Our man Gear, Richard Gear, has been hard at work answering
your questions and juggling important aspects of existential outdoor
philosophy with the essential meaning of the layering system..
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 answers questions about using army surplus
Bergen packs, how much warmth a bivi bag would add to the comfort
rating of a sleeping bag and which brands will be using new Gore-Tex
Pro Shell later in the year.
Q:
Please can you tell me by roughly how much a bivi bag adds to the
comfort temperature rating of a sleeping bag. For example, if it's
comfortable to 10C will a bivi bag make it comfortable to 5C? I do
appreciate that comfort is also user dependent. Thanks.
A: 'Gear here, Richard 'Bivi' Gear the human thermometer.
I'm very wary of trying to quantify something like this. Even the
laboratory tested comfort and extreme ratings that sleeping bags now
come with are confusing and not always an accurate guide to the
warmth of a bag. Someone with a fast-running metabolism, who...'
Full
answer
Q:
'With all this talk about the new Gore-Tex Performance and Pro
Shell-2 layer and Pro Shell-3 layer garments coming to the shelf this
Autumn, which manufacturers have embraced this technology and how
much do we expect to have to pay for it ?'
A: 'Gear here, Richard 'Gore-Tex' Gear, prescient Mystic
Meg of outdoor materials and tragic crystal ball-gazing gear geek.
Anyway, as of the later summer, Gore-Tex XCR and Classic fabrics will
cease to exist and be replaced by Gore-Tex Pro Shell for technical
use and Performance Shell for more general outdoor use.
'We've covered the subject before, but basically Pro Shell uses a
woven backer which makes it lighter, more flexible and more
durable...'
Full
answer
Q:
I came across an ex-paratrooper who was still using his 30 year old
Bergan rucksck. I've seen them for sale in local Army surplus stores
for a fraction of the price you would pay for civilian rucksacks.
Apart from the monster capacity and bomp proof design is there
anything to recommend the rucksack for us non-military types?
A: 'Gear here, Richard 'Surplus' Gear. Erm, cards on the
table, I haven't used any military surplus kit for a long while,
almost as long as your mate has had his bergen in fact, but it
wouldn't be my first choice for civillian use. Here's why...
'Military kit needs to be able to withstand really heavy use,
that's heavy as in weeks of being dragged around...'
Full
answer
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Ask
Richard Gear section of the site for a searchable archive of
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