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If budget isnt a problem, that makes things easier. Think about the temperature rating you need, and then, as i said before (had to go off to work, so couldnt comment more), go to a decent shop, and actually try some. You wont get anything truely high end, unless its a very specialist shop...

Start with researching the main brands, and thinking about how you sleep. An RE is in theory down to minus 14 or close, so your looking at a Rab 900 ascent or similar at the cheaper end. Think ME, as well, plus Mumaut, etc. Size is everything, and until you can go to a store, its an unknown...

Interesting, but as Eds says, its not a lot different to UK climbers or actually hikers standard stuff. The heavy fleece has often been replaced by a synthetic insulation layer (for climbers, a belay jacket) or a down/synthetic jacket for hikers. Soft shell or hard shell is standard, and a...

Decathlon should have a decent range of cycling, running or just general outdoors jackets, at about £30 or less. And a number of them have hoods. I use an old insulated (and fairly wind resistant) jacket from them when i am walking the dog, which can be layered under a Barbour when its raining...

Civilian versions of woobies are now everywhere - not just the Snugpak jungle version, but from hiking brands. Mines from Kelty. Have a look on Amazon and you will find ones that go from the sort of thing that you could use to snuggle with on a cold evening during a barbecue to the really puffy...

We had the infection nurse come to answer our dept questions last week (NHS), and the advice was that the virus is most easily spread by coughs, etc, because its spread via heavy droplets with, as you say, a range of 2-4m, a sneeze perhaps a lot further than that, etc. Hence the social...

Yep - getting something to fit can be tough. I wondered if ME had anything about the same price, and I was amazed to find that they did their Classic 750 in a XXL! Where you can find one is another matter, but there is a market. There is always PhD if you do want XXL - pricey but lovely. And...

Its not a bad price for a 900, which is able to be found in a fair number of stores, including Go Outdoors, but yeah, it has been cheaper in the past. I dont want to even think about Black Friday this year.... The 700 does come in around £200, if you look around. The equivalent ME 750 is about...

It a pretty good price (although I think round Black Friday they went as low as £180), but a quick look around the normal suspects are fairly similar. Cotswolds have it at the same price, although I notice it says it the 2018 model! Since Snow & Rock is part of the Cotswolds group, I suspect...

I bought my Makita drill from Screwfix a couple of years ago, and its been a good investment (not cheap but its lasted). There was a thread a while back, and a professional said the ones from Screwfix are fine (some places sell a DIY version of certain brands) Mine came with two batteries...

Thats perhaps the difference I notice most between hiking and bushcrafting in terms of equipment. Hikers are always looking for lighter and smaller, and so will more likely to go for down bags, Osprey rucksacks, etc. PHD do lovely stuff (their sale has some very nice kit), and its very much...

I was intrigued as to why they are so rare, and found this thread. Like a lot of things, its about demand - manufacturers have to look at the market as a whole. I suspect its in part due to manufacturing, and in part because you can have a side baffle for a side zip, which is relatively easy...

One of the big problems about the descriptions of down vs synthetic on the net is the binary way they are often expressed. Down is often essentially described as turning to porridge should it come into contact with any moisture, which is evidently untrue. The reality is much more nuanced...

As someone else pointed out, what tends to get used are local materials, until cost/fashion etc starts to kick in. The UK started to have pressure on larger timbers due to pressures on forestry back during the medieval period (hence the slight changes to roof construction techniques), and when...

I bought a Snugpak Osprey 12 back in the nineties, and it was never as warm as advertised - and a look around the internet shows that Snugpaks are notorious for their temp ratings. And certainly no longer cutting edge. I let my son use it last year for a school camp. Its lost a fair amount of...

Yes - the Lowe Alpine back system is vastly more comfortable (I have an old LA Cerro Torre with the TFX 5) than a fixed system. This one isnt cheap, but its in olive. Of course, it might be worth just finding a modern pack like the current Cerro Torre, but perhaps 2nd hand - more comfortable...

Mountain Hardware has a very good reputation, and are known for their synthetic bags, which tend to pack down relatively small. Ajungilak is now part of Mammut, who still make both down and synthetic bags. There are one or two online manufacturers who make synthetic bags, and Haglofs...

As soon as you said wheels, I though of Osprey - the Farpoint in particular, although other brands do similar things as well, including Eagle Creek, as you say. There is a price to be paid for having wheels on what is effectively a large duffel - extra weight, for instance, but I can see the...

Why build would a manufacturer build ruckack model in different sizes, when adjustable back systems are standard - in fact its very difficult to even find a a 60 or 70 litre rucksack by a major brand that doesn't have one as standard. Not only does it avoids waste in terms of not producing...

The Dust Bowl was a result of incorrect farming methods on a fragile enviroment, but the West has also suffered from the effects of poorly thought outand often very expensive irrigation schemes. Cadillac Desert is now a rather old book, but the problems have continued. If you set out to take...