Hi all, yesterday I got back from a trip to Brecon with work. I was supervising a gold DofE group and helping a little with the training etc of practice groups so had a pretty busy time but still had a chance to put some of my new kit through its paces. The weather was interesting, there was a whole load of rain and hill fog with some incredibly strong winds so we had to pull some of the groups off the hills to be safe but in the end it wasn't too bad.
Anyhow, on to the kit:
Fjallraven Barents trousers; I wore these on the way up to Pen-Y-Fan on a windy, wet day and they were dead comfy. Their water resistance was enough to keep my legs dry in the fog and wind proof enough to keep me comfortable throughout the day. The cut was perfect for walking and scrambling over the hills and the pockets came in very handy for all the odds and ends I carry. All in all a good buy, thanks to NedB33.
Osprey Kestrel pack; another good buy on here. I carried a full expedition load around Fan-Y-Big and the nearby hills for the best part of a day and it was perfectly comfortable. It held enough kit for a 48 hour trip including tent, sleeping bag and so on with room for a little more. On the other hand I was able to carry a bothy bag, lunch and not much more without the bag being uncomfortable or flapping about. I fiddled with the back fitting a little bit to get it right but I didn't have a problem at any point in 4 days. This time thanks to Frosty.
Montane Terra Pants; I thought these would be too light weight for this trip but since it was a case of 'goretex-till-endex' I wore them under a pair of waterproof trousers for the whole trip. They were light enough to be comfortable under the waterproofs (I usually overheat in waterproofs but these were ok) and the fit was comfortable when walking, scrambling and so on. The leg zips were handy for taking boots off and they can clip in tight around the ankle which worked well with gaiters. Another good buy, well up to the job! My only criticism is that they don't have a map pocket, fine this time as I could carry my map in my jacket but this might be problematic in summer.
Anyhow, I'll try to post some pics of the trip shortly and I highly recommend all three items of kit to all of you.
Anyhow, on to the kit:
Fjallraven Barents trousers; I wore these on the way up to Pen-Y-Fan on a windy, wet day and they were dead comfy. Their water resistance was enough to keep my legs dry in the fog and wind proof enough to keep me comfortable throughout the day. The cut was perfect for walking and scrambling over the hills and the pockets came in very handy for all the odds and ends I carry. All in all a good buy, thanks to NedB33.
Osprey Kestrel pack; another good buy on here. I carried a full expedition load around Fan-Y-Big and the nearby hills for the best part of a day and it was perfectly comfortable. It held enough kit for a 48 hour trip including tent, sleeping bag and so on with room for a little more. On the other hand I was able to carry a bothy bag, lunch and not much more without the bag being uncomfortable or flapping about. I fiddled with the back fitting a little bit to get it right but I didn't have a problem at any point in 4 days. This time thanks to Frosty.
Montane Terra Pants; I thought these would be too light weight for this trip but since it was a case of 'goretex-till-endex' I wore them under a pair of waterproof trousers for the whole trip. They were light enough to be comfortable under the waterproofs (I usually overheat in waterproofs but these were ok) and the fit was comfortable when walking, scrambling and so on. The leg zips were handy for taking boots off and they can clip in tight around the ankle which worked well with gaiters. Another good buy, well up to the job! My only criticism is that they don't have a map pocket, fine this time as I could carry my map in my jacket but this might be problematic in summer.
Anyhow, I'll try to post some pics of the trip shortly and I highly recommend all three items of kit to all of you.
