Chris Townsend

5 days ago | thegreatoutdoorsmag.com | Chris Townsend

Main image: The Vango F10 Classic was showcased at the Outdoor Trade Show 2025 | Credit: Chris TownsendThe annual Outdoor Trade Show, held at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool’s docklands is a great opportunity to catch up with brands large and small, friends old and new, and for us at The Great Outdoors to find out which new gear will be in the shops and on our reviewing roster next year. Having so many brands together also reveals general themes and trends.

6 days ago | christownsendoutdoors.com | Chris Townsend

Backpacking stove gas canisters tend to be replaced when almost empty because the heat from them is no longer enough to be of use. At least ... Jetboil Stash pot & stove Heat exchangers are corrugated fins or vanes on the base of a pot that capture heat that would otherwise be lo... Paramo Katmai shirt. Pacific Northwest Trail, 2010 This summer I’ve been testing two t-shirts for The Great Outdoors (see reviews here and ...

1 week ago | christownsendoutdoors.com | Chris Townsend

Backpacking stove gas canisters tend to be replaced when almost empty because the heat from them is no longer enough to be of use. At least ... Jetboil Stash pot & stove Heat exchangers are corrugated fins or vanes on the base of a pot that capture heat that would otherwise be lo... Paramo Katmai shirt. Pacific Northwest Trail, 2010 This summer I’ve been testing two t-shirts for The Great Outdoors (see reviews here and ...

1 week ago | christownsendoutdoors.com | Chris Townsend

Last week I was down south in Liverpool for the annual Outdoor Trade Show. I've been attending such shows for many decades in many places and after a while they all blend together, the venues interchangeable - cavernous, echoing, harshly lit, windowless  halls populated by a myriad stands promoting outdoor gear of every sort. The ambience is about as far away from the actual outdoors as you can get. The Exhibition Centre in Liverpool is my favourite of all those venues.

2 weeks ago | thegreatoutdoorsmag.com | Chris Townsend

Sandals have been worn for virtually all of human history, but it’s only as recently as the 1960s when this form of footwear became designed for the specific act of hiking. Nowadays, specialist boot and shoemakers have developed technology and fit innovations to bring you the best hiking sandals fit for purpose. The modern hiking sandal as we know it can arguably be attributed to the German brand Birkenstock.