NEWS: Ortik Heat-It £45

The UK's camping stove market is a hot bed of development at the moment and the pace of debate could be fired up even more by the arrival of a fresh new brand of stove products to our shores. The Heat-It stove adaptor by Ortik was developed to improve efficiency of stove performance by fitting over your existing stove and the adaptor is said to increase efficiency by over 40%. e

The Heat-It cooking system adaptor protects the flame from the wind and it can be used as an oven to cook bread and cakes! Heat-It can also be suspended when big wall climbing.

Tipping the scales at 138grams and costing £45 this stove adaptor looks set to shake up the market alongside recent developments in this sector of the outdoor market. Trail already has its order in for a sample, so watch this space for more information.


For more information go to Ortik web site
In the UK Heat-It will be available through www.apexdistribution.co.uk

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NEWS: Vango Force 10 Ultralite tents

The Force 10 series of tents by by Vango continues to grow in 2008 with the introduction of the Force 10 Ultralite series, which comprises of four designs, each with its own unique features and benefits.

The whole of the Force 10 range has been updated for 2008 which some new models being added to the range. The Vitesse (SRP £99) shown above is an ultra lightweight shelter for the extreme racer or an emergency shelter. With a minimum pack size, this two person tent has a trail weight of just under 1kg. For extra convenience or when you really need protection on the go the Vitesse can be pitched with walking poles or suspended from trees, canoe paddles or whatever else is around thanks to its hanging loop.


The new two person Vapour weighs only 1.1kg (£180)or just 800g (£150)for the lightweight version. A variable airflow vent designed to increase stability in high winds combines with TBS Pro system is designed to allow this tent to survive in serious weather. When the weather turns and you need to get undercover swiftly the single skin outer is quick and easy to set up, providing rapid protection against the elements.



The ultralite “twin skin” Helium one person weighs in at just 0.9kg and is £170. It's big brother is the 1.2kg 2 person model at£200.




The new Nitro offers the best balance available between performance, stability and weight. This versatile tent starts at a trail weight of just 1.75kg. Available in one (SRP £180), two (SRP £220) or two plus (SRP £270) capacity.

For more information go to Vango Force Ten web site

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VIDEO: MSR Reactor stove £110

It's been the most eagerly awaited stove this year and now it's performance is cooking up a storm, when backpackers debate which is the best stove for backpackers.

According to the manufacturers, the MSR Reactor is the fastest and most fuel efficient stove system available.

There is a full review of the MSR Reactor in the December issue of Trail. For a glimpse of what all the fuss is about, check out the movie.



For more information go to the importer's First Ascent web site

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NEW: Jetboil frying pan

Jetboil have added a frying pan to their unique cooking system. The Jetboil set new standards for cooking systems when it entered the UK market in 2004, with superb boil times coupled with unparalleled efficiency. The drawbacks of the system were that users had only one pan that was compatible with the burner. The latest addition to the range widens the appeal of the Jetboil, and should mean campers and backpackers should be able to russle up a fried breakfast or styfried evening meal quickly and efficiently thanks to the unique performance of the Jetboil system.

This frying pan uses Jetboil’s FluxRing® technology to heat the cooking surface quickly and distribute heat more evenly. The curved side walls are designed to allow easy flipping and stirring. A plastic bottom cover doubles as a preparation or eating plate. The handles fold flat for storage. You can also store a Jetboil companion spatula (sold separately) into the pan.

According to the manufacturers, the FluxRing™ technology concentrates heat to make Jetboils boil faster than traditional stoves. The FluxRing yields fuel efficiencies of over 80%, compared with the 30-40% typical of standard stoves and cookware. The manufacturers also state that when used with a Jetboil, a single 100g canister boils 12 litres of water - twice the volume of water of a conventional stove.

The Jetboil Frypan will retail at £35 when it goes on sale in January 2008.

For more information go to Lyon Equipment web site

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NEWS: Vaude tent upgrade

Vaude tents have beefed up stability and venting for the 2008 season. The new Power Frame uses thinner poles with cross ties to enhance stability through the use of a triangulated design of the tensioning ties. The image above left show how the current Space III tent would flex under 80km/h winds, while the image above right, shows how the new Power Space III tent is able to withstand 80km/h winds.

Vaude have also improved ventilation around the base of many of their tents by creating an air vent around the foot of the flysheet that allows air in without letting the rain in. As can be seen from the image below, the ground vent is made from mesh and so allows airfllow. However the mesh also keeps horizontally driven rain out by blocking raindrops and in the manufacturer's terms, 'exploding' the rain drops! The manufacturers suggest that the mesh will keep bugs out too, although they obviously have not battled against a highland midge.



Trail will be doing our own tests on the Power Space III as soon as we can get one. The new products go instore in Spring 2008.

For more information go to Vaude UK web site

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NEWS: Primus ETAExpress

Live from OutDoor 2007: Not content with producing the award winning ETAPower MF two to three person stove, Primus have added a one to two person compact model called the EtaExpress. Like its bigger brother the new EtaExpress boasts a heat exchanger and windshield that combine to redefine the meaning of cooker efficiency. The Primus Total Weight concept means that this sove is lighter than most when the fuel use required for a week it taken into account.

With a packed weight of 418g without gas and a boil time of 2.5 minutes, the ETAPower Express allows a backpacker to carry an intergrated cooking system that weighs in at 700g including fuel for a week's trip.

The ETAPower nows runs head to head with the well established Jetboil and the new MSR Reactor stove for the coveted award of best backpacker stove! Watch this space for details of a burn-off between these big three.

VIDEO: SCOOP! See the lightest tent in the world

Proud owner of the Terra Nova Laser Competition, lightest dual-skin tent in the world? Chuck it away! There's a new title holder on the block. The terms of our embargo prevent us from revealing more at this stage (hence no sound), but we can tell you it aces the previous Guinness World Record holder (the 860g minimum weight Laser Comp) by 110 grammes... Enjoy this preview before we're told to take it down...



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NEWS: MSR's Jetboil rival delayed after failing tests

The lauch of MSR's stunning Jetboil rival - Reactor - has been delayed indefinitely after some of the stoves failed key carbon monoxide level tests. In a statement issued by MSR yesterday the firm said: "As we increased production of the Reactor stove, we observed that, despite the majority of units meeting our demanding testing standards, a minority of units were falling short of consistently meeting one of our most stringent testing protocols. During worst case combustion condition testing, some stoves produced higher than desired levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO)."
The move, at the height of the camping season, is a major blow to what looked like Jetboil's first really serious rival. Prototypes were claimed to boil 1.5 litres of water in under three minutes - compared to Jetboil's four minutes - while using less fuel than its rival.
The stove works by using its burner to heat a broad metal plate, which then heats the pot above, reducing the vulnerability of direct-flame heating to wind.

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