Gear

As a member of TGO’s gear reviewing team, I’ve tested my fair share of outdoor gear over the years. I am usually on the judging panel for the yearly TGO Gear Awards. On this page you’ll find gear lists and a selection of some of my more relevant reviews.

For gear skills articles, see my Skills index.

Gear lists

Gear lists are included from 2015 onwards, which is when I started paying attention to pack weight.

• The gear that I would have taken on the 2020 TGO Challenge
• Haute Route Pyrenees 2019
• Winter Cape Wrath Trail, 2019
• Mercantour Traverse, 2018
• Norway, 2017 (my first ever ultralight-ish trip, 200-mile Jotunheimstien)
• Scotland, 2017
• Pyrenees, 2016
• Scotland, 2016 (West Highland Way, Alder Trail, Skye Trail)
• Tour of Monte Rosa, 2015
• The Cape Wrath Trail, 2015

Reviews

• GPS watches: 8 of the best reviewed – GPS watches for outdoor use
• Thrunotes — waterproof hiking notebooks
• Therm-a-Rest Vela 20F – a lightweight quilt for couples
• Jack Wolfskin Wilderness Peak Texapore Mid – great winter boots
• KEEN Venture Mid Leather WP – flexible leather boots with durability issues
• OMM Halo Pants – excellent ultralight overtrousers
• Exped Synmat UL Winter M – a very good, very comfortable inflatable mat for winter
• Exped Thunder 70 – a good pack, but not flawless
• OMM Rotor Vest – a versatile layering piece for cold conditions
• Suunto 9 Baro – my outdoor smart watch of choice
• Garmin Fenix 5 Plus – a feature-packed smart watch
• Bridgedale StormSocks – great calf-length waterproof socks
• Outdoor Research Interstellar Jacket – a great lightweight jacket, but not quite ideal for 4-season use
• AKU Superalp GTX – I’m not a boot person, but these are great boots
• As Tucas Sestrals Quilt – a wonderfully simple piece of ultralight gear; my top item for 2017
• Alpkit Ibex pack – great for climbing and alpinism, but not optimised for backpacking
• OS Aventura GPS – a flawed GPS handset with some redeeming qualities
• Scarpa Marmolada Pro OD – good and fairly lightweight winter-ready boots
• Long-term review: Alpkit Gourdon 20 waterproof pack – tested to destruction
• The ÜLA CDT ultralight pack – good but flawed
• 14 months with the MLD Trailstar – the best tarp for British lightweight backpacking
• Fujifilm X70 review – one of the best high-quality compact cameras for ultralight backpacking
• Follow-up Trailpix tripod review – why this ultralight tripod isn’t worth your time (original hands-on review here)
• Lightwave t10 Raid – a bombproof four-season mountain tent
• The Speedster Stove – an ultralight, ultra-cheap and ultra-good alcohol stove
• Grivel G1 New Classic crampons – great for backpackers who need real steel spikes
• Ordnance Survey print-on-demand mapping – a first look at a great web service for UK walkers
• Merrell All Out Peak trail shoes – great shoes, but they don’t last
• Mountain Weather UK – the best smartphone app for UK mountain weather foreacsts