The cottage industry brands make gear to order in their own workshops. Photo: Leigh Hopkinson

Lighter made locally

Features, Wild Gear

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Leigh Hopkinson

Leigh is our deputy editor. She spends weekends in the hills and weekdays as a journalist and editor.

By Leigh Hopkinson

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February 2024

View more by author

Leigh Hopkinson

Leigh is our deputy editor. She spends weekends in the hills and weekdays as a journalist and editor.

By Leigh Hopkinson

Debra and Cody Howell move fast. They met on day two of the Appalachian Trail; 143 days later they were still together. “Speed dating,” Debra called it. She’s an experienced ultralight hiker and lifelong sewer, who had walked Te Araroa and the Pacific Crest Trail and made her own gear. Cody was so impressed by […]

About the author

Leigh Hopkinson

Wilderness deputy editor Leigh Hopkinson spends the weekends in the hills with her whānau and weekdays as a journalist and editor. She has a Graduate Diploma of Journalism from the University of Canterbury. A keen tramper, rock climber and newbie mountaineer, she has written for magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Tasman. She’s originally from the West Coast and now lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch.