Sea to Summit Camp affordable sleeping mats, comfort and durability for a budget price. Affordable sleeping mats may be a bit of a rarity these days and finding something decent that will perform as a three season mat is can be difficult. Gone are the days when as kids we’d take an old sponge yoga mat or simply throw a blanket on the floor of the tent. Fast forward 40 years and us adults need our comfort and thankfully over the same period technology has given us all kinds of innovations for sleeping better outdoors. affordable sleeping mats The Sea to Summit camp mat is a budget sleeping mat ..read more

The Urban Tactical belt by Helikon Tex is one of the more budget friendly belts in their range and is super strong with a reliable buckle. Another addition to the Helikon Tex collection, I am really enjoying this brand from Poland and while a belt may seem like a small thing I thought it ws worth a quick review as it really does do the business and comes in sensible sizes for us big guys too. Why the urban tactical belt Any company that makes a belt up to 150cm gets a thumbs up from me. My intention was to invest in a decent leather belt which I probably will still do but finding one in a big ..read more

There are certain things that make life easier when you’re using crutches although they may not seem obvious at the moment… 8 Things you need to buy when you’re using crutches: Electric shaver Pyjamas Books Urinal bottle Subscription Pouffe/foot stool/extra pillow Big socks Baked beans jigsaw puzzle If you’ve never broken an ankle, a foot or a leg before then you’ll soon realise that boredom sets in quickly and even the easiest of tasks when you were fully able now require a mammoth effort to get done. The list below is a collection of most of the things I ended up buying in the first couple ..read more

The Original Lowepro ProTactic 360AW was one of the first tactical looking camera backpacks to emerge onto the market catering for those who need a rugged pack combined with a tactical look. I bought my original Lowepro ProTactic 360AW in 2017 and since then it’s had moderate use outdoors, it regularly came with me to both rural and urban locations for photo shoots as well as being the perfect size for carry on luggage. Now that the DSLR’s have been retired I use this pack less frequently, favouring the Direct Action Ghost pack instead however I won’t be getting rid of this tactical camera bac ..read more

Xiaomi 1S Portable Air Compressor is a compact unit with an inflation pressure range of 3 – 150 psi The Xiaomi 1S portable air compressor is the kind of product you could go to town with detailing all the facts and figures, fine points and tech stuff [think 45.4% air flow increases and stuff like that]. In this post however we’ll be looking at how it works, if it’s worth the money and if it’s worth keeping in the 4×4 to get you out of a pickle if you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself with a flat/deflated spare or suchlike. The first thing to know about the Xiaomi 1S is that it is a compac ..read more

Fractured Ankle Diaries I delve into the final weeks of being in plaster… In week four I had my second cast removed – this was the cast they put in place after the ankle operation. Going into week five I now have a shiny new purple cast which seems much more sturdy than the last one. I also have the joys of wearing a ‘shoe’, not exactly the height of fashion but hey, it allows me to stand up and brush my teeth without hanging onto the sink for dear life. Here’s what happened over the final few weeks: Week 5 Week five began with balance, the introduction of the somewhat massive ‘shoe’ mean’t th ..read more

5 Engaging activities that helped my stroke recovery [all of which I still do today] Reading Picking up the guitar Photo editing [Fuji X specific] Writing & Blogging Meditation Since having a stroke in 2022 I have since chosen a few things to keep me busy while at the same time keeping my brain busy which, for me is a crucial part of the recovery process no matter how small the steps are. Recovery is the most significant during the first six months, after that noticable differences become less obvious but that does not mean that improvements can’t still be made. There is also what is goi ..read more

Helikon Tex Possum waistpack – a versitile and compact equipment holder suitable for EDC in both urban and rural situations. The Helikon Tex Possum waistpack was a gift to my son, he’d been badgering us for something to protect his phone when he was out and about and playing football etc, a waistpack was his choice of bag. Kids get to an certain age when they need to carry all sorts of stuff on them and a compact waistpack is a good piece of kit for that. Helikon Tex is a brand that caught my eye some time ago, mainly through their line up of bags and more recently their clothing. They have g ..read more

Being a grieving Father, coping with the loss of my son and moving into the unknown. It was the afternoon of Thursday 16th March 2022 that I learned that my son had died. We were living in Spain during what were to be our final months there after 19 years. The village mayor was the one who told us, frank and to the point he just came out with it, right there in our living room “he’s dead”. What followed was a demonstration of Spain at it’s worst but that is in another post. Warning: This post talks about suicide Being a grieving Father is tough, impossible even. Grief affects everyone in diffe ..read more

The LED Lenser P7 has been around for some time now and continues to be the go to torch for many due it’s size and versatility. I first stumbled across the LED Lenser P7 back in 2015 when I was looking for a torch that would be good for light painting, many photographers were using the P7 and it came highly recommended. It wasn’t until many years later that I eventually got one and I have to say that it is a great piece of kit that I have been using most mornings now for walking the dog as well as for camping trips. LED Lenser P7 SE The LED Lenser P7 has a solid place in my EDC kit and here’s ..read more