Founded in 1942 in Sweden, Thule are the favoured accessories brand by a number of car manufactures. As well as having their own adventure team, Thule are also revered for their styling products which are nows the hallmark of any weekend adventurer. The brand’s collection caters caters for summer and winter adventure pursuits, covering carriers for snowsports, watersports and cycling.

What distinguishes the Haglöfs design of such a travel bag from its competitors, is that despite its simplicity, it packs an almost limitless variety of possible uses. This means that as your required demands of a primary storage gear change with the time of day, the environment or climate, or even just your location, you will always be able to rely on the adaptable Travel Pouch for safe preservation of your most valuable possessions and documents.

The Gore Bike Wear Contest Shorts are the cheapest cycling shorts Gore make and can often be found discounted as they are a long standing product that stays in their range year on year. Compared with lycra shorts from other manufacturers who make less-expensive sub-£20 shorts that look similar, the Gore stand out. However, the Contest shorts are a basic, yet quality product that epitomises what I love about Gore Bike Wear kit.

When the surf is flat but the sun is still shining, us Welsh outdoor fanatics get out our bikes and hit the road, or the mountains – depending on how energetic we’re feeling! Wales is a cyclist’s dream and offers world class routes for all levels of riders, both on and off road. From hidden forest dirt jumps to challenging hill climbs with breathtaking scenery, Wales literally has it all.

I was really keen to test out Gore’s new Active Shell fabric, so when Gore offered the chance to test out one of their jackets, it proved the perfect opportunity. Having caught a rumour from a riding buddy that Gore where going to release a new super breathable, fully waterproof material I knew that it would be ideal for damp UK winter conditions. The new three-layer laminate has an inner layer, which offers excellent comfort next to skin.

This review concerns Chariot ‘child transportation system’ trailers and as I’ve now owned all three models in their ‘Sport’ range (in ascending order of expense!) over the space of six years I’m not going to limit myself to one model – this entire range is worth a mention. Chariot (part of the Thule group) design and assemble all their products in Calgary, Canada and make extensive use of recycled materials in their products. They also have a sister brand of cheaper children’s trailers entirely made in the Far-East called Croozer. Chariot runs two ranges of trailers: the first is the ‘Touring’ range designed with an emphasis upon urban cycling, the second is the ‘Sport’ range designed for flexibility so you don’t have to buy many different carriers for separate outdoor sports.

As the name suggests, Steamboat, CO-based nutrition company Honey Stinger have a preference for making quality sports nutrition using the natural power of honey. Bars contain over 30% honey and their … Read more

TORQ are a UK-based fitness consultancy that specialise in training and nutrition. Owing to the success of their performance coaching which started in 1999, TORQ moved into performance products to complement their existing services.

In June this year I went on a five-day mini cycletour of Northern Scotland. The aim of this trip, outside of being a good adventure and opportunity to see some different parts of Scotland, was to learn the ropes before embarking on a longer trip the following July. I wanted to assess how my kit performed and identify any weaknesses, to see if I go insane in my own company and to see what sort of distance I could cover. With a reasonable base bike fitness, I was not too concerned about the riding but the other aspects of the cycle touring which were largely new to me.

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.

Colorado-based Osprey have been designing packs for the outdoors since 1974.  Maintaining a strong commitment to the environment, they support a number of North American conservation organization and even sew the 7 … Read more

Having planned several medium to long backpacking trips over the last 3 years, I have grown quite accustomed to a well established routine of ticking off vital and important items on my packing checklist. Since my very first traveling experience, the Silk Travel Liner, produced by Sea To Summit, has continually made it to the top of this list.

Having relied on Salomon products for freestyle skiing because of their reliability and quality, I was curious as to whether their footwear could achieve similar results. Selecting the XA Pro 3D Ultra 2. The trip would take me through a number of different environments, ranging from cities to arid steppe and snow-covered mountains to endless desert – a bunch of conditions that I thought the ‘run-hike’ model would really enjoy.

I’ll start by stating that I’ve a fair bit of experience with lightweight packs having run numerous mountain marathons over the past 10 years and gravitated gradually towards lighter and … Read more

As technology takes a greater hold on the way we run our lives, it’s no surprise that adventure brands are jumping on the digital band wagon to enhance user experience. To bring their adventure software in line with established platforms from other watch manufacturers, Suunto released Movescount, their version of performance tracking. As well as updating training data features, Suunto introduced a neat social networking element to enhance the Movescount product. Here I’ll outline some of the key features, and guide you through the process of setting up an account.

With the summer in full swing and the rollers and turbo tucked away in a closet, I’ve been venturing outside to brave the vicissitudes of the British weather this season. Fortunately I was lucky enough to have the Endura Helium jacket tucked away in my jersey pocket just in case.

The Suunto T6d is described by the manufacturer as a ‘sports laboratory on your wrist’ and it’s an apt description for a watch that is compatible with a variety of … Read more

The old capital of Montenegro, Cetinje is an interesting town with eerie old buildings. I had a massive lunch at the excellent Restaurant Kole, super cheap and awesome food. The final 30km or so of my journey undulated a few times before I lost all my altitude as I headed down to the plane and Podgorica at just 40 metres above sea level.

I have now left Croatia behind and ridden into Montenegro. Due to an alteration to my route, I avoided Sarajevo and continued down the Croatian coast, entering Montenegro further south than I had originally planned. So rather than ride in the mountains today, I am still on the coast. This isn’t altogether a bad thing because I’ve heard numerous positive reports of the Kotor fjord,