while since we’ve put a post up, but its a new year so new resolutions!
Well just before new year myself and nige headed down to the snowdome in castleford for a bit of skiin. Nige had never done it before so he had 3hrs of lessons.
I must admit i was surprised at the slope as it was much better and more realistic than i thought it would be, but unfortunately it was pretty chocker.
Nige was starting to link turns like a pro by the end of the morning, and you never know i may be able to convince him to come skiin for real some time soon
My only tip would be to book in advance as it seems a bit cheaper, it was £31 for 2hrs, or £71 for 3hrs of lessons, kit included.
October 9th, 2006
The AlpKit Indigo is a basic and cheap head torch – it sells direct from AlpKit for £5 including delivery.It has 4 LEDs, which can be used on 2 modes – 2 LEDS give 80h of use and 4 give 40h of use. It runs off 3*AAA batteries located in a holder at the back of the strap.
The quality is pretty good, its solid enough and if you tilt the head down full, the on off button cannot be activated, stopping this from accidental turn ons. Nothings broken or worn out, but only a year of abuse will tell the full story. The wieght with batteries is 113g – so its ideal to carry as a backup or just for peace of mind.
Performance is acceptable – not as good as a Petzl Tikka, but enough to walk by and certainly good enough for round camp. I have one in the car now for general use – at this price its a very good deal.
You can only buy this direct from AlpKit – here.