The Great Outdoors - UK (2021-08)

76 The Great OutdoorsAugust 2021

Trail Designs

Classic Ti-Tri & Kojin burner

£ 60 156 g

ultralight, windproof, simple

minimal flame control

Cone material: titanium

Burner: aluminium with inner batting and screw-top lids

Fuels: meths, alcohol

traildesigns.com

I’ve used the Ti-Tri system on long walks for over a decade

now. Consisting of a titanium cone that forms both

windscreen and pot support with a meths or solid fuel

burner inside, it’s simple to operate. For many years I used

the little aluminium 12-10 meths burner, taking great care

not to crush it as it is somewhat fragile. Recently though

I’ve replaced this with the even smaller Kojin burner, which

weighs 19 grams, and is much tougher as it’s just a screw-

top tin full of batting that absorbs the fuel. This design also

means that any unused fuel can just be left in the closed

burner, which doesn’t leak. I find it more efficient than the

12-10 too, boiling water faster and using less fuel to do so.

Simmering isn’t easy – I use tent pegs through holes in the

top of the cone to hold the pan higher above the flame –

but I didn’t have any long -simmer meals on this trip.

The cone does haveto be the right size for your pot.

This one fits my Evernew 0 .9 litre titanium pot, which

I’ve had for well over 20 years.

Merrell

Moab Speed

£ 105 624 g (size 9 )

lightweight, good grip

nothing

Uppers: mesh & TPU

Sole: Vibram Ecostep

Sizes:men 6.5-14, women 3.5-8.5

merrell.com

This was my second trip of several days with these shoes

and again I was impressed. This was a tougher test than

previously as I was carrying myfull pack the whole time

and there was plenty of rough, steep terrain to ascend

and descend. The shoes felt secure and comfortable

throughout, my feet never got hot and sweaty in the

heat and I suffered no blisters. I wore the shoes with light

merino/synthetic mix ankle socks and the combination

was excellent. The uppers are mesh for breathability with

a wide rand to protect against abrasion. So far, the shoes

show little sign of wear despite much scraping on rocks and

tough vegetation. The Vibram sole hasn’t started to wear

either and provides good grip on every type of terrain. For

me these are great trail shoes for warm weather, especially

as they fit me perfectly, being quite wide at the forefoot

whilst narrow at the heel so my feet don’t slip in them.

They’re lightweight too.

STOVESYSTEM TRAIL SHOES

FOOTWEAR & CLOTHING

Gear trip report