The Great Outdoors - UK (2021-08)

New

product

revi

Terra Nova tents
are back in stock
Terra Nova has announced the return of three popular tents that
have beensold out since last year. The Pioneer (£500), a recent
model, is dome-shaped and has two doors and a large porch. It
pitches flysheet-first. The Starlite (£480 - 800) is a tunnel tent and
comes in 1-2- and 3-person options. It has a large porch and
pitches as a unit. Finally, the Southern Cross (£550 - 700) is a
free-standing four-season tent with an external pole system. It
pitches as a unit. The porch door can be fixed in several ways to
provide the most suitable weather protection.
terra-nova.co.uk

Columbia

Zero Ice Cirro-Cool T-Shirt

£ 45 145 g (men‘s L)

fast-wicking, quick-drying, soft fabric

none

Fabric: 57% recycled polyester/43% polyester,

side panels 94% polyester/6% elastane

Sizes: men S-XXL, women XS-XL

columbiasportswear.co.uk

The recent hot weather has been great for trying lighter-weight

summer clothing. One item that’s impressed is this new t-shirt

from Columbia, which the company says is “ideal for intense

activity in the sun”.

It’s made from polyester (57% recycled) with elastane added

to the side panels for extra stretch. The fabric is moisture-

wicking and has “Omni-Freeze Zero Ice advanced cooling

properties”. Columbia also says “Omni-Wick blue rings in the

fabric react with your sweat to provide next-to-skin cooling”.

Turn the ‘-shirt inside out and you can see a pattern of blue

snowflake shapes and tiny blue rings. How these react with

sweat or what all this jargon means I haveno idea.

Despite the ‘tech’ language, which I find rather off-putting

(I guess “wicks and dries fast” just doesn’t sound technical

enough), the Cirro-Cool T-Shirt does work well. As well as on

day walks I’ve worn it on a four-day backpacking trip in the NW

Highlands in hot weather, and it was wonderfully comfortable and

extremely fast-drying when I was sweating a great deal. It was

also fine as a base layer under a windshirt on the one cooler day.

The fabric is very soft and feels pleasant next to the skin. Even

after four days’ wear it didn’t feel at all stiff or sticky, as some

synthetics can, and it still wicked moisture as fast. There is a little

pilling visible on the back, presumably from rubbing against my

pack, but this is cosmetic only and doesn’t affect the performance.

Columbia describes the fit as “body skimming”. The Large size

is quite loose on me, which I like. The main fabric is very stretchy

and the side panels are extremely stretchy, so the t-shirt moves

easily with you.

For hot weather I think this is an excellent t-shirt. It does

what it claims and feels comfortable.

Chris Townsend

Sea to Summit releases

new versatile straps

Sea to Summit has developed a range of easy-to-use, strong

and versatile stretchy straps for securing gear. Stretch-Locs

are made from super- tough TPU and lock in place with

non-slip buckles. They come with a slimline Keeper Strap

that creates extra grip and allows you to lash difficult items

together securely. It also provides padding between items

prone to damage. The Stretch-Locs come in a range of sizes

and lengths. Multiple straps can be joined together too,

to create what Sea to Summit calls a ‘Frankenstrap’.

Stretch-Locs cost from £7.50 upwards.

seatosummit.co.uk

August 2021 The Great Outdoors 71