I was reading this Patagonia blog post on their review of the Outdoor Retailer trade show.  The no.1 one theme being picked up upon was ‘sustainability’.  As their brand ambassador put it

“sustainable business practices, like manufacturing with recycled materials, making products more durable, and trying to lessen their impact”

This is encouraging to read.  A lot of those guiding words are included in the values behind the Ventile fabrics.  A natural use of the properties of cotton used to protect us against the elements.

Walk Magazine issued its reader awards for 2010 earlier in the year and the best overall walking brand winner was Paramo.  The Hilltrek store in Aboyne and the online store stock a wide range of products including the Gold Winning walking trousers.  This walking trouser gives a hill walker a lot of adaptability to changing weather conditions, warmth on cold days, vents to open on hotter days, lots of zips that work reliably even in poor weather conditions.   The Walk Magazine have published this video from the event.

Walk Reader Awards from Athar Abidi on Vimeo.

I am starting the planning for my walk up Ben Avon this week.  The weather forecast is where I usually start my preparations and things are looking promising for Tuesday onwards.  About this time last year I walked to the summit of Ben MacDhui and it was a hot day in the hills, so thoughts on what jacket to bring were more along the lines, will I need an outdoor jacket at all?  Of course the answer is always yes.  This year the weather is a lot cooler, the freezing level reported at 1200m at the weekend past, that is cold enough for snow on the summits in the Cairngorms.  It is going to be 20 mile walk so that is going to be a bit of an energy spend and the hike up the steeper slopes will no doubt keep me warm.  So what jacket to wear?  Two things, one the need to keep the rain off and two, to keep the wind out but I suppose thirdly, but not at the price of overheating.  For me that means, the outer shell of my winter ski jacket with a breathable shirt below and a further t-shirt below if warmth is needed.  If some warmth is need and the weather is dry I’d go for just the inner lining of my ski-jacket with the outer shell packed in the rucksack.  Given those choices I was looking around the hilltrek online store and selected the following items:

Gairn Windproof Smock for those cooler summer days when the rain and wind is likely.

Naturally Páramo Reversible shirts Explorer Light Pull on with the new lighter weight materials this versatile jacket provides maximum flexibility for cooler to warmer day use.

Made to Measure Braemar Single Ventile Windshirt for those that want want exact fit comfort and performance.

In many ways choosing a summer outdoor jacket is a harder job than a winter one but for sure one should be packed in a rucksack.

Striking a catalogue pose whilst road testing the Patagonia R1 Fleece on Bennachie

There is a saying that goes along the lines that a girl can never have too many hats, bags and shoes… I work on the principal that you can never have too much outdoor gear!
With the day light hours getting longer and as we are move closer to spring, now is a good time to head to your local outdoor shop and snap up some bargains.

At Hilltrek we have several excellent promotions currently running.

Paramo are offering a free Torres Gilet in Moss (worth £77) with every Men’s green Alta II jacket or Ladies Alta II jacket in lentil/moss purchased.

You can buy a Velez or Velez adventure smock and we give you two cambia base layer tops free.
Alternatively buy an Explorer pull on and get an Active Travel shirt for £5, a saving of £46!

We also have a range of Patagonia shell jackets which we are offering as buy one get a Patagonia technical fleece free, whilst stocks last.

You may have been thinking of getting a soft shell, then come and look at our Helly Hansen range.

Bill, Bryan and I would love to see you, please call in we really enjoy hearing about your outdoor adventures and if you are really lucky we might even have the kettle on!