Sunday 25 October 2009

Back into weekend walking...

With the cycle racing season done and the new trike 'almost real' I'm back to weekend walking.
Last week was a damp 4 mile loop alongside one of the local reservoirs, this week a 5.6 mile circuit out to the Ticknall Limepits (abandoned for 100 years and now pretty woodland) and back.
The featherweight Mountain King 'Trail Blaze' poles are working well - this is my first time walking with two poles and they make a big improvement on slippy uphill stretches.
In the above photo I'm also wearing an Epic jacket and jeans. These are both cotton but the threads are individually silicone coated making them waterproof. Because of the cotton both are very nice to wear, and don't seem to be as susceptible to catching and tearing on thorns as nylon fabrics. The fabric is not AS waterproof as some of the adverts make out, the jacket (Rohan Pampas) requires some internal heat to stop moisture slowly seeping through so I'd rate it around 75% as waterproof as a good Goretex jacket but much more so than a windshell like Pertex. It is currently my outdoor jacket of choice because it just feels right - it feels less 'hiker' and more 'wax cotton' without the maintenace problems of re-waxing). The trousers are Alpkit's Jeanious Jeans and they have become a constant companion! Again the Epic fabric means that a splash or shower just runs off them. Constant damp works through eventually but the fabric does not 'wet' and body heat quickly forces that dampness out. They would not replace a proper pair of waterproof overtrousers on the hill but for a 5 mile Sunday potter they do the job. They are a tad too warm for harder walking at the mo (I usually wear shorts or knee-length breaches enjoying the breeze around my lower legs) but I'm sure as we go into Autumn and Winter they'll be in their element. Oh, and the rest of the time they fit and feel just like ordinary jeans - I've even adopted them as stock wear for dress-down Friday wear at work where nobody seems to have noticed they are anything other than normal jeans...

1 comment:

  1. I would like to wish you the best of luck for your adventure! I found you on Alpkit.com but I am pleased to find that you have lots of links to light weight kit some of which I have seen and others not. I have subscribed as a follower though I am going away on my own adventure I will watch out for updates! If you would like to see my adventure... lewisinnz.blogspot.com its slightly different and not so challenging but will be fun! best of luck lewis

    ReplyDelete