In the last few years, the popularity of hiking boots has decreased, and many hikers and backpackers have switched to low-cut hiking shoes or trail runners. These are indeed lighter than hiking boots and often provide better breathability. However, hiking boots also have certain advantages over the lighter alternatives. There has been a lot of…
Most hikers are environmentally aware and follow the more or less (un)written rules when venturing out in nature, such as: “Leave nothing but footprints”, “take nothing but pictures” and “kill nothing but time”. As described in the article Sustainable Outdoor Clothing Materials? it can be hard to be equally eco-conscious when shopping apparel for your…
In 2018, I switched from Suunto Ambit 2 to brand-new Suunto 9. Suunto Ambit 2 was and is an extraordinary watch. It’s durable, simple to use and very accurate when it comes to GPS tracking. Furthermore, the battery life is just amazing. I was using the watch daily for no less than four years and…
As hikers we all get to experience the negative impact of humans in the landscapes we spend our time in – whether it is the pollution of a local lake, an abundance of trash in nature, excessive logging or witnessing how the glacier in a national park gets smaller and smaller over the years. According…
Over the last couple of years, the popularity of fleece jackets has decreased, and many hikers have replaced their fleece apparel with jackets insulated with synthetic fill. While synthetic fill jackets are indeed warmer for the weight and pack smaller, fleece does have certain advantages over synthetic fill. I own a fleece jacket (Mountain Hardwear…
It is no secret that we are big fans of Merino wool base layers. But the kind of thin fine-knit Merino shirts and apparel which are great for all-year usage are unfortunately also very prone to durability issues in the form of small holes. These holes can be caused by anything from friction, for example…
In fall 2018 I contacted Suunto’s support to ask them if they are planning to make it possible to sync moves from the new Suunto smartphone app to Movescount. It really annoyed me that this was not possible because I had to connect my new Suunto 9 to my computer via a cable to see…
Blisters are one of the most common injuries on trails and especially beginners are very likely to suffer from them. When it comes to blisters, prevention is indeed better than treatment because almost nothing ruins a hike more than blistering feet. Of course, you can tape up blisters with bandages while on the trail, but…
The new Suunto 9 watch comes with an innovative feature called FusedTrack which according to Suunto improves GPS tracking accuracy while the watch is in battery saving mode. The watch has two battery saving modes; Endurance and Ultra. In the Endurance mode the watch retrieves GPS position every 60 seconds and in the Ultra mode…
If you often wear rain jacket, rain pants or other waterproof clothes, you probably noticed that the performance of these garments decreases with time. While your new rain jacket kept you dry for hours, it can’t withstand more than half of an hour of rain after half a year of intensive use. That’s most often…
If you are buying new sports clothes such as a hiking shirt or underwear, it is very likely that you will stumble upon the feature called flatlock seams. Clothing brands typically explain that flatlock seams eliminate chafing and increase the durability of the garment. But is this really true? In the last couple of years,…
If you stroll through an outdoor shop and check labels on their products, it is very likely that you will besides quick-drying, moisture-wicking, durable etc. also see lightweight. There is a lot of debate in outdoor circles whether lightweight gear is overrated, and ultralight indeed means making compromises. But is it worth to make compromises?…
Many new sports watches feature wrist-based heart rate tracking and ever since I bought the Suunto 9 Baro watch with wrist HR, I’ve been wondering how accurate the readings actually are. I’ve read a lot about the accuracy of wrist heart rate monitors online, but I haven’t found a single article that would be based…
Many Suunto watches are equipped with a barometer which is indeed a very useful feature because it allows you to predict the weather and alerts you if thunderstorms are developing. A barometer measures atmospheric pressure which is the weight of the air from the top of atmosphere all the way down to you. Since the…
High quality hiking base layers are these days made either of polyester or Merino wool and online you will find a lot of information about these two materials, especially pros and cons. Polyester is labeled as quick-drying, durable, light and cheap while Merino wool is considered breathable, pleasant to the touch and extremely moisture-wicking. Many…
When it comes to hiking backpacks, fit is everything. Certainly, a hiking backpack should be lightweight, durable, have convenient pockets and compartments, but an ill-fitting or ill-fitted backpack will never be comfortable on trails. A well-fitting backpack makes the heavy load feel much lighter while a poorly fitting backpack is uncomfortable even when you are…
A hiking app allows you to easily navigate along the trails and quickly find the best route to your destination. Furthermore, hiking apps can also track your hikes and show you details about each hike such as the duration, distance, ascent, decent etc. Some hiking apps come with preloaded trails so that you can easily…
Winter hiking requires additional gear which keeps you going safe and steady on snowy or icy trails. Gaiters, crampons and an ice axe are the three most often used items of winter hiking gear. Gaiters prevent snow from entering your boots while crampons provide you with traction on icy surfaces. An ice axe allows you…
