Friday, 25 July 2014

Summer Outdoor Gear from Mountain Warehouse

With our holiday to Wales we knew we were going to need an odd mix of clothes. Packing shorts, along with fleeces seemed so wrong. But it all got worn.
To add to our outdoor items Mountain Warehouse kindly sent us a few things to try out.

Outdoor Trousers

I went for the trek women's trousers in navy and Charlotte the shore girls trousers in purple. Sold as quick drying and lightweight these were perfect and performed really well, worn almost every day.
They were wonderful on cooler and warmer days, they got covered in sand, mud, a lot of rain and some sea water. When wet they weren't heavy like jeans and dried as you walked when it brighten up.
Our cottage had no washing or drying facilities. So when I really had to wash them in the basin they drip dried hung in the shower over night ready to wear the next day.
Looking good in our trousers

Women's trousers in detail:
These were true to size, the word elasticated waistband usually sends me running but it was done in a flattering way and made the fit and stretch better. The "short" trousers were 29" not the usual UK 28" so I often turned the ends up. Two zip pockets for a mobile or change, the cargo pocket was even big enough for my compact binoculars and a few other pockets for beach finds.
Just a little wet and sandy in this shot

Kids trousers in detail:
Charlotte loved the colour of her purple trousers, something different than the standard navy and beige with a puddle loving 6 year old doesn't work. The BIG bonus of these was the adjustable waist band when you have a skinny minnie. We went for age 5-6 and they are perfect. She still has them on the short leg option (love this too) so will fit for some time more. A couple of pockets for her to store her collection of finds and she was happy. She never complained once so they must be good.
turned up ankles

 

Bermunda Aqua Shoes

We were all lucky enough to get a pair of these and they came in useful for all sorts of things.
Aqua Shoes

Sadly nobody would go kayaking in the sea with me but on the beach and rock pooling they were great. Stopped all those ouches when walking down to the sea, or the fear of landing on something sharp when jumping waves. After a day on the beach and all de-sanded if the shoes were dry you could walk back to the car with sand free feet (always remember as a child having the sand scrubbed off my feet in the car park).
no sandy feet here

 When rock pooling they offered grip and protection. They drained quite easily and didn't have too much weight or resistance when trying to walk in the sea. They would dry in a few hours in the sunshine.
rock pooling and jumping waves

As an idea on size - I sized up with Charlotte and hers were ok, never fell off but a little loose, Phil's were perfect fit 9 in everything he wears. I'm a 3-4, went for the 4 and should have got the 3.

0.5L Metallic Water Bottle with Spout

Like most people we go through so many bottles as they all seem to leak, but so far the contents of our bags have stayed dry with this one.
keeping hydrated

I thought the karabiner looked great, but it wouldn't hold the bottle if the spout was on, only if using the stopper. Real shame that. As it was a bottle for us to share the spout was more practical. The cap kept the spout clean, but sadly you still need to pull the spout with your hand, so transferring germs. Being metal it could get a little warm in the sun. We filled with chilled water and usually stayed cool enough to drink if kept out of the sun. Has stood up to a few bumps and scrapes fine so far.

Australian Wide Brim Hat

Phil was so looking forward to this as is always in need of hats.
sunglasses not included

But he has a big head and the one size fits all didn't work in this case. I have a small head and it fits me just about right, so may have to take ownership of it as naughty me I don't own a hat. He liked everything about the hat, the style he wanted, the UV protection, the khaki colour. If this was available in other sizes it would be perfect.


These items were kindly sent to me by Mountain Warehouse in return for this review. This has not influenced by views in any way.