LFTO News

The Gear Blog June 13th

Gear news

13 June 2008 10:11

This week more outdoor companies are jumping on the environmentally-friendly, (hopefully solar-powered) bandwagon, plus shhh, whisper it, we've got a very sneaky new gear preview from Marmot, the latest tent news from Haglöfs and Mountain Hardwear, some all-new arm-less insulating layers and the latest anti-smell headgear from Buff.

Hoorah for Craghoppers!
The prize for the first ever outdoor brand to sign up to the Fairtrade label goes to Craghoppers. They now use Fairtrade certified cotton in their lightweight Worldfirst travel range so you can climb mountains filled with the giddy haze that comes with knowing you have helped small-scale cotton farmers in the developing world get a better deal. The roll-up-able Long Sleeve Checked Shirt pictured is £60, as are the plain Long Sleeved Shirt and the water and stain repellent Chino trousers.

Sympatex go green by becoming blue
Sympatex, which produces the 100% waterproof and windproof breathable material of the same name, has become the latest outdoor brand to up its eco-friendly credentials. The company recently joined big hitters like Patagonia and Polartec and leapfrogged its rival Gore-Tex in the green stakes by gaining bluesign certification, which is essentially a promise that no polluting or noxious chemicals are used during the material’s entire production chain. Thomas Baierlein, Managing Director of Sympatex Technologies in Germany, said, “Our primary goal is to combine the best possible performance of our products with maximum environmental sustainability. The guidelines of bluesign technologies make up the toughest standard known in the industry today, and that’s the yardstick by which we want to measure ourselves.”

Marmot sneak preview

Can you keep a secret? We have no proper pics for this story because this gear news is so hot off the press that Marmot don’t have any snaps of their newest designs, but we couldn’t resist letting their little secret slip. Shhh! Don’t tell them you heard it here first! This August they’re launching a totally new, great-value £200 Gore-Tex Pro Shell waterproof, a new, lightweight men’s Down Jacket, a change of fabric in their new women’s softshell and an upgraded hood in one of their best-selling softshells. We can’t tell you what they are, or the exact technical details until next month, so keep watching The Gear Blog for exclusive pictures of Marmot’s new gear.

Haglöfs tents are no more
If you want a Haglöfs Genius tent you’d better get searching in discount bins and charity shops, because no more will be appearing in the shops. “Our tents and rucksacks were produced by the same team, so we’re moving resources back into the rucksacks, which is where Haglöfs came from,” says UK manager Andy Williams. The reason for the shift, he explains, is that their clothing line has taken off, and they’re now looking to ensure that their clothes and rucksacks work well together in both design and function. If you already have one though, you’re covered. “If people who already have a Genius tent have problems and need repairs or replacement poles, flysheets or groundsheets we’ll still be able to provide them, but you’ll struggle to find the them in the shops now,” says Andy.

Mountain Hardwear donates tents to China
With millions still homeless in China in the wake of the May 12th earthquake, outdoor manufacturer Mountain Hardwear has shown its soft side by donating £100,000 worth of tents to the victims. A whopping 628 tents were dispatched by the company in response to the plea for aid from the US, and arrived in China on June 2nd. “We feel a strong need to help the Chinese people, whom we have replied upon for production over the years as we’ve developed our business," said Mike Wallenfells, President of Mountain Hardwear. "Shelter is one of the most basic needs of life and we’re relieved that we can help in any way.”

Latest PrimaLoft-stuffed jackets
Has a factory’s worth of PrimaLoft fallen off the back of a lorry somewhere? Every outdoor brand seems to be stuffing their latest insulated offerings with these super-warm, easily-compressible synthetic fibres.

The latest arm-less versions being the £70 Rab Generator Vest; the PrimaLoft 1 sits inside the durable water repellent Pertex lining of this lightweight insulation (men’s size L 290g).

In the £80 The North Face Redpoint Vest, the same warmth-rating of PrimaLoft is sandwiched between durable water repellent ripstop nylon. The three pockets make this jacket the heavier option (men’s size M 431g).

New pong-free Buff!
Having a smelly head isn't one of the more common hill-walking problems that the team at LFTO have come across, but Buff have decided to solve it anyway. Great! Cue the all new Polygiene treated Buff. It doesn’t look any different from the old ones though, so what’s going on at a microscopic level? Sarah Gowans from Team Buffera says, “These Buffs go through a silver ion treatment which impregnates it with long-lasting anti-bacterial properties. Get one if you’re the kind of walker who leaves their Buff scrunched up in your pocket or the bottom of your backpack instead of putting it in the wash.” Go on, own up, you know if this applies to you! But be warned: Buffs only provide a temporary cure for baldness and they can’t relieve you from dandruff.