Back to the footwear conundrum I have been dealing with for the last… forever, I have tried my luck again with a pair of Inov8’s: the Race Ultra 290. I know I said I would be avoiding Inov8 shoes after my Cape Wrath Trail experience with the Trailroc 235 in 2015, but I had a […]
Cottage or mainstream outdoor brand – a look into where to get your next piece of gear.
I need a new …. (fill in the blank) and want it to be light, comfortable, functional, cheap and make me look very cool – which outdoors brand is best to get it from? I have this inner debate roughly 3-4 times day (I am a gear head) and in recent years, finding a good answer […]
When to retire old gear
Buying new gear is great – it is exciting, there is an underlying promise of better adventures and it often becomes an obsession; but with the new movement that encourages repairing old gear, the question becomes: when should you retire old gear? In the last few years (and some might say decades), it increasingly feels […]
How to walk 25 miles a day
I love walking long trails, but with limited time I needed to find a way to make it work: go fast or go long. I have written about the difference between going fast or going long (days) and explained how this connects to the ultrapacking concept. At the core of ultrapacking and completing longer trips […]
A practical step for lightness – transitioning from hiking boots to trail shoes
I remember when I first decided I no longer wanted to hike with boots: my wife and I had been walking the Offa’s Dyke national trail for a week, proceeding at a leisurely pace with our heavy packs and our walking boots when on the 7th day my knees flared up, getting fully inflamed. I […]
Expedition Kit List – Cape Wrath Trail Gear List
Most regular hikers/backpackers/thru-hikers/hill-walkers have a pretty standard gear list that they have tried and tested, and use almost every time they go out (with some minor adjustments). Most of us don’t have tons of shelters and sleeping bags, but 2-3 at best; we also don’t have many stoves, or packs, or anything else. We tend […]
The search for the perfect hiking footwear
My feet are one of those weird things that are part anomaly, part something that too many people sympathize with while still being a quiet minority – my feet are wide, very wide. My feet are 2E wide; but they are also strong with high arches that don’t collapse. These funny-yet-strong “duck feet” are an […]
Gear review – Inov-8 Trailroc 235
I have mentioned in the past that my feet are wide, like flippers wide, and so finding footwear is a real nightmare. My search for suitable outdoors footwear is more of an epic quest rather than a search, and when I moved to minimalist shoes, it was no different. Mika is a huge fan of […]
How to deal with wet feet – a solution?
Hi everyone, Mika here with an update on the wet feet situation. If you remember, I have a problem with getting wet (cold) feet when going outdoors – I absolutely hate it – which is a problem if you ever go outdoors in late autumn, winter or early spring or really any time in England! […]
How to deal with wet feet – the problem
Gilad: My transition from heavy hiking boots all the way to light boots, trail shoes and now minimalist shoes was a process of self experimenting to find the way that works for me. I will write much more about the process, the pros and cons and how it can be done. Along the way, Mika […]
Foot care – Extra pair of socks
If you are active outdoors then you are abusing your feet, no doubt about it. Walking, running, climbing, cycling, skiing and anything else are activities that not only use the feet but rely on them more than anything and they are the easiest to neglect. Personally, I think my feet hate me, really hate me. […]