New Gear From The Show - Part One

We're just back from the annual UK outdoors trade show at Harrogate. It's the first chance to see some of the new kit that'll be in the shops early next year - though if you're a regular OM user you'll already have had a peak at 2003 gear from the likes of Berghaus, The North Face, Mountain Equipment, Karrimor and others.

This is part one of our report, part two should be up tomorrow, but please remember that unless we say otherwise, the new kit clothing and hardware featured here won't be in the shops until February / March 2003, so don't go annoying innocent outdoors retailers just yet.

So what's interesting?

We're going to run through the different companies one by one in a totally random sequence, but the two things that really caught our attention were the new Event fabric which is going to be used by Lowe Alpine - watch out for information on their consumer test programme soon - and Brasher's new shoes.

Otherwise, some neat new boots form Scarpa, a new lightweight but stable alpine stove from MSR and an upgraded Precip jacket from Marmot that looks the mutts nuts. Oh, and some strange looking sleeping pads from Mountain Equipment. Anyway, stick with us and all will be revealed...

Scarpa

Nothing much in the way of walking boots from the Italian company but they make up for it with a selection of new alpine and expedition boots for hardcore users plus some neat scrambling shoes and a travel boot. Oh, and an all in one specialist competition ice boot - where would we be without one of those eh?

The lightweight travel boot is called the Off-Road and is designed for hot conditions with a lot of mesh for additional foot cooling - should be ideal for warm condition travelling with some walking thrown in. Also has anti-microbial treatment bad smells in their tracks. Retail should be around £90.

Closer to home, there are three new dedicated scrambling shoes and boots called Ascents. They use exclusive to Scarpa Megabyte sticky rubber soles, like the current Mescalito boot. The sole is blocked out on the toe to stop the rubber rolling off holds. They also get the Mescalitos's climbing-style last for a snug, effective fit with the lacing extending right down towards the toes.

The soles are much more flexible than the Mescalito though, which should make forefoot smearing more secure though without the same degree of edging precision. Models are the Ascent-Lite shoe, the Ascent Lite Mesh - a hot conditions boot with big panels of dense mesh for cooling. Last there's the Ascent-Tech, a mid-cut boot version that will probably be more practical than the shoes for scrambling use. Shoes will be about £80, with the boots £90.

The technical mountaineering range has had a bit of a going over too. There are three new models called Phantom, but one of those is a competition ice climbing shoe which will be of interest to around three people in the UK.

The Phantom 8000 is probably the most expensive climbing boot in the world. Aimed at high altititude mountaineers - 8000, geddit - it's an all in one, multi-layered, super-insulated Everest-type expedition boot that Scarpa says is the 'lightest, warmest and most dextrous boot of its type on the market.' Price is a whopping £499.99. But then how much are your toes worth to you?

Last but not least is the Phantom-Lite (see pic). It's an ultra-lightweight version of the Freney with an integral gaiter and, say the Mountain Boot Company, suitable for altitudes of up to 6000 metres, which should make it spot on for, say, the Andes, Alps or some lower Himalayan peaks.

The Freney itself gets a makeover. Originally intended as a steep ice and mixed boot, its lightness meant it was getting used as a pure alpine boot. Now it's evolved into two variants, the Freney-Pro (B2), which is designed for all round classic alpine use and the Freney-XT (B3) - right - which is intended as a direct replacement for the existing Freney on hard technical climbs.

Both the boots have the new ankle system from the Cumbre for better mobility and use stainless stell lace hooks which are half the weight of current hooks because the material can be thinner. Interestingly the XT uses only synthetic materials making it the first technical ice boot suitable for vegans, or at least the first non-plastic one. The uppers are made from Lorica.

Contour

Scarpa's satellite brand Contour continues to expand its range of good value boots with a couple of more contemporary looking new models. The £60 Harrier is a fabric / suede trekking boot with a waterproof / breathable Hydroban lining and Contour's usual own brand sole.

Meanwhile the Falcon shoe is based on Scarpa's old Lunana, but with a softer flex mid-sole unit, which could actually make it a better all round shoe. It certainly feels that way. Price is £50.

Berghaus

We covered a big part of the Berghaus 2003 range when we reported on the new Extrem Light kit a few weeks ago, but the show gave us the chance to mop up some of the stragglers.

On the Extrem Light launch, we just happened to notice Berghaus's Lewis Grundy wearing some very neat walking pants. Turns out that they're the very neat looking Fastrek Pant - right - which is part of the Extrem range and aimed squarely at mountain walkers.

They may look like travel pants in the pics, but the material is a tough, wind-resistant Stretch Cordura fabric that's touted as durable and abrasion resistant. It gets an integrated webbing belt to complement the elasticated waist, hand pockets with mesh inserts, zipped thigh vents, ankle zips and double fabric on the knees. Colours are stone or black and the price, when the pant appears in the shops in March will be £55. Look good.

Meanwhile, although we joke about beige travel clothing, it's actually quite useful stuff. There's a new pair of zip-off pants from Berghaus dubbed the Syntrek Convertible. Not only do they use a rather nice looking fabric with a rather attractive texture, but they've also taken the trouble to colour code the legs so you can work out which one zips onto which side without frying your overheated brain. They also have an SPF factor of 30+ and a wicking treatment.

There's also a new arrival in the Berghaus footwear range. The £95 Raid GTX is a Gore-Tex-lined suede / fabric boot which is strongly reminisent of Salomon's comfortable Supertrek 6 boot. The last is based on the distinctive Quantum boot and Berghaus's aim was instant comfort.

That means copious but firm internal padding and a distinct rocker for an easy walking action. It seems to work too - we tried them on and didn't want to give them back...

Last but biggest of all, there's a new addition to the Freeflow II range of ventilated back system packs - see the pic at tehe top of the page - and it's a 50-litre weekending sac. It has the same air gap back but with twin delrin rods and a polypropolene plate to beef up the back system and can carry over 12 kilos in comfort. Berghaus are aiming it not so much at backpackers as people who walk between b and bs or hostels and need some extra capacity, but you could also use it as a day sac with the main body cinched down.

Leatherman

The legendary pocket tool gizmos are pretty useful but quite a few Leatherman models are both expensive and a tad heavy and bulky for lightweight walkers and climbers. On top of that, the smallest Micra is built around scissors rather than the more useful pliers.

What we like the look of though is the tiny new 'Squirt' multi-tool. It's only two and a quarter inches long, but includes a set of mini-pliers and a small metal file. Could be just the job for emergency crampon repairs, then again it might just be too small for the job, we'll have to wait and see. Jewel-like construction though at a price of £39.95.

Princeton Tech

Yet another LED head torch specialist, Princeton are big in the US with a background in caving. They've got some interesting stuff on the way including some more competition for Petzl's Tikka in the shape of the Aurora.

Like the Tikka, the Aurora uses three LEDs, but it scores bonus points by having three brightness settings and two strobe options plus the beam is directable. Coming into the shops now, it weighs 2.8 oz and costs £29.95 with up to 15 hours of battery life. Another interesting development, so far only available in hand torch form, is a focussable LED light - shouldn't be long before we see the first zoomable LED head torch then.

Wynnster

It's easy to dismiss the budget brands out of hand, but cheaper kit is getting better and better. Wynnster's top of the range Viper packs for example, now feature some of the design touches you expect on much more expensive sacs. Notably a back system that, like those of packs from the likes of Berghaus and Karrimor, feed pack loads directly into the hip belt for maximum load transfer. The 65-litre version will set you back around £75 and looks good value at the price.