Mountain Hardwear Micro Chill Fleece Jacket

I had the opportunity to try a Mountain Hardwear Micro Chill 1/2 zip fleece top a while back thanks to Webtogs. Although it was a nice enough top I felt that it was a bit expensive given that it was a fairly basic design. I also mentioned the full zip version which had a few other features that I felt made it worth the small increase in price.

The features missing on the 1/2 zip version that I'd have liked were a waist draw cord and some kind of cuff on the sleeves. The Micro Chill Full Zip fleece has both and in addition has a small zipped chest pocket and 2 zipped hand warmer pockets. I mentioned at the time that I didn't own a 100 wt fleece but I found that the more I wore the 1/2 zip version the more often I found myself looking at the jacket, in the end I decided to purchase one.

I choose size medium the same as the 1/2 zip as although it's a little looser than perhaps a 100 wt fleece should be I wanted the extra arm length, I also choose the same colour. Delivery was quick as usual, I ordered on Friday afternoon and the jacket arrived on Monday. The fit is pretty much the same as the 1/2 zip as you'd expect and I'm very pleased with it. I much prefer to have a waist draw cord generally but as I up sized slightly in this case it's almost a necessity. The shock cord is slightly stiff and I may replace it with a softer cord in time.



The shock cord adjusts at both side by way of a captive cord lock although it's slightly over engineered. Rather than attach the cord lock directly by way of a webbing loop the webbing loop has a plastic ring which in turn prevents the cord lock from moving.

The main zip is quite chunky and allows the jacket to be zipped into a compatible shell while the pocket zip are less chunky. The cuffs appear to be loose like the ones on the 1/2 zip version but actually have inner cuffs which seem to be made from a lycra type fabric. This works quite well, the cuffs aren't bulky yet the fleece protects the lycra and as the inner cuffs are wide they aren't uncomfortable or restrictive.



One thing that did strike me as a bit strange though is the shoulder/sleeve design. I mentioned when I reviewed the 1/2 zip version that the sleeves were raglan style rather than regular set in style and that the seams were flat stitched to reduce bulk or rubbing from rucksac shoulder straps, the full zip version in spite of sharing the same name (Micro Chill) has set in regular seam shoulders. This isn't something that concerns me personally but it's worth noting if you suffer from sensitive shoulders.



Although the full zip version is more expensive at £49.50, the 1/2 zip version being £40.49 I personally feel that if you're spending £40 or so it's worth spending the extra £10 for the increased versatility.

Eurohike Double Jet Storm Lighter, Review

I got a few bit's and pieces recently from Millets for review including the Primus Express Spider which really needs no introduction but hopefully I can add something useful to the reviews already out there. First though I'm going to look at the Eurohike branded Double Jet butane storm lighter.

I've tried a few butane storm lighters in the past but was left unimpressed with the result that I went back to using cheap disposable lighters. The 1st one I tried was a Turboflame, it worked for a while but it was extremely temperamental and surprisingly didn't like the cold. I found that in temperatures around freezing that it wouldn't light even if I'd had it in my trouser pocket. Refilling was a pain too, the instructions for refilling ran to 10 steps, See Here the 10th step advising repeating steps 1-9 if it didn't work (since I posted this I've managed to locate the instructions that came with mine, mine had a 9 step filling procedure, step 9 advising repeating steps 1-8. In addition just below the refilling instructions it warns that "Turboflame works best at room temperature, in cold conditions warm up in hands before ignition"). The other things I disliked were that there was no way of telling how much gas there was remaining and the flame adjustment was difficult to use in the kind of conditions you'd actually need a specialist lighter. In the end the piezo ignitor button return mechanism broke probably due to repeated attempts to get the lighter to actually work.

Next up I tried an unbranded storm lighter bought from ASMC in Germany, it was much more fragile looking than the Turboflame but only cost about €5. It worked well, much less temperamental than the Turboflame but eventually it too stopped working. What I discovered when I took it apart was that it was really nothing more than a small generic storm lighter in a tougher looking plastic and rubber shell although I didn't realise the significance until after buying my 3rd Storm Lighter.

The 3rd Storm lighter was an impulse buy, I'd been in Cotswold in Belfast and as they didn't have what I was looking for I bought the Silva Helios. It really looked the part in the packaging with a tough looking body that appeared to be alloy with rubber grips, it also came in a nice presentation tin and was supplied with a lanyard. I was pretty disappointed when I got it home and opened it to find that the 'alloy' body was in fact plastic, things went from bad to worse when it stopped working later the same evening and as if that weren't enough under the tough looking shell the actual lighter looked identical to the cheap unbranded version from ASMC. Although I probably had one that was faulty and I don't believe that they're all as unreliable as mine yet the Helios cost £17 and given that the lighter part was the same as the unbranded/£5 one I'd effectively paid £12 for the presentation tin!! I'm not sure if there's any significance in the fact that I can't find the Helios on the Silva website, maybe I've missed it or maybe they no longer stock it.



Having given up on 'Outdoors' lighters I simply went back to disposables, normally ones with a clear reservoir that let you see how much gas remains. It was only after being asked by Millets to choose a few items for review that I even considered using a 'Storm' type lighter.



When the Eurohike Double Jet windproof lighter arrived the 1st I did was fill it, no instructions required. Once filled I adjusted the flame using the large knob on the base and it fired up straight away.



The lighter isn't metal bodied but it does feel quite robust weighing in at around 85g, it's symmetrical with the raised section that holds the latch button being replicated on the opposite side where a lanyard can be attached.



The body has a flip up lid to protect the actual burner head and that looks to be the only weak point as the hinge is quite small. The body is quite tall yet tapers nicely so it's easy to get it out of a trouser pocket, that said the absence of any rubberised grips makes it a bit slippery. Where I find it better than my regular disposable lighters is that it'll work even if my hands are wet and as the flame is directional it's easier to light stoves light a Trangia where you need to point the lighter down to reach the fuel.

There are a couple of gimmicky features though, 1st and immediately obvious is the small compass set into the lighter body. I suspect it's more of a styling exercise than of any real use but if I was really upset about it I could just break it off, to be honest I think they should just omit it as in my opinion it cheapens the appearance of the lighter.



The 2nd gimmick in my opinion is the double flame, I don't see it as serving any purpose and I suppose it must mean that the lighter uses 2x times as much gas, that said I've been using it for over a week and it hasn't been refilled since I got it. The one other thing I'm not keen on is that it doesn't have a 'window' to let you see how much gas remains but that is a fairly common feature with lighters generally.

Obviously I can't comment on long term durability but so far it's lasted longer than my Silva Helios which failed within hours. As far as performance is concerned it's vastly more reliable than my Turboflame, easier to fill easier to adjust wearing gloves, it also feels more durable than the £5 from ASMC. It's a good product in my view and works as a lighter should without any unnecessary faffing around, at £7.99 if you need a 'Storm' lighter it's worth considering, definitely don't be put off by the compass or the double flame feature.

Karrimor Alpiniste 45+10

Way back when I started buying backpacking gear there were 2 main players when it came to rucksacks, Karrimor and Berghaus. I bought my 1st, a 65l Karrimor Condor and pretty much stuck with Karrimor thereafter. I did briefly switch to Berghaus when I bought a Munro 35l but didn't get on with it so replaced it with a Karrimor Hot Earth.

I always liked the look of the Alpiniste 55l but hadn't actually bought one before drifting away from the outdoors scene. When I started to get back into it in 2008 I needed a rucksack smaller in capacity than my Condor 65l so picked up an Alpiniste 45+10, it was one of the late models and was a bit of a beast to be honest with unnecessarily over padded hipbelt and shoulder straps, in fact it weighed almost the same as the Condor 65l even though the Condor had an adjustable length back system.

About a year later I was browsing the Field & Trek site when I noticed a newer Alpiniste 45+10 in the sale, it looked well designed and was over 1kg lighter than my older model so I ordered it. At the time I'd been considering an OMM pack but went with the Karrimor as preferred the back system and hipbelt.



Comparing the construction with my older Karrimor packs going back to the late 80's the quality is still there, at least as good as the Haglofs LIM45 or Gregory z55 that I had at the time. The top line Karrimor packs shouldn't be confused with the Karrimor branded sports bags you find in places like Sports Direct. The Alpiniste 45+10 (also available in 35+10) is a seriously tough pack and not too heavy for what it is at 1388g, this is a rucksack that can be thrown around, dragged over rocks and so on without worrying about damaging it.


Side Compression Straps, both with Fastex Buckles and Elastic Strap Keepers.

The pack is quite narrow as you'd expect from a climbing sack, the hipbelt and shoulder straps are stiff enough, quite slim but comfortable. The pack is a basic 1 compartment type with the usual features you'd expect like a shockcord on the front, 2 x Ice axe loops, side compression straps all with Fastex buckles and wand pockets. The wand pockets are quite shallow and I managed to loose a waterbottle from one last time out so that's something to be aware of.


Reinforced Patch under Shockcord, Clip Off Shockcord Hooks

The shockcord on the front has hooks that allow you to open the shockcord out to stash gear before clipping it back, I found this good when carrying a snow shovel in addition the fabric has some type of reinforcement under the shockcord which makes it look smoother/shinier than the rest of the pack.

The shoulder straps have a sternum strap and top tension straps which allows you to pull the pack in nice and close, the hipbelt is removable if you need to wear a harness.

Slim but stiff Hipbelt, Hipbelt is Removable


Top Tension Straps and Haul Loop

The lid is semi floating, it's attached to the pack at the back but can be extended by loosening off 3 straps, I prefer this arrangement to fully floating lids. The lid has a large pocket with a waterproof type zip and inside there's a glove hook/key clip. The pack is hydration system compatible, there's a zipped pocket inside the pack and a single central port for a feed tube between the shoulder straps.

Floating Lid Adjustment Straps and Hydration Port

Lid Pocket with Water Resistant Zip and Key Clip

The back pad is reasonably stiff, the pack keeping it's shape when it isn't fully packed but the pad isn't removable as far as I can see although according to the Karrimor website it is, perhaps they've modified it on the latest version as the one shown on F&T does look slightly different to mine. There's a drawcord on the main body of the pack and also one on the extension in addition there's a rope strap under the lid.

Fformat Back System

Snowlock Extension and Rope Strap

There are a couple of things I could remove namely the integrated gear racks at the base of the pack close to where the hipbelt/shoulder straps attach, I don't use them but haven't removed them yet. Finally there's a haul loop at the top between the shoulder straps.

I use I find the Alpiniste very comfortable, it's bigger than I need for day outings but I've been using it when out on ski as it's stiff enough to carry the weight of the skis even when it isn't fully packed. All in all it's a good piece of kit, I know Karrimor aren't who/what they used to be (I've heard it often enough) but there's still some good kit out there if you use your head, they just need to stop branding every piece of generic crap they find with the Karrimor name.

Alpiniste 45+10 in Use. Photo by Les

I've added the pic's below to try to illustrate the dimensions of the Alpiniste.

Black Diamond Midweight Fleece Gloves

Black Diamond Midweight Fleece Gloves

I've been trying to come up with a perfect glove set-up for a while now so when I found out that Webtogs were sending me a pair of Black Diamond Midweight fleece glove for review I checked them out on their Website to find out a bit more. The thing that appealed to me was the mention of a kevlar stitched goat leather palm, I find my biggest dislike when it comes to fleece gloves is the lack of grip followed by bulk. I'd tried a pair of ME G2 Lite soft shell gloves earlier in the year but found that while they had a silicone print on the palms/fingers which provided plenty of grip they weren't much more water resistant than fleece gloves but when wet felt colder and took longer to dry.

When the Black Diamond gloves arrived I was surprised at how thin they were, I expected a 'Midweight' glove to be thicker but as Black Diamond also make a lightweight and heavyweight fleece glove (with silicone grips on thumb/forefinger/Index Finger and a goat leather palm) I guess it's relative. The other thing that I noticed was that the leather palm was exactly that, apart from extending very slightly up the thumb and forefinger.



The gloves are made from Polartec Powerstretch which provides a nice close fit and being 'midweight' don't feel bulky. What I particularly like is the long cuff, some fleece gloves have quite a short cuff but these extend well beyond my wrist. As they're close fitting they work well under my Marmot unlined shell gloves, better in fact than the liners that came supplied with the Marmot gloves.






So far I've only managed to try them when skiing last Tuesday, the temperature was quite low so the snow was dry but the gloves didn't wet out even though my ski poles have suede grips, clipping in and out of the bindings and so on wasn't a problem nor was operating a DSLR. I suspect that with the leather palm they'll provide plenty of grip on a canoe paddle but apart from twirling a paddle in the garage I've yet to try them.







Good as they are they aren't perfect though, I can't quite see the point in not having the leather extend the full length of the thumb and forefinger at least, as it is the leather palm improves the grip over a plain fleece glove if you're holding a mug or flask but for more delicate tasks where you're using forefinger and thumb they aren't really any better than plain fleece gloves, the other advantage of full leather finger and thumb is durability, as it is the gloves are starting to feel a little worn where the thumb leather ends probably due to the suede grip on my ski poles. That said it's perhaps a bit unfair to criticize them for that as they aren't marketed as ski gloves.

All in all I'm pleased enough with the performance that if I lost/damaged them I'd replace them with another pair. I may get a pair of ME Windchill Grip gloves which as far as I know have the Silicone print all over the palms including fingers and thumb or alternatively the Black Diamond Heavyweight fleece glove to see if they offer any advantage otherwise I'll be using the Black Diamond Midweight's as the foundation on which to build my 'Glove System'

My gloves are size Large and weigh 48g pair, they cost £17.99 from Webtogs