A
few weeks back we told you about the arrival
of Keen Footwear in the UK. Keen is one of the fastest growing
footwear brands in the world and despite only having been around for
a couple of years already has over a third of the market in technical
sports sandals in the US.
The stuff looks lovely on the web, but of course the real proof is
in the wearing, and we're doing just that with a rather nice pair of
Newport sandals turning up at OM HQ. First impressions are
that these are properly made, high quality shoes that should do the
job nicely. The washable, waterproof leather uppers are lovely, the
chunky sole and footbed offers good cushioning and stability and a
sturdy toe bumper keeps your toes safe and sound.
They're more loafing than technical sandals, though Keen does do
technical too, but so far they've been cool, comfortable and
protective plus the lack of pong suggests that the anti-microbial
treatment is doing its job. More information at www.keenfootwear.uk
Also
new to the OM test fleet is the latest Petzl Myo XP headtorch.
The original Myos used permutations of conventional halogens and
standard LED bulbs to give a versatile compromise between close-up
use with long battery life and a more piercing beam for distance
work.
The XP takes things a stage further and uses just one solitary
Super LED bulb to provide everything from a low level, wide beam
20-metre light with a battery life of up to 170 hours to a piercing
45 metre beam with a 70 hour duration. The really clever bit is that
an overdrive setting allows you to temporarily extend that beam to 65
metres thanks to a 50% boost in power.
A fold down lens cover allows you to switch between a diffuse
general beam and a concentrated, focussed one. We'll bring you a full
test shortly, but at 169 grammes including batteries, it's light and
compact plus does everything we could want from a torch without
guzzling power from the 3 AA-sized batteries. Only queries so far are
a slight fiddliness about the controls - no thick gloves thanks - and
the lack of a remote battery box for really cold conditions. More
information at www.petzl.com
Titanium's
one of those materials that screams trick and light, so we were quite
intrigued by the new Hike-Lite range of titanium objects
available direct from their site on the interweb. The range includes
the Vargo Titanium Jet-Ti Stove, Titanium Cutlery and Spork, a mug
and tent pegs in both V-stake and skewer form. All very promising as
titanium is pretty much as light as aluminium but much closer to
steel in strrength - it's not cheap though.
We've got a stove - £34.99 - some tent pegs and a Spork to
take a look at. The Spork's nice and light at 13 grammes but is quite
basic and has some worryingly sharp edges on those prongs, so mind
your gums. The vee-pegs at 9 grammes each feel light but more
importantly tough and should hold well in most ground while the
skewers weigh in at a mere 5 grammes apiece.
The Vargo Stove reminded us of something and, in fact, is
made by the same company as Outdoor Designs Camp 3 titanium stove. At
81 grammes it's some 13 grammes lighter than the OD offering thanks
to the lack of a built-on piezo-electric ignition. Whip the ignition
off and they weight the same. When we tested
the Camp 3, we found that burn times were near identical to an MSR
Pocket Rocket, so at a penny under 35 quid, the Vargo looks a bit of
a bargain. More details at www.hike-lite.co.uk
Halfway between sandals and trail shoes, the Keen Taos is what you want to be wearing if someone spills a jeraboam of bubbly over the rockery on Christmas Day ;-)
