Muddle and Faith

Outdoor gear shopping is confusing. There are all kinds of kit to cover and protect you from head to toe, for all different conditions and activities. I am by no means an enthusiastic shopper, retail tires me out and too often your host is easily swayed by even the most simple sales pitches. So when faced by an entire hobbies worth of kit to buy your host naturally put it off.

Enter the internet the most wonderful of things, a place where one can browse and research uninterrupted. Only there is no official start point, no shallow end. Instead you plunge into a world of goretex's and primalofts and thinsulates and softshells. Between brands there are no standards for direct comparison, each have their own proprietary insulations and breathable fabrics and whatnots.

These items are all bought on faith and recommendation, there is no real way to tell whether a £100 jacket will perform as well as a £300 or a £30. Since I'm not a big fan of high street shopping, this is how I must shop, trusting in product descriptions and customer reviews. So far so good, still waiting on the delivery of one item, albeit a fairly crucial one; the ski jacket. Gloves seem to me to be the most confusing all different size scales different padding and insulation and designs. What is a host to do?


Size guides that go beyond small medium and large are an absolute godsend, for online shopping these should be mandatory. The best include detailed measurements in centimeters for torso lengths, chest widths and so on. But moving on swiftly, after a couple of days spent very enjoyably in the Lake District, your host can say with confidence that soft shell jackets are very much worth the investment. Layered up in my own take on the 3 layer system, (thermal underlayer, mid insulating layer and top wind&rain layer). Your host wore a t shirt a soft-shell jacket and a soft-shell gilet, with a shell waterproof over the top. In days full of walking in wind rain and hail, these layers kept me dry, warm and free from sweat.

For all you try on in shops and buy online, the only way to really appreciate kit is to use it in the extreme conditions for which it is designed. Not so much of an issue perhaps for an odd day walking or a week's skiing, in this host's case this kit must withstand the rigors and tests of a full season.

If your host ever gets his head round the ins and outs of outdoor gear perhaps there will be less of a whine and more of a guide. But sometimes it is nice to have a good moan.