Review: Rab Boreas Pull-on

- product provided by OutdoorKit.co.uk for the purpose of review - 

The basics:

• RRP - £50
• Weight - 259g
• Fabric - Matrix Stretch Softshell Fabric

Manufacturer's Description: "The Boreas Pull-on is a lightweight stretch pull-on designed to offer protection from the sun and the elements when in the mountains."

First impression:

This shirt is designed to work best when worn as your baselayer but can also be used as midlayer with great breathabilty and wind resistance. 

The Stay Fresh odour control element of this shirt is a great, while most synthetic layers quickly get a certain smell to them the Boreas seemed to handle my smelliness well and there were no complaints from my fellow walkers.

Smartphone and (empty;)) wallet in chest pocket, you can really feel when this pocket has too much stuff in it.

A handy chest pocket provides room for things that need to be kept close at hand, the size of the pocket limits its use though, perfect for things like smartphones and wallets but you wouldn't be able to get a map in there. 

The under-helmet hood came in handy when climbing on Dartmoor, keeping my neck and ears warm while keeping safe. The softness of the material really helps with this as the slightest irritant would be multiplied by the helmet.  

A very long chest zip helps with ventilation and helps get the chest hair out! Flat zip keeps it from being irritating and in the way. I found this really handy for when the wind picked up slightly or the sun came back out, it only takes that little change and saves you removing/adding a layer.

Field Use:

Straight away this shirt feels comfortable to the touch and is very light, 2 great indicators straight away for how well a product will perform. I went for the XL (I'm 6'3" and a large build) and it seemed like a perfect fit, plenty of room in the sleeve for reaching above my head and a little extra at the back to cover the builder's bum. 

Warm ears with the under-helmet compatible hood.

On a particularly blowy day I decided to test the shirt with wind and plenty of sweat to see how well it handled breathing and maintaining my warmth. I'm happy to say the shirt performed well and even when stopped in the wind I still felt warm and cosy with the Boreas. This is a great element of the shirt and saved me a lot of time, with other baselayers/1st layers I find myself having to switch jackets and shirts to keep me the right temperature. 

While climbing the shirt kept me covered, the articulated sleeves working perfectly to stop the shirt riding up and popping over the harness. As I mentioned before the under-helmet hood was handy for keeping my neck and ears warm, just providing that vital barrier to the wind. 

Still plenty of sleeve even with a fully extended arm.

Great all round wind protection with the hood up.

Positive points:

• Soft and smell resistant fabric,
• under-helmet compatible hood,
• Big zip helps ventilation,
• Doesn't ride up when reaching,
• Great lightweight but solid construction.

Not-so-positive points:

• Small chest pocket.

Summary:

This shirt deserves all the praise it receives; lightweight, strong and smell proof means it can worn over multi-day trips without upsetting you or your traveling companions. The multiple uses of this shirt make it a real bargain too; walking, mountaineering or climbing, this shirt's got it covered. 

Thanks for reading, please check out my other reviews on the blog and feel free to ask any questions about this review on Twitter.

Thanks again to OutdoorKit, if you're interested in buying the Boreas it's got 10% off on there!

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Review: Rab Hispar Gaiters

 - Product provided by outdoorkit.co.uk for the purpose of review -

Review time! This week's review is of the Rab Hispar Gaiter, a hillwalking gaiter which won't hurt the wallet.

The basics;-

RRP: £30

Weight: 250g

Fabric: eVent and 600D ballistic polyester 

Rab description - "Waterproof, breathable gaiter with front zip closure, abrasion resistant underboot strap & drawcord top closure."

First thoughts;-

I've never used or attached gaiters before, I've just seen plenty of them on the hill and from the young people I've worked with. They're not the most technical piece of equipment so even without instructions it was clear how to get them on and "attached" to the boot. I use the word attached loosely but I'll get to that later.

My boot lace goes through the small loop.
A quick relace of the boots changed this and allowed
the hook to stay central and tight to the boot.

I had to get the laces out of my boots for the small hook on the end of the gaiter, I was going to attach it further up the laces but I went for a hook location which would stretch the gaiter tightest and gain the most waterproof connection. After getting the hook as tight as possible I moved on to tightening the stirrup and cutting off the excess, this was easily done and after about 10 minutes I had 2 boots ready to go!

Field use;-

I've just got back from a few days on Dartmoor and it was the perfect conditions for testing gaiters, plenty of water has been hitting the Moor for a number of week now so all the bogs are wet with a lot of standing water on most paths and tracks, every time we left the path we were met with tall, wet grass with holes full of water below.

The gaiter handled the wet well at the beginning of the day but after 8 hours moisture had managed to reach the top of my boot; my laces were the giveaway as they were damp on removing the boot. They protected my trousers from the wet grass very well and no water got through above the ankle as far as I could tell, this is great as high grasses can get kit soaked after rain or dew and they hold water very well!

The breathability of gaiter didn't fare so well. My calves were quickly overheating when heading up steep or difficult ground; for the price (£30) this isn't too bad, I've found that most products at the mid to low price end will do waterproof well but struggle on the breathability as the costs involved on R&D are greater. On a cold day (temperatures felt below 0°), this was almost nice but in the summer would have the opposite effect and would be a real discomfort, no one likes a sweaty leg.

The inner stirrup connection which came undone.

On their first use both gaiters had the stirrups come undone, if this goes unnoticed then the stirrup could be lost. On both boots it came undone on the inner side, I doubt this is significant but if you go on to buy this gaiter then keep an eye on the stirrup. As I said before, I've never used or set up gaiters before - perhaps a small booklet or leaflet would help first time gaiter users set themselves up properly so things like this wouldn't happen (use of the word "attached" loosely). 

Small toggle for tightening top of gaiter

At the top of the gaiter is a small toggle to tighten the gaiter, this helps stop it falling down the leg. It didn't seem to have much use, my calves kept the gaiter up while the excess from the toggle kept hitting my other leg while walking. I think an elasticated top would suit the gaiter, it would work with your calf muscle and keep the gaiter tight at all times. 

Positive points;-

• Solid zip, no harm in having a heavier zip on gaiters.
• Waterproof; seems obvious but plenty of kit says waterproof and really isn't!
• Good build quality and a reliable brand.
• Mix of materials to reinforce the areas where it's needed.

Not-so-positive points;-

• No instructions or leaflet explaining how to attach the gaiter, easy when you know about outdoor kit but it could easily stump someone new to walking.
• Stirrup coming undone, the loss of the stirrup could stop the gaiter working efficiently.
• The toggle at the top didn't seem to do much.
• Breathability needs some work, I repeat, no one likes a sweaty leg.

Summary;-

A solid gaiter, good for hillwalking but I wouldn't recommend for activities where more effort would be required. I will shy away from this gaiter in the summer, the breathability wasn't quite there for me and the level of discomfort would outweigh the benefits. On the other hand for £30 you're getting a reliable piece of kit which should last a few years with some care and attention (keeping the waterproof material clean aids both waterproofness and breathability), it'll keep your lower leg and foot dry if accompanied with a decent boot and they look very nice in "Shark Grey".

Thanks for reading my review of the Rab Hispar Gaiter, links for various related pages below;

My Twitter - feel free to ask any questions about this review or anything outdoorsy :)

Product page on OutdoorKit.co.uk (new window)

 big thanks to OutdoorKit for providing the gaiters; links to their Facebook Page and Twitter