Cameras & lenses I've used for backpacking over the decades

Everest & Lhotse at dawn, October 2005. 6mp Canon 300D, Canon 18-55mm lens at 55mm, ISO 400, f5.6 at 1/160 second. Raw file processed in DXO PhotoLab

Backpacking with a camera and producing good photographs is a balancing act between performance and weight, especially when you need to produce pictures for publication, as I do. What’s the lightest gear with the best image quality and the most versatility? I’ve been trying to work that out for over forty years! Here, for anyone interested, is a rundown of the camera gear I’ve used on long-distance walks and some of the reasoning behind my choices. Plus a few photos to break up the story.

I first took photography seriously when outdoor magazine editors asked me for pictures to accompany my writing and said no, prints from cheap point-and-shoot cameras were not what they meant. So I bought a second-hand Pentax S1a SLR with 55mm lens and taught myself how to use it. That was a fully manual camera with a separate light meter that could be clipped on the top. I hated the hassle involved in learning how to make it take half-decent photos but it was an excellent way to learn about aperture, shutter speed and focusing.

The editors also said the maximum acceptable ISO speeds (or ASA as it was then) were 64 for colour transparency film and 400 for black-and-white so I had to learn how to hold the camera steady too. Later the acceptable transparency ISO crept up to 100.

Old habits die hard, as the saying goes. I still mostly stick to ISO 100, and I still mostly stick to manual mode for exposure with f8 at 1/125 second my standard setting.

Mount Shasta, Pacific Crest Trail, 1982. Pentax MX, Pentax 50mm lens. Kodachrome 64 transparency film

That first SLR was stolen in a burglary and replaced by a lighter one with built-in light meter and automatic exposure options (the Pentax ME Super). Having learnt the limitations of only having one fixed focal length prime lens I did some research (magazines and books – no Internet of course) and found that zoom lenses were not recommended other than in the 75-150 range so I got one of those and a 28mm wide angle prime to supplement the 50mm prime that came with the camera. That combination came with on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1982, along with a second body, the manual Pentax MX. I was to be glad of the latter as the ME Super failed after a few months. I was also glad I had two prime lenses as the zoom was wrecked when it got soaked during a creek crossing. Something that also taught me that my waterproof camera and lens bags were not actually so when submerged.

The Chinese Wall, Continental Divide Trail, 1985. Pentax MX, Tamron 35-70 lens. Kodachrome 64 transparency film

I replaced the 75-150 zoom with the same model and changed the prime lenses for a 35-70 zoom that had good reviews for the Continental Divide Trail a few years later. This combination, along with the Pentax MX, survived the walk. Rather than a second body I saved weight by taking a little Olympus XA compact as a back-up camera. This had a 35mm lens.

I missed the 28mm lens on the CDT and so swapped the 35-70 for a 28-70 zoom for my walk the length of the Canadian Rockies in 1988. I also daringly bought a 24mm prime lens – it seemed frighteningly wide at the time – and changed the 75-150 for a 70-210 zoom as longer zooms were getting better reviews than a few years earlier. The MX having failed shortly after the CDT I replaced it with the similar manual Pentax LX and bought a second body, a Pentax Super A, about which I remember nothing! I also carried a tripod for the first time on a long walk, making a total weight of 4.5kg, the heaviest amount of camera gear I’d carried on a long-distance walk. (I wrote about my tripods here.  The 281-gram Velbon V-Pod is still my main tripod. I haven’t found anything better at that weight).

On the Rockwall Trail, Canadian Rockies, 1988. Pentax LX, Tokina 28-70mm lens. Fujichrome 100 transparency film. Tripod essential for this shot.

A revolution in cameras occurred around this time, the introduction of auto-focus. This had been around since the 1970s but only really took off when Minolta introduced the first SLR with integrated auto-focus in 1985. Other camera makes quickly followed. Having too many blurred shots of animals and birds due to lack of time to focus I could see the advantages. I was also fed up with Pentax bodies failing – the Super A had gone the way of the ME Super and the MX. Nikons were said to be the most durable SLRs so, although I heavier than the Pentaxs, I decided to change. Nikon introduced auto-focus before Pentax too.

My new Nikon cameras were an F801 and an FM2. The first had auto-focus, the second was fully manual. Although heavy the F801 is my favourite of all the film cameras I owned because it had a thirty-second self-timer. The relief of not having just ten seconds to run in front of the camera and try and look normal! I still miss that timer.

Tombstone Mountain & Talus Lake, Yukon Territory, 1990. Nikon F801, Nikkor 35-70mm lens. Fujichrome 100 transparency film.

For my walk through the Yukon Territory in 1990 I took 24mm, 35-70mm, and 70-210mm lenses with the Nikon bodies. The weight was a touch less than in the Canadian Rockies

Lapland, Sweden, Scandinavian Mountains Walk, 1992. Nikon F801, Nikkor 28-70mm lens. Fujichrome 100 transparency film.

Why not a 28-70mm zoom? I don’t know. Maybe there wasn’t a good one available for Nikon. There must have been two years later as I took one on a length of Scandinavia walk with the other two lenses and the Nikon bodies. And why zoom lenses and not just lighter, smaller fixed focal length prime lenses? I’d found that zooms were just more versatile when hiking and taking photos where there were often few options for “zooming with your feet” because of cliffs, rivers, dense vegetation and more.

Camp on Stob Coire Easain, Munros & Tops, 1996. Nikon F50, Nikkor 28-70mm lens. Fujichrome 100 transparency film.

So far, the long walks had all been end-to-end ones, with many sections where the walking was relatively easy. Four years after the Scandinavian walk I set out to walk all the Munros and Tops in the Scottish Highlands, 517 summits over 3,000 feet (914 metres) high. There would be much ascent and descent, often steep, every day, and often not much of anything else. The heavy loads I’d carried on the other walks needed trimming drastically. And that included camera gear. I bought a new, lighter weight Nikon, the F50, and took just the 28-70mm lens., total weight just 907 grams, 1275 grams with padded camera bag. I missed having a longer lens but not the extra weight. I also hated the F50, the worst film SLR I used – no, the worst camera I’ve used. It had tiny, fiddly buttons that were unlabelled, so you had to try and remember what they did. Obviously practise for some digital cameras. Ironically, it’s the only film SLR camera I still have. I’d feel bad passing it on to anyone else.

Digital, of course, was the next big thing happening in the camera world. An enormous thing in fact. I dipped a tentative toe into digital waters in 2000 when I hiked the Arizona Trail. My main camera was a 335-gram Canon 300 SLR – the F50 had put me off lightweight Nikons – with a 24-70mm lens. Film backup was a tiny Ricoh GR1s compact which weighed just 212 grams and had a 28mm lens. I still have this lovely little camera and use it on the very rare occasions I shoot film.

The Grand Canyon, Arizona Trail, 2000. Ricoh RDC-5000

The digital camera was a Ricoh RDC-5000 with a 2.3mp tiny ½” sensor and a zoom lens equivalent to 38-86 in 35mm/full frame. This was quite an advanced digital camera at the time. With its four AA batteries it weighed a fairly hefty 414 grams. It took big Smartcards which I mailed home and which then appeared on a website during the walk. This was a first and seemed amazing at the time. I guess it was.

In the next few years editors started asking for digital images and no, they didn’t mean ones from 2.3mp cameras with tiny sensors. A DSLR with an APS-C size sensor and at least 6mp was needed.  APS-C I discovered was the size of an obsolete film format a bit smaller than 35mm. These cameras were very expensive. I swithered for a while. Being told I would only get half the fee for a feature if I could only supply film images made up my mind. As did Canon bringing out the first sub-£1000 DSLR (£999.99!), which was still a great deal of money for a camera in 2004. The 300D came with an 18-55mm lens, equivalent to 27-82mm on 35mm/full frame – multiplying focal lengths by 1.5 is needed because of the smaller sensor.  I bought the 300D and my digital era really began.

The 300D only had a 6-megapixel sensor but images from it looked fine. I shot in raw from the start and I’m glad I did as it meant I can now get even better results with the latest processing software like DXO PhotoLab.

GR20, Corsica, 2005. Canon 300D, 18-55mm lens at 37mm. ISO 200. F8 at 1/125 second.

For the first few years I still shot film as well, taking both the Canon 300 and 300D on trips such as the trek to Everest Base Camp and the GR20 on Corsica. Digital was obviously the way forward however and I soon gave up film, with, I must admit, great relief. It was always a hassle. Digital photography was so liberating! Especially on long walks. No films to carry, no rationing how many photos I could take as memory cards were so light, no films to send home in small batches in case any were lost on the way. Wonderful! Digital was much easier for publication too. No more carefully packing slides, sending them insured, then checking them when returned for scratches, glue spots, or finger marks (they all occurred).

Glacier National Park, Pacific Northwest Trail, 2010. Sigma DP1. ISO 50. F5.6 at 1/100 second

As sensors with more megapixels came out and camera sizes and weights dropped (the 300D was a hefty beast) I changed the 300D for the 8mp 350D and then the 12-mp Canon 450D. I took the latter on the Pacific Northwest Trail in 2010 with the 18-55mm lens. As backup I had a 250g Sigma DP1, the first compact with an APS-C sensor (14-mp), which had a 28mm equivalent lens and took lovely images. This was my first long-distance walk with only digital cameras. It was also my first one with a smartphone, an HTC Desire, with which I took photos to send home for use online and even, quite small, in The Great Outdoors magazine.

The cameras and the PNT didn’t get on that well. The DP1 succumbed to a thunderstorm early on in the walk. The 450D limped to the end though the autofocus failed for the last month. Neither camera was worth repairing. That year the first APS-C mirrorless cameras had appeared, and they were much lighter than DSLRs and so an obvious choice for a new camera. From the four brands then available – Sony, Samsung, Olympus, and Panasonic – I chose the Sony NEX 5 as it felt the most secure to hold and I liked the feel of it. I’ve stuck with that range ever since.

Loch Trool, Southern Upland Way, 2011. Sony NEX 5 with 18-55mm lens at 55mm. ISO 400. F8 at 1/60 second

The NEX 5 had a 14mp sensor and came with an 18-55mm lens. It was a good little camera but had one disadvantage. There was no viewfinder. I soon became used to just using a screen, but I never really liked it. It's longest walk was a winter one along the Southern Upland Way. Two years later I changed to the 16-mp NEX 6 and the 24-mp NEX 7 as these did have viewfinders. I also swapped the 18-55mm lens for the much smaller Sony 16-50mm and added the 10-18mm wide angle zoom.

In the High Sierra, Yosemite to Death Valley, 2016. Sony NEX 7, Sony 10-18mm lens at 10mm. ISO 100. F8 at 1/125 seconds

Those two lenses and the NEX 7 went on the Scottish Watershed, Yosemite Valley to Death Valley, and GR5 Through the Alps walks. The NEX 6 went on the first of those and was then replaced by the a6000 as it had the same 24-mp sensor as the NEX 7 so image quality was near enough identical.

Camp in the valley of the Ruisseau de Charmaix, GR5, 2018. Sony a6000, Sony 16-50mm lens at 29mm. ISO 100. F8 at 1/320 second

I loved that combination as it was small and light and produced excellent images. I did miss a longer lens though and eventually acquired a Sony 18-135mm one (27-205mm equivalent) as it only weighs 325 grams. I took this on a 500-mile Colorado Rockies walk in 2019 instead of the 16-50mm and took many animal photographs I could never have taken with the latter. It’s now my favourite lens and the best I’ve used for backpacking.

Moose, Colorado Rockies, 2019. Sony a6000, Sony 18-135mm lens at 135mm. ISO 400. F8 at 1/50 second

This year I’ve replaced the ageing and battered NEX 7 and a6000 cameras with the a6600 and a6700, which take larger batteries that last much longer, and, for the first time with any of my cameras, have built-in stabilisation and weather-sealing. The a6700 in particular has many other advantages and is the best mirrorless camera I’ve used. It weighs 589 grams with battery, memory card and Peak Designs Leash. I also have two new small ultralight lenses -the 229-gram Sony 11mm and 205-gram Sony 10-20mm - as these are also weather-sealed, unlike the lenses they replaced. The 18-135 isn’t weather-sealed but there isn’t an equivalent that is, so it remains my main lens. The total weight of the bodies and lenses plus padded bags is 2.56kg. If I only carry the a6700 and the lenses in a Billingham Hadley Digital Bag (they all easily fit inside) the weight is 1.9kg.  

Sony a6700, Sony 11mm, 10-20mm & 18-135mm lenses. Sony a6600 with Sony 30mm macro lens. ISO 400. F5.6 at 1/8 second.

A week after writing this I’m off for a two-week autumn walk in the Cairngorms. It’ll be the first long trip with my new camera set-up. I’ll be posting pictures.

If you want to read even more about my new camera gear and the reasons I chose it see here, here  and here.

 

Book Review: Thunder Road by David Lintern

This little book is a real gem. It arrived while I was at the Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool and I've only just found time to look through it properly.The book is about the Cape Wrath Trail, which the author walked in 2021 with two companions, , but it doesn't resemble other accounts of long distance walks. It consists of many photographs and few words, but those words are important as they come from the people David Lintern met along the way, both locals (new and old) and visitors. There are portraits of them alongside their words.

Other photographs show the landscape, both with and without people and human artefacts. This is a beautiful land but also one that is lived in and the images show both, from romantic wild scenery to roads, petrol pumps and buildings. They're all part of the same place. 

The images are subtle and understated. These aren't the brash colours of tourist brochures and guidebooks. They are excellent though and repay careful consideration.

In a thoughtful afterword David Lintern gives his view on the trail and and the contradictions between nature and people that he found along the way.

Thunder Road was a small run edition and is now sold out. All proceeds were donated to the refugee efforts currently underway in Ukraine and Afghanistan, via Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

I think this is an important book giving a different perspective on the Highlands. It would be good to see it reprinted. In the meantime some of the photos and an essay by David Lintern on the Cape Wrath Trail covering the same themes as the book can be found on The Guardian website - The Cape Wrath trail: walking Scotland’s hidden roads – in pictures.

A Look At The November Issue Of The Great Outdoors

The latest issue of The Great Outdoors is out now. I have a feature describing the gear I used on my trip to An Teallach that I wrote about on this blog here (with more photos). I also review the Motorola Defy smartphone, the Columbia OutDry Extreme Nanolite waterproof jacket, and the Fjallraven Greenland Jacket. Also in the gear pages Judy Armstrong tests five gas stoves.

In the main features James Roddie shares his experience of chasing cloud inversions (spectacular photographs!), Roger Butler has a thrilling encounter with a Pine Marten in the Lake District, Alec Forss shares his passion for Sweden's forests (again with splendid photos), James Forrest describes his record-breaking walk over the national Three Peaks, and Hanna Lindon writes about unsung alpinist Lucy Walker who climbed the Matterhorn just six years after Edward Whymper's first ascent.

Also in this issue is a mouth-watering opening spread of a dawn view from Aonach Beag in the Scottish Highlands by editor Carey Davies, Hanna Lindon on ten walks for making the most of autumn, Alex Roddie describing the Fairfield Horseshoe and reviewing Polly Pullar's new book A Scurry of Squirrels, Roger Butler reviewing Jim Crumley's latest book Lakeland Wild, and Jim Perrin on the magnificent mountain Ladhar Bheinn. In the Wild Walks section Vivienne Crow does a circular walk from Lochinver in Assynt, Keith Fergus climbs the Munros Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean in the Southern Highlands, Roger Butler visits the Howgill Fells, Steve Eddy walks over Waun Fach and Pen y Gadair Fawr in the Black Mountains, and Fiona Barltrop walks to Cheesefoot Head in the South Downs.

Finally there's a readers survey so you can give your views on the magazine. This can also be completed online at tgomagazine.co.uk/survey.

A look at the Spring Issue of The Great Outdoors

 
The  latest issue of The Great Outdoors is out now. In it I review three tarps from Kelty, Hilleberg and Alpkit, plus the Osprey Talon Pro pack and The North Face L3 50/50 down jacket. I also have a look at what's happening to ViewRanger and consider how to pitch a tent in cold and hostile weather.

Elsewhere in the gear pages Judy Armstrong and David Lintern each review five pairs of three-season boots.

In the main features Nicola Hardy walks 325 kilometres from her Sheffield birthplace to her new home in Cumbria, Craig Weldon argues for taking the 'wrong' way up hills, Alex Roddie finds solitude on a December backpack through Knoydart, and Faraz Shibli undertakes a 1000-mile camel assisted trek across the Gobi Desert.

Also in this issue James Forrest gives some good tips for avoiding crowds in the hills, Hanna Lindon looks at the exciting possibility of lynx being reintroduced to Scotland and talks to Boardman-Tasker winner Jessica Lee about nature writing, Alex Roddie asks if outdoor culture has become too detached from nature, Sue Oxley and Ali Ogden start planning a backpacking trip, Jim Perrin praises the magnificent Buachaille Etive Mor, and Plas y Brenin instructor Brad Reed gives his tips for beginner hillwalkers. 

As well as excellent reading the magazine is full of mouth-watering photographs. I especially like the one of Alex Roddie in his brightly lit tent on a dark Knoydart night - it really captures the peace of a night out in the wilds and makes me look forward to being able to do that again soon. The image of the vast sand dunes of the Gobi Desert with a tiny figure walking along the crest of one of them also drew my attention and made me long for a desert trip.

A New Lens for Backpacking: Sony E 18-135 f3.5-f5.6

Sony E 18-135 with lens hood

For several years my photography setup for backpacking and hillwalking has been Sony a6000 and NEX 7 bodies with Sony E 10-18mm and 16-50mm zoom lenses. This system went on the GR5 through the Alps walk last autumn and the Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk two years before that. I've found it versatile and easy to use. Two cameras, two lenses, slung across my body in padded cases. Never any need to change lenses, always accessible.

Sometimes though I've wanted a longer lens - for wildlife, to zoom in on distant features, to pick out details. I've had the Sony E 55-210mm zoom lens for many years and this often comes with me on day walks, rarely on longer ones, as I like the two cameras and lenses system and I don't want to give up either of the shorter zooms. That leaves the 55-210 in the pack, where it too often stays, forgotten.

Sony E 18-135 fully extended

I accepted this two, sometimes three, lens system as there were no compact lightweight alternative lenses to the 16-50 that had a longer reach other than an expensive Zeiss 16-70, and the extra cost and weight didn't seem worth it for a measly 20mm increase.

Then, a year ago, Sony brought out the first new lens in many years for the a6000 series cameras, the 18-135 f3.5-f5.6. Light, compact and with a 7.5x zoom as opposed to the 3x zoom of the 16-50 this interested me straight away. I then spent a year deliberating!

Of course compared with the 16-50 the 18-135 is enormous and considerably heavier - 360 grams as opposed to 127 grams. The 55-210 is 380 grams so the saving over that lens plus the 16-50 is only 147 grams. I think though that the longer reach is well worth the extra 233 grams over the 16-50.

The big benefit of the 18-135 for me is that it extends my two cameras, two lenses system considerably. 10-135mm is a big range, equivalent to 15 to 202.5mm in 35mm/full frame. This is the biggest range in two lenses I've ever had.

I've had the 18-135 for nearly two months now and I've taken 310 images with it, half of them at focal lengths over 50mm. I'm pleased with the results. Reviews - and I read quite a few - suggested the image quality was good, better than the 16-50 in fact. I'm happy with that lens so I expected to like the 18-135. It's certainly sharper than the 55-210.

I did sometimes crop images taken with the 16-50 but this does mean lower quality and, more significantly to me, I found it harder to 'see' the image. With the 18-135 I can compose much more precisely. Looking at the data (ah, the wonders of Lightroom!) I can see that I've used just about every focal length at least once.

Carrying the 18-135 hasn't felt noticeably different to the 16-50 despite the difference in size and weight. I do have a bigger case of course but I carry it the same way.

I think for now I have found an ideal combination.

Here are some 18-135 images at different focal lengths, all taken in the Cairngorms on April 5.

18mm

24mm

31mm

71mm

95mm

135mm

The Great Outdoors April issue

The April issue of The Great Outdoors is in the shops now, with a rather summery cover that's not in accord with current wintry conditions! There is snowy stuff inside though.

My reviews cover eleven daypacks, three camera bags and the Tarptent Moment DW while Judy Armstrong compares six women's windshells.

David Lintern climbs and camps on a snowy Streap in the Western Highlands, a feature illustrated with his usual excellent photographs. More fine pictures appear in a piece in which ten landscape photographers name their favourite mountain views.  The magazine opens with a superb picture too - a snow-covered Pen y Fan under a starry sky by Grant Hyatt.

In the rest of the magazine John Manning remembers the late Steve Perry, and Roger Smith pays tribute to the late Adam Watson. TGO Challenge co-ordinators Sue Oxley and Ali Ogden discuss route-planning. Louis Nethercott and Anthony Lambert answer questions on their attempt to make unsupported crossings of the five largest islands - Greenland, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Madagascar, and Baffin Island - in aid of charity. The venture is called Expedition 5 and they've just Baffin Island left to do.

Jim Perrin's Mountain Portrait is Beinn Sgritheall in the Western Highlands, a superb viewpoint. Vivienne Crowe explores quiet Nidderdale, one of the Yorkshire Dales but not in the national park, while Roger Butler visits the equally quiet hills behind Blencathra. Cameron McNeish pays tribute to the Craigallian Fire, a key part of the traditions of Scottish outdoor life. Far from Scotland, Phoebe Smith walks the Wilderness Trail on Australia's Kangaroo Island. 

The Great Outdoors November Issue: GR5 Gear & Other Stuff

The latest issue of The Great Outdoors has just been published. In it I describe the gear I used on my walk through the Alps on the GR5 Trail, a venture I finished just a few days ago. The piece was written eight days into the walk, when the weather had been warm and mostly sunny, though with some thunderstorms and torrential rain. The next three weeks did see colder weather and some strong winds and more prolonged rain. How did the gear hold up? I'll be writing about that soon.

Also in this issue there's a Beginners Gear Guide in which I make recommendations for day walking and backpacking gear and Judy Armstrong looks at gear for women.

The shortlists for the TGO Gear of the Year are announced. These come from products put forward by gear companies. Over the next few weeks I and the other five judges will be testing the products and deciding the winners in each of the seven categories.

The issue opens with a superb moody and evocative double page spread of dawn in Torridon by James Roddie. Further into the magazine Roger Smith considers the problem of vehicle tracks in the hills and looks at the recent excellent LINK Hilltracks report Changing Tracks. Jim Perrin gives a portrait of Bleaklow - 'one of the truly marvellous places in the British hills'. David Lintern traverses vast Ben Avon in the Cairngorms and has a cold camp high on the mountain. Judy Armstrong walks an unnamed ridge in the French Alps. In South Wales Phoebe Smith walks the little known Bwlch with Altitude circuit. Further north in Southern Scotland Ronald Turnbull undertakes the relaunched and in some places rerouted (a road section has been replaced with one over the Ettrick Hills - hurrah!) Southern Upland Way - 'the toughest waymarked trail in Scotland'. Just to the south in the Lake District photographer Dave Fieldhouse shows the changes in the seasons in a glorious photo essay. Finally, Sandy Paterson of Glenmore Lodge gives advice on scrambling.

The Great Outdoors August issue

The latest issue of The Great Outdoors is out now. In it I look at the new gear I've liked at recent outdoor trade shows I've been to and review a dozen backpacking stoves.

This issue has two pieces that really stand out. The first is Stuart McIntyre's photo spread of the Scottish hills and wild places at night. Of the many mouth-watering pictures I especially like the stunning one of the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

The other feature that really impressed me is Colin Ibbotson's account of his recent continuous backpack in the Lake District over all 330 Wainwrights and Outlying Fells. This sounds the ultimate Lakeland walk.

There's plenty of other good stuff in this issue too. The lovely opening spread of a misty Tryfan by Dave Fieldhouse is subtle and evocative. Andrew Galloway marks Emily Bronte's bicentenary with a walk across the Yorkshire moors that inspired Wuthering Heights in an interesting piece that also touches on Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. Jim Perrin praises a scrambling route on Moel Siabod in Snowdonia. Roger Smith looks at the problems of 4x4s using historic tracks and green lanes. Judy Armstrong visits the isle of Mull on a trip combining walking, kayaking and a campervan. Phoebe Smith describes twelve small hills with superb views for short days out, including one of my local favourites, Craigellachie above Aviemore. Far from small hills and Britain Gavin Mcfie describes a mountaineering expedition in Kazakhstan, which looks and sounds wonderful. Skills advice comes from Bill Turnbull of Glenmore Lodge in a good piece on the fundamentals of navigation.

The Great Outdoors March Issue: winter sleeping bags, a visit to Komperdell, slope angle measurer

The March issue of The Great Outdoors is in the shops now. In it I review a dozen cold weather sleeping bags and the Slope Angel measuring device plus describe last autumn's visit to Komperdell in Austria. Also in the gear pages Judy Armstrong looks at three pairs of winter boots at different price points.

The theme of this issue is winter in the Highlands, very appropriate this year as snow conditions have been wonderful and look like continuing so for some time. Alan Rowan has a challenging stormy day on Creag Meagaidh, David Lintern visits two lesser known Glencoe hills, and Cameron McNeish talks about the pleasures of the winter hills in an extract from his new book There's Always the Hills. These mouth-watering winter pieces finish off with a glorious photo-essay on Glen Affric by Damian Shields.

Away from Scotland Hanna Lindon interviews mountaineer Andy Kirkpatrick, Roger Smith looks at the UK government's environment plan, Jim Perrin celebrates Arenig Fawr in Snowdonia, Stephen Goodwin describes a winter circuit of Bowfell and Crinkle Crags in an excerpt from his new book Winter Walks In The Lake District, Laurence McJannet has a slow adventure on the Coleridge Way in the Quantocks, and Ed Byrne scares himself on the Honister Slate Mine via ferrata.

Out Now - The Great Outdoors December issue: the story of the Therm-A-Rest, trousers for winter, Macpac tent review ....

The December issue of The Great Outdoors is in the shops now. In it I tell the story of how two redundant engineers who also happened to be mountaineers brought comfort to wild camping with the first self-inflating mat. I also review eleven pairs of winter hillwalking trousers and the Macpac Minaret tent. Elsewhere in the gear pages Judy Armstrong looks at three down jackets at different price points.

The issue opens with a glorious photo of dawn on Pen y Fan by Drew Buckley. There are more stunning images in a piece by Dougie Cunningham about his favourite pictures  from his new book Photographing Scotland, which sounds superb, and by David Lintern in Stefan Durkacz's interesting story of an autumn walk across Ardgour.

Also in this issue Jim Perrin walks on Cnicht in his Mountain Portrait series; James Forrest avoids the crowds by going Back o'Skiddaw; Rudolf Abraham introduces a new long-distance trail in the Balkans; Andrew Galloway explores the Staffordshire Moorlands; and there's an exclusive extract from Richard Else's new book Wainwright Revealed, another book that sounds unmissable.

In books there are also reviews of Chris Bonington's Ascent by Noel Dawson and Christopher Nicholson's Among the Summer Snows. I've just finished the latter book myself and will be posting a review here soon.