Montane Minimus Jacket Review

Approximately half of a year ago, I purchased the Montane Minimus jacket and since then I’ve been regularly using it as a shell layer on my hiking trips. The Montane Minimus jacket is a hardshell jacket which means that it’s made of a waterproof/breathable fabric.  Hardshell jackets are typically lighter than softshell jackets and offer better…

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Montane Minimus Jacket - Testing in Grenoble

Best Hiking Socks for Summer in 2024

Socks often don’t receive the recognition they deserve. While we invest in high-tech gear, the discomfort of wet or moist feet can easily be overlooked. Yet, this discomfort isn’t just an inconvenience—it can lead to increased friction, causing painful blisters. The ideal hiking socks efficiently wick perspiration away from your feet, ensuring comfort and blister…

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Darn Tough Socks

Woolly Ultralight Crew Neck Merino T-shirt Review

A couple of months ago I received the Woolly Ultralight Crew Neck Merino t-shirt and since then I’ve been regularly using it as a base layer for hiking. The Woolly Ultralight Crew Neck Merino t-shirt is made of 100% Merino wool. Base layers made of Merino wool have certain advantages in comparison to the more…

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Woolly Ultralight Merino T-Shirt - Climbing

Moucherotte Trail near Grenoble – Hiking the Alps

In April 2017 we were travelling around France and on our way we also stopped in Grenoble. Grenoble is a quite big city in southeastern France which lies at the foot of the French Alps. Being so close to the Alps, we of course wanted to go hiking there. After a brief research we decided to…

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Moucherotte Trail - View towards south

Best Backpacking Quilts of 2024

Quilts are gaining favor among hikers, backpackers, and mountaineers for their lighter, less bulky, and more adaptable nature compared to traditional mummy sleeping bags. Diverging from a sleeping bag’s enclosed design, a quilt keeps your back in direct touch with the sleeping pad, as its underside is open and lacks a zipper. Nonetheless, it is…

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Sea to Summit Ember Quilt

Best Hiking Shorts of 2024

A pair of high-quality shorts can be incredibly beneficial for hiking in warm weather, offering superior ventilation, comfort, and freedom of movement compared to regular pants. It’s important to note, though, that shorts are best suited for well-groomed and less demanding trails, where the need for protection against dense vegetation and rough terrain is minimal….

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Columbia Silver Ridge Cargo Hiking Shorts

Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 – Outdoor GPS Watch with Android Wear 2.0

For many, Casio might stand as the quintessential manufacturer of high quality sports watches, but regrettably the brand has fallen behind the competition (namely Suunto and Garmin) in the area of outdoor watches. Until 2012 Casio Pro Trek watches offered features and functionality comparable to Suunto’s outdoor watches such as Suunto Core (first released in…

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Casio Pro Trek Smart

Garmin inReach – Handheld Communication and Navigation Device

In the beginning of January 2017 Garmin announced two new products; the Fenix 5 GPS watches and the Garmin inReach handheld satellite communication and navigation devices. While the Garmin Fenix series watches have been on the market since 2012, the inReach devices are the first satellite messengers (devices designed for communication where GSM signal is…

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Grubereck Trail in Rauris Valley – Hiking the Alps

In the beginning of 2017 we spent a couple of days in the Austrian village Rauris where we hiked, climbed mountains and skied. Our first hike there went to the 2167 meters high Grubereck mountain which lies north-east of the village. We decided to climb the Grubereck peak because the trail starts in the village…

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Grubereck Trail - Sladinkopf and Bernkogel