What Kit Do We Wear – Starting from the bottom to the top

Boots

I have a narrow, low volume foot so I am limited in my options for well-fitting and comfortable boots. I have a pair of Aku Trekker 3 in which I comfortably walked for 16 consecutive days on the Coast-to-Coast Trail across the North of England and our 3 days on the West Highland Way. These fit me well and are a very comfortable boot. For hillwalking I have just bought a pair of Aku Superalp Nubuck GTX Boots which will be my new boots for Spring and Autumn in the Scottish Hills. I also have a pair of Mammut Taiss Light Mid GTX for Scottish Winter Hill Walking. These take a more robust crampon and are stiffer than the Superalp for winter use.

Suzanne has feet which are a bit more regular in size and shape than mine and so for hills it’s the Salewa Mountain Trainer GTX and the Meindl Women’s Baltimore boots for trail walking. She raves about her Meindl Baltimore boots!

Socks 

Here we are big fans of Smartwool socks. They fit well, provide good cushioning and last a long time. My favourites were the PHD but unfortunately Smartwool chose to drop these from their range and the nearest offering is the Smartwool  Hike Full Cushion Crew Sock which is a bit of a better fit and more durable than the old PHD sock.

Legwear

For winter walking you will find me in a pair of Mountain Equipment Kinesis Pants, a windproof, microfleece lined, lightweight pant which are just the correct temperature for most of our activities, especially for XC Skiing and winter walking. These have now been discontinued but the replacement offering is the Switch Mountain Pant in both a men’s and women’s fit. As the weather warms up a bit, I change into the Mountain Equipment Ibex Pant and then the Mountain Equipment Comici Pant for summer walking or even the Ibex or Comici Shorts also from Mountain Equipment.

Suzanne has the same choice of legwear, the ME Kinesis when it is cold, again now called the Switch Pant, the Chamois Pant, the ladies version of the Ibex Pant and some Mountain Equipment Serino Women’s Leggings as the weather warms up. It’s beginning to sound like a Mountain Equipment promotion here, but I make no apologies as they do produce some very good legwear. Being a British based company, they produce good kit for British conditions. I used to work at Mountain Equipment, so I know the product line well and still choose to buy and wear their kit. What does Suzanne say? “I like it because it just fits me well.”

Base Layers

I wear the Men’s Running Briefs from Runderwear. These are the only briefs that I have ever found that both work well and fit well offering great support. There are loads of companies offering boxers, but I’m used to wearing briefs, so these hit the spot for just about everything I do, skiing, walking, kayaking and running. They are a nylon fabric of some sort so wick well, don’t retain any moisture in the fibres and dry quickly if I ever take a dip whilst kayaking.

Suzanne has a lot of pairs of Patagonia’s briefs and the “Boy Shorts” both of which are not currently available in Europe but I am assured that they will return for “Fall/Winter 26” which is not too far away, is it? 

We add to this a selection of merino tops, both long and short sleeved depending on the season. I’m a big fan of the Primino tops from Montane though sadly they have dropped these from their range. Knowing that they were to be withdrawn I made a point of buying up a few in advance and still have a good selection to work with.

Suzanne’s key pieces here are the Glace Hoody and the Tempi Wm’s T in just as many colours too, both from Mountain Equipment. She also has several sets of Primino from Montane and multiple merino tops too.

Warmth Layers

I’m a big fan of Mammut’s fleece tops. I have quite the selection, the Taiss Light ML Hooded Jacket as a warmer layer and the super lean yet warm Aenergy Light ML Half Zip which I wear for all sorts of stuff as it’s a very good fit. 

Suzanne has a selection of Mountain Equipment’s Lumiko Zip Ts which she has in a choice of colours and these go really well with her Tempi Ts.

I’ve just bought, from Mammut, the Eiger Nordwand ML Hybrid Jacket which looks to be really nice piece of hybrid kit. It has a windproof front panel along with a blend of different pieces of fleece to suit the requirements of different areas of my upper body for warmth without being too bulky or restrictive. The arms were way too long when it arrived but once I had the sleeves cut back to a sensible size it is becoming another key item in my wardrobe! Mammut have resolved this so it should be good in your local outdoor store now.

We both have a selection of gilets (or vests as our American cousins call them). I have the Mammut Nordwand ML In Hybrid Vest which I think is fabulous, a blend of Polartec Alpha Fabric with Pontetorto fleece mated to a windproof fabric on the front whilst the fabric on the back is covered by my pack. It’s a great piece to wear on those mixed days when it’s neither hot nor cold and dry. I also have the Aerotherm Men’s Vest from Mountain Equipment, Suzanne has both the Frontier Vest and an Aerotherm Vest from Mountain Equipment, another key piece of technical wear.

Warm Jackets

Suzanne spends a lot of time wearing her Mountain Equipment Frostline Jacket. It’s made with a waterproof fabric which is stitched through but it will hold out the water and stay dry for quite some time. It’s warm and comfortable, what more do you want? She also has, and wears a lot, the Mammut Broad Peak Hooded Jacket. The Broad Peak jacket now comes with “Dry Down” which is “A high-performance down insulation with a water-based, PFC-free treatment, Nikwax Hydrophobic Down maintains its loft and insulating properties even with seven days of constant exposure to water, keeping you warmer longer.” I may have to buy one to check it out for this winter. Anything that is good for the planet is always a good thing.

We both havethe mountain Equipment Kinesis Jackets which match the pants. These have a windproof shell with a furry fleece lining. They are both warm and lightweight and we wear them for winter walking, cross country skiing and anything else when the temperature drops. Like the pants these have been replaced by the Switch Pro Hooded Jacket.

I have a good selection of warm jackets too, but my favourite piece is Mammut’s Eigerjoch Light IN Hooded Jacket, quite the mouthful. It’s light, really comfy, it packs up small and is disproportionally warm for its bulk. Like most Mammut products it is made with the very best, (read “most expensive”) fabrics: Ripstop from Cordura, Primaloft Gold Synthetic fibre with “Cross Core” technology.

Waterproof Shells

A waterproof shell is probably the key piece for the outdoors in the UK. We do have quite the selection of weather days here and if it’s not raining now it might be later so you can rarely head out without a decent waterproof jacket and pants. I have the Lhotse Pant from Mountain Equipment to which I have added a set of braces as I don’t like it when my pack pushes my waterproof pants down. They never actually drop but it sometimes feels as it they might do. £25 for a pair of braces is a small price to pay for peace of mind. My Shell jacket of choice is from Mammut, I have the Nordwand Pro HS Hooded Jacket which ticks all the boxes. I have this in both a mountaineering jacket and the ski version with matching ski pants.

Suzanne has the Mountain Equipment Changabang Waterproof jacket along with the Ama Dablam Women’s Waterproof pant. These have been in the ME range since whenever so you can rest assured, they are a fine piece of kit. Although the Changabang has now dropped from the range it is still a very good jacket; the nearest equivalents are the Manaslu and the Tupilak jackets.

For a lightweight and waterproof over trouser we both have the Mountain Equipment Odyssey Pant which is pretty light, packs down small and we both wore these on the Coast to Coast and West Highland Way treks last year.

Hats and Gloves

Head gear is tricky for me as I have a relatively small head, M/L in a ski helmet and most baseball caps do not fit me. The one that I have found that fits is from Outdoor Research the Swift Cap and I see they also do the same hat as the Seattle Rain Cap in Gore-Tex, so with a Seattle moniker and Gore-Tex it should keep the rain out. Suzanne has a waterproof baseball cap from Montane which she wears in the rain, the Minimus Lite Waterproof Running Cap. We have quite a selection of beanies from Mountain Equipment – with stretchy knitwear it is a lot easier to fit loads of different heads sizes.

Since I worked for over eighteen years with Reusch we have no difficulty in choosing gloves, the only difficulty is in which to choose for our various outdoor activities! As a lightweight glove we have the Ian …. I know, I know, but I didn’t choose the names. Our other main choice of glove for outdoor stuff is the Garhwal Hybrid but it looks to have been replaced in the range. Again we have a few pairs so we will be ok for a while but it appears to have a successor in the Nanuq Polartec HF Pro. With a drawer full, for both of us, of Reusch ski gloves I’m trying hard to wear them out, and not succeeding, as I cannot buy any more till there is a gap in our selection!

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