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TRIED & TESTED

74 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com MARCH 2016

A powerful vacuum cleaner that’s

portable enough to get into

small areas and has a plethora of

attachments for any ‘Hoovering’

jobs. Annoyingly, though, the

release trigger for emptying the bin looks and feels

like an on/off button, so it takes a while before you

stop recycling the same pile of dirt!

OUR VERDICT

PROS

■ Powerful suction

■ Long run time

■ Easy to empty and clean

CONS

■ Slow to recharge

■ Easy to empty bin accidentally

Price From £149.99

Contact Hoover

Tel 0344 371 2758

Web http://www.hoover.co.uk

Hoover Continuum

18V rechargeable vacuum cleaner

Henri Lloyd Offshore Elite

Chris Beeson gives his verdict on these

offshore oilies after a boisterous crossing

of the English Channel

I’m used to bulky offshore oilies that

constrain you as much as the heavy

weather they handle, but not the Elite. It’s

featherweight (30% lighter according to

HL) with a GORE-TEX® Pro shell, fully-taped

seams and no liner, to cut weight, boost

breathability (by 20% says HL) and speed

drying. Does that mean they’ve skimped on

some ‘proofness’? No, it does not.

I two-handed Graham Snook’s Sadler 32

Pixie to Cherbourg in August 2015, in some

interesting weather. Torrential rain at the

Needles, squalls south of Wight, a chilly

Price Jacket: £485; Salopettes: £360

Contact Henri Lloyd

Tel See website for contact details

Web http://www.henrilloyd.com

breeze after a front passed in mid-Channel,

then champagne sailing to fi nish. I was on

watch as the front passed and found myself

dashing around the deck putting in reefs,

retrimming, shaking reefs out and tweaking

the sails again. I was always comfortable.

Knees, hems and seat have reinforcement

fabric so should withstand wear and tear well.

GORE-TEX® is the benchmark so I wouldn’t

expect any fabric delamination issues for a few

seasons yet, and Henri Lloyd has been taping

seams for over 50 years. I expect them to last.

8/

PHOTOS: GRAHAM SNOOK

PHOTOS: COLIN WORK

OUR VERDICT

Stretch and light weight gave

me complete freedom of

movement, and breathability

was excellent. The lack

of a second slider on the

salopettes zip means unzipping the jacket

to pee, but wind- and water-proofi ng was

absolute. The best outer layer I’ve ever worn.

PROS

■ Extremely comfortable to wear

■ Excellent outer layer performance

■ Impressive breathability

■ Transparent Optivision panels in hood

CONS

■ Salopettes need a second zip slider

9/

Dry, fl exible and

comfortable,

with added

peripheral

vision

This Hoover is a powerful piece of kit

Need a cleaner that’s man enough to

vacuum the boat after a dog’s slept in her?

Duncan Kent tests the Hoover Continuum

In the past I’ve found portable vacuum

cleaners to be fairly pathetic. This one is

seriously powerful. Plus, it comes with a

trigger and the cylinder opens to disgorge

dust and dirt. Cleaning it is easy, as the

whole cylinder comes off at the

push of a button.

Although the rechargeable

18V NiMh batteries give it a

runtime of up to 30 minutes,

it takes a lengthy 16 hours to

fully recharge from fl at.

long handle and carpet brush attachment to

convert it into a full-size upright.

As a compact it is slightly heavy for one-

handed use, but still comfortable. It comes

with two small heads and an extension tube

for use in compact mode – a little brush head

and a crevice tool for getting into tight spots.

Converting it into an upright is simple. The

long handle and wide suction head slot on

easily, the latter has both a smooth roller for

hard fl oors and a brush for carpets. There is

no rotating brush but the static one does a fair

job of lifting dirt and the suction is very good.

To empty it, hold the end over a bin, pull the

Not only a

hand-held

Hoover, it

converts into

an upright

cleaner too