Cold Autumn Mornings - You Can't Get Any Better!

Woke up this morning headed out into the most unbelieveable cold, sunny and crisp Autumn morning. Stuck on my cosy Jack Wolfskin Fortune fleece, threw on my Mountain Hardwear Typhoon jacket and grabbed a couple of dogs and away I went - great!

The Outdoor Life Recipe!

1. Take a full measure of passion.
2. Add to this a full cup of commitment and courage.
3. Then stir in a good dollop of inquisitiveness.
4. Take a large heap of emotion and pass through a fine sieve, removing only unwanted lumps of apathy.
5. Sweeten with some love.
6. Add a generous pinch of don't give a shit and a sprinkle of hope.
7. Turn up the heat.
8. Pour into a serving dish and savour each and every mouthful.
9. Enjoy lots.

RAW Outdoors Advice - How To Take A Bearing

HOW TO TAKE A BEARING IN THE HILLS!

Welcome to our new feature on our blog. We want to make sure you guys are safe in the hills! This week we look at how to use a compass properly.

1. Place your compass baseplate on the map so the edge, or one of the straight black lines close to the edge, bridges where you are with where you want to be.
2. Keep the compass flat on the map, and twist the bezel so that the lines inside it match up with the map's vertical gridlines.
3. Add three degrees to your bearing to compensate for magnetic variation (magnetic variation - when your taking a bearing remember to add or subtract three degrees! Grid = Map, Mag = Land so "From grid to mag add: from mag to grid, get rid."
4. Turn until the red compass arrow sits in the middle of the wide red arrow in the bezel. Walk in the direction of the black arrow on the compass baseplate.

There you go nice and easy and it'll keep you safe and sound in the hills!

Remember to check out our great selection of Silva compasses at www.rawoutdoors.co.uk

News From Trail - Marmot Spire Jacket Review

TRAIL MAGAZINE GENERAL PURPOSE JACKETS - FINALISTS

MARMOT SPIRE JACKET

It's Good:- The Spire is made from Gore-Tex Performance Shell, which saves a little in price withour affecting performance too drastically, as while it is not quite as light or breathable as Pro Shell, it is plenty good enough and has the advantage of feeling a little tougher and stiffer, which some users may prefer. You get a superb hood with a stiff peak plus a stunning fit and fantastic movement, which makes this ideal for tackling mountains in wild weather. Also you have two huge chest pockets so you can stow gloves, maps, hats or hands on the move. Scramblers and climbers will love the movement in the sleeves, which means the cuffs don't ride up. the pit zips are ideal for venting the jacket withour removing it, while laser drilled pockets further improve condensation control. For winter you get a zip-out snowskirt.



Verdict:- Ideal for mountain walking, backpacking, scrambling and mountaineering if your budget won't stretch to a Gore-Tex Pro Shell jacket.