At the end of August/early September 2010 three intrepid explorers set-off for the Norwegian arctic. Kitted out in hiking boots, fishing rod tubes and fully laden expedition backpacks we navigated … Read more

When I was asked to review Marmot’s Sawtooth sleeping bag I jumped at the chance, Marmot has a reputation of producing some of the world’s finest down sleeping bags. I wasn’t going to be disappointed with the Sawtooth, a down sleeping bag rated to have a lower comfort of -9oC. Marketed as an all-rounder I felt sure the Sawtooth would be great for a Scandinavian Spring/Autumn bag and equally at home for Scottish winters.

A quick word one of Marmot’s patented technologies here, the MemBrain Strata. This is Marmot’s very own waterproof material, similar to Mountain Hardwear’s Conduit DT (dry touch) comparison. Marmot’s fabric has come up with some impressive figures: at 20,000mm in waterproof performance and 20,000 gr it is comparable to the more widely known Gore-Tex fabrics. Another note-worthy feature of MemBrain Strata is the fabric has “micro inorganic particles” impregnated on the inside of the laminate. Putting
technical jargon to one side this basically means the inside of the jacket has a dry feeling when wet on the outside, so avoiding that clammy feeling of waterproofs of old. This allows for greater comfort when wearing just a T-shirt or less under the jacket.

Over the week we aimed to explore this remote group of islands whilst fly fishing, hiking and camping along the way. At 60 degrees North the Shetland Islands lie closer to Norway than mainland Scotland and consist of approximately 100 islands of which only 16 are inhabited. The largest island is called Mainland and is where the capital Lerwick is located.

Surrounded by rich, cold water and carefully protected by the Norwegian fisheries, Sørøya is a sea fisherman’s paradise. The waters surrounding the northern island of Sørøya teem with cod, coalfish, … Read more

Floating off Norway’s northern coast, Sørøya is one of Norway’s hidden wilderness regions. It’s location is unique; 400km north of the Arctic Circle in the Finnmark region yet within spitting … Read more

When planning a trek in the Børgefjell National Park, the main criteria was to get reliable and lightweight gear that could cope with the wild weather that the park gets … Read more

Last summer my twin brother Robert and I decided to plan a 3-week tour to the wildest, most inaccessible and remote part of Europe. We wanted to see whether places still … Read more