Showing posts with label Dry Tooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dry Tooling. Show all posts

Thursday 30 June 2016

So you want cheap* gear....

*Cheap (adjective) costing little money or less than is usual or expected
The gear that we require for alpine climbing and backcountry skiing is expensive. But does it need to be? Before I go into detail and suggesting ways in which you can save money on your next purchase, take a minute to really decide whether you need to buy it in the first place. That is the first step in saving money: Here are 11 more...

Sunday 11 January 2015

It won't make you climb harder...

Rocking the 'look' on the Grands Montets
May 1953: I'm walking in my brand new, thin, windproof jacket and trousers, made of cotton and Nylon. Underneath I have a combination of  light weight and heavy weight woollen jumpers and a hand knitted scarf made by my sister.

Fast forward to the late 1970s/early 80s and my choice of clothing today is my brand new polartec fleece, Rohan salopettes and 2nd generation Gore Tex.

And finally, we fast forward to today, 2015. I'm about to head outside, clothed in my new Hybrid base layer of Merino wool and synthetic material. On top of that, the latest synthetic mid layer that claims 'put it on, leave it on'. It's a little bit windy so I'll throw on my new Polartec Neoshell hardshell, or shall I put on my new softshell? I might have to open the pit zips if I get too warm. Actually, come to think about it, I think my mid layer might be too warm, so I'll put on the lighter gillet instead, down or synthetic? Or what about my fleece? Ahh but what if it gets a bit colder while I'm out? I'll throw my new, sub 300g down jacket with hydrophobic down, in a pack. Hmm, actually, the forecast says slight chance of rain, best play it safe and throw in my equivalent synthetic 'belay' jacket in too. While I'm at it, I'll chuck on my hardshell, full length zips and drop seat salopettes that I used on Denali...



...Right, where's the dog?