hilltrek

Autumn is much like Spring in terms of walking in the hills.  The range of weather conditions that you can experience in such short periods of time, temperature changes with altitude or your placing on a hill or valley make a big impact on.  With such variability having good logic behind the clothing layers you put on make a big difference to the comfort level you experience while out in the hills.  Today, the temperatures had been in negative numbers for much of the night so the valley floor frost was melting back in weakening sunlight come mid morning.  Therefore, it was cold.  The first layer to think about was a woolly hat, time to put that in your pocket, ventile walking trousers for me and then a T-shirt, fleece and outer light shell jacket.  All layers were needed for the valley floor, even the runners had their hats on today but then the steeper climbs of the Fungle make you warm up from the inside so the outer shell jacket was opened up plus the big zip in the front of my fleece.  In a deep valley and tree lined the wind was light, also, with just a 100  metres of verticle added, the air was not so cold  (cold air sinks).  So having the ability to cool down is important but then the open heather hill top paths exposes the wind.  Time to zip up again, even put the hat back on but then the sun gets warmer and a dip in the hills provides shelter, time to zip down again but then turn the shoulder of a hill and the wind is blowing across 30 miles un-interrupted from the Cairngorms and its time to wrap up again, even in the even warmer sun.  Then its time to head down towards the valley floor, shelter and sun but then the sun disappears and the breeze disappears and the still cold air is still around in pockets.  While it is not as cold as when starting out the fleece provides the warmth.  No rain or wintry precipitation on this walk but that will come real soon.

What are the benefits of outdoor made to measure clothing?  Here are some based on my experience:

Fit
Comes without saying but this means nil to a shorter wearing in period thus you don’t have to limit your activities while you bed in the clothing.

Comfort
Not just for that early wear in period but for eliminating those annoy little snags and wearings that become evident in long distance and long exposure to outdoor conditions.

Convenience
The practical design of the clothing is fit for purpose.  The pockets are right for a map, ski gloves, carrying food and are located in the right place and the right size for access.

Personal expression
The ability to select the ethical and environmental values in the materials used and usually to support a local business.  Not forgetting the selection of colour and style.

Innovation
Customers wearing the clothing and the whole community of users can suggest feedback to further improve the clothing they wear, in short a more responsive feedback loop along the whole design, manufacturing and supply chain.

Price
Personalized to the value being gained from the clothing.

The sun hadn’t made an appearance for a few days so things were dull and damp in the hills.  Not particularly cold but a thin east wind you noticed when you stopped walking.  My choice of clothing was a t-shirt and a fleece.  For me my made to measure Lochnagar Fleece.

In fact, it was a made to measure day for me as I was wearing my double ventile walking trousers too.  The hills seem even more peaceful when wrapped in the mist and my Hilltreck clothing was making it comfortable in those conditions.

The July/August 2010  issue of Ethical Consumer Magazine includes a review of outdoor clothing and equipment.  The best buy and overall rated outdoor jacket was by Paramo.  They have an extract on the criteria used by ethical magazine on their site. The ethical score is out of 20 and Paramo scored 13.5 so the whole industry still has some work to do but it is clear some manufacturers have put the impact on the environment ahead of other commercial considerations.  The Trees for Life blog have a good summary on the history of Paramo and  ethical issues.

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.