Find below our complete guide to outdoor skills, well almost complete! We’re in the process of organising the content into more coherent sections.
YES! Despite our innate nature, Mud and Routes are becoming more organised!
As a starter for 10, here’s our Complete Introduction to Map Reading and Navigation Online Course.
One of the things that used to epitomise camping for me was an open fire. I didn’t own a stove during these first few years wild camping on the sea shore or nearby woods, using real fire to cook meat, heat up beans and warm the brews. Of course, this isn’t seen as sustainable these […]
Grilliput Camping BBQ grill and firebowl Review Read More »
With tents becoming so lightweight, it seems perverse to go out into the wilds with what’s basically a waterproof sleeping bag cover and with barely any weight benefit. Most of the cheaper ex-army type of bivvy bags are actually heavier than your typical 1kg lightweight tent. So why bother? Reducing the experience down to the
The Beauty of Bivvying Read More »
The GoGo Ex is the VW camper vans of tents. You may be able to get something larger, lighter and more modern but not anywhere near as cool or quirky. Lets start with the down sides. This is not a tent, but rather a huge bivvy. There’s not a lot of space inside and you
Nemo GoGo Ex Inflatable Bivi Tent Review Read More »
We awoke on the penultimate morning again to wonderfully sunny weather, just as we had the previous two mornings and was set to hold until the evening. The first few days had been tough, yet we’d only covered 30km taken at a leisurely pace. We had two days left in order to get to Glenfinnan
The Escape From Knoydart part 2 Read More »
Knoydart holds a place in most adventurous walker’s hearts, either as somewhere to reminisce about or to aspire to. It’s one of those places that should be near the top of your to do list, and still is on mine even if I’ve only just returned! Knoydart is a peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland, yet
The Escape From Knoydart Part 1 Read More »
You’ve already got into walking, wild camped a bit and know how to use a map and compass; you need another challenge. Walking one of the many long distance paths could be what you need this summer. Where to go? With so many options, this is probably the hardest part. You’ll nee to decide if
Your First Long Distance Footpath Read More »
What does GORP or SCROGGIN Mean? Gorp has many stories about where it got it’s name, but most commonly stated to be an acronym variously of Granola, Oats, Raisins ans Peanuts; Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. To ‘gorp’ is also an obscure term for eating greedily, so take your pick. Scroggin is similarly – sultanas, chocolate, raisins,
All you wanted to know about Scroggin but was afraid to ask Read More »
I think, even if it is a publicity stunt, that Vango appear to have won this one with their ‘Tent in Space’ video! Just try saying “Tent in Space” without sounding like it should fit into a Muppet’s episode. They don’t, however mention how one is meant to breathe during said camp…
Most Extreme Wild Camping Location? Read More »
You could argue that the real challenge in producing a lightweight tent is not in producing the lightest per se, but rather the lightest tent that’s useable in most conditions the UK will throw at it. Terra Nova have managed over the years to excel in both, with the world’s lightest double walled tent in
Classic Gear The Terra Nova Super Lite Voyager Tent Read More »
With the Knoydart trip fast approaching, it seem that almost everything is now in place. The route is our Escape from Knoydart route, no reason to change that now! The weather looks like we’ll get at least a few exceptionally fine days, but there will be rain, make no mistake. Getting there. The difficulty we
Planning for Knoydart Trip – Few days to go… Read More »
We recently stumbled across Fuizion freeze driedfoods, a brand that was new to us. On browsing their site, it becomes apparent from the photographs that this stuff stands apart from other freeze dries foods if only by being ridiculously photogenic. We couldn’t believe that this product could possibly look as good as the website makes out! We all
Fuizion Freeze Dried Meals Review Read More »
If the thought of summer nights spent out high on the summits is something you’re looking forward to then why not kip near a trig with a bivvy? Here are five of the best bivvy bags for under a ton. 1 – Alpkit Hunka – £30 and 420g. Available only online, this has to be the cheapest
5 Things Lightweight Budget Busting Bivvies Read More »
We were recently blessed by the om nom fairy and received a full box of lovely Look What We found pouches to review. We received free food, which always makes us happy, especially when it’s as good as this! If you’ve not seen these before, the Look What We found are a regular brand of
Look What We Found Pouches Read More »
There’s nothing new under the sun they say, but here’s at least one! Perfect coffee in a pouch. We’ve been in search of the perfect camping coffee since, well, since forever, and while we get closer we never quite get there. We got excited about the camping espresso maker by GSI, but were woefully disappointed
Grower’s Cup Coffee Review Read More »
If you want what’s definitely the cheapest and possibly the lightest camping stoves going, then you’re going to have to go for a ‘Pepsi’ can stove. Often called a pop can stove, usually Pepsi and never a Coca-Cola can stove despite the prevalence of the red can on most of the links later on. The adventurous can even
Pepsi Can Meths Stoves Read More »
Can I get kitted out and tackle Snowdon for under a £100 from the skin up? We take on the challenge – the only rules being that any thing I can’t buy can be made up from everyday clothing most people will have (e.g. pants) and that I’d be going as part of a group
Get Walking on a Budget – Under a Ton! Part 1 Read More »
If like me, you’d rather boil up some ‘wild raisins’ from next to the tent than suffer a brown liquid that purports to be ‘coffee’ from some sort of stick, then this might be an option. Rather than taking up any extra paraphenalia, all you need to make some almost proper Camping Coffee is a
How to Make Camping Coffee Read More »
If you’ve got a lightweight titanium pot or similar, then while they’re perfect for boiling water, if you try anything more adventurous you’ll soon find how easy they are to burn. I managed to carbonise popcorn on my MSR Titan Kettle, leaving it totally unusable. Soaking overnight in the sink didn’t have much of an effect,
Kit Care – Cleaning Your Titanium Pot Read More »
Pegs are hardly the most glamorous piece of kit, yet you know you’ll be totally stuffed without them. However, with the Candy Canes, Alpkit manage to produce the good looking supermodel of pegs. I know that they also do stick thin titanium pegs that having not a gram of anything else above and beyond the
Alpkit Candy Canes Tent Pegs Review Read More »
Why follow someone else’s idea when you can get out a set of maps and create your own?! We plan our Escape From Knoydart trip and show you how you can plan your own week long backpack. You’ll need: A week or so off work OS Maps at 1:25k and possibly 1:50k, or Harvey’s Mountain
How to plan your own Backpacking Trip Read More »
A small pack is all well and good for a day or two in the summer, but if you want to avoid the inevitable squeezing, pushing and forcing when trying to fit four or five days’ kit and supplies into a 35litre pack you’ll probably need to go larger. The Golite Pinnacle pack seeks to
Golite Pinnacle Pack Review Read More »
While Google has become synonymous with web search and Facebook with erosion of privacy, so have Platypus become a generic name it seems for all collapsible water bottles. I used platys for years and still have more than a few in regular use, but when my main 2l platy gave up the ghost after five
Source Liquitainer 2 litre Review Read More »
We all know the merits of the tent, stove, sleeping bag and all the big kit, but there’s that unappreciated group of kit that’s universally ignored. These are those little bits of kit that we maybe take for granted or don’t even realise can be useful. Here’s, for once, our five undervalued and ignored bits
5 Things Unappreciated Back Packing Kit Read More »
One boot in the stinky stuff and one in the aqueous new stuff and a couple of 100km later how did they compare? Nikwax have decided that the only real wax they sell is to be discontinued! We’ve never been overly impressed by their aqueous wax. Ideal for the organised walker who loves nothing more
Nikwax Boot Wax Head to Head Read More »
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