I remember standing on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a group of hikers—all decked out in the latest “ultralight” tech they’d …
Winter Hillwalking Is a Different Sport
The Complete Guide to Wild Camping
I’ve spent twenty-two years watching people pack half a mountain of expensive, lightweight titanium gear only to end up shivering in a damp bivvy because …
Storing a Tent Wet Is How Tents Die
I once spent three hours in a sodden valley in the Cairngorms, trying to explain to a group of increasingly miserable hikers why we couldn’t …
Base Layers: Merino Versus Synthetic Honestly
I once spent four hours huddled under a granite overhang in the Cairngorms, watching a group of very expensive, very optimistic hikers shiver uncontrollably because …
Sitting in a Hide for Three Hours Productively
I remember sitting in a damp sedge bed three years ago, shivering in a high-tech, £300 “stealth tent” that had more zippers than a tailor’s …
Insulation Compared, With the Damp Caveat
I remember a Tuesday in late October, somewhere on the edge of the Cairngorms, when the mist turned into a relentless, sideways soak. I was …
Why Almost Everything Happens in the First Hour
I once watched a group of hikers sit shivering in a damp valley for three hours, clutching expensive binoculars and staring at a patch of …
The Complete Guide to Camping
I once watched a group of hikers spend three hours debating which high-tech, lightweight titanium stove was worth the extra fifty quid, only to spend …
Choosing a Tent for the Conditions You Actually Camp in
I remember sitting in a sodden valley in the Cairngorms three years ago, listening to the rhythmic thwack of a poorly tensioned flysheet struggling against …
Setting a Turnaround Time and Honouring It
I can still smell the wet wool and the metallic tang of that first real sleet hit back in the Cairngorms—the kind that doesn’t just …