If you need an all-round trail shoe these are our staff favourites. We haven't had them long, but they build on all the good points of the last generation beautifully. They inspire confidence, even on off-camber slick rock and uneven roots and ruts. Have to love them!

I drew the short straw needing to get out in these come rain or shine these last two months but they never complained on some windy, wet and wild runs. A mostly cosmetic update, if you need an excuse to buy a new pair of trail shoes I can highly recommend these and if you need more convincing I have wittered on inside!

I got some new shoes! Always a joyous day, but particularly exciting when the brand is an unknown entity with a bunch of solid reviews early on. I don't boulder too hard but hold my own, so I got a shoe to suit. If you are in the market for a new technical model, without being aggressively toe down or even an all-day comfy fit work horse, then the Up Lace could be both (with a little size adjustment) and well worth getting down to the shop to try on.

I've not been this excited about shoes in a long while and I may have just found a new favourite brand.

“A string vest?!” scoffed the soon-to-be convert.

Well, yes, it is, but it works really well. The notion that you are going to look absolutely ridiculous in a Brynje Super Thermo Tee is entirely redundant as they do what they do so effectively and really never need to be worn on their own.. It’s a null point you’ll look stupid if you’re caught in it. Why are you not dressed properly? Stop. Try one!

The Super Thermo works by trapping a layer of air beneath your normally next-to-skin tee shirt or base layer allowing that to be regulated by your body. As with any method I’ve used to keep me from freezing to death I have gone the other way and overheated. It is much less likely to happen and so much more comfortable when it does using a Super Thermo though.

For really cold wintery rides or fast moving mountain days I would wear this every time over a conventional base-layer. The superior wicking keeps sweat away from your skin and so that choking close hot sweaty feeling just never happens. The synthetic models are durable and easy to wash and keep clean. Despite an open weave they don’t fray or snag- built to last.

I am sure you have your reservations but I will say that most people I’ve talked into buying one now own two. I’m about to buy my third (a wool one to work in until the boiler is fixed) so through the winter I always have one to chuck on.

- Will

Image: Bert & Alex admiring each others Brynje Super Thermos. You could look this good too!

A great all-round boot for appreciating the British Isles. As at home rambling across lowland moors as traversing exposed ridgelines. Not quite one boot to rule them all but if your budget is tight then this is a good place to start.

As well as wearing a pair myself I've got them on the feet of many a friend and happy customer. A surprisingly technical offering at a great price point.

Image: The picture is of a friend's Rapace GTX Womens. Bought for a recent trip to Scotland, Tem's lengthy review was; "Awesome! but a little cold in the Cairngorms". Fair..

A no-frills functional hoody from Montane. Close fitting, as warm as you would hope it to be and stretchy in all the right places!

A quick look at Ortovox's Swisswool Dufour jacket; part of the larger Swisswool range. This jacket makes use of wool to offer insulation in place of goose down or primaloft.

Super breathable, not as sensitive as down, much lighter than synthetic options, innovative and effective!