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I bought a used (distressed?) Austrian Army Alpine Goretex jacket in olive green. It is excellent. The hood is particularly good.

That's really good. I have a Marbles Camp Cleaver that is similar, but probably inferior steel.

I was given these kitchen knives. As they were surprlus to kitchen requirements, I decided to modify them a bit for bush/garden/workshop use. Marked-out, then I used a Dremel with a cutting disc, the bench grinder, a selection of sharpening stones and a leather strop. The bigger one needs a...

Thanks. I'm very pleased with the colour. I wasn't sure if there would be enough dye, but it is dark and mostly very even. It was called "Acid Milling Dye 25g Packet for Wool/Silk/Nylon/Feathers" in Dark Brown.

Thanks all. The actual making was easier than expected. The setting out and marking up took about an hour. The stitching took a day, on and off, midday until about 1am. The dyeing (in a big cooking pot borrowed from the Scout hut) , after washing, took about 2.5 hours of careful following of...

I like wearing wool and I finally got around to making a blanket shirt due to having Covid over New Year. I watched a couple of Youtube videos for sizing and for ideas for features (gussets under the arm pits and across the neck opening are useful) I had a qood quality old wool blanket -albeit...

M&S (yes really) cargo shorts (various lengths and materials) are pretty good. There are usually a few on Ebay. The only weak point is that the waist pocket materials aren't very tough against pointy objects, but probably the same as most shorts.

I have a pair of the Lowa mountain boots. Very well-made. I don't wear them that often (I wore them on my motorbike sometimes and wear them for now rare winter mountain trips) but whenever I do wear them they rub on the inner side of my heel area on each foot very badly. I'm not sure why. I've...

It's all about conditioning. Don't over-do it at first. Nowadays I wear low/zero drop shoes with low/minimal/zero cushioning for all activities (other than my wellies). My feet are much stronger and less "flat" than they were. I also run on my fore/mid-foot, not heel striking. This took some...

The 5.11 are a typical 'American fit', which suits me well, although I'm not a big chap.

The Helikon SFU wouldn't fit over my thighs. 5.11 trousers do, as do other US brands. I'm not fat, but more of a (lean, cyclist and former rugby player) 'comfort fit' chap than 'skinny'.

I really like the 5.11 trousers, although the backside wore out on my coyote cotton (TDU?) ones after 3 years of (non-work, non-heavy-duty home) wear. The lighter weight Wrangler ones from a US Walmart lasted longer.

I bought a pair of Lowa Mountain boots a couple of years ago. They are excellent boots. I think that they may have changed the sole for a grippier version at some point in the past, becasue the grip on wet rock and wet tarmac is good.

Lots of spare time (and the money to pay for it)

For long-johns, I've found synthetic ones to be the best.

Jeans don't have useful pockets. Skinny show your bum cut are no good for me either.

Me too. Helikons don't fit me at all.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of moleskins. I had a pair many years ago and, on reflection, they were really good.

The 5.11s are excellent. The Helikons wouldn't go over my thighs!

I have an acrylic + Thinsulate 'beanie' hat that i bought for £5 from an outdoor clothing fair in a village hall near Barnard Castle or Kirby Stephen in the mid '90s. The insulation feels quite substantial and there is knitted acrylic inside and out. The 'overlap' of 'brim' material is quite...