After a long cold winter, the sun has finally popped out and I’m so excited to embrace the summer time. A nice drink in a beer garden will be great, but I have to earn that pint (or 2) and that means a hefty hike first.
I’ve therefore stocked up on some great new hiking gear for the summer time, both by Helly Hansen.
Odin Everdown Hooded Jacket
The issue with summer hiking, especially in the UK, is that you have to pack for all weather conditions. You know it’s sunny initially, but you can never rule out rain. It might be warm down the bottom of the hill, but when on top of a cliff the wind picks up and it gets a bit chilly.
For this reason, in an ideal situation you’d have a jacket that can keep you warm, but is very lightweight and foldable so you can sneak it into your bag without taking up much room.
This is where the Odin Everdown Hooded Jacket is really fascinating. It’s so lightweight, you can fling it over your shoulder and not notice it. Just the same, you can fold it up relatively small into the rucksack. It can’t quite fit into a trouser pocket, but that might be asking too much. It did however come with a stuff sack which it can be placed into if your folding skills are good enough.
Yet despite how dinky and light it is, it feels surprisingly warm when wearing it. Built for alpine hiking and mountaineering professionals, it has a high quality down sheet, meaning balanced levels of warmth throughout the whole jacket.
I love the insulated hood, an absolute saviour when we were at the top of the hill as the wind was beating down on us.
With elasticated cuffs, it stops air from seeping through and the warmth leaving.
Available in three colours, I’ve opted for cactus green, whereas you could opt for the cobalt blue or golden glow yellow. You can order in sizes from small to 2XL, while the jacket in the picture is a medium.
Stratos Rain Pants
I remember back 7 years ago when I started going hiking with my mate Matt, I came out wearing jeans and very quickly regretted it. They weren’t flexible enough and when they got wet, it was horrific.
The following hike, I switched to tracksuits, what could go wrong? This is what they’re built for right? But we finished up our hefty hike by going to an illustrious pub for a roast dinner, where everyone was dressed surprisingly smart.
Wearing my grey trackies wasn’t the best, while we then popped into cafes and shops at the end as we were in a new town and wanted to explore a little before driving home. Again, I kept thinking that I wanted something waterproof, something that people don’t look at negatively, that are flexible and cosy for hours of walking.
Enter the Stratos Rain Pants. The material was very flexible and cosy to wear, being 100% polyester. They’re PFC-free, which basically means it has been treated so that it’s water repellent, without using or needing perfluorinated compounds. PFC’s are chemicals which you can commonly find applied to hiking gear, but they’re shown to have negative effects on animal and human bodies.
Despite being waterproof, it still feels very breathable, so I won’t overheat in the summer sun.
The only one negative I can point out is that it only has one pocket, I do like having one on each side as I do tend to stuff my pockets with gadgets and items, but I’ve got a hiking backpack that can handle those items.
The trousers work with virtually every other colour, coming in black, while I like the subtle grey logo highlight of HH on the side.
