Mammut Comfort High GTX Surround Boots

MAMMUT make some awesome gear, agreed?

The connotation of quality with Mammut was the final selling point when I was looking for new boots.

Now some of you loyal Fellists may recall a previous gear review when we looked at the Adidas Terrex Fast R GTX boots. In fact I am considering doing a where are they now article as they are still in good nick.

Why then do I have new boots I hear you ask!

Having Viggo means I’m out walking daily and I don’t just do a mile here and ten minutes there. My working hours allow me to be doing around 3-4 miles a day minimum.

Still with me?

This resulted in me destroying a pair of Hunter wellingtons through winter and making excessive use of the Terrex’s.

My Adidas’s are still fully waterproof and intact, they have been looked after in terms of cleaning and re-proofing. All I have had to do is re-lace them.

But the slipping point so to speak is on the soles. I have given them so much hammer that they have started to smooth out. This is not a problem at this time of year on my dog walks. But do I want to be sliding down Loft Crag in torrential rain?

No do I heck as like!

I’ve digressed slightly, this is supposed to be all about the Mammuts!

Those long winded names from the manufacturers sometimes leave you pondering what it’s all about.

In this case the last part of these boot’s title refers to the newer updated type of Gore-Tex that has been used.

So what’s different about this Surround variant as opposed to the standard Gore-Tex?

It’s all about breathability.

You still get that all important waterproofing that we have come to take for granted from Gore-Tex but now the Surround variant offers enhanced all-around breathability.

These models that include GTX Surround are ideal for warmer conditions as the construction of the of this membrane releases more warmth and moisture.

From my previous boot review you may know that I like lightweight footwear, now had I come from a bigger, full leather boot and gone straight into the Mammuts I would have noticed a difference instantly. But in relative comparison with my Adidas Terrexs the difference is more subtle.

Basically after a full days hike your feet aren’t so sweaty!

Lovely eh!

Now what do I like about these boots?

Well they too are lightweight, my pair of size elevens clock in at approximately 1100 grams. That’s pretty good considering the high cut you get with them. So far I haven’t had any falls in them due to an ankle giving way.

The pick-up is fantastic because the deceiving big, high and chunky aesthetic kids you into expecting far more weight.

When on the lacing system and high cut combine to wrap your ankle up in a cloud of protection.

The toe band is made from a really tough rubber compound and the texture that it’s finished in is such a texture that it never looks any different. This is ideal after a load of rocky scuffs.

The grips are good. A harder rubber than on the Terrexs gives me the impression that these will be up to much more arduous treatment.

The styling on these boots is epic if you like a modern twist. The red flashes stand out nicely but are not overpowering. This model also comes in blue.

Summary time?

These boots are expensive, there’s no kidding there. They are retailing at around the £140 mark and around £125 in blue here.  (Not sure why blue is cheaper)

These boots have featured in Trail Magazine and the funny thing was, I’d had my pair about a month when they were in an issue.

I purchased my pair from the German site BergFreunde and wondered whether, due to them being imported I got them prior to UK release.

They are exactly what I expected and are performing really well.

Any surprises?

A couple I suppose…

The weight is an amazing feature and twinned with their toughness you know that these have been superbly built and expertly designed.

That’s left me happy with a pair of hard core boots and good looking ones at that.

Quickly, thank you for all your continuous support!

Cheers,

#TeamFell

Summer Plans

SO another academic year has come to a close and it now gives me the time to get stuck into the blog and get regular content going again.

With summer now upon us, TeamFell are counting down the days until we get into the Lakes. We have a nice two-week period of time to conquer summits and enjoy the hospitality of Cumbria and if the weather is good that would be a bonus!

We are heading up to Birchbank campsite, which is just south of Coniston and we are going to try and cover a lot of the southern fells. Some of which we have already done but the main focus will be on the ones remaining.

Birchbank is a fantastic working farm with a campsite and cottage on the grounds, for us it is a pure Lakeland experience and an article will feature in our Hidden Gems section of the site to tell you all about this fantastic place. It is two miles from the main road and is tranquil, traditional and tremendous!

 

Updates

We have been working on a photo album containing all our Wainwright summit shots (shown above). We are going to continue this until we have all 214 photographs. Fingers crossed!

Viggo has lost loads of weight and he is now what he should be for his breed. Here is a lovely photo that illustrates the difference, taken from Viggo’s very own twitter, @ViggoTheSmooth .

Cheers,

TeamFell

Fell Map of the 214 Wainwrights

THE days are short but getting longer and if like me you are already counting down to your next sortie to Cumbria this piece will definitely catch your fancy!

While doing some research into Fix the Fells I came across a fundraising effort from Ian Shackleton. He produces a really high quality poster that shows all 214 Wainwright peaks along with tarns, lakes, roads and youth hostels. 

The summits are neatly colour coded to match the infamous pictorial guides and listed in altitude order all on a beautifully presented poster. This map sits wonderfully on the wall and once framed it makes a lovely feature in any setting. 

The man behind the creation of this map is Ian Shackleton, who has admired Wainwright for many years.

A close up of the Coniston area shows the
intricate beauty of this work.

"This map is dedicated to my father, Howard Shackleton who introduced me to the Lakeland Fells some 45 years ago. The map has taken over 400 hours to complete. Like Wainwright's Guides, it has been a labour of love. It is designed to be a piece of art, pleasing to the eye and something which people would be proud to hang on their walls. Every fell and every tarn are accurate in terms of Grid Reference. It can be used to plan future routes, familiarise yourself with the proximity of the fells and tarns or simply to reminisce about days spent on the fells."

    

Of every A1 map sold at least £1 will be put to Fix the Fells and at only £14.99 plus P+P this work of art will hardly break the bank. We’ve had ours up as pictured now for about two months and it still grabs our attention so I definitely recommend it.

Not only will it look good, not only will it be useful, not only will you stand reminiscing in front of it, you’ll be giving a little back to the fells we all know and love. I now whole-hearted urge you to head to Ian’s site here http://www.wainwrightfellsmap.co.uk/the-map/ and get your sen a copy!

Cheers

#TeamFell

Adidas Terrex Fast R Mid Gore-Tex Boot Review

TO begin, these are my everyday boots, they have done plenty of miles so this review is full of real life information.

Just an overview of the Adidas Terrex Fast R's.

These Terrex boots out of the box promise to be waterproof, lightweight, supportive and comfortable. And to give a small preview of what is to come, in my experience they have met all those promises and more.

The most important feature for me in these boots were the waterproof qualities, after my previous boots fell short of this requirement. The Adidas Terrex Fast R’s have a Gore-Tex membrane lining which suggests that it will keep out the water, protect you from the elements and keep you comfortable. I can vouch for the waterproofness of these shoes as I have relied on them in about half a dozen heavy wash out days of varying severity and in every case they stayed fully dry. From straight down saturating deluges to cross wind fuelled fell top cloudburst, I really can’t complain with regards to their weather resistance. 

After previously owning a glorified pair of rubber clogs, I really liked the lightweight attributes of these walking boots, the numbers given for a UK size 8.5 boot weighted in at 405 grams. Adidas achieve this by using innovative materials such as the abrasion-resistant air mesh upper and the lightweight EVA midsole. I have to confess that when trying on these boots in Blacks in Ambleside, I recall telling Claire that is was like having clouds on my feet! These are ace for long days walking as in my experience you don’t find yourself dragging your feet in these.

In the past I have had a few fatigued tumbles due to my ankles involuntarily deciding they had done enough. But since changing into these it hasn't happened. The key features that offer such support are in abundance on this shoe. The nice mid cut comfortably wraps my ankle and the Formotion heel unit inspires confidence at any gradient. Both these features when used in conjunction with the lacing system add up to a fantastic design. The snug fit throughout the heel, fore-foot and ankle mean that you have sterling support across the whole foot. The boots work hard for you and keep the foot in comfortable, healthy shape, overall the cut and heel unit are game changing for my feet.

That tyre rubber showing!

Closely linked to the support offered by these walking boots is the comfort. The moulded Ortholite sock liner welcomes you into the boots and keeps you tucked in all day, the insole does feel moulded to you. The Adiprene+ cushioning adds another degree of comfort to this shoe as on trails your feet feel as though there are no imperfections to the paths you walk.

Now coming onto protection and durability, you would expect a lightweight pair of sport hybrid walking boots to show it’s weakest hand here. Well, so far, there is no sign of damage to the boots as you can see from the photos and video and they have kept me in good nick too! The toe bar is a god send on this product, this area as you know takes the brunt of the hits and the addition of this to the Terrex’s adds years onto their life expectancy. The synthetic overlays on the air mesh upper also adds to the structural rigidity and all round 360 degree protection of the shoe. The solid Formotion heel unit stops any accidental rear knocks from doing yourself a mischief and stands up to really tough tests!

The eye catching modern appearance is a head turner
for sure!

Apart from the previous fairly generic aims of a boot, there are a few features on this shoe that make it stand out from the crowd. The first is the brand, a few people will say: “oh, Adidas they just make sports kit and football boots.” In my experience the Terrex range is really fit for purpose. 

Another thing that stands out is the looks and styling and this was one of the main reasons I went for this boot. Yes your traditional outdoor brands produce boots fit for purpose, of course they do, but the styling of these in relation to the price point made the decision easy. 

The grips show very little sign
of wear.

Other boots that I looked into prior to purchase were colourful examples such as: 

The North Face Verbena II’s at £140

The Salomon Wings Sky GTX 2’s at £139.99

And La Sportiva’s Trango S Evo GTX’s at £200+

All these other modern, fresh boots are a fair bit more and as the Adidas Terrex Fast R Mid’s were just £95 on sale at Blacks, I made the leap so to speak.

The grip of these boots is certainly noticeable in comparison to my previous shoes and Adidas would say that it is down to the Continental tyre rubber that the soles are formed from that give great grip, especially in wet conditions. 

The lacing system is a nice touch too. The speed lacing works with a connected loop of lacing being tightened by a one directional toggle, with a release catch for loosening. This means no more stopping to tie soggy untied laces, should you need to re-tighten them, it needn’t slow you down, just a quick pull on the toggle and away you go. The system seems successful as my boots hardly ever need tightening even after a full days walk, and the aesthetic of the system adds to the overall modern appearance.

The instep of my UK size 11's.

Finally this product from Adidas is suited for someone who is fairly fast paced. Whether this comes in the form of a fell runner in need of a little more support or just a walker who likes the light minimal feel to these shoes, they still have enough grunt to protect you from the elements and keep you going all day. 

These are boots that can keep up with you!

The Terrex range offers many different cuts of boot and also have a ladies range too. I have been amazingly impressed by mine so I have to recommend them to you! Be sure to check them out!

If you havent watched it already be sure to go watch our video review of the boot, go on, do it now! 

Thank you to all the supporters we have, all the Twitter retweets don't go unnoticed so thank you! As always, get your email in the sub box and follow us on Twitter @TeamFell Check out our Youtube channel and spread shirt shop too!

Cheers

#TeamFell

  

A Month In

SO here we are a month down the line.

I think the site is looking good, there is something in every category at least. The YouTube channel is active and Twitter is ticking over nicely. Now it is time to start promoting the site through Twitter and try and get some visitors to come from the YouTube channel once we get some reviews uploaded. 

We received our first shirts from SpreadShirt this week and they look fantastic, I couldn’t be happier with the design. Claire is going to look at expanding the range to tailor for a more feminine palette while I am going to spend a little time expanding the Summits Tackled range.

Now, in the coming weeks you can expect a few gear reviews from us with some embedded video from youtube and some across the board content as well. 

I don’t know what else to say, I just wanted to give you a quick update so you know what we’re up to.

Cheers 

#TeamFell 

Black Combe

HOW do I know about a little peak on the southwestern coast of the lakes? And what is it that keeps pulling me back to it? What makes this a hidden gem?

Well, first it is important to offer a few facts, standing at 2,000 feet Black Combe is no giant, but it is certainly no slouch either. It stands some ten miles from any higher ground and is just four miles from the Irish Sea. 

Jasper on Silecroft beach with Black Combe behind.

Childhood Memories

From a young age my family would go unto the lakes for a holiday and stay at my grandparents static caravan in the village of Silecroft.  Silecroft boasts a cracking beach (shingle when the tides in and a vast expanse of sand when the tides in), a compelling golf course (which my grandad, dad, cousin and I would play), a train station, The Miners Arms which serves food, the caravan site and the pony trekking centre. 

One thing, above all else excited me back when I was young just as it does today when in Silecroft was looking upon that mountain. Exiting the caravan would result in being greeted by the awesome presence of Black Combe, punctuating the skyline, sometimes brooding, masked in a clouded guise. Peaceful and serene in the still sunlight, but colossal and forboding when skies grey and tempest comes. 

Puerile Pioneer

For a number of years I never managed to attempt a climb as I was simply too young. All in good time though, my dad, sister and I had a effort at Black Combe and got what I believed to be at the time to be about three quarters of the way up. 

In retrospect it was more like less than halfway! At that point having got past the steepest part of the ascent and come between a pair of thigh like spurs, the cloud came in and made visibility very limited. We ate our butties and headed back the way we came for Silecroft. 

Adult Accomplishment

It was a fair number of years until I reattempted and conquered the Combe. I’d stared at it from the beach, from the car when weaving along the A595 under it’s mighty foothills, and then finally in 2013, as a precursor to TeamFell, we traversed on a pilgrimage to Whicham church, where the ascent begins. In homage to years of imagination and vivid recollections of it’s stout silhouette we reached the summit.

Black Combe and all it's intricacies will be covered in far more detail in the Summits Tackled section. But here and now I want to describe to you what makes this climb is different to other more well known peaks.

On the first leg of the climb you rise up between two root like spurs and hit a steep section that gets the pulse up and while having a thirty second breather, turning round instantly gives you a staggering perspective of the Duddon Estuary. In good weather it gleams and shifts peacefully with Morecambe Bay behind it to the south. In truth all the way up the views are stunning. The Isle of Man is a westward landmark, while it is not until the summit (if coming from Whicham) that you see north and east. When you do though, it is well worth the wait. 

Jasper in a mac, on the summit of Black Combe. 

From this cornerstone, the view is cinematic, Black Combe is a guard standing vigil, protecting its taller inland counterparts to the north and west. As previously noted, Black Combe is ten miles from any higher ground. This gives you a feeling of status, topping a column far enough from interfering neighbours to harbour a full 360 degree vista. In my opinion it is worthy of far more recognition and visitors. I say this hesitantly, as one of the lovely things about walking Black Combe is the tranquility. It’s a little off the beaten track and so the desolate quiet is refreshing. In other words don't all go at once, this one is definitely best served chilled.

This pleasant walk has views in abundance, wildlife, peace and fun all wrapped up in a 2,000 foot package. Every year there is the Black Combe walking festival led by local guides who give even more background to the area and the mountain. It is absolutely worth making a note of the late summer weekend event for next year! 

On their website, www.walkingfest.org.uk there’s loads of really good walking guides with maps, including a good looking Black Combe circular. Ive also embedded a video from their site below as you can catch a glimpse of Black Combe in all its glory behind a couple of interviews regarding the tourism in the area. 

Finally, thank you for letting me share one of my favourite places with you and I hope I have done enough to get you to try it, and find it equally as fascinating and compelling as me. 

It’s just special. 

What Haystacks was to the great Alf Wainwright, Black Combe is to me. 

Please support Fell with as little as a +1 or subscribing in the email box in the sidebar or go all out and make us even happier by donating or purchasing some Fell merchandise from our online shop (link in the sidebar). My dream is to see someone out on the fells with a Fell top on, that would make me so chuffed! So go do it!

Cheers

#TeamFell    

Dogs on Fell

Welcome to Harvey the Cocker pictured here on Hen Combe by @pnl25

Here's Angel on top of Great Carrs, a rescued Lurcher with owner @JGor007 

Here's Marvin the lovely Lakeland from @bekblayton!

Anna the GSD, another beautiful photo from @louwilsonart!

This beauty is Oscar, tweeted in by @munro277.

Blue and owner @Magshowarth atop Blencathra, what a lovely photo!

#TeamFell's @ClairePeddie's old dog Fidra, a Border Collie Lab cross pictured here at 17, who sadly passed away last year. :(

Morgan of @helvellyn keeping that nose moist!

Well hello Ron the Papillon @Staydrier's five year old pooch.

Ruby, hailed Fell Warrior has by the looks of it conquered a trig point, sent in by @edwasp

Poppy and @hogantravels on Snowdon.

@LowWoodHall's Chilli here, the pretty thing!

Coco the Jack Russell getting a chin scratch from @GillyBigG_QFE

What a stunner, this is Ole at Buttermere from @roseweth

@Nattydawn01's Fergus eyeing the birds at Windermere.

Meet Meg, the Patterjack on Coniston Old Man sent in by @gooner661911

This is Chief, @louwilsonart's new pup, gorgeous dog with a Twitter too! @ChiefTheGSD

@louwilsonart's beautiful GSD sadly passed away last year. :( 

This handsome doggie is Alex, from @Tringonometry 

Say hello to Zeus,  sent in by @ishervoo

This is Doug, with Wetherlam behind him! From @th3Derek

Meet Charlie - @sallylouwill's Springer Labrador Cross.

@glocky9's Alfred, staring out on the fells, even got his own Twitter this one: @glockyk9 !

#TeamFell's Jasper at the soaked summit of Black Combe.