Kit that broke, kit that didnae, and other stuff before I forget, XVI

Jeez, it’s been a while since I did one of these posts. Been a lot of gear getting used one way or an other and the Tarmachan mini trip is the start of me writing about it all again. So much to catch up on.

There was a lot of regular or familiar kit on the trip, my old red Laser Comp (see down the bottom of the post), Neoair mat, CAMP Corsa, Hillsound Trail Crampons, Jetboil Flash, Haglöfs Flint pants, Buffalo windshirt and DP mitts, Rab Infinity, PHD down pants and socks, Wigwam Canada winter socks, Petzl Tikka XP2 and more, but a bunch of recent and new kit too, all of which I’ll get into detail about later.

Some new clothing made its debut, most notably an EDZ All Climate  BaseLayer One Piece Suit. Aye, a mountain onesie.
This was it’s first trip of any kind, but why fanny about with something at home, it’ll work or not. And, this thing was revelation. It does exactly what a baselayer is supposed to do, coats your body with a first layer to deal with moisture and comfort. It’s slim fit and it feels more like a second skin than any other baselayer I’ve used. It doesn’t interact with your other layers at all, no binding or pulling, certainly no chance of the top pulling out of your trousers giving you a cold back.
Movement is great due to clever fabric use, and the bottom half is fine, I was worried there might be some construction compromises around the crotch area given the lack of a proper waistband, but I had no issues with either swinging or chaffing so I’d be confident in wearing the onesie over a bigger distance.
The fabric is light-ish so I wasn’t roasting on the move which was good as you’re stuck with wearing the whole thing while you’re out. There’s a double-ended zip from chin to crotch, foot stirrups and thumbloops.
There’s a bunch of stuff to talk about here, but I’ll save it for a proper review. It’ll be going out again. EDZ also sent out a Merino Zip Neck which was on the Ben Donich trip and it too will be going out again, some nice detailing on there too.

Below is the coffee me and Bobinson had, it comes from Growers Cup. I got some samples from UK distributors Rosker for which I’ll be ever grateful for as I hadn’t heard of it and I have to say it’s a fantastic cuppa.
The packs are quite flat so they’re very packable, going lighter is all about being able to fit in more fun stuff after all, so these are great for short trips as you’ll have to carry the packaging back out. There’s videos all over for these things and they are dead simple to use, open the top, pull out the red ribbon, fill, wait pour. The inside is split so the coffee beans stay at the top and your tasty cuppa appears below. There’s enough power in the coffee for two full cups as well if you’re sharing or like me, are always thinking of the next cuppa.
 The packaging issue carrying it out is one thing and the other is that having to dispose of it is maybe at odds with the ethical sourcing of the coffee itself. But, it works well, tastes magic and is pure luxury at camp.

I love Mountain House food, very tasty indeed and I finally got to use my Macaroni Cheese sample that I got a while back and there’s two bits of good news with that. It’s rather nice, with oatcakes especially, and it’s now in production and is on the Mountain House EU site so I’ll be able to get some more. All I need now is freeze dried chips to go with it and I’m a super happy boy in a tent.

The sleeping bag I used, and indeed was also in Braemar and Glen Coe in recent times, was a Haglöfs Goga 3S. I’ll do a proper look soon, but it’s worth a mention as it’s a 3-season bag and I was brushing the frost off it while lying snugly under it’s inches-thick wall of down. The fabric is waterproof at the head and toe which is brilliant for small tents where you brush the condensation-coated inner frequently and the the rest of the outer warded off my constant spills of coffee from the improvised mug.
It’s a comfy bag, packs smaller that I expected and has a nicely chunky zip which is great in the dark. Not the biggest of hoods but it cinches in okay.
Don’t know why Haglöfs sleeping bags haven’t captured the imagination of folks as much as the clothing has, it looks to be right up there in quality and performance. More detail soon.

Carried on this trip but not worn is the bit of kit that I’ve had more questions about that virtually any other, it’s nice to finally be able to talk about it a couple of years after seeing it as a drawing taking shape on a flip board. In for test is the Cypher Smock from OMM.

I’ll be back.