As so many hikers, the search for the perfect shoe or boot is a topic that comes up pretty much every season. For years I have been sticking to the Salomon Speedcross line, but sadly my blister free streak ended with them on the South Downs Way last year. As one of the standard options for many overseas hikers, I was also intrigued with Altra for their zero drop, and the fact that they have a very wide toe box. Enter the Altra Lone Peak 9’s for my new hiking shoe. Here is my review after walking the Camino Ingles, and Camino Fisterra back to back. Which is combined around…

As basic as a hiking pole can get, asides from a stick you pick up, the Forclaz MT100 poles are a great first hiking pole to try out if you are on the fence with using poles. Here are all the features, and how they performed for me. I love hiking poles, and everybody that is still debating, I always encourage to try some out. The next up or down hill part, will not seem so daunting anymore for your knees armed with some poles. And you can use them to literally pull and push yourself up a mountain. Even with flat or easy terrain, they can help keep your…

An affordable tent option that has sparked my interest as well as many other hikers, is the Lanshan 2 and the Lanshan 2 Pro options. Here is my review on the Lanshan 2, with 3 season inner, after the South Downs Way. I had this tent laying around for a bit after finally wearing out my Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2, after many faithful nights camping since around a decade, it was finally ready to retire. For single outings I had an alternative already in the MSR Hubba NX, however, since this is a one person tent, my wife and I couldn’t fit. Enter the Lanshan 2. For its price,…

I reviewed a bunch of budget knives over the years, and they are my go to when it comes to day to day tasks and hiking. In this blog post I wanted to share about the differences between expensive or “grail” knives, and budget knives. With many things in life I consider myself a collector, knives is something I am passionate about since I got my first knife at 6 from my parents. And have been a collector ever since. I have used pretty much every type of knife, machete, or axe out there. Except for butterfly, auto, or gravity knives, which are banned in the Netherlands. Knives I use…

Many first time hikers will know that a knife would be handy for random tasks when on a hiking trip, but how much knife do you really need and use during (ultra)light hiking? Every book or guide you can read about hiking and backpacking will give the advice to take a (pocket) knife with you, if you’re anything like me, you have a couple of knives to choose from. I always take a knife with me on any hiking, backpacking, or camping trip. But what kind and size depends highly on where I am going to be and what I am expecting on that specific trip. In Europe, where most…

Opinel knives can become hard to open or completely stuck and impossible to get out of the handle. This is a common problem and can be resolved easily, without ripping apart your fingernails. Stuck or hard to open Opinel knives can be a pain and annoying, and can sour your experience with a brand new Opinel knife. Worry not, since there are a couple of easy fixes to resolve this problem. Since the handle of the standard line of Opinel knives is made out of beech, olive, or other kind of wood, it absorbs moisture and expands. Therefore closing up the joint between handle and knife blade. This issue I…