Trail Gear Blog Nov 28th

By Gear News

Gear news

28 November 2008 17:01

Marmot change popular Scree pant

Marmot still aren’t satisfied with their best selling Scree Pant so they’re going to change it for March 09. Look out for Trail’s test of the originals in the Feb09 edition women’s walking trouser test (in shops Jan 09), then bear in mind that the new version of these £60 trousers will be made from a slightly denser, more durable softshell material – a change from Nylon to a polyester based fabric. Why? Martin from Marmot says, “Polyester soaks up less water so the new kecks should feel softer, breathe better and be more weather resistant without adding significantly to the weight. The new Scree’s side pocket will also feature a more secure zip to replace the Velcro flap.” Don’t worry, they are available in black too!

New Black Diamond mini-lantern hits shops

Orbit, the eagerly awaited pocket-sized mini-lantern from Black Diamond, has hit shops in time for Christmas. This £25 compact, 84g light (that’s the weight of a small gas stove) won a Silver award at the European Outdoor Awards Camping Equipment category this year. The judges called it, "A good-looking, aesthetic, low-key product. A really great new aid that will find a multitude of uses." A catchy verdict. So here’s the deal. The Orbit is a really teeny tube of light about the size of a roll on; it’s only 10cm long and 6cm wide, and extends to 13.5cm. It will sit, securely on its little legs in your tent and fill it with bright, yet not glaring light from its one-watt, 32 lumen LED for 10 hours at it’s max setting, 24 on the lowest. Powered either by four AAA alkaline batteries or the more earth-friendly, rechargeable Black Diamond NRG2 Battery Kit, this lantern is one of the brightest and most energy efficient LED lanterns in its category. An adapter for a car cigarette lighter will be available from Jan09. One of these will give a cosy glow to your tent, snowhole or bothy this winter.

Latest Garmin OS mapping EXLUSIVE!

Garmin will launch OS 1:25, 000 mapping on their Oregon and Colorado GPSs this December. Trail have wrangled an exclusive video preview so you can see it in action before technical editor Graham Thompson’s in depth review in March09’s issue (out Feb09). They call it GB Discoverer, an SD card that you plug into either of these handheld navigation devices with no calibration necessary.

Once you’ve slotted the card in your touchscreen Oregon or thumbwheel-operated Colorado it’s like having a computerised OS Explorer map on screen. You can navigate and plot routes using the details you would on a paper OS 1:25, 000 map with details including paths, bridleways, walls, crags and contours. Previously Garmin’s Topo mapping included contour lines, paths, limited features and not a lot else, and you could download a pre-prepared route from PC based software like Memory Map and Anquet.

Garmin’s Dick Stanger told us you can use it on the way to the hills in your car too, “This new product is like having the whole map in the palm of your hand. It won’t shout the directions at you like a TomTom, but you can mount one of these on your dashboard and use it at road-navigation level before you zoom in to 1:25, 000 to climb Scafell Pike.”