I am no “gearhead” but One of the best things about having a blog is the occasional items I get for review. Why? Well, it’s simple.
If I were to go back and ask my 16 year-old self what the coolest possible thing that could happen in my life would be it would be that someone would send me some kit to “test” (albeit in the loosest sense of the term). So, there. It happened.
These days I mostly go out for short 1 or 2 night camping trips and my longer travel tends to be family oriented. The latter doesn’t mean they can't be adventurous but it does mean different kinds of adventure, such as day climbs, walks or paddles and a few days on the slopes. Consequently I like to take my time before writing reviews, to ensure I have used items enough and one or two days out is not usually sufficient for me to make up my mind.
You can find some of my past gear reviews here, and here’s what is in store in the coming weeks:
Sun God: Custom Renegades (See Above).
I have recently received a pair of Custom Renegades from Sun God. Rather fortunately they arrived just as my Oakley FrogSkins were packing up. The reason why will have to wait … but I have been wearing Oakley for 20 years and have not really had any complaints. However, it was awesome to get these great-looking specs from Sun God, if for no other reason than to shake me from my brand-slavery.
Solestar: Hiking Insoles
I have never bought any shoe insoles in my entire life. I have swapped them around plenty of times but never actually spent money on them. Perhaps it is because shoes seem to get destroyed at the same time if not earlier than insoles these days (thats right it was better in the good ‘ol days). Anyway, again rather serendipitously, these arrived from the good people at Solestar when I was shopping around for some more approach shoes. I have some old TNF ones which (despite how crap most TNF stuff seems to be) are absolutely ace. I have worn them everywhere in all weathers from desert to snow and I can safely say I have never had such a comfy pair of hiking shoes, but they have recently started giving me sore feet as they get ever closer to shuffling off this mortal coil.
This was partly down to the insoles which are as thin as paper. Now they have been re-vamped (for the time being) and I am eking out a little more from these faithful old shoes, thanks to the Solestar Hiking Insoles. I will report back in the near future on their performance.
The Alps: An Environmental History
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a little obsessive about books. Ever since I first worked in a bookshop - after dropping out of university - I have been a collector. We are strange folk; veering between the ecstasy of finding some obscure pamphlet or a clean dustjacket and the guilt of completeness, that sickness in the pit of the stomach at simultaneously wanting and not wanting books simply to make a collection feel complete. Anyway, I am wittering.
The point is; I am particularly happy to receive a book about the Alps, my favourite mountains, home to much of my Italian family and also my main field of book-collecting.
Jon Mathieu’s history is out in the new year so I will save it for my Christmas Reading and post a review in January.