Trail Testers

On the Hill - On the Crag - On the Web

Marmot Scree Pants

TNF Fortress 23

GoSystems Mini Stove

Scarpa Manta GSB

Aarn Bodypack

Satmap Ative 10+

Hilleberg Akto

Bodo and Svartisen, one of the largest glaciers in Europe.

I will be testing a whole range of gear and am very interested to see how it performs in temperatures as low as -30.

I am going to travel on skis and snowshoes and carry my kit in a pulk, that I will pull behind me. As I have never done this before, this could be quite interesting! My kit list reads like a phone directory and I keep trying to chuck stuff out, but for a four week stint, in very cold conditions, you would be amazed what you need to take with you! My bag of Dehydrated and MRE meals is probably the heaviest in my kit bag. Hopefully my video camera will keep running in the extreme cold, the Freeloader Pro Solar charger will keep the batteries topped up and I will be able to post some really good footage when I get back. I will be testing the Satmap GPS with the latest Norwegian map cards and using the SpoT GPS to track my progres.

Listed below is just some of the gear that I am taking with me and I would like to thank all the companies for their support..

My last week will be spent in the Jamtland mountains around Are in northern Sweden. There I will be joining the Swedish Outdoor Group for a week of ski touring and product testing. This is an area of mountains, lakes and forests, with crosscountry ski trails and alpine downhill runs. During this week I get to test products from Woolpower, Klattermusen, Primus, Haglofs and Hilleberg and see how they perform on their home turf, as many are made in nearby Ostersund.

You can log into my SpoT page and follow my journey here.

Dawn Smith - Ed

Western Mountaineering Puma MF

MSR Dragontail Mountain Tent

Black Diamond

Deploy Snow Shovel

Woolpower merino base layers

Montane North Star

Down Jacket

Primus Omni Multi Fuel Stove

Vaude Argon Krypton eVent Hard Shell

MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes

Craghoppers Kiwi Winter Trousers

Marmot Powerstretch Fleece

Trail Testers February Edition

Drytech Meals

Helly Hansen Warm Lifa Base Layers

SpoT Emergency Messenger

MSR Exo-2 Titanium Cookware

Scarpa T4

Telemark Boots

Lonely Planet Iceland

Welcome to the February edition of Trail Testers. Here we have reviews of some brilliant winter clothing to keep you warm out on the hills .

This month I am going back country skiing in Norway and Sweden until the end of March My first couple of weeks will be spent in the Rondane in the mountains around Gala, then I’ll take a 13 hour train journey up to Bodo in the Arctic Circle. Once there I hope to explore the coastal mountains between

Cloud Inversion over Llyn Tegid - Dawn Smith

Black Diamond

Snow Saw