At a glance Plusses: Warmth to weight ratio, hydrophobic down, great design, storm-ready hood, active fit Minuses: Hood drawcords have to be tucked away, expensive, taller people may prefer a longer torso...
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At a glance Plusses: Highly breathable, lightweight, comfortable. Minuses: Narrow opening makes them difficult to get on Features: Waterproof 2mm nubuck leather uppers combined with a mesh textile and Gore-Tex lining provide a light (1304g -m; 1032g...
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At a glance Plusses: Numerous features, environmentally-friendly design, hard-wearing, fully adjustable and very comfortable. Minusses: Heavy and expensive Features: The Kajka is built like an old-school pack but loaded with all…
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At a glance Plusses: Will insulate when wet, lightweight, packability and price. Minuses: Limited seasonal use. Features: Small and light enough (550g) to take almost anywhere, the synthetic filled Space Cowboy packs away like a...
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At a glance Plusses: Warmth to weight ratio, hydrophobic down, great design, storm-ready hood, active fit Minuses: Hood drawcords have to be tucked away, expensive, taller people may prefer a longer torso...
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The guff: Four-season, 1980g (max)/1640g (trail), 2.69m2, vestibules 1.62m2 The Access 2 is a two-person dome tent designed for all year around use. It’s streamlined and well constructed. The freestanding…
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The Actik is Petzl’s latest offering. The light is a hybrid and can run on AAA batteries or be used with a ‘Core’ lithium ion battery ($59, sold separately).…
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Features: At 365g, the Synmat HL is the lightest full-length insulated mat on the market. The tapered design and 20 denier nylon fabric reduce weight without sacrificing durability and…
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Biotite’s wood burning stove comes in two parts, the stove and a fan/USB charger. The USB port can be used to charge your cell phone or power a USB light....
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$129.99 MSR’s Trailshot MicroFilter is a simple, lightweight water filter. It is small enough to fit into a jacket pocket and at 153g, it’s almost feather light. In fact,…
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At a glance – Plusses: Well-fitting, tidy and flexible trousers, suitable for a broad range of activities. Comfortable with good ventilation options, functional pockets, and excellent boot closure system.…
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The Hillsound Trail Crampon Pro is a minimalist 10-point crampon designed for walking on easy, low gradient frozen surfaces. Lightweight (672g), these semi-flexible crampons come with an easy-to-use binding…
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Like its namesake, the Merlin is a wizard: it’s a reliable, basic walking axe that’s a reasonable weight (500g/65cm incl. leash) and still performs well in basic alpine situations. A...
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If The North Face Warm Zip Neck is a modern take on baselayers, the Kailash is a more traditional variety. It has a long, below-the-waist cut, thumb loops and…
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This is Tomtom’s signature GPS watch, with features tailored for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, swimming and mountain biking. It records your heart rate, speed, ascent and descent, as well as…
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Deejo knives come in three weights – 15g, 27g and 37g – and are designed to be carried in your pocket, anywhere and everywhere. Wilderness tested the 37g juniper wood...
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In testing Bushnell’s M Series, I discovered looking through a good pair of binoculars is a delight. I used them throughout the summer to spy birds in the bush,…
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This is a sturdy all leather backcountry boot, fit for tramping rough terrain while offering the type of stability one comes to expect from a high-cut tramping boot with…
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Released to mark Lowe Alpine’s 50th anniversary, the Ascent Superlight 30 is an innovation in lightweight alpine day packs. With a single compartment accessed via a top zip and…
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This is Memory-Map’s newest GPS software, allowing users to view topo maps on map-capable Garmin GPS units. While it’s not the cheapest product of its kind, it includes a…
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At a glance Plusses: Good size, stable, durable for years of use. Minuses: Not an option for camping. Features: Best known for their hard-wearing packs and ‘free-standing’ pants, Cactus has added a hammock…
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Helinox poles are not available directly in new Zealand – the Australian manufacturer ships them over on an order-by-order basis – so while I had heard of them, I had...
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COLD BEER in the backcountry is something you can expect to find in the luxury accommodation of the European Alps, but New Zealand? Not so much. Stanley’s 1.9-litre Growler might solve...
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Protecting Paradise 1080 and the fight to save New Zealand’s wildlife By Dave Hansford $34.99, Potton & Burton It’s interesting that books, or films, even peer-reviewed scientific papers, that promote...
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