Review: Mammut Mountain Trail XT Boots

MAMMUT MOUNTAIN TRAIL XT

A good pair of boots is essential. As well as a decent waterproof, a good pair of boots will form the basis for your protection against the outdoors - once the vulnerable chest and head is protected, so must your extremities, and with walking relying rather heavily on the feet, they must be your priority. 

The Mammut Mountain Trail XT are 3 season mountain boots, made of nubuck leather with an additional GORE-TEX Performance comfort inner to ensure the greatest level of breathability and waterproofing. Mammut have also installed a Vibram MT-Traction sole for great grip and lateral support, enhanced by their own 'Motion-Control' system to prevent ankles injuries. To top it off, the boots have a cushioning memory foam inner for comfort. 

This all sounds very promising, and most of it works well both on paper and on the hills. I will start with the better features of this boot. The Mammut Mountain Trail XT is extremely comfortable, one of the factors that made it come 1st in a TRAIL boot test. The memory foam inner is great for long scrambles and equally arduous trails to soften any edges, whilst the soft inner leather at ankle height doesn't pinch or irritate the skin. The lacing system is of note, and having only had adjustable lacing for 3 sets of 'hooks' (can't think of the technical name) on my previous set of boots, now having 4 sets was a great plus, enabling greater cinch and greater choice for flexibility at different parts of the foot. 

The Mammut Mountain Trail XT are also great for waterproofing and weatherproofing. One of the best features about this boot I have found, whether in snow, on scrambles, or on boggy Dartmoor, is the high rubber rand around the exterior of the boot. When my old boots (Scarpa Ranger) finally began to leak after around 4 years of work, it was the places where the foot bent that let the water in, and the low rubber rand exposed the leather joints to the sole, allowing water to seep in easily. With these boots, the rand covers the leather joints to the sole, and on Dartmoor terrain is very useful in just increasing rubber contact with water instead of leather. With scrambling as well, my Ranger's suffered deep leather cuts on the Black Cullin Ridge, Skye with the gabbro rock, whereas the rand protected these boots greater. Of course, the GORE-TEX lining performs brilliantly, and the leather is easily re-waterproofed with wax or spray.

Thirdly are some general better features of the boot. The sole is stiffer than most walking boots, which is great for a flexible user who might find themselves wanting to use crampons in snow, equally long trails where a mountaineering boot would be uncomfortable, and scrambling routes. The boot is also, as I have gathered from use reviews, more favourable for wider feet, but my feet aren't wide and they fit me perfectly. Use with crampons is easy, though use the C1 variant, and these boots aren't designed for climbing or mountaineering - so think before you buy. These boots are also very warm, the sole is substantial so offers better ground clearance, and the use of leather all around ensures no cold spots. 

Now come the shortcomings of this boot. Firstly they are quite heavy, weighing in at 1650g in comparison to a boot such as Salomons Quest 4D GTX at 1278g. For the lightweight, summer trails these boots then are just acceptable, however for those who do walking all year round, and prefer a sturdier boot - this may not be a problem. In connection to that, these boots are very warm, and since their purchase I have had to change my walking socks to thinner pair. I think the lugs in the sole could be a bit deeper, however they have still performed well on scrambles and vertical sections due to their stiffness. 

Overall, I would give the Mammut Mountain Trail XT GTX a solid 8/10, for me an excellent, year round option for trails, moorland walking, snow-capped non-technical peaks, scrambling and even via ferrata I found in Slovenia.

What do you think of these boots? Have I missed any great features, or equally bad ones? 

Review: Montane Featherlight Smock

MONTANE FEATHERLITE SMOCK

The Montane Featherlite Smock has been a classic bit of gear for years. Wind-resistant, breathable and most importantly, lightweight, this compact wind-shirt has quickly become a favorite of fell-runners, adventure racers, climbers and walkers alike.

You may ask what is a gear review doing in A Walker's Notebook, however I believe that it is essential to record your experiences after time on the hills - especially what you found to be good, and what you found disastrous. As well as the weather, the company, the condition of the hills and how hard you found it, an essential part is how well your gear performed. In this way, you can improve your understanding of your previous navigation errors, whilst at the same time learning from your gear mistakes to make snow, wind, rain and storm more bearable. 

The Montane Featherlite Smock performed brilliantly, which is why I'm recording it in my Notebook for both you and I. As a walker rather than a climber or mountaineer,  you must establish means to protect oneself. There are various options. You can wear a breathable hardshell jacket over a thermal baselayer to ward off wind and rain, however this options may be overkill for those traveling light in good conditions. A favorite with climbers, a down jacket is extremely warm for snow and cold, however is not very breathable and performs badly in rain and bulkiness. The traditional approach is a jumper, relatively compact and warm, however may not be rain and wind-resistant. The Montane Featherlight Smock takes the essential qualities out of these options. 

It's a light layer. The Montane Featherlight Smock can be used under any garment as just another fleece substitute, creating pockets of air that will warm the body. I can't say from experience, however I imagine this could be very useful for climbers under a down jacket in the very cold conditions to stop any chills. 

It is extremely lightweight, weighing in at around 300 grams and packing down to the size of an apple. For runners and walkers alike this is attractive, and it even makes a perfect windproof shell for climbers as it is light enough to be attached to a harness gear loop. I found this to be very important, I could chuck it in my pack and not even notice the weight, and the idea of combining this over a microfleece or baselayer is a great lightweight option to quickly keep protected.

In addition to this idea of layering, its wind-resistant capabilities are superlative. When I used it for the first time on the Crib Goch ridge, Snowdon massif, after the steep ascent, I threw this on over my microfleece instead of a bulky hardshell or softshell to ward off the wind that was creating significant windchill. This enabled me to stay light on my feet, and also its breathability prevented overheating, the large front zip cooling efficiently and the light fabric not too clammy. 

Finally, I like the use of Pertex Microlight  as a material, as well as being light, windproof and durable, it is partially weather-resistant - its great for those few minutes where you're searching for your waterproof in you bag when there is a potential to get wet and unhappy. Having said that, the thin material allows your skin to cool very quickly with rain on the jacket, and it cannot be a light replacement for a waterproof in any case (bar runners who are traveling fast).

One of the few improvements I could think upon this design is the addition of a hood, which would  improve its capability as a windproof shell greatly. Having said that, Montane do sell wind-shirts with hoods, however they are slightly more expensive.  

So the Montane Featherlight Smock is stuck in the notebook with a score of 8/10. A great value, lightweight favorite that has and will continue to perform well against wind and weather-resistant alternative to traditional, heavy, hard/soft shells. 

Where to buy: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/montane-featherlite-smock-p142371

An alternative: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/rab-cirrus-pull-on-p202607

What do you think of the Montane Featherlight Smock? Has it performed for you? Please Comment. 

Slovenia - Alpine Alternative?

SLOVENIA - ALPINE ALTERNATIVE?

Slovenia is not the first country that pops to mind concerning mountains. In this article I intend to persuade you otherwise. 

Its mountainous region, in the North-West of the country - contains a range of mountains that are connected to the Italian Dolomites and to the foothills in Austria, and are by no means inferior. 

The Julian Alps, experienced by myself backpacking in the summer of 2012, are far more accessible than the Italian or French alternatives. The compact nature of the country renders journeys from the capital, Ljubljana, and from coastal cities such as neighboring Venice cheaper and quicker for students and families alike, and the main block of mountains are accessible by roads that may even lead to bothies and large car parks, making day excursions possible instead of long approaches in foothills.

The proximity of the Julian Alps to the rest of the country, with walking and cycling, in winter resorting to skiing, snowshoeing and ice climbing, creates a wide range of activities for all the family, or for the particularly active individual. South, only a 1 1/2 bus journey from the outdoors centre of Slovenia, Kranjska Gora,  you will encounter the town of Bovec and the Soca valley - renowned for its watersports and equally impressive caving, mountain biking and canyoning. This can break up an intense walking holiday with cooling dunks in alpine meltwater, and is great for a rest day with friends who want to try something a bit different. If that isn't your bag, then cycling is great all around Slovenia, with a well developed system of routes, allowing you to blitz a 20km cycle to a quaint Alpine village or bothy in a jiffy. 

Concerning walking, mountaineering, and climbing, Slovenia's rock formation is much like that of the Italian Dolomites, limestone making climbing routes plentiful (both sport and trad), whilst Slovenia's claim to the earliest system of alpine walking routes with multiple 'Dom's' (bothies...well hotels) still is unparalleled, with easy navigation and a varying number of difficulties - making that peak possible for everyone, which at the end of the day, matters the most when on a lads holiday with a severe hangover. 

If, as a walker, you feel rather bold and don't mind heights, then a varying number of via ferrata routes and difficulties are available, making summiting increasingly technical peaks possible and allowing lengthly diversions to be avoided by interspersed vertical ladders over slabs, made safe with the right equipment (available to loan eg. helmets, harnesses etc. in most towns.). 

If you digg the surf culture look, and fancy hitting the deck for a couple of days after intense peaks, then almost guaranteed Slovenian sun will make it a pleasant time, whilst the cheaper prices of beer and food (as well as accommodation and travel) in comparison to France or Italy will seem to make the sun even brighter. Nota Bene though, don't get caught climbing or summiting around midday in the summer months, as the Alpine climate throws out hefty thunderstorms with bouts of rain, though if you are planning a lads holiday then the simple protection installed by 'man up' in a group will be more effective than any Gore-Tex or e-Vent you are wearing.  

At the end of the day, it was the accessibility of Slovenia that amazed me. As a keen walker with little climbing experience, the daunting peaks when driving from Ljubljana to Kranjska Gora, with knife ridges cutting through the buttery evening sun seemed impossible. I had picked the wrong holiday. However, bus services to mountain passes were common and reasonably priced, the paths were clearly marked, those knife ridges were accessible, with paths picking out the best views, most extreme exposure for the adrenaline-junkies and the most exciting scrambling sections - there something for everybody. The system of via ferrata cables made exposure manageable, whilst the routes satisfied the adventurous. When I rented a car to do the biggy - Triglav, in fact the biggest, the approach was cut short by around 3 hours of walking time up valleys in the stifling, midgy heat - allowing more time to be spent on technical ascents and route finding. Bothies were common, even 200m from the summit serving beer (yes, beer), snacks, and selling crampons and boots for those who want souvenirs for the family, or for the forgetful among us. 

I did Triglav in one day via the popular Prag route. As a walker who has done few peaks outside the UK bar some in the Pyrenees and the Swiss Alps, the Julian peaks provided the perfect introduction to walking abroad with higher summits and more technical approaches, unlike the unbending characteristics of the French Alps with little opportunity for the walker to go outside their comfort zone without hundreds of pounds of kit and expensive mountain guides. 

Accommodation in Kranjska Gora: http://www.youth-hostel.si/anglesko/hostels.asp?id=19

Some of the best peaks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_Slovenia

Other activities to do: http://www.socarafting.si/eng/


What do you think? Please comment and feel free to ask questions about my trip there!

Why?

PRISANK, SLOVENIA

I don't really consider myself to be qualified to answer this question, yet duty calls - if this were a notebook I would write down my experiences, and I would like to think that the very act of recalling these events, memories, perhaps even disasters, answers why the outdoors is so magnetic. 

I will resort to the words of someone much more qualified:

'Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to why we do it'

    Greg Child

Can anything more be said? 

As the outdoors was once our, as discussed in the previous blog, playground, laboratory, home and workplace, a valid argument is that it can only serve for most as a great big playground in our modern age. 

Science has revealed the processes through which the natural world is created - the caves and mountains are no longer man's preferred laboratory. The caves and streams are replaced by 'concrete jungles', towering architecture and equally impressive infrastructure for electricity, water and other necessities. Our homes and workplaces occupy these man-made caves.

All is left is 'The outdoors as a playground'. We have tried hard to replace it - board games, computer games, the cinema - even for the 'outdoors lover' we have artificial climbing walls and gyms to get 'mountain fit'. Yet no activity can surpass the breadth, depth and (quite literally) height of the outdoors in terms of activity options. 

I think it is the way that the outdoors appeals so broadly to our hidden animalistic and primeval instincts that secures its addictive characteristics. Mountaineering, running, climbing, mountain biking etc. all simulate the dangerous, adrenaline-filled, constantly competing past of homo sapiens that thrills us all. The minute you step outside for recreation, both your physical and mental state are geared up to survive due to thousands of years of experience. On the other hand, we have recently acquired a desire, as a result of our increasingly developed and technological lives, to reject normality and go 'back to basics', a desire to plunge ourselves into mystery, away from comfort and superfluity to appreciate life better. 

What are your motivations for the outdoors? It is the challenge? Is it the scenery? The mystery? 

Are we living off the prehistoric momentum of man's relationship with nature, or is there an original interest in nature emerging in our modern era?

A Walker's Notebook: Introduction

BLACK CUILLIN RIDGE, SKYE

The outdoors provides such a convenient obsession for homo sapiens. Its mystery, with unexplainable crags, valleys, rivers and summits that science only partially explains, but also its comfort - having been the playground, laboratory and workplace for us for thousands of years. 

Unfortunately, early homo sapiens had no notebook. Instead they wrote down their exploits, tricks and histories on more familiar materials such as rock. Over time, whether rock, papyrus, wood, paper and now a blog - humans have always had a place to document their obsessions. 

With this apt introduction, welcome to my obsession. The Outdoors. 

Early man had to remember where the more favorable streams were, the more fruitful trees (pardon the pun), the most malleable rock, the best places to find food. Over time, this changed. Pliny engaged in writing detailed and lengthly volumes on the origins of the natural world. In the Pacific, Charles Darwin scribbled the beginning of the Theory of Evolution. 

Where would all these people be if they did'nt have a notebook, journal, a handy rock, or papyrus.

This is my notebook, albeit virtual, yet the experiences from which these observation are drawn are more than tangible. I intend to document what I have learnt from the outdoors, so as to continue this trend of taking experience from the outdoors, rather than 'taking only photos...leaving only footprints'. 

Please read this blog, and feel free to comment on any issue.