Mountain Warehouse Shimano Zip Termal Top – three months on

Mountain Warehouse sent me a sample of their Shimano Merino zip top for review at the start of the year. You can read my first impressions in the original post.

This top has endured quite a bit of use in the weeks since the original review. It has continued to serve as my commuter jersey – only replaced by a thinner merino top recently when the weather started to be a little more kind… kind of (!)

I also used it as a secondary layer on my Peak winter camp and on a number of day strolls and short wanders over the boggy hills near my home.

Consequently, it’s been washed a couple of times too according to the manufacturer’s instructions (a 30 degree wool wash).

So how has it performed? Overall, very well.

One factor which sets merino wool (or merino mix as is the case here) apart from most man made competitors is its natural antibacterial – read anti-stink – characteristic due to the lanolin content. It also wicks very well too.

In this regard, the Mountain Warehouse top has performed very well, as good as any other merino I have in my wardrobe. As a test, I commuted for a month without washing the top in period when the weather got warmer and my commute sweatier. The top handled these conditions well, comparable to others I’ve used.

On the negative side, the top has lost a bit of its shape and is, perhaps, a little shorter in the body than when I first received it.

Another minor drawback of this fabric is its lack of resistance to pilling. While the main body of the garment has worn well, the inside of the collar has rubbed up quite badly. If this is the wool polling, then it may settle down over time. If it is the man-made content then it is likely to remain.

That said, I still would recommend this top for those people seeking a warmer base layer or an additional garment in their layering system… and at a very keen price.

Tweaking the Troll

Ahead of my fortnight to Iceland, I’ve been readying the Surly Troll for more regular touring.

This has, largely, involved swapping my basic suspension fork for the steel version that shipped with the frame.

Onto this fork has gone a Tubus Duo rack, which will be easier to transport when the bike is part-dismantled for flying.

Fitting the Duo was fairly straightforward save for ensuring there was enough clearance around the disc brake calliper. The provided spacer and two additional washers achieved this quite nicely, providing enough room to make adjustments to the Avid BB7 calliper if needed.

A fair amount has been written on the Troll’s ability to carry load. Given its do-it-all credentials and MTB-like geometry, much of the weight sits on the back of the bike compared to, say, my Thorn Club.

That said, 25 miles over the hills this morning have erased doubts over the Troll’s load carrying abilities. The frame feels stiff and keeps everything under control.

You’ll note from the pic that the rear panniers are a bit far back but this didn’t cause any of those horrible tail-wagging-dog descents.

With normal touring kit in the panniers, I think it’s going to perform just fine.

Cycle touring Iceland

In June, I’m flying to Iceland with the Surly Troll for a two-week tour.

This is a long-held ambition coming to fruition. I’ve always wanted to visit Iceland, primarily for its geothermal tempestuousness and, secondly, to ride some of its stark interior.

I’m in that happy phase of planning at the moment but already have the distinct feeling that two weeks is not long enough.

Hopefully, I’ll spend a little time in Reykjavik, then take in Pingvellir before riding north west to sample an albeit small part of the Westfjords and then onto the Kjölur highland route leading – eventually – to the more familiar sites at Gulfoss and Selfoss before flying home.

A two-week itinerary is possible, allowing more time for the gravel road of the highlands. However, I need to be realistic here. In tandem with Iceland’s dramatic scenery comes dramatic weather. As a regular traveller to Scotland, I may be accustomed to four seasons in one day, but the wind and storms could prove to be the deciding factor on this tour.

Consequently, I’ve ummed and ahhed about which tent to take and have settled on the old North Face Westwind (I think!), assuming it hasn’t rotted away at the back of the garage.

I’ll be giving this a shakedown at the weekend and will post some thoughts on the kit list shortly…

Fjällräven Nils Trousers – first look

Ranking high among tall folks’ whinges about cramped aircraft seats, conspicuousness on nightclub dance floors, bad backs, poorly fitting bike frames and bruised heads from doorframes is trouser length.

Nils trousers

I’ve chewed over this topic with fellow ‘lankeys’, and all are overly sensitive about showing off too much sock above shoe and feeling that unsavoury breeze around the ankle. All crave the security of trouser gather rather than flap.

It’s the same when searching for outdoors legwear. I need an inside leg of 36″ give or take in order to achieve the aforementioned gather. Most gear manufacturers seem to run out of fabric at 33″ or 34”.

Bespoked Bristol 2013

Photos from this year’s Bespoked Bristol. Another brilliant show, with more to see and certainly more visitors.  The crowds and light made shooting a bit tricky so apologies for the quality of some of these shots.

A perfect Peak District wild camp – Going up west

The aim of a wild camp is, surely, to find somewhere remote, allowing the participant to connect with their surroundings. On our relatively crowded islands, and certainly south of the border, this requires backpackers to aim high and increasingly off the beaten track.

However, factors governing the remoteness of a particular spot are not confined to location. This Easter, the unseasonable Arctic air stream which has dumped considerable snow on our usually wet land has had the advantage rendering the accessible inaccessible… inaccessible for those unprepared to put in a bit of effort.

On the week leading into Easter, I’d been keeping in touch with conditions in the Derwent Valley, that busiest of Dark Peak attractions. The snowfall had been so extensive, even the Fairholmes visitor centre was closed. With the cold persisting, my hope was that conditions would be tricky further up the valley and that my planned camp spot – the forested valley of the West End river -would be at peace.

Busy, but something to look forward to…

Must apologise for the relative radio silence on here.

Work has been taking up much of my time the last three months or so and mini adventures into the outdoors have been non-existent. I hope to remedy this over the Easter weekend while I’m taking some solace from the fact that the excellent Bespoked Bristol show is just around the corner.

This was tremendous last year and all the signs are that it will be bigger and better this year. Yet again, I’ll be a kid in a candy store…

Brompton H6L… Delights and disappointments

I’ve been commuting on my Brompton H6L for nearly eight months and have covered somewhere in the region of 1,500 miles.

By and large, it’s been a very satisfying marriage. The bike has performed admirably and has the capacity to surprise and delight with its nimble ride and ingenious fold.

However, the Brommie has not been without problems and in this post I’ll set out the some of the more negative aspects of my Brompton ownership and offer some advice for riders who may be considering taking the plunge.

Mountain Warehouse Shimano Merino Zip Thermal Baselayer – First Look

The guys at own-brand, high street outdoor equipment supplier Mountain Warehouse have sent me a sample of their ‘Extreme’ Shimano Merino Zip Baselayer for review. Here, I give my first impressions of the top after a week or so commuting across London. I also plan to use it in anger on the hill and this will form the basis of a later review.

Fabric – 100% Merino?

A wee bit of confusion arises from the swing ticket. This clearly states 100% merino when, in fact, the top is a mix of merino and manmade fibres in an 80/20 mix respectively. One assumes that the 100% applies to the wool element and that the merino is not mixed with other natural fibre. As I said, confusing.

There’s no mention on the ticket as to the provenance of the merino either. While other manufacturers are at pains to point out the quality of the materials used, there’s no breathless marketing here.

Perhaps more important than all this is how the fabric actually feels. It has a ribbed/knitted texture similar and is very soft to the touch and comfortable against the skin. It compared favourably with other tops I’ve tried, more comfortable than some other true ‘100%’ base layers.

Update: Touring bikes guide

This morning I made some minor changes to the post ‘Choosing the best touring bicycle‘, which has generated a heap of traffic on the blog.

It seemed high time to have a look at the UK touring market again and update accordingly, especially given the ever-increasing popularity of cycling and the healthy growth in the number of UK artisan frame builders.

If I were buying a touring bike again, the choice is certainly now wider which can only be a good thing.