A quote from Lawrence Clark of  Bushcraft Ventures Ltd shown in the picture wearing on of our Cotton Analogy jackets

‘I’ve been using Ventile jackets for a little over 20 years and have never been let-down by their performance. In fact I have a mountaineering Ventile jacket that is 20 years old and still going strong. Earlier this year I took my new Cotton Anology jacket along on my regular annual trip to Arctic Sweden, to see how it would cope with 2 months of teaching bushcraft and reindeer herding.

I normally use a cotton Swedish army skiing jacket, which is not waterproof, when in the Arctic but with the winters getting warmer in this region I felt that I needed a jacket that could cope with temperatures ranging from zero to minus 40C. I was very impressed with the performance of the combination of the Ventile and Nikwax Anology materials and stayed dry and comfortable whilst building snow shelters, ice fish, snow-shoeing in nearly 2 metres of snow and trying to catch reindeer.

For those of you that have lived and worked outside in extreme low temperatures, which may be most us after the recent winters we’ve had in Scotland, you will realise that moisture is a big NO NO. Although the body temperature can be controlled, by correct preparation before activities, having clothing that breathes well and that can be ‘vented’ is highly important. I can honestly say that, despite some hard physical work, I never experienced moisture or any ‘clamminess’ that I have experienced with many jackets solely made from man-made materials.

When working with reindeer and building snow shelter one can often be covered from head to toe in snow and with the temperature at the start of my trip being just below Zero (I believe is was around -24c in Aboyne at the same time) this meant the snow was ‘wetter’ than normal for this time of year. Therefore waterproof protection is vital and if your mid or base become wet and the temperature drops you could be in big trouble. The options when this happen is to dry your clothes by a fire or to let the water freeze and knock off the ice, both of these options can mean a very cold and dangerous situation if you don’t have spare clothing.

Fortunately, as I expected, I did not experience any leakage and despite the hard-work I put the jacket through I remained dry and cosy. I put this down to not only the combination of the materials but also down to the workmanship (or maybe that should be workwomanship) of the highly experienced seamstresses that manufacture a high quality product at Hilltrek’s workshop in Aboyne.

I was able to ask for larger and more pockets, to accommodate gloves and mitten, when I first purchased my jacket but I require some more alterations so I’m taking the jacket back to Hilltrek. This is not due to a problem with manufacture or materials but I have decided to make some personal design changes.  I discussed the alterations with the Hilltrek seamstress and got some excellent advice and the jacket shall be ready soon.

In summary I’m very pleased with the materials and workmanship and I’m looking forward to using my jacket over the Scottish winter and autumn and shall be taking it with to Sweden, Norway and possible Canada early next.

Thanks Hilltrek

Lawrence Clark

Bushcraft Ventures Ltd

We are lucky to have a local walking holiday business called, Walk Deeside, that specialize in outdoor activities and walking holidays on our door step.  Whether you are looking for guided tours of local hills or the Cairngorms they provide a complete package from accommodation to skills expertise. They even provide international expedition leadership again as a complete package from guide to accommodation, next year both Kilimangaro and Peru are scheduled.

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.

With the grouse shooting season getting underway last week, hill walkers have an added danger to be aware off.  Best keep to the right of ways and if there is a shooting party out, maybe find another hill to walk.  Oh, yes bright coloured clothing may help you look less like a grouse!

With the second half of the summer being particularly unsettled weather wise then the chances are you will have been walking a lot in the rain recently?  Especially on longer distance walks, I head in to Glen Tanar from Aboyne the other weekend and it rained for 3 of the 4 hours I was out walking.  It was a muggy and humid day and the Fungle, felt more jungle like but my CragHoppers and t-shirt were keeping me cool enough, but on leaving the tree line behind the open heather moorland brought steady and heavy rain, and a bit of wind, nothing to strong but enough to dramatically lower the temperature.  A few years back I got a pair of made to measure water proof over trousers.  With no lining they are light to carry and easy to roll up into a pocket, zipped at the bottom to save you taking off your boots, but you still need to have good balance to get them on quickly.  I also had a shell outer jacket.  I was wrapped up from both the wet and the cold wind.  I had not been for a long-ish walk in the rain for ages, no views to take in or Buzzards soaring in the sky to watch but it was enjoyable enough, especially guessing when the could might break.   Then it came time to descend and the valley bottom was a lot warmer, the rain became more showery and I could remove the over trousers.  The day became warm before a big shower ensured I finished my walk in the rain as I returned to Aboyne.

Active Aboyne is less than a month away now and a long list of events are now available on their website.  The events include long distance walks that they call ‘Big Hill Days‘ to Family Fun activities.  The full list of events are list on their events page.