Your Gear Questions Answered
Richard Gear on winter mountain tents, soft shell suitability and a replacement hydration bladder.
Posted: 10 December 2009
by Jon
Our man Gear, Richard Gear is back to
answer more of your kit questions.
This week, Richard answers questions about what's the point of soft
shell in the UK, where to source a bladder for a North Face hydration
pack and which tent for lightweight Scottish winter mountain use.
So far Richard has rather suggestibly answered around 700 kit
queries and you can find all his past answers together with
a search mechanism at the Ask
Richard Gear section of the site.
Browse through his past answers or ask
a question of your own...
|
|
Q What's so great about soft shell? I
just bought some soft shell pants I plan to use for skiing. But I tried
them on a bike ride in the rain and they started letting in water after
just a few minutes. What's the big deal about a fabric that isn't
waterproof and doesn't insulate, particularly in a country like ours?
A: The name is Gear, Richard
'Appropriate' Gear. The whole soft shell, erm concept can get very
confusing. The term covers a whole range of fabrics and garments made
from them, ranging from pretty much waterproof material at one end,
through to water and wind resistant stuff at the other.
Generally the pay-off for more water resistance is reduced
breathability whereas the fabrics which give you ...
Full
Answer
|
|
|
|
Q: Where can I find the replacement hydration
system for my North Face Hammerhead pack? I've tried looking online, i
dont want to buy the whole thing again as the bag is fine?
A: The name is Gear, Richard
'Bladder' Gear. The good news is that you should be able to fit pretty
much any 3-litre hydration bladder into your Hammerhead, so you're not
tied to the original bladder supplied with the pack.
If you do like the bladder, the chances are that it's one of the ones
made for TNF by Nalgene, and you may be able to find one sold under
that brand name. That said, I think there are better choices out there
right now.
My favourite hydration systems at the moment are made by...
Full
Answer
|
|
Q: I'm thinking of getting a tent suitable for
use in snow as I want to do some winter trekking (Cairngorms, Lochaber
areas) - obviously weight is an issue and a two-man job would be the
right size. What would you recomend? Is there anything in the
low/mid/high price ranges or is everything for serious winter use
expensive?
A: Gear here, Richard 'Tentage' Gear.
First, to put thing in perspective, even the strongest mountaineering
tents can be taken out by really serious winter storms and equally, on
a calm winter night, relatively lightweight tents will be fine.
The problem is, if you're camping out in Scottish winter conditions,
you don't...
Full
Answer
|
Check out the
full Ask
Richard Gear section of the site for a searchable
archive of
all Richard's past answers, some of which make sense, or ask a
question of your own...
Discuss this story
|
