It's Wednesday and our man Gear, Richard Gear, has been hard at
work answering your questions and racking his brain over the meaning
of moisture vapour transfer rates, the importance of underfoot fit
and other pressing matters of gear philosophy.
So far Richard has answered over 500 of your questions and you can
find all his past answers together with a shonky search mechanism at
the Ask
Richard Gear section of the site.
Browse through his past answers or ask
a question of your own...
This week Richard struggles with
earth-shaking existential dilemmas like winteractive
fleece/waterproof jacket combos, crampon compatibility and whether a
down jacket will be up to Everest trekking use.
Q:
'Hi Richard. I'm going treking to Everest Base Camp early March of
next year where we will be staying in Tea Houses. I have a Berghaus
Kodiak down jacket which I have worn in the Alps in winter and found
it to be more than warm enough. Will I be ok with this on the
basecamp trek though or do I need to be looking for a higher spec
jacket? If so are they any that you would recommend?'
A: Although you're in the Himalayas, you shouldn't find
yourself in any extreme situations and as it's spring, the
temperature will rise slightly during your trek - remember you're
trekking, not climbing. Conditions should generally be milder than
Alpine winter even at night. During the day, temperatures are
generally pretty reasonable...'
Full
answer
Q:
'Are Montrail Lotus GTX boots rated as B3? Which crampons are
suitable for them?'
A: 'It's the time of year when a young person's thoughts
turn to crampons, so here are a few general pointers. One is that you
should always take your boots in to a shop to make sure the crampons
suit the boot both in terms of rigidity and, just as importantly,
fit. You want a crampon that conforms as closely as possible to the
sole profile...'
Full
answer
Q:
'Hi Richard, I've just bought a Berghaus Glissade jacket and my
Berghaus fleeces that fit my old Glissade and Mera Peak jackets won't
properly fit my new jacket. Berghaus weren't particulary helpful in
answering my query. The longer zip (70cm) on the gore-tex, instead of
being sewn onto the inner edge of the jacket to zip in the fleece, is on
the outer edges of the jacket. This leaves the shorter zip which is
67cm long to mesh with a the fleece zip which is 70 cm long! The only
way my fleece will fully zip into the jacket is if I wear it inside
out. I have photos if you would like to see. I'd like to know whether
Berghaus IA fleeces are now shorter or is my new jacket
faulty!'
A: 'The name is Gear, Richard interactive' Gear.
Unfortunately I'm not going to tell you what you want to know because
zip-in fleeces are ultimately pretty pointless. Here's why....'
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...
