They’ve been making their own TPU soles for a long time now but have recently branched out with a collaboration with Vibram to make an even grippier sole.

The All-Terrain are very similar to the best-selling Blundstone Classics. Along with the sole there are a couple of key differences. We both them both to the test recently to see if what the differences felt like in the rock and mud.

We also have a quick comparison of the All-Terrain to the Classic and an in-depth review of the Classic.

Colors

The range of colors available for the All-Terrain is limited as it’s still relatively new. While the Classic has 16 available, the All-Terrain has 3. Rustic Brown tends to the be most popular and then a couple others.

The All-Terrain hasn’t been around for as long as the Classics so hopefully they will add more.

• Rustic Brown
• Rustic Black
• Black

Sole

The sole on the All-Terrain is a collaboration with Vibram, the TC4+ for wet terrain. The Classics have a more traditional blocky tread. The All-Terrain have more of a grid pattern that keeps more rubber on what you’re standing on. They flex when you move to shed anything that’s stuck in the tread.

The Vibram material feels a bit softer and gripper than the TPU on the Classics. This usually means they’ll stick better on surfaces, especially wet ones. A more extreme example is like the sole on running shoes vs hiking boots. Running shoes are softer and gripper. Hiking boots are harder and tend to last longer.

Fit

The fit is very similar to the Classics but a bit more snug. While the classics would be a bit taller and wider, The All-Terrain is a bit lower volume, more snug fit. It’s not a huge difference. I can wear both no problem but there is a little difference in the feel. If you have a lower volume foot, I would lean toward the All-Terrain.

The All-Terrain’s fit my low-medium volume feet fantastic. I don’t have high arches and they’re not particularly wide.

The heel has Blundstones XRD shock absorption system. The harder the force on the material in the heel, the more it hardens up. When the force is released, it goes back to being soft and squishy. They are firm and supportive all-day long and over hundreds of kilometers.

The insoles they come with are fairly flat which works well for my feet. If you need more of a stiff arch support it’s easy to swap out for different insoles.

Care

Blundstones don’t need a lot of care. They will last longer if you do though.

Keep them clean. Brush dirt off with a soft brush or damp cloth as often as possible and keep them in a dry, room temperature place. A gum eraser can get rid of the some of the scuffs.

A cream or spray will prevent the leather from drying out and cracking. Some will change the colour of the leather so test it out in a small spot. The All-Terrains are made with a nubuck leather, either waxed or polished. Make sure any spray or cream works on nubuck.

Never dry with direct heat like a fireplace or hairdryer. Just naturally in a dry place works well. Paper towel inside can absorb the moisture a little faster.

Stain and water repellent can be useful for the nubuck as well. The leather is water-resistant but not waterproof.

Compared to the Classics

The All-Terrains are very similar to the Classics. The fit is a bit more snug on the All-Terrains but not enough that you’d need a different size.

The sole on the All-Terrain’s is a more grippy sole from Vibram. If grip is a big concern, I’d lean towards the All-Terrain.

Thermal Version

The Winter Thermal All-Terrain is a winter or cold-weather version of the All-Terrain. It’s got 200 grams of Thinsulate insulation and a thicker sheepskin footbed. The leather upper is completely waterproof and seam-sealed.

Because of the insulation and thick footbed, there is a little less room inside the Thermal versions.

Final Thoughts

It’s exciting to see Blundstone working with other companies and improving their boots in different ways. Vibram absolutely knows shoe. They make over 40 million soles per year for 1000 different shoe companies.

The All-Terrains take the massive success of the Classics and tweak them with even better grip in the sole. The lugs aren’t as sharp as the Classics but there’s more rubber on the ground and it’s a softer, grippier material.

I won’t be able to wear through these boots any time soon as it will probably take a decade or more to wear them out but I love the Vibram soles I have on other shoes and hiking boots. They’ve easily outlasted the upper in all my other shoes.

If you have a higher volume foot or want more colors, the Classics are probably best. If you If you have a lower volume foot or need better grip, the All-Terrains are a good pick. Either way Blunstones are going to last you a long time.

The All-Terrains usually retail around $279.95 CAD and the Winter Thermal version for $319.95

The post Blundstone All-Terrain Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Today, we’ll be focusing more on what makes the Classics unique. What’s the difference between the them and the All-Terrain. Would you get the regular or the Winter Thermal version? How to get the right size with Blundstones Australian sizing.

Blundstones are the highest selling Chelsea boots in the world. The Classic in Rustic Brown is their best-selling model. I tested a Classic in Walnut, a dark polished brown leather and beige stitching.

We’ve also got a Classic vs All-Terrain comparison and an in-depth review of the All-Terrain.

Colors

The Classics are available in a ton of different colours.

• Claret
• Teak
• Vintage Zinc Brushed
• Sand Pebble
• Rustic Brown
• Clay
• Forest Nubuck
• Vintage Brown
• Brown
• Rustic Black
• Black
• Walnut
• Antique Brown
• Auburn
• Navy
• Antique Brown Brogue

Some of the styles are smoother and more dressy looking. Others come already looking distressed or a softer nubuck leather texture.

Sole

The sole on the classics is made from Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). This is a very durable, strong, lightweight plastic. It’s hard enough to be very durable and supportive. It’s also soft enough to bend with your foot and grip wet or slippery surfaces.

The lugs are pretty deep giving good traction on any surfaces but there’s still a decent amount of rubber on the ground for wet and slippery surfaces. It’s a tough balance to strike but Blundstone does it well. The heel brake is fairly big and sharp, preventing slipping going down hills.

For working inside the soles are non-marking as well.

Fit

The Classics have more room inside them than the All-Terrains and Originals. They’re a medium volume, medium-wide fit. I have an average volume foot and they fit well. they feel good walking around but have a bit of room to put on bigger socks if I need to.

The sizing is in Australian so read the sizing carefully. I would try to get to a store to try on the exact model you want to see how they fit. Blundstone recommends 1 size down from Australian size for the US size for men, and 3 down for women. All the Blundstones are unisex.

Half sizes are only wider, not longer. So an 8 an an 8.5 are the same length, but the 8.5 is just a bit wider.

Blundstone say they will stretch over the arch of your foot over time. If you have high arches this is useful. They can be stretched a little by a cobbler as well. They shouldn’t stretch much, if at all, in length.

Care

I’m awful at taking care of my shoes. That’s part of the reason why I like Blundstones so much, I don’t really need to. They will last longer if you take care of them though.

Keep them clean. Brush dirt off with a soft brush or damp cloth as often as possible and keep them in a dry, room temperature place. Apply your spray or cream to maintain the leather. It will prevent cracking. Creams and sprays can change the colour of your boot so test it in a small spot if you aren’t sure.

A gum eraser can get rid of the some of the scuffs.

Most of the Classics are made with a nubuck leather, sometimes waxed or polished. Make sure any spray or cream works on nubuck.

Never dry with direct heat like a fireplace or hairdryer. Just naturally in a dry place works well. Paper towel inside can absorb the moisture a little faster.

Stain and water repellent can be useful for the nubuck as well. The leather is water-resistant anyways but not waterproof. The leather can loosen a bit and stretch if it’s wet. I’ve never had issues with these Classics or past Blundstones getting wet or stretching too much.

Compared to the All-Terrain

The Classics are very similar to the All-Terrain. We’ve got a full comparison here.

The main difference between the two is the sole. The Classics have a thick sole made from TPU with blocky lugs. The All-Terrain has a Vibram sole with more horizontally striped lugs. The Vibram sole is more focused on web and slippery surfaces.

The Classics are a little bit more room inside.

For colors, the Classics have 16 colours from soft brown to polished black to a deep red and navy. All-Terrain have 3 colours right now (Rustic Brown, Rustic Black and polished Black).

Thermal Version

The Classics also have a Winter Thermal version designed for colder seasons. Outside, they have fully waterproof leather and elastic with sealed seams. Inside, they have 200 grams of Thinsulate insulation and a sheepskin insole.

Check with sizing as they may fit tighter because of the insulation and thicker insole.

Final Thoughts

As I said in the intro, I’m very biased towards Blundstones. Past pairs have been extremely comfortable and durable. With my brief testing of the Classics, that has been the case so far as well. The best selling Chelsea boot from the most popular Chelsea boot brand says something.

They are my first choice out of everything I’ve got for all-around, do everything boot. You can work, hike, build, travel, and just about anything else in them.

The Classic TPU sole might not be quite as good as the Vibram sole on the All-Terrain for slippery surfaces but I found it easy to get over slick rock and logs out hiking. I’ve tried to hike with the Chisel Toe and there’s a huge difference. The Chisel Toe just don’t have the tread for bashing around in the woods.

The fit was medium wide, a little bigger inside than the All-Terrain’s. The arch is snug to start but that keeps your foot in place. The leather in the arch does relax over time. Length doesn’t really.

If you take some care in picking the right fit, you can’t go wrong with a Blundstone.

The Classics usually retail for around $239.95 CAD and the Thermal insulated version for $289.95.

The post Blundstone Classic Review first appeared on Pack & Trail.

I wanted to wear them to work so I got the Chisel Toe (Dress in the US). They were a bit stiff to start. Once they broke in they fit my feet like a glove. The soles were firm but soft enough to wear them all day no problem. I travelled in them. I walked hundreds of kilometers in them. They looked good so I could wear them anywhere.

I’ve worn them almost every day since.

What amazed me most was how durable they were. I wear through running shoes in a year, maybe 2. Hiking boots I was getting a little longer. Paying hundreds of dollars every year or 2 for shoes, I wanted them to last longer.

10 years later, I’ve finally retired my Chisel Toe’s. I’ve beat the daylights out of them. They’ve been in the water, snow, hiking, and riding motorcycles. Places where nice leather boots probably shouldn’t go. The leather is still going. The soles have finally given up wearing them almost every day for the last 10 years. Money very well spent.

Now it’s time for a new pair. But do I go with the Classic or the All-Terrain. In my perfect rainbow and unicorn world, I can wear a pair of Blundstones for everything I do. Ride the motorcycle to work, work in the office, walk at lunch, hike a trail in the mud after work, camp and fish on the weekends.

Can a single pair of boots do all that and not be shredded? Time for a test. Stay here for a comparison or see the in-depth review of the Classic and the All-Terrain.

Blundstone History

In the 1850s, John Blundstone and his sons make the 93 day journey from England to Hobart, Tasmania. They started sourcing local leathers and making high quality footwear.

During World War 1 and 2, the company made boots for Australian troops.

In the 50s they focused on workboots, their soles working in 350 C smelters. In the 60s the #500 was born. They’re still made today and have sold 25 million pairs worldwide.

In the late 1970s a team wearing boots made by Blundstone climb Everest. In the 80s another factory is opened in New Zealand and exports to Europe start. In the 90s safety boots for women and a kids range start.

The 2000s see one million pairs annually and in 2020 Blundstone is 150 years old. They still aim for rugged, all-around boots that work hard and last a long time.

Today there’s a whole line of Blundstones for year round work and adventure in mens, womens, safety and kids.

The Classics, and more recently All-Terrain, are popular styles in the line. But what’s the difference?

Classics vs the All-Terrains

The Classics and All-Terrains are quite similar but with a few important differences.

• Easy on/off with Blundstone pull tag
• Elastic side panels for snug fit and natural movement
• Rounded toe Chelsea boot styling
• .8mm leather and breathable synthetic liner
• Soles resistant to acid, organic fat and oil
• PU midsole
• SPS with XRD shock absorption in heel
• Removable footbeds.
• Sizes range from US 4 to US 14. Half sizes are only a bit wider.

A few quick specs and then we can get into the differences.

What is SPS and XRD?

A special polyurethane section in the heel is the XRD shock absorbing foam. It’s normally soft, squishy, and flexible. When a force is applied to it quickly hardens. The harder it’s pushed, the harder it goes. Kind of like a non-newtonian fluid (oobleck for any of the parents or teachers here).

It doesn’t stay hard, it returns to soft and squishy as fast as it got there. Landing hard as a step on concrete or jumping off a rock and it supports the fall and then quickly returns to it’s regular state. It’s so fast that you don’t even feel it happen.

Blundstone Classic

The Classics are an evolution of the #500 series originally launched in the 60s. The goal was a durable boot, for any environment, that would last forever.

The sole is a general thermo-polyurethane (TPU) sole with deep lugs. It’s designed to be long lasting and provide good traction on any surface.

On the back, the heel is double-stitched for extra durability. The stitching is exposed on the Classic.

Inside, they have a bit more volume and toe height than the All-Terrains.

Two pairs of Comfort EVA footbeds come with the Classic, one thicker than the other with a bit of XRD padding in the heel. Swapping the footbeds, or adding both together will give a different fit.

On top of some XRD in the footbed, there’s more built into the heel of the Classic. That’s where a lot of the weight and impact happens when you walk so there’s where the good padding is.

Classics are usually around $239.95 CAD. There is a thermal insulated version available for $289.95.

Blundstone All-Terrain

The All-Terrain launched in 2021. It’s a very similar rig to the Classic, mostly with a different sole.

The sole is a TC4+ Vibram sole, built for everything but excelling on wet, slippery surfaces. They work well from -15°C up to a staggering 300°C. The soles are built to have an increased amount of rubber on the ground but still self-release mud and rock as they bend.

The heel still has the durable double-stiching on the heel but it’s hidden, reducing the chance dirt and water gets in there.

Inside, the All-Terrain are slightly lower volume than the Classics. The toe height and arch are slightly more snug.

A set of Premium Comfort Lite are inside with a bit more cushion than the Comfort EVA footbeds in the classics. They still come with a second set regular Comfort EVA in case you need a second.

Just like in the Classic XRD shock absoprtion is built into the high impact area of the heel.

The All-Terrain cost a bit more than the Classics at $279.95 CAD. There is an insulated Winter Thermal version for $319.95 CAD.

Chisel Toe

I’ve been wearing the Chisel Toe almost daily for the last decade. They’re a dressier option than the All-Terrain or Classic.

The sole is smoother without as much tread on it and a more consistent line where it attaches to the leather. Great for travel, going to work or out for the night. The smoother sole isn’t as good for the trail.

The sole itself is thinner than the Classic or All-Terrain with less shock absorption. I could still walk and stand on them all day no problem so they were still plenty thick to protect my feet.

If you’re need tread for dirt or mud, stick with the Classics or All-Terrains. If you’re looking for something more dressing, the Chisel Toe are perfect.

Sizing

Blundstones run in Australian sizing. Make sure you’re looking at the US or Australian size when you go to order. I highly recommend trying them on in a store to see what fits properly.

The half-sizes aren’t longer, only wider. So an 8 and an 8.5 is the same length but the 8.5 is wider.

The Chisel Toe is longer than both the Classic and the All-Terrain.

The post Blundstone Classic vs All-Terrain first appeared on Pack & Trail.

The Cascade Low-Cut Helly Tech hiking shoes are a waterproof hiking show (not boot) with a burly sole meant for soaking up all the kilometers.

Quick specs

• 950 grams (for the pair)
• Helly Tech waterproof membrane
• HH Pro-Guard toe and heel cap
• HH Max Comfort insole
• HH Power Stride Midsole
• HH Surround-grip
• HH Max-Grip Rubber compound
• $140 USD ($160 CAD)

The HH Pro-Guard toe and heel caps keep your feet in one piece. Even just getting out of the house, I somehow slammed my foot in the door. Happy I was wearing the Cascades!

I love hiking in lightweight trail runners but they don’t last as long as dedicated hiking shoes. The Cascades are about 950 grams for 2, so not the lightest, but much lighter than a pair of boots. I’ll take the weight if it makes them last longer

The HH Max-Grip Rubber on the sole stays grippy on slick rocks and logs. I was out recently on a frosty morning and all the rocks were slick. The rubber on the Cascades made it easier going. They aren’t the stickiest rubber I’ve had in a shoe but plenty for wet rocks and logs. Less sticky rubber tends to mean it’s going to last longer.

A good heel cup makes a shoe for me. It keeps your foot in one place and prevents sliding around or slipping up and down. All that sliding causes blisters, no fun to hike with. The Cascade has a shallower heel cup which worried me when I first tried them on. But hiking up steep river bank and single track, my heels weren’t slipping all. Surprising but good. While it doesn’t quite feel like it’s going to hold everything in place at first, it did!

Fit on the front was good. The laces hold well without squeezing and there was enough room for my toes. They don’t have a ton of room in the toes but enough for my somewhat wide feet to be happy.

Hiking through wet brush was no issue for the Helly Tech waterproof membrane. My feet got quite warm in the which happens with all waterproof shoes. Less coming in means less going out.

Conclusion

Verdict: Hiking recommended

The Helly Hansen Cascade hiking shoes the are comfortable to wear right out of the box, are burly enough to throw around off-trail and keep your feet dry from any wet brush. If the bright red isn’t your thing, there’s also a blue or a black.

The post Helly Hansen Cascade Low-cut Hiking Shoes Review: Durable, Warm and Dry first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Swapping out the stock insoles for something better is an easy way to get a better fitting and more supportive shoe without buying another pair.

SOLE insoles have been in my hiking boots and ski boots for a long time. I never have any problems with fit in trail runners but as soon as I go to hiking boots and ski boots I always have to tweak the fit with a SOLE insole.

This review is on the Performance Medium from SOLE, a medium-volume, carbon negative (!) insole meant for trail runners and hiking boots.

First, here’s the basic specs and then we’ll dig into the details.

Specs

• SOLE Performance series
• Medium thickness
• Softec cushioning
• base made with ReCORK recycled wine corks
• Zero drop
• Polygiene technology
• 3.2 mm thick
• reduces planta fascia strain

The SOLE Performance Medium Insole

Performance is the product series and Medium is the thickness. Let’s start with the Medium thickness.

Each of the lines of insoles that SOLE has a thickness. If there isn’t much space in your shoes like a dress show or something that’s tight already, then you can go with the Thin insoles. If you have lots of room in your boot and need lots of cushioning, then get the Thick insoles.

The insoles are zero drop. Most of my shoes are not but I prefer as little drop as I can find. And they’ll maintain the zero drop of shoes that are already zero. Drop is the height different from the front to the back of the shoe. Most shoes have a few millimetres difference. Some coming out these days are low or zero drop meaning the heel and the toe are at the same height, just like standing in your bare feet on the ground.

The Polygiene stays fresh technology keeps the bacteria out that makes things stink. They stay decent-smelling longer. I’m not going to say they stay flowery fresh forever because, well, they’re in my wet trail shoes that don’t smell great at the best of times!

One of the best parts is the deep heel cup. They prevent your heel from sliding left and right. I find this more a problem in hiking boots on uneven terrain. And when your heel starts slipping, your friendly neighbourhood blisters start showing up.

Okay, time to look at molding these insoles, how good they feel and how they’re made with a bunch of recycled wine corks.

Molding SOLE insoles

There are 2 ways to mold the SOLE insoles to get a better fit.

The first is to heat them in the oven for 2 minutes at 200° F. This uses more energy but is faster to do.

The second is just to wear them. The pressure and heat from your feet will push them into a better position for your feet. This will be more eco-friendly as it doesn’t use a stove but it takes a few days.

Wearing them around feels a bit odd. I have relatively low arches and the support was pushing up hard to start. Good for higher arches! After a couple days it warmed up and packed down into the correct spot for my foot. If the arches are bit tall for your feet take it easy on the first couple times wearing.

Performance of the Performance

I love how the Performance insoles feel after they’re worn in. They have just enough arch support and keep your heel in place. For shoes that didn’t have enough padding, they provide more and help stave off those sore feet.

They didn’t work in some of my shoes where there wasn’t enough space. The Mediums are a medium thickness and took up too much space in my shoe. I would have to go with the Thin versions of the SOLEs for those shoes (which have a ReCORK version too).

Carbon Negative ReCORK Base

Clearly, you’d want an insole because your shoe isn’t comfortable or doesn’t fit properly. It has to work.

On top of making your shoes more comfortable, SOLE have created an insole that’s not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative, to produce.

The base of the Performance Medium footbeds is made of recycled wine corks. Through a program called ReCORK that SOLE started, they collect old wine corks, grind them up and create footbed bases that are shock-absorbing, durable, and antibacterial.

Why use cork?

Most shoes use some sort of foam to build up the base like EVA. This foam comes from, you guessed it, fossil fuels. More oil has to come out of the ground to make the foam in shoes.

Instead of those corks going into the garbage (they can be composted but I’m sure most aren’t) they can be recycled and sent to SOLE through the ReCORK recycling program.

So one source of the cork is saving used corks from hitting the landfill. Another is straight from cork trees.

ReCORK has collected more than 128,772,485 corks so far. They even have a search on their website to help you search for wine bottles that use real ‘cork’ cork.

Carbon Negative Cork

To calculate the carbon emissions of the entire life of a Performance Medium footbed, SOLE walks through every step from finding the raw materials to making the footbed (even cooking it in the oven to mold it) and calculates the carbon required.

To sort out how much carbon a Performance Medium takes to create, they work with a company that specializes in calculating carbon emissions. They found that getting the raw materials, making the product, transporting everything and disposing of it all takes 1.87 kg of of CO2 equivalent for each pair of footbed.

What’s different about the cork versions of these footbeds is that the small amount of cork included actually sequestered 4.15 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere. So while it was growing, the cork tree sucked out an average of 55 times the amount of CO2 from the atmosphere that it stored in the tree and in the cork.

After the cork tree pulled 4.15 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere, SOLE put 1.87 kg back into the atmosphere making the footbed. But at the end of the day I got the footbeds after 2.28 kg of CO2 were pulled from the atmosphere. By using cork these footbeds aren’t just carbon neutral, but carbon negative.

Cork comes from bark of the cork oak tree. The cork can be harvested without cutting down the tree. It keeps on living after a bark harvest. In fact, it starts to pull more CO2 to grow back the cork that it lost. Cork trees can be ‘peeled’ every 9 to 12 years, and up to 15 times over the 200 year life of a cork tree.

Climate Neutral or Carbon Negative?

SOLE and ReCORK work with CO2 Negative, a company that provides carbon labelling and carbon negative certification. They walk through product life cycles (from getting the raw material to people buying, using and disposing of them) and measure how much carbon is produced at each step. They help companies put labels on each of their products showing how much CO2 equivalent the product produces so we can make better decisions when buying new products.

CO2 Negative is similar to the Climate Neutral Initiative. Climate Neutral is a few years old and so has more members. So far they have 264 members that go through the 3 steps. Every year, each company measures how much carbon the company produced in all of its operations. They then pay for carbon offsets to bring the company up to carbon neutral. Last is a plan for the next year to reduce carbon emissions to begin with. Once they’re certified they’re allowed to use the Climate Neutral tag on all their products.

Both initiatives put labels on product that let us consumers know what the company is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent climate change.

SOLE Active versus Performance

SOLE has a bunch of different kinds of insoles and footbeds. See here for a quick comparison.

Their biggest ranges are Active and Performance. Performance is the line in this review. Active is a very similar footbed but made with EVA foam instead from fossil fuel.

Within the Active and Performance lines, there’s different thicknesses: Thin, Medium and Thick. If you don’t have much room in your shoe then Thin probably works. If you have a lot of extra space to fill then go with Thick.

Two other options to pick from are Wide and Met Pad. Choices are a bit more limited when you start to go wide or include the Met Pad.

Wide is just wider than standard width. If you have a wider trail runner or boot, go with the Wide footbed to cover the whole area.

The Met Pad is for reducing strain on the ball of your foot. It lifts the ball of your foot slightly to line up better with your toes and should reduce pain there.

The insoles in this review are the Medium thickness in the Performance Series. SOLE says the Performance Collection is:

• Made with recycled cork
• Carbon negative
• Molds quicker to your feet through wear
• Cork is naturally shock absorbing, antimicrobial and insulating

The Active Collection is:

• Made with EVA foam
• Ultra durable – withstands prolonged high-intensity use
• Best for swapping between shoes

Conclusion

Lots of of people slide on a shoe or boot and go hiking and they have never have any issues with fit or blisters. I’m jealous of those people. I’ve spent years fiddling around with insoles, taping, socks and different boots to get a good fit.

Insoles are a cheaper way to get more support in a boot or take up extra space. SOLE have been making insoles for years and have types for all shoes. The Performance (with the cork base) and the Active (with the EVA foam base) have been my favourites.

The Performance Medium in this review is excellent for mid to low volume feet that require a bit of support. If you have flat feet, you probably don’t need these. By walking or heating for 2 minutes in the oven, they will form to your feet and you get custom orthotics for a fraction of the cost of real custom.

If you have had success with other SOLE insoles, you’ll like the Performance line too. Best part is they are carbon negative. The base is made with recycled wine corks saving them from the landfill. All SOLE insoles are getting a carbon label from now on, regardless if they’re carbon negative or positive.

The post Review: SOLE Performance Medium Carbon Negative Insoles first appeared on Pack & Trail.

When I stumbled on the new guidebook Backpacking in Southwestern BC, I had to to investigate more.

I reached out to the Squamish, BC-based author Taryn Eyton, who also runs the website Happiest Outdoors, for a quick interview to pick her brain about the new guidebook and what it was like to write.

Ross: You are a full-time writer, correct? What does a normal day or week look like for you? Are you hiking all day every day?

Taryn: I’ve been self-employed as a writer full-time for about three years now. I do spend a lot of time hiking, but I spend far more time writing or working on other administrative tasks. July, August, and early September are mostly devoted to hiking and researching. I also do a few other trips throughout the year. 

But most of the time you’ll find me in my home office. I work Monday to Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm (ish). I try to keep to roughly the same schedule each week: three days a week working on my website, one day doing work for freelance clients, and one day working on my next book. At the end of each workday, I go for a short hike on the trails near my house in Squamish, BC. (If the weather is really nice I often take the afternoon off to go for a longer hike.)

R: You run a website called Happiest Outdoors. What is the focus of the stories there?

T: I started Happiest Outdoors in 2014 as a way to share reports from my hiking trips with friends. Over the years it has grown into more of a resource for hikers to find info and inspiration about hiking destinations close to home in BC, and around the world. I also share info about hiking gear, backcountry skills, and outdoor travel destinations.

R: You’re also a Leave No Trace Master Educator. Why did you join that organization and how can hikers learn more about Leave No Trace?

T: Leave No Trace is a set of outdoor ethics principles that help us have minimal impact when we spend time in the wilderness. I’ve been involved with Leave No Trace Canada since 2006. I was working part-time at an outdoors store while going to university and was able to take part in a Leave No Trace Trainer course. I’ve been teaching Leave No Trace awareness workshops since then. In 2019, I got certified as a Leave No Trace Master Educator and in 2020 I joined the Board of Directors of Leave No Trace Canada. You can find more info about Leave No Trace at leavenotrace.ca.

R: What got you into backpacking?

T: Growing up in the Vancouver area, my family went hiking a few times a year, but it wasn’t a major focus. I got really into hiking in university because it was a cheap activity. At the end of my undergrad, my boyfriend wanted to hike the West Coast Trail and invited me to come along. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I went anyway. It was really challenging and I cried a few times the first few days. But by the end, I loved it and planned another backpacking trip (to Manning Park) as soon as we got back. (That boyfriend has been my husband for over a decade now, so that worked out well too.)

R: What’s been your favourite trip ever?

T: This is a bit like asking a parent to choose their favourite child. I’ve had lots of trips that are memorable because we had incredibly good weather or I got to spend time with good friends. But as far as my favourite destination goes, the Nootka Trail on Vancouver Island and the Rockwall Trail in Kootenay National Park both rank very highly.

R: Your book, Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia, came out in 2021. What made you want to write a book?

T: I’ve always loved guidebooks and maps. I have a huge collection of several hundred BC guidebooks dating back to the 1960s. I started thinking about what was missing from that collection and I realized it was a backpacking guidebook. There are so many good day hiking guidebooks for BC, but they don’t have a lot of information for backpackers. They don’t point out which campsites are best and tell you what facilities you can find there. And they don’t tell you about hikes you can do from a backcountry campsite. I knew I could fill that niche.

R: What was the hardest part about putting the book together?

T: I had never written a book before, so all of it was pretty intimidating. Thankfully, I signed with my publisher, Greystone Books, about halfway through the process and the team there helped a lot, especially my editor Lucy Kenward. My first draft was really dry and clinical, and I had to work hard to paint a visual picture of the landscape with my words. I also had to learn a lot about plant identification, which is something I love doing now.

R: What was the scariest thing that happened while researching the book?

T: Two things come to mind: I tripped over my own feet and almost fell off a cliff on the Howe Sound Crest Trail. And on the Hanging Lake Trail to Rainbow Pass, we had a nerve-wracking encounter with a mother bear and cub that was briefly so scary that I took the safety off my bear spray. Thankfully, the bears went one way and we went the other. I think they were just as frightened as we were.

R: What has been the most embarrassing thing that happened while researching the book?

T: I was using a throne-style pit toilet (the kind without an enclosure) at Greendrop Lake when a group of six hikers started walking towards me through the forest, not on the trail. It took them a long time to realize they had disturbed a person going to the bathroom!

R: What has your favourite piece of backpacking gear been so far?

T: I love my Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm sleeping pad. The extra thickness was a game-changer when I switched from a self-inflating pad since it adds so much comfort for side-sleeping. I also sleep very cold, so the high R-value helps me stay warm. Getting good sleep in the backcountry is so important.

R: If you were to give 2 tips to a new backpacker, what would they be?

T: Two things:

1. Don’t do what I did and jump into the deep end right away with a challenging hike like the West Coast Trail. Start with backpacking trips that are easier than the day hikes you do, then work up to longer and harder trips. 
2. Bring the essentials, but don’t overpack. On my first backpacking trip, I brought a lot of clothes. I soon discovered that no one else had multiple outfit changes and it was perfectly normal to wear the same dirty and smelly shirt for days.

R: What’s your next big adventure?

T: This summer I’m finishing up the hiking research for my next guidebook, (tentatively titled Backpacking on Vancouver Island, scheduled to publish in spring 2024), so I have a lot of trips planned. But I’m most looking forward to visiting the remote Tatchu Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island. 

Sounds like there have been many awesome adventure and more to come for Taryn!

You can find more info about Backpacking in Southwestern BC on HappiestOutdoors.ca.

The post Backpacking in Southwestern BC with Taryn Eyton from Happiest Outdoors first appeared on Pack & Trail.

There are lots out there of all different kinds. A quick search on Google and you can find all these different types of backpacking stoves:

• Canister
• Liquid Fuel
• Alcohol
• Solid Fuel
• Wood

Or not even bring a stove and just light a fire to cook your food and boil your water. Or you could just bring food that doesn’t require a stove at all. Then you don’t have to bring any kind of fuel.

But a few questions come up when trying to pin down what makes a true backpacking stove.

• Does it have to be small?
• Does it have to be packable?
• Does it have to use a certain fuel?
• Do you have to buy them or can you make them?
• Do you even have to cook your food?

Does it have to be small?

You could say that all backpacking stoves are just small stoves. That is true.

Smaller stoves are lighter. They are lighter than bringing a 10 pound car camping stove. But what if someone really likes to cook and decides to pack a larger stove because they want more space. Is it a backpacking stove then? Where is the line to say one is and one isn’t?

Smaller usually means lighter and if you have to carry the stove with you on your backpacking trip, you probably want something smaller.

Even the larger MSR Dragonfly stove is considerably smaller than the 15 pound Camp Chef Everest.

Does it have to be packable?

Often stoves pack down into parts or fold up smaller. Does this make it a backpacking stove?

Large car camping stoves do the same thing. Some alcohol stoves don’t pack up at all, they are just small to begin with. Some stoves have to be put together before you can use them.

There’s limited space on a backpacking trip so you probably want it to be small and packable.

Does it have to use a certain fuel?

Stoves have one thing in common: a fuel that burns. They have to burn something, that’s how they cook. Until we get portable power that can run a portable hotplate, we’ll be burning some kind of fuel to get the heat we need.

Stoves these days are burning anything that can burn from combustible chemicals in a solid block to gas line antifreeze to propane to jet fuel to plain old wood. If it burns we can use it as fuel.

The stove does need to be set up to burn that kind of fuel. You can’t just light a bucket of kerosene and cook your food on it.

Do you have to buy them or just make them?

Most of the stoves out these days are purchased from a store but more and more folks are making their stoves. Wood and alcohol stoves can be made fairly easily. Most people don’t have the metal machinery required to make a liquid fuel or gas canister stove though. In the end though, it doesn’t seem to matter if you build it or buy it, you can get a backpacking stove either way.

Do you even have to cook your food?

Does it have to cook your food? I’m going to say yes! That is the one requirement of a backpacking stove to heat your food to cook it or boil your water.

Of course, you don’t need to heat your food to eat it. You could just pack food that doesn’t require cooking. Or you could just eat rehydrated cold pasta salad for dinner every day.

Whether you need to bring a stove on a backpacking trip isn’t the question of this article though.

Conclusion

So what’s the only requirement of a backpacking stove?A backpacking stove has to cook your food.Is that it? Is that the only requirement for a backpacking stove? It doesn’t seem to matter how that’s accomplished as long as it’s going to cook your food.

What do you think? What makes a backpacking stove a backpacking stove?

Updated August 27, 2022. Original article posted September 24, 2015.

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It’s still possible to burn your eyebrows off but much harder than with a liquid fuel stove.

Because you can boil water for your lasagna and still keep your eyebrows, I like to recommend canister stoves to beginners for that reason. At the end of a long day, you just want to savor your lasagna, not stop drop and roll.

Since you don’t have your giant BBQ lighter handy, what do you use to light a canister stove? What’s the easiest way to do without having to carry your backyard BBQ gear with you.

There’s 4 main ways to light a canister stove: a piezo igniter, matches, a lighter and fire steel.

You can use any or all of them.

First a quick note about backups. Have at least 2 with you on every trip. That might be 2 lighters, a lighter and a fire steel or a piezo igniter and matches. They fail. They get wet. If you’re depending on that stove to eat and drink, then you need it to work. Besides, rehydrated food with cold water sucks. Crunch. Crunch.

Here’s a quick look at the 4 methods.

Piezo Igniter

A piezo igniter are small tools that use a piezoelectric crystal to make a spark.

They can be attached to the stove or a separate igniter. You’ll never misplace the ones that are attached to the stove. If they do stop working, you’ll be stuck with it attached to your stove though.

The separate igniters are a button on the end of a stick. Turn the gas on and put the sparky end near it and press the button. It might take a couple click to light it but it will spark the gas and light it. Time to cook. They’re good to use in the wind.

Piezo igniters won’t run out light matches or a lighter will but they can stop working at some point. Some people report their piezo igniters not being very reliable.

MSR has a separate piezo igniter available.

Matches

Matches are easy to light and easy to use. Just don’t get them wet. You can get waterproof matches but they’re a bit harder to light.

To light your stove, light your match and hold it it close to the gas. Careful with your fingers. You get to hold the end of the match but it’s still not that far away from where the gas will light. Your reactions will be fast if your fingers are too close when the stove ignites!

Make sure you have enough matches for the trip and watch the wind. A quick breeze and another one is gone.

Lighter

Lighters are my favourite way to light canister stoves. Small Bic lighters are portable, reliable and easy to use. Your fingers have to be pretty close to the flame when you’re lighting the canister but when it lights, you can usually get your hand out of there pretty fast!

There are lighters like the SOL Fuel Free Lighter that use two crossing arcs of electricity to light something. They can just be recharged by USB.

Unlike matches, lighters can usually be dried out quickly and work again. Even if the fuel isn’t working or it’s empty, it will probably still spark and light the gas. If you can get a flame, it will work better but all you need is a spark.

The flame you get with a lighter is easier to light wood for a campfire or other things if you need to. A piezo igniter is only going to give you a spark.

Fire steel

You always need a backup way to light your stove. Fire steel is a perfect backup.

You can use it in any conditions, any altitude. Fire steel sets are a magnesium rod and a chunk of steel. When you rub them together, sparks fly off in the direction you’re pushing. Eventually the metal will run out but you can usually get thousands of uses with it.

Lighting a stove with fire steel is a little bit harder; you need 2 hands to hold the rod and the steel. If you have 3 arms or another person around, they can turn your stove on while you shoot the sparks at the stove burner. Or just turn on the stove and then start making sparks.

You may not want to use the fire steel all the time but since they work in any condition, they’ll give you peace of mind as a backup you’ll hopefully never have to use.

MSR make the Strike Igniter.

So which is the best method?

It’s tough to say which is the best method flat out. There are pros and cons to each.

Lighters are popular. They are nice and easy. Fire steel is a solid backup plan.

Everyone has their favourites. Maybe you prefer to rub some wood together long enough to create fire and then cook on that. Totally up to you.

I think I’ll just use my mini lighter and canister stove so I can eat my lasagna.

Nom nom.

Updated August 27, 2022. Originally published October 15, 2015.

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What is a liquid fuel stove?

Liquid fuel stoves are stoves that have a fuel bottle with fuel in it instead of a canister with compressed gas. When you attach the fuel bottle, you pump it up to pressurize the fuel inside. This forces the gas out when you open nozzle and fuel comes shooting out.

They’re a little finicky to light because the fuel in the bottle is liquid, it needs to be vaporized before it can be lit. To do that, you put a tiny bit of fuel in a little bowl on the stove. You light the liquid fuel and, after letting the (sometimes large) fireball die down, open the nozzle to let more fuel out. Lighting the fireball first heats up the hose the fuel goes through vaporizing it and letting it go through the stove and ignite.

You don’t need to know the exact details but just know they are a little harder to light than canister stoves. Practice in your backyard to get just enough fuel in the little bowl to light but still save your eyebrows on the trail.

So if they are hard to light, why would you want a liquid gas stove?Well, they do have some redeeming features.

Liquid fuel stove advantages

Good in the cold – Liquid fuel stoves are good in the cold. You manually pump to keep the pressure up so you are not relying on the pressure in the canister. The stove itself is vaporizing the fuel so it burns. Canisters have issues in cold weather when the gas turns to liquid in the canisters and loses pressure. Running the canisters upside down has helped run them in cold temperatures but liquid fuel still takes the prize on these ones.

Refillable – Just open the lid and pour more in. Liquid fuel bottles are easy to refill.

Easy to see how much fuel you have – Open up the lid and take a look. Canisters are just a guess to figure out how much is left. Liquid fuel, you just open it up.

Multi-Fuel (they can travel well) – Some of the liquid fuel models are able to take many different kinds of fuel. White gas (also called naptha) is the best and burns the cleanest but it may not be available where you are. Some models will burn kerosene, jet fuel or even unleaded gasoline which is nice for travelling. There is a downside though. Dirty fuel means cleaning clogs more often.

Liquid fuel stove disadvantages

Liquid fuel stoves aren’t all rainbows and unicorns. They still do have some downsides to keep in mind.

Heavy  – The stoves and liquid fuel are heavier than the canister equivalents. If you are going for fast and light, liquid fuel may not be the way to go.

Can be messy – Don’t spill the fuel. It’s messy, flammable and smells terrible. Watch out for this when you are connecting your stove or refilling the fuel bottles. You never have to worry about this with canisters.

Hard to light – Try to keep your eyebrows when you light your stove. Use just enough fuel to get it hot and going. It’s an art to lighting these things and takes some practice. Definitely more work than the canister stoves which are just turn on, light, done.

Have to pump – The fuel bottles aren’t pressurized to begin with so you have to pump it up. This means you can take the lids on and off which leads to the advantages of being able to refill it and see how much is left. On the flip side you have to pump it once in a while.

Liquid fuel stove examples

These are some quick examples of liquid fuel stoves from a couple popular manufacturers

MSR Whisperlite

MSR Whisperlite Universal

MSR Dragonfly

Optimus Nova+

Primus OmniFuel

Updated August 29, 2022. Originally published September 2, 2014.

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If stoves are so important, what kind do you get?

Walk into most outdoor stores and they’ll have 2 types of stoves. Canister and liquid fuel (often the white gas variety). Each have their pros and cons, how easy they are to light, refill, and use in cold temperatures. I’ll be writing about liquid fuel stoves soon but for this post I’ll be focusing on the canister stove.

So…what is a canister stove?

Stoves can be classified by the type of fuel they use. Canister stoves use a small metal canister of butane or iso-butane as their fuel. Basically they’re like the canister attached to your BBQ at home but much smaller and lighter. They small, light and easy to use. Attach a stove to the canister, light it and away you go.

Pros to a canister stove

Easy to light – Canister stoves are easy to light. Turn it on, put a match or a lighter near it and you’re done.

Lightweight – Many canister stoves are small and attach right to the top of the canister. Some of the remote variety are larger and have fuel lines to the canister. Remote means there is a fuel line from th stove to the canister, the canister does not screw on to the top. Remote stoves are more stable but larger.

No spills – With the self-sealing opening, you can’t spill anything out a canister. No mess.

Better simmer control – Many of the canister stoves have a nice control on them to finely control how much is coming out. If you need to simmer something, then you need better control than Off and Rocket.

Cons to a canister stove

Doesn’t work well in cold weather – Canister stoves rely on the butane to be vapor when it comes out. Cold weather throws a wrench in that so they don’t work well in cold weather or with weak pressure. Some of the new stoves are trying to correct this by having a fuel line to the canister which is kept upside-down, helping some of the pressure issues.

More expensive in the long run – You can’t refuel canisters so you have to throw them out. This is part of the reason why buying new canisters each time is more expensive than getting liquid fuel.

Can’t refill – It’s a bit of a ding to the environment to throw out the canisters every time.

Hard to tell how much you have left – You can’t open up a canister unless you are throwing it out so there’s no way to see how much is left inside. There are ways to float them in water to see how high it floats to measure what’s left. Some of the newer canisters are even coming with measurements on the side to do this easier.

Less pressure as you use them – The pressure inside the canister will drop as you use it. There’s no way to pump it back up. Your stove will slowly get weaker as the canister empties. Some new stoves, like the MSR Reactor, use pressure regulators to keep the pressure the same all the way through the canister.

No windscreen unless it’s remote – Putting a windscreen around the stove prevents the heat from being blown out the side. With stoves that attach right to the canister, you might blow yourself up if you put a windscreen around the stove and canister. Things get hot and when fuel gets hot, well you know what happens. If the stove has a fuel line to the canister to separate the two then you can put a screen just around the stove.

Obviously there’s a winner?

Now, by the sheer number of disadvantages to a canister stove, you’d think everyone would be going with liquid gas without a second thought. While the number of advantages isn’t as high as the disadvantages, the size of them outweighs other stoves in many situations. Being able to just attach your lightweight stove, quickly light it and have a hot flame in seconds is really nice at the end of the day. Sometimes weight is your number one concern. In those cases, canisters might be what you choose to go with.

Examples of Canister Fuel Stoves

We’ll end the post with some examples of canisters stoves. These aren’t the only stoves or manufacturers out there.

MSR Pocket Rocket 2

Snowpeak LiteMax

Jetboil Flash Cooking System

Primus Firestick

Primus Lite Plus

Optimus Crux Lite

Optimus Vega (remote) 

Updated August 29, 2022. Originally published August 26, 2014.

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