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Now THIS is a day pack: Made for the some of the world's toughest, hard-as-nails, manly, gnarly, fighters. Give me 50 quid and I'll get you one. By comparison, here's a Tesco school rucksack: Or have I got confused?

Nikwax Waterproofing Wax For Leather Cream. How does it compare for performance with the 'Aqueous' stuff that mostly runs straight off? Does it leave a very waxy residue like the original Nikwax?

I went for a walk on the moors on Sunday with my wife and our 9 month-old daughter (wearing many layers, covered in an all-in-one suit, bobble hat, wrapped in a fleece blanket and sheltered by sitting a backpack). I've various clothes to choose from and decided to go with a fairly unusual mix...

My wife is after a light jacket that will keep a bit of rain off, but "doesn't look like a walking coat when I'm at the shops and is a nice colour". For some reason she doesn't fancy a DPM Goretex. I've suggested a Paramo Fuera, although it might look a bit too utilitarian for her (It...

The first field test: Walking a mile at -5DegC and wearing the same jumper underneath as last week, there was a noticeable feeling of warmth inside the jacket this morning that there hasn't been in recent weeks. Having removed the jacket and putting my hand inside the linings, there felt to...

Although it might have been useful last week in the cold, I've just modified my replica M65. I took a pseudo-fleece & pile jacket that has seen better days and cut out the body part of the inner to make a sort of waistcoat. I then removed the M65 inner and placed the pile inner into the M65...

I've a REPLICA M65 that I have worn as a general day-to-day coat and on walks in the woods for the 40 or so weeks of the year that a coat is required in NW England. In cold weather I fit the liner which is a sort of quilted polyester(?) effort. It has been warm enough through the recent cold...

I had a couple of pairs of those a few years ago. They were very warm, quite waterproof and I wish I could find them -last thing I knew, they were in my folks' loft.

I'd love to have a browse around Endicotts. Such a pity that it is 245 miles away.

It took me about an hour of fiddling, but I eventually got my leather motorbike jacket cuff zlideon on. With another 10 minutes or so of fiddling I got the pocket zip one on. I wonder how long they'll last?..... Leather jackets are very awkward to work with!

Ray Mears presented a corporate safety/project management video for my employer. It wasn't particularly interesting.

M65 Jackets are good, but they could do with a better hood. I proofed mine with Nikwax and it is still beading water a year on, alhtough I've not worn it in a down-pour. If I did it again, I'd have used Fabsil on the shoulders for better proofing before using the Nikwax for the whole jacket.

I'd have one of those if I didn't already more jackets than you could shake a stick at...

What does the toe-cap area look like on the Brashers after a lot of use? Does sharp rock/scree take lumps out of it? Heavier duty boots and a lot of the canvas/suede one have reinforcement at that point.

It was the same just down the road in Altrincham this morning. I wore my Nikwaxed black M65 replica (presentable enough for the office) and it kept the moderate rain off nicely. I just wish that the poly-cotton was a Slightly tighter weave and that the hood was better -although that what my...

Having found that 'cordura, suede & goretex' boots are just not tough enough for the sort of walking I like (scree, rocks & scrambling) I'm interested in replacing them with a leather pair. I already have a pair of Scarpa Manta for winter walking and a pair of Scarpa Vega from my ice...

If any of you have been to New England in the US, you'll know that there are a lot of broad-leaved trees. I was told that in New Hampshire, much of the trees were second growth after the settlers cleared much if the area in the past. They have beaver there and you can see quite a few trees...

The Eastern Front does look to have been a bit cold: I've bought a (old 1960s) large wool blanket and intend to do some back-garden bivvying to experiment sleeping in it as an alternative to a sleeping bag. I'll probably keep it in the car for emergencies or car bivvying. As has been pointed...

I thought so too. There is a policy to make it 'wild'

good point. On a similar note, when did almost every road in the UK become surfaced with tarmac? Was there a big push at some point? I think that every other country I've ever been to appears to have a lot more 'un-metalled' road.