Over the last couple of months I have been road testing the new(ish) Five Ten Rogue, which is Five Ten’s solution to the ‘budget performance shoe’ hole in their range. In recent years this popular area of the market has been dominated by the likes of Evolv (Defy), Mad Rock (Flash) and Boreal...

After the demise of the Mountain Master some years back, Five Ten reinvented their approach shoe line, and have been on a continuing quest to improve and streamline the range since that original overhaul.

Having been a long time devotee of the Five Ten brand, and more appropriately the products, I always look forward to road testing their latest offering. This enthusiasm is always heightened when the new product is a cutting edge performance offering. As such the dawn of a product like the new “Team 5.10” is always...

The Black Diamond Frontpoint Gaiter (GTX) is a full length, tight fitting gaiter and, as the name would suggest, designed with ice climbing in mind. As my main winter pursuit is snow, ice and mixed climbing, I thought these would be a good choice for me.

The Montrail Continental Divide GTX is a superb all-rounder. End of. I certainly wouldn’t point you at this shoe if you’re after a super lightweight performance fell shoe, or even an impact loving, mile munching road shoe. If, on the other hand, you’re after a (very!) well fitting, lightweight, waterproof shoe for some trail and road running use, combined with oodles of light hiking and/or approach work, then this could definitely be the shoe for you.

Ask anyone climbing at the time, and they’ll tell you that Red Chili caused quite a stir, when they originally launched their range back in the late 1990’s.

The summer alpine season is upon us and if you are in the process of making final decisions about what gear to take, and what to leave behind, the chances are you are wondering what crampons to take (if any).

The first time I used my Magos was on a night time arrival in Siurana, Spain. We were pretty keen to get amongst it from the word go so we got the head-torches out and I started up a 7b wall climb. When you can’t see a bloody thing you really pay attention to the messages from your limbs as you climb, so it was actually a really good setting to try out new shoes.

I am a massive fan of the old Scarpa Vortex slipper and I will forever mourn its loss, even if it was violet. Make no mistake, the Scarpa Stix was going to have to live up to a lot in order to impress me. The Vortex was sensitive, had oodles of power in the toe - it was a great shoe to wear.

A long, long time ago when Scottish grade V was the top ice grade in the country and climbers used ice tools called Pterodactyls there was only one crampon available in the UK: The Salewa Classic. Choosing the right crampon for the conditions wasn't a problem because there was no choice. Today there are a multitude of different models available and it's no wonder that people get confused and sometimes over concerned about which crampon to buy.