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Here's my annual favourite gear of the year roundup following another twelve months testing gear for The Great Outdoors and this blog. Not all the items were new for this year, just tested by me for the first time. As in previous years they don't necessarily replace ones from previous years or old favourites and they're in no particular order. More detailed reviews of some of the items can be found on the TGO website and on this blog - I've given links to these reviews. For other items, a few of which I haven't reviewed yet but most of which appeared in the print magazine but not online, the link is to the company page.
Often the most interesting items are the big ones - tents, packs, sleeping bags, mats. This year though I was most excited by cooking pots and a midge net!
Fire
Maple Petrel & FMC-XK6
Heat Exchanger Pots
After using titanium pots for several decades I changed to aluminium ones with heat exchangers this year. I’d been moving this way since I first used the Jetboil Stash stove system in 2021 (TGO review here). In particular I was impressed by the pot, which speeded up boiling times and reduced fuel consumption. However the Stash pot is only available with the Stash stove, which isn’t the best, especially in wind and cold. The unit is expensive too.
Looking for alternative lightweight standalone heat exchanger pots I came across two low cost Fire Maple ones and both are excellent. The awkwardly named 195g 1-litre FMC-XK6 has been around a while, the smaller 166g 600ml Petrel is new. The latter is ideal for solo use and fits neatly onto the excellent Soto Windmaster Triflex stove. The FMC-XK8 (please give us a memorable name Fire Maple!) is better for two and also for melting snow due to the higher capacity and wider diameter. I described the last in this video.
I wrote a long post about heat exchanger pots including the
Fire Maple ones here.
The big advantages in my view are reducing fuel consumption and better
performance when it’s windy – though the latter does depend on the stove as
well. The faster boil time may be a big plus for some people but it’s not
significant for me.
FlipFuel Fuel Transfer Device
This should really have been in last year’s favourite gear review as that’s when I first tested it. I’m rectifying the omission now. This really is a useful gadget that has reduced my pile of almost empty gas canisters. Being able to refill canisters is a boon, it saves waste and it saves gas. I described using it and disposing of empty canisters in this post.
I hate midge nets, they’re claustrophobic, clingy, and restrict vision. I hate midges even more though so I always carry one in the summer. This year a new one appeared that I didn’t mind wearing though. Midge Specs have built-in glasses (goggles really) that give a clear view and hold the net off your face. Brilliant!
The Namche is the best waterproof jacket I tried in a comparative review for year-round use. It’s made with the new PFC-free ePe membrane and has a recycled polyester shell. It works fine - I can’t tell the difference between ePe and the old environmentally unfriendly ePTFE Gore-Tex. The design is good with an excellent wired hood, voluminous pockets accessible when wearing a hipbelt, and underarm zips. It weighs 450g (men’s large).
Blowing up inflatable mats has always been a bit of a hassle, one that has grown since mats got fatter and required more air. Some have valves that are hard to blow into too. Pump sacks are a way round this, and many mats come with these, but I don’t find them much better. You don’t get breathless but using one in a small tent can be awkward. I tried a few electric pumps but they were all rather slow and heavy, certainly not something I wanted to carry regularly. This year I discovered the FlexTail Zero Pump and that does have a place in my pack., It’s ultralight, tiny, comes with nozzles for different valves, and works quite quickly. I love it! I just have one complaint. 1.2oz is written prominently on it (American of course!). This is misleading though as it's the weight of the unit without battery or nozzle. Add those essentials and it’s 2.2oz (61g). That’s what should be on the side. This is very minor but it does annoy me!
Danner
Mountain 600 Leaf GTX Boots
The Mountain 600 has been a staple of Danner’s range for many years, a well-proven lightweight hiking boot. The Leaf GTX is much the same as earlier versions with its brown leather upper, hard toebox, and Vibram sole. There are two widths, the wider one fitting me well. In cold, wet, and snowy conditions (in June!) the boots were comfortable and secure. What makes this version different is that it’s what Danner calls ‘recraftable’, which means that as well as being resoled the boots can be rebuilt and reconditioned. Unfortunately this is only available in the USA at present but Danner hopes to be offer it in Europe soon. Other environmentally friendly features are the 100% recycled material used for the inner and collar, the 45% post-consumer recycled material in the Gore-Tex booties, and the 12% plant-derived bio-oil in the footbed.
Montane Cetus Lite Waterproof Jacket
This jacket is made from Montane’s new very breathable Petrichor Technology material, which is a waterproof, hydrophilic membrane. The breathability is meant to increase the harder you work. This membrane is combined with a recycled nylon shell with a PFC-free DWR. I wore the Cetus Lite on a six day trip on the northern section of the Cape Wrath Trail and it performed very well in heavy rain. (See here for the gear I used and here for an account of the trip). The jacket has a good hood and good pockets. At 330g (men’s L) it’s a bit light for full-on winter conditions but great for three-season use.
Altra
Lone Peak 8 Trail Shoes
Lone Peak lightweight and flexible trail shoes have been a favourite for the last eight years and I've worn them on several long-distance walks. This year I wore the latest version on two walks on sections of the Cape Wrath Trail and several shorter trips and they were as comfortable as ever. Lone Peaks have a wide toebox so they fit my wide feet well and a zero drop sole, which I like. The grip is excellent and the cushioning good too.
Rab
Cirrus Ultra Insulated Hooded Jacket
I haven’t worn this new insulated jacket from Rab very much yet as it only arrived in the autumn and I haven’t been out in cold enough conditions much since then. My initial impressions are good though. This is a warm comfortable synthetic jacket. It’s filled with new PrimaLoft ThermoPlume, a loose fill insulation contained in baffles like down. This gives the jacket a softer feel than most synthetic filled ones and also means it’s quite compressible. The shell is recycled Pertex Quantum which is also soft and flexible.
Gomi
& Nitecore
NB 10000 Gen 3 Power Banks
A power bank for recharging my smartphone and other electronic devices has been an essential part of my kit for well over a decade. During that time I’ve gone through quite a few, as they don’t seem to last long. When the last one failed early in 2024 I searched for lighter weight ones that might prove more durable for outdoor use and came on the Nitecore NB 10000 which weighs just 154g and is water-resistant with a tough carbon fibre shell. There is a 20,000 mAh version but given experience I decided on two of the 10000 ones so if one failed I had a spare. So far they have worked fine and I like the low weight, low bulk, and toughness.
The Nitecore power banks are still essentially disposable when the battery fades. After I’d bought mine I was offered a Gomi Power Bank to test and this is environmentally friendly and sustainable. Made in the UK from repurposed e-bike batteries and recycled plastic and aluminium it can be repaired over and over again. Like the Nitecore it has a 10,000 mAh capacity. However it’s heavier at 244g. Rather than being the usual black slab it comes in a range of swirly colours, which are more cheerful and easier to fine in a dark pack or tent. I’ve been using it for five months now and it’s worked fine.
Samsung
Galaxy XCover 7 Rugged Smartphone
Back in 2020 I bought a Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro smartphone, which I chose because it was designed for use on construction sites and so waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof and also because it had a replaceable battery, unlike other rugged phones, so it’s easy to swap batteries when the one in the phone runs out and easy to replace when it no longer holds a charge for long. The XCover Pro is still going strong but is long discontinued. The current replacement is the XCover 7, which I tested for The Great Outdoors this year. This has the same replaceable battery as the XCover Pro but is even more durable with a tougher screen. When the XCover Pro needs replacing this is what I’ll get, unless an even newer model has appeared.
This curious-looking headlamp has been around for a few years now. I’d wondered about the strange headband but not actually tried it until this year. When I did I was impressed and it’s now my favourite headlamp. Not because of the fairly simple light itself but because of that semi-rigid headband. It’s much more comfortable than any other headband I’ve used, it doesn’t bounce when moving fast or on rough terrain, it doesn’t slip and need constant adjusting, and it doesn’t need adjusting to fit different headwear. Being very thin it’s less sweaty too. Wonderful!
I wasn’t sure about these boots when I was offered them to test but having worn them in snow and on frozen ground I’ve decided they’re brilliant. Grub’s calls them ‘field boots’. I think of them as ‘SuperWellies’. They’re very warm and comfortable and excellent for walks in fields, woods, moorland, and gentle hills. They have a 5mm insulating foam inner with a moisture wicking fleece lining, an insulating footbed, a hardened toe, and a Vibram outsole. They’re rated to keep your feet warm down to -40°C. I can’t confirm that – even in the Cairngorms it doesn’t get anywhere near that cold – but they are warm at -7°C. The fit is quite wide, which is good for wearing thick socks inside and for my wide feet. I love being able to pull them on and go out into the snow without needing to fiddle with gaiters.
Rab Mythic Ultra 120 Modular Down Sleeping Bag
I took this astonishingly light and compact sleeping bag on the Cape Wrath Trail in May and June and found it very comfortable. It only weighs 330g and packs into a tiny ball, which is great for long-distance walking. It’s filled with 900 fill power down in the upper section and round the legs but has no fill on the bottom under the torso as it’s designed to be attached to a mat. I don’t find this arrangement that comfortable so I didn’t use it but still found I could keep the upper wrapped round me. Rab rate it to 0°C when used with a suitable mat. I used it with the Rab Ultrasphere 4.5 mat in temperatures down to 1°C and stayed warm.
Light compact insulated vests are great for stuffing in the pack just in case extra warmth is needed and I often do this. I rarely actually wear one though, thinking of it more as a back-up item. That has changed with the Nano Air Light as it’s much more breathable than other vests I’ve tried and so more comfortable to wear while walking. It’s wind-resistant enough for breezes, but not strong cold winds – when you’d need something on your arms anyway. At 225g it’s light and it packs down small. The recycled polyester shell fabric is soft and flexible. The polyester fill, which is Patagonia’s own, is 93% recycled.
The latest version of the Blaze 60 pack is a big improvement over earlier versions. Whilst I’d always liked the comfortable back system I’d found access to the narrow pack awkward enough to stop me using it much. Now there’s a long side zip and a buckled lid instead of a big rollover top. These changes make a huge difference to the usability of the pack. At 1.43kg it’s quite light for a 60-litre pack. The pack handles loads up to 20kg well as it has a thick padded hipbelt and a stiff framesheet in the back.
Keen Targhee boots have a wide toebox that fits me well so they’ve been favourites for many years, especially as they’re also quite light and I find them comfortable and durable. The last has been improved in the latest version with a new glue and solvent free fused construction to stop the sole delaminating, not that I’ve ever had a problem with this. I’ve worn the Targhee IV on several cool spring and autumn backpacking trips and they’ve coped with every type of terrain, including snow.
