The test of time
The Countryfile Magazine team puts the best outdoor gear through its paces
Review: Silva EX3 Plus pedometer
Fri, 09/10/2009 - 09:47
Walking is a great way to keep healthy, but it can be difficult to keep pace with the 10,000 steps it’s recommended we all take every day. That works out at around 5 miles per day, but while that may seem like a lot, you don’t have to take a walk on the wild side to get up to your 10,000 – any steps count, including those steps around the house that you don’t really think about.
So with the magic 10k in mind I was most excited to put the Silva EX3 Plus to the test. This isn’t like one of those standard pedometers that clips on to your belt (I don’t wear a belt, so that isn’t much use). No, the EX3 is a tiny piece of kit that you can hang around your neck with the provided necklace or slip into your pocket – whichever way you want to wear it, this nifty device will count your steps. Once you’ve inputted your stride length and weight, it will also work out how many calories and miles you’ve clocked up too, and best of all it keeps a record of your achievements from the last seven days and resets itself at midnight so you can start your fresh 10k quest each morning.
It’s about now that I feel that I should make a confession – I’m a bit of an obsessive, and this great pedometer has brought out this side of me. I wear it round my neck everywhere I go, and I’m always checking it to see how I’m progressing. Getting to the magic 10,000 is easy at the weekend – I’m usually out in the countryside on Saturdays and Sundays – but it’s on weekdays where the problems come. I’m pretty good – I get the train and walk to work each day – but that was only getting me to about 7,000. I needed to find a way to get those extra steps, and that was where my obsessive side came in.
We work on the 9th floor, so I now walk up and down the stairs instead of taking the lift. It wasn’t easy at first but it gets easier every time and I can really feel the benefits, both physically and on the number of steps I’m clocking up. As a family we’ve been walking more and taking friends’ dogs out just so we can get our steps up, and my friends have also been walking more as a result. I’ve even started writing down the number of steps I take each day and working out a weekly average – I don’t always quite make 10,000 a day, but over the week I easily average it out (told you I was obsessive).
It would be a bit dramatic to say that this pedometer has changed my life, but it really has made me think about how much exercise I’m taking and it’s given me a focus too. Of course, it could have been any old pedometer that brought about this change, but what makes the EX3 stand out is that it’s easy to use, it’s so small that you don’t even remember you’re wearing it, and it’s accurate. There are downsides – it can have a few problems registering steps when you’re walking up and down stairs, and it’s not waterproof, which could be a drawback if you sweat buckets – but essentially this is superb piece of kit. I never leave home without it.
Silva EX3 Plus
£29.99
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Nine steps to rediscovering the humble spud
Mon, 15/06/2009 - 09:13
My gardening confidence is growing daily. My sunflowers are well over a metre tall, my herb garden's coming on a treat and I've had early success with a chili plant that this weekend produced a flower! It's only natural I want to take my obvious talents to the next level - with a grow your own potato kit.
The kit in question comprises of three 35lt ‘Grow-Pods’ (heavy duty garden bags) and three packs of five ‘Turbo Seeds’ (potatoes). The pack promises that each bag will give you 25lbs of spuds. All you need to do is follow the simple 9-point Plan for Success. (It'll be interesting to see how my crop compares to that of my housemate, who is currently following the 1-point Potato Plan of: plant a spud that got a little sprouty and step away.)Points 1-4 are now complete. Fill each bag with 3-4" compost: tick. Place five turbo seeds evenly on the surface: tick. Cover the spuds with another 3-4" of compost: tick. And water: tick. Now begins the waiting game - as soon as I see the shoots appear I'm to cover them up again, and repeat until the bag is full. Seems simple enough. Back with an update soon...
Grow your Own Potato Kit
£19.99
www.idealworld.tv
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Why my love for Smartwool will never die
Tue, 02/06/2009 - 07:44
I never thought I’d declare my undying love for a piece of outdoor kit, but here goes: Smartwool baselayer - never leave me!
It all started when I realised I was a sucker for merino wool. Unlike cotton that absorbs sweat, leaving you chilly when you stop for lunch, or synthetic materials that wait for moisture to condense before wicking away from your skin, this 100% merino top absorbs and transfers moisture in its vapour state - it’s like a mini air-conditioning system that keeps body heat moving through your clothing. It keeps you warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s warm. It also doesn’t get smelly, even after a three-day hike in a rare May heatwave!
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For such a thin layer, it’s my warmest. In winter it worked a treat under a fleece; in summer it’s a great cover up when the sun ducks behind a cloud. It bundles up into the smallest pocket on my backpack and doesn’t stretch if I tie it round my waist.
I tend to test my kit to its limits. I’m not a fair-weather rambler so my outdoor clothes are likely to get a soaking every once in a while. I also don’t treat my kit with the love it deserves and I don’t always (I admit) follow washing instructions. Nevertheless, this Smartwool top has stood up to everything I’ve thrown at it. It washes brilliantly, dries quickly and keeps its lovely snug shape. It hasn’t bobbled like other walking tops I own, nor has it succumbed to tiny pinprick holes like my last merino baselayer.
Smartwool Midweight Zip T baselayer
www.smartwool.com
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Welcome to the Test of Time blog
Wed, 01/04/2009 - 16:15
Sometimes you have to really put a piece of kit through its paces to find out if it stands up to everything the British countryside has to throw at it. Your new waterproof, breathable jacket, for instance, could resist a total downpour on its first run, but three months down the line you're suffering from soggy cuffs and a sweaty back and you're left wondering whether if you'd stretched your well-earned cash that little bit further you could have found something much more hard wearing..jpg)
That's why we've walked the legs off our trekking trousers and tramped through some pretty torrential rain in the latest jackets, all so that we can report back and give you the insider scoop of which kit delivers and which will leave you cold and miserable halfway into your walk. Coming up, we test out Hi-Tec's new Ion-Mask technology in the fords and streams of the Quantock Hills, jump feet first into the peat bogs of Northern Ireland to try out Teva's latest waterproof hiking shoes and pitch a Terra Nova tent in a force 10 gale on the Isles of Scilly.
But it's not just our opinions that matter here. We want to hear from you! So send us an email to share your kit tales on the Test of Time blog. Write in and tell us about the gear you couldn't live without as well as the expensive new kit that doesn't live up to the hype. Then check back soon to find out what the Countryfile Magazine community are raving and ranting about this month...
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