Forever Goods

Are you ready for a hike?

I’m slowly growing my Forever Goods wardrobe, and one way to test is going on hikes!

Last week, our family had a fab holiday at St Brides, in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Highlights included seeing baby Martha and playing lots of board games.

There was almost a daily hike, so plenty of opportunity to test the gear.

The hikes: one walk in the rain, another couple in pleasant conditions, and another in boggy fields. They were 2-4 hours long. Temperature was 5 – 10 °C.

One of the hikes ended with all the family getting a hot chocolate – probably my favourite one! Yes, there was cream and marshmallows.

A hailstorm was quite entertaining too, since everyone was so surprised.

I used the same gear most days —

• I wore layers of a jumper, plus a thin insulating down jacket, with a North Face down jacket on top.
• Puma nylon trousers, when the forecast was good. I never wore my waterproof budget Sondico overtrousers.
• I also wore my Kalenji running shoes, since I’m yet to purchase a good pair of walking boots. These let in water when I walked through boggy fields. Not pleasant!

I was always pretty warm thanks to all the layers, including a double layer of down jackets.

The rain wasn’t too heavy when it came, so my nylon trousers thankfully didn’t absorb the water.

Brother Stuart was on the trip. He said his…

• Superdry puffer jacket kept him and his baby Martha warm. Through hail, wind and rain.
• Jeans kept him warm, but not quick drying. Luckily it didn’t rain too much!
• Hi-Tec Eurottek Lite Boots performed well. His feet stayed dry in boggy conditions.

Not everything went perfectly, though.

Unfortunately, my North Face jacket (which is 7 years old now) got caught on barbed wire as I was trying to avoid the muddy puddle. It ripped, and some of the down feathers came out! Thankfully I managed to seal the rip with some plasters when we got back. Maybe I’ll have to go to the North Face store and get it repaired more professionally!

So what’s the takeaway?

I would recommend a down jacket as an insulating layer (these are super warm) and proper walking shoes like Stuart had (to keep the water out). Buying high quality walking boots is definitely worth it too. They need Gore-Tex or a similar membrane so they’re properly waterproof.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. I hope this article has inspired you to grab your Forever Gear, and get outside!