Tuesday 16 June 2009

More Goodies And A Bonus….

On top of me receiving my Inov-8 Roclites yesterday, Ron Bell “off-of” Mountain Laurel Designs managed to get my new items over from the states fairly sharpish. I have been looking for some lightweight eVent gaiters and over-mitts since the last winter trip in the Lakes. On the recommendation of Martin “off-of” Summit and Valley, I decided I’d go for a pair of the Lightsnow Gaiters and the Rain Mitts.

Upon opening the parcel it became clear that something wasn’t entirely correct and I’d been sent the shorter SuperLight Gaiters instead! I contacted Ron today and he’s sending out the correct pair free of charge and I can keep the SuperLights for the trouble. A true gent and scholar in my opinion.

mld_superlight_gaitorSuperlight Gaiter 

Both are made from the excellent eVent fabric and both items appear to be very well made. The Superlight Gaiters weigh in at 46g a pair and are around 8.5 inches tall. Ron provides some lightweight bungee cord which you cut to the correct size for your specific shoe. The lace clip seems up to the job and I get a very good fit over my new Roclites 318s. Clearly, these aren’t going to last a lifetime but will be plenty good enough for a couple of years use – with a little care. I’ll do a review on these when I’ve had a chance to wear them a while.

weigh-in_mld_slgaitorsThe mitts seem a little large but then again they should be more breathable as a result and I’ll have more flexibility in the type I glove I can fit underneath. I’ll need to seam seal them before use but that’s a job for another time.

mld_rain_mitt MLD Rain Mitt

At the moment, these are weighing in at a pathetic 31g per pair – which is quite frankly brilliant.

weigh-in_mld_mittsThough I’m more interested in grip than weight on this topic, I finally got around to weighing my Merrrell trail shoes. At 880g a pair I’ll be saving roughly 220g on my feet in taking the Roclites and I guess it all makes a difference…The new trail shoes seem to fit far better now and I’ll be taking them up to the Lakes this Thursday. Here’s hoping I’ve got some Compeed somewhere! Again, I’ll let you know how I get on with these and it looks like we’ll get some mixed weather to test them in too….

3 comments:

Mac E said...

Those gaiters look interesting, you're using them with shoes I guess, wouldn't mind seeing a pic of them fitted. Must check out Mountain Laurel Designs.

Marcus said...

Yes, I'm most likely going to be using them with the Inov-8 Roclites. I'll try and pop a picture up later.

Its probably a happy accident that Ron sent out the wrong pair as I wouldn't have used the longer LightSnow Gaiters on this trip.

Mac E said...

I've just looked the MLD shop, couldn't get it last night. Some nice gear, the pack pockets look useful and the 850ml mug would be perfect for my woodstove, taller and lighter than my Mitymug.