Got a Convertube recently to test as Olly from Mountain Tracks was telling me that they ask their clients not too bring bladder systems on trips because they have too many problems with them puncturing.

Source Convertube

The Convertube allows you to use a strong rigid bottle instead of a flexible one by adding an air valve into the lid. There is nothing new in this idea, it has been used in the BCA Alp40 pack for several years and MSR also make  a Hydration Kit for their dromedary bags which is basically a super beefy hydration system.

The Convertube is better than both these systems or a standard bladder for a number of reason.

1. You cannot puncture a rigid bottle by accident.
2. Convertube allows you to use just about any bottle. If you forget your Nalgene or Sigg bottle you can just grab any fizzy pop bottle from the shops, refill it with water and attach the tube.
3. It is much easier to refill a rigid bottle from a stream or lake than a flexible bladder
4. Bring along the lid for your bottle and you can choose not to use the hose, especially useful if your hose freezes up.
5. Convertube can be used with Platypus and MSR bladders if you actually want to use a flexible container.
6. Costs only £16, which I think for such a versatile set up is great value for money.

Next time you are going to buy a replacement hose for your drink system, buy a Convertube instead.

Using a Nalgene ATB bottle

Using a Sigg bottle

If you are out on the hill for a long day or overnight then at some point the call of nature must be answered.  As the level of usage of our mountain environment increases and once quiet spots become busier it seems more and more irresponsible to be using the mountains as one big toilet. So unpleasant as it may seem you have to carry it out with you. In 1997 Cairngorm National Park started the Poo Project to reduce the amount of waste that is revealed by the melting snowpack.  They provide bags and containers to use for free and a disposal service.

It’s actually pretty easy to do this at any time of year. You need some compostable nappy bags from the local chemist. These are made from corn starch, so even better than bio degradable, although human waste should not go in your compost bin.

Next get yourself some pooh powder. Pooh powder is like the inside of a nappy, it turns liquid waste into a gel and blocks odours. The waste is than acceptable as landfill in much the same way as a standard nappy. You put a couple of scoops of powder  into the nappy bag before you leave home.

Double Lock Dry Bag

Finally get one of these double lock bio waste dry bags from Rab.

If you need to, use the nappy bag with the powder inside. Then use another nappy bag around that and then put the whole lot into a double sealed drybag. Hang it on the outside of your pack or put inside. When you get home, dump the nappy sacks into the bin and wash out the dry bag. A simple system which is pretty cost effective. A tub of the powder isn’t cheap but will last a group of people quite a long time. I have a slightly larger system which we use when wild camping in our van which also works very well.

Did my first proper race in my baregrips this week. The 5.2 miles of the Jack Bloor. I really like them as a shoe, the course was fast and dry with some tight bends in the tracks and they performed really well. The biggest compliment is that I didn’t even think about them once during the race, which for a new shoe is very unusual. No problems with my calves afterwards, (plenty of stretching since the 3 peaks), so now to try something a little longer. Waiting to get a pair of Roclite 285s soon, which is the least cushioned of the trail shoes.

inov-8 Bare Grip 200

Full results of the Jack Bloor HERE.

http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run.html

15 minute talk by Christopher McDougall about natural or barefoot running. It’s sort of the main theme of his book condensed into a short lecture.

Marmot Men's Ether Driclime

I have just begun testing the new Ether Driclime windshirt from Marmot. I have long been a fan of this type of windshirt and the Marmot one in particular. There have been several variants of the driclime over the last 15 years and this one is shaping up to be one of the best. There will be a full review in time but the highlights are; thinner lining, hood, zipped handwarmer pockets, hem drawcord and more of a jacket than a shirt but 68g lighter than the shirt. It’s brilliant – half the weight and price than some lightweight softshell jackets but probably more practical.

Well the dry warm weather has been perfect for some great spring flying in the UK.

The North of England and Scotland has seen some amazing conditions recently, and some remarkable flights have been achieved.

I had a great 80km flight from Kettlewell in the Yorkshire  Dales, a 5 hour flight got me to the coast in Southport.

Jake’s Flight from the Yorkshire Dales. (Click to enlarge)

For those in Scotland conditions were even better. A  UK record was broken in the Scottish Highlands in the same week. Brendan Reid flew a 100km flight around a triangular course, so landed at the same place he took off from. This was a very committed route over some very remote areas. This flight took him to over 8000ft over some of the most amazing mountains. His flight took him over a good chunk of the Highlands, and right over Ben Nevis. You can read Brendan’s Blog here, with full details of the record flight and some inspiring photos.

Photo . (Click to enlarge)

Brendan’s Track Logs. (Click to enlarge)

This is the 5th and last review in the Midweight Softshell Review Series

Marmot Pro Tour Jacket

The Marmot Pro Tour Jacket uses both laminated and unlaminated softshell fabrics. It is the only jacket to use the Powershield O² fabric, which is even more breathable than the standard or lite variants of Powershield.  The Pro Tour is very breathable and cool to wear and as such is definitely for the very active and not for winter use. The front of the jacket, shoulders and top of arms are made from the Powershield O² fabric (dark black in image below), whilst the sides and lower back are made from a proprietary marmot softshell fabric (light black in image). This gives the jacket increased weather protection from the front but better moisture transfer and stretch at the back. Marmot also reasoned that you will often be wearing a pack which gives you protection as well as making you sweaty in this area so an unlaminated fabric would be best.

Pro Tour jacket uses 2 fabrics on back

There is no doubt that Marmot have created a very breathable jacket for something that is more than 60% membraned. For ski touring, biking and winter running the Pro Tour is a great piece, but the flip side is that the jacket has very low insulation. A couple of times I got too cold before I put the Pro Tour and found that I wasn’t really warming up very quickly. Every garment has a climate window in which it is best suited and the window for the Pro Tour is warmer than for your average softshell. Great for not over heating for 3 seasons but not a winter piece.

The Pro Tour is nominally a ski touring piece and has a couple of nice ski features. First there is a large net pocket on the inside, where you would put your skins on the descent. A nice touch but the first time I used it, I tried to put my second skin on the other side and realised there was only one pocket. OK if you have skinny traditional skins but not enough room for some modern fat skins. The hem drawcord is more than enough to hold your skins in, if you just shove them in without using the pocket and the netting makes a good pocket anyway. There is also a ski pass pocket on the upper left arm, just the right size and totally unobtrusive when empty.

Inside skin net pocket

The Pro Tour jacket has an athletic cut which lends itself well to cycling and running. There is no flapping of the sleeves at speed plus they  have velcro adjusting cuffs for those wearing gloves or with thick wrists. 2 large chest pockets are very practical and well clear of any waistbelts or harness when in use.  The main zip undoes both ways so the jacket can be used easily for belaying.  One distinctive feature that I quite liked was the collar and hood arrangement. The hood is separate to the collar so you can do the zip up to the top without tightening the hood.  It seals the jacket more effectively in bad weather and gives you more clear space around the head when the hood is not wanted.

Separate collar and hood

I really liked the features and the cut of the Pro Tour jacket, my only reservation is that it is not quite warm enough. Ironically it could be the fantastic breathability of the Powershield O² fabric which limits the use of the Pro Tour. Conversely if you have found previous softshells to be stiff, spongey or clammy then the Pro Tour could be what you are looking for.

This last shot of the Pro Tour shows we do actually use the products for a while before reviewing them, but is mainly a good photo of me skiing that I have squeezed onto the blog.

The Pro Tour in action

For the first time in about a year, every member of staff was at work today and the sun was shining. We took the opportunity to take a new staff photo. Steve and Tim have left us for pastures new (a Phd and a new family) whilst Fran, Graham and Jake have joined the team. Click on the image to enlarge.

Facewest Team May 2011

Having a tidy up of the site, we have moved this mini review from the product page onto the blog. 3 years old now but the Liskamm pant is still as good as it was, in fact I am still regularly using the same pair now as I was then.

ME Liskamm Pant

I wore the Mountain Equipment Liskamm Pant on my Oberland touring trip spring 2008 and will never tour in another pair of trousers as long as I can get the Liskamm. I found that they kept me warm when the cold wind was blowing on the ridges and at night but were never too hot on the climbs during the day. On the couple of bad weather days I did not feel the need to don my over trousers and the Liskamms seemed to shed the snow no problem. My only wish was that they came with braces rather than an integral belt but that’s just my preference. (Updated now to include brace attachment loops)

The only caveat I would add is that I am a warm person and do not easily feel the cold, if that’s not you then you would probably have the same experience with the G2 Ultimate Mountain Pant rather than the Liskamm. Schoeller fabrics are not cheap but I think that their performance justifies the price.