golite peak – first impression
A new model for 2010 which Bob at BPL UK managed to acquire a stock of this side of the 31st December. Naturally I had to have one because… Well because it’s new but it’s not shiny; I ordered one in black, and I had need of a 40l rucksack (that’s my justification out of the way). It’s basically a mini-me version of the Jam 2 only smaller and with a few refinements. The bag is made from grid reinforced dynema but with one difference, it’s made from 100% recycled material. In fact all rucksacks in next year’s product line will be made from recycled material (or as their website states 100% Tier 1 EPM’s). The bag boasts the same compactor system allowing you to skinn

mardale pile bivi boots
The above items are one of those luxury items that you dream of at the end of a long day when your feet are wet and cold, and no amount of burying in the sleeping bag and wiggling of toes will make them warm up. These are like buffalo pile mitts for the feet. The extra large (10-12) weigh 172g

savoy cabbage with white beans
Savoy cabbage is one of my favourite vegetables from this time of year. And one of the best ways of serving it is like this. One Savoy cabbage Can of cannelli or butter beans Three rashers of smoked back bacon Strip the leaves off the cabbage and rinse under running water to remove any grit. Use a sharp knife to cut either side of the stalk to remove it. Stack the halves of the leaves and shred into pencil width strips. Place the shredded cabbage in a steamer, rinse the beans and place on top, steam for about 5 minutes, the cabbage needs to be cooked but with a little bite. Cut the rashers of bacon into strips. Whilst the cabbage is steaming heat

vargo titanium sierra cup
I must be spending too much of my online time chatting with American backpackers; seems their influence has lead me to buy the one piece of kit that is THE symbol of backpacking in the US - the sierra cup. With a capacity of 270ml it doesn’t really fit in with my perceived camp kitchen ideal. That said I’ve often wanted to take just the Snow Peak 900 but think that it looks ridiculously big as a mug! The sierra cup sits nicely on top of this and the Primus 1L pot that I use with my Bush Buddy, so perhaps there was some reason for the purchase. That said once I’ve found one of those dinky Al

tgo challenge - round up
The fat brown envelope arrived from Roger.What's interesting about it is that it includes the names, location, how many challenges the lucky participants have done, and their age.Scanning through the list many names jump out; Christine Roche, editor of the BPC's newsletter, Darren Christie, and Geoff Gafford. All three I've spent time on the trail with so I'm looking forward to catching up with them along the way. Alan Sloman, Phil @ Doodlecat and Ma