We are very fortunate to be in the position to take a selection of todays leading brands of outdoor gear, clothing and essential items to some of the worlds most extreme locations.

Some of the items have been generously donated by various companies and some of the items we have purchased for a specific function.

Below we endeavour to give an honest and fair appraisal of all the  gear that we have had an oppurtunity to test.

The main aim of the reviews is to aid people in the selection of gear for our specific events but may also prove informative to those looking to purchase new equipment for a variety of purposes.

Berghaus Phobic Light running shoes 

Heatmax Tosti Toes

ProsportSunscreen

Torq Energy Bars

Berghaus Mule 80

Berghaus Freeflow Velocity Rucsac 

Berghaus Extrem Ignite Jacket 

Elagen Sport 

Berghaus Phobic Light Trail Running Shoes

Last year I was fortunate enough to be given a pair of Phobic Light trail running shoes by Berghaus. For as many years as I can remember I have always used Salomon XA Pros so the Phobics had a hard act to follow.

When they arrived in the post I could have been led to believe that Berghaus had forgotten to put them in the box, as at 297g for the size 8 shoe they felt extremely light.

The flexible upper material seemed to mold itself around the foot making the shoe feel a great fit, with no movement of the foot in the shoe, even on the steepest of descents.

Apart from a few training runs around the Shropshire hills the first real test for the Phobics was the Pumlumon Challenge  a 27 mile race through the mid Wales mountains, taking in the source of the River Severn. It turned out that the Phobics were ideal for this challenges as it involved a fair few water crossings. Had I been wearing Gortex shoes the water would have poured into the shoe and struggled to escape leaving my feet wet but the light weight material of the Phobics quickly dried after each immersion leaving my feet in perfect condition at the end of the race.

On this basis I decided to use the Berghaus shoes during this years Yak Attack. I must admit that I suffered early on from blisters on the bottom of my feet but I cannot blame the shoes for this but rather the lack of training prior to the race! Again the shoes performed magnificently and the low weight of them was definately a bonus on the long hard climbs, as it is hard enough to carry oneself upwards at altitude, never mind any excess weight.

As these were the only shoes I had taken on the race, due to luggage restrictions, I was a little alarmed to find 8 inches of fresh snow on the Thorong La pass. But with Heatmaxs Tosti Toes  and a apair of SealSkin socks I never once suffered with any cold discomfort, even though the temperature ontop of the pass was about -5c. The grip coped pretty well with the slippery conditions under foot also and although I had to endure a few slips, it was no more than any other competitors around me.

The Phobics have shown a few signs of wear and tear after completing the 200km mountain race , most noticeably a small split on either shoe where they flex on the toe joint, but it WAS the Himalayas !

With the weight constraints of having to carry everything oneself during Land of the Yeti duathlon, one pair of shoes is going to have to suffice for both the run and bike legs of the race and at the minute the Phobics are looking favourite to go ,having been  tried and tested over the rocky Himalayan terrain .

Overall, a great light weight shoe, a very comfortable fit and ideal where you need a fast drying time. Due to the signs of wear prevalent already they probably wont become a lifelong friend but if they get me through another Nepal epic Ill be happy.