Tag: outdoorwear

Price Points: Walking sandals

Walking sandals | H is for Home

After many years of loyal service, my current walking sandals – a pair of Keen Newports – died a death last summer. Despite that, I love them so much that I’ve glued the soles back together, then the laces snapped so I’ve knotted those back together…

Now that the weather’s become warm enough to transition from walking boots back to sandals, I’ve dragged the old faithfuls back out once again. If I’m honest, I’m flogging a dead horse, they’re now really tatty and won’t last until the end of this summer.

The new pair will see daily use, up to 3 dog walks per day… every day, and I’ll need a new pair that can cope with the moorland terrain. I love the look of most Keen sandals, so the orange pair above are my favoured replacements.

  1. Keen Clearwater CNX walking sandals: £72.28, Amazon
  2. Teva Kimtah leather sandals: £85.00, Cotswold Outdoor
  3. Merrell All Out Blaze Sieve sandals: £81.00, GOoutdoors

Price Points: Women’s down jackets

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3 women's down jackets

Have you been watching Winterwatch this week? We tune in, of course, for all the wonderful wildlife. But we love the presenters and their rapport with each other. The way Chris Packham tries to shoehorn in as many titles of punk singles into his dialogue as he can – hilarious!

I always admire the clothes they wear as well – lots of lovely outdoor wear. Chris and Michaela have both been wearing some mighty fine down jackets over the past few years and I’ve been coveting one. Not one in boring black – something bright green like theirs’ or perhaps a vibrant purple.

The one from Uniqlo is a lovely colour, but it doesn’t look terribly warm or waterproof and it doesn’t have an all important hood. The top of the range North Face example looks really robust, but the fabric is a bit too shiny for me. The mid-range Rab has a great colour and looks warm & waterproof. I also like the fact that it appears to give you a shape – the Michelin Man look isn’t a good one!

  1. WOMEN ultra light down jacket: £59.90, Uniqlo
  2. Rab women’s ascent jacket: £140, GOoutdoors
  3. The North Face women’s hooded Elysium jacket: £220.99, OutdoorKit