Current gear

Coats

• Mountain Equipment Pro-Lite jacket
• Mountain Hardware Synchro jacket
• AlpKit Filo 09

Walking trousers

• Páramo Cascada trousers

Retired Gear

I have done some Munros and some Wainrights, but I’ve got plenty more to tick off.

Being based in the Southampton/Winchester area, I’ve written a brief guide to the places to climb within driving distance.

I have used Onwards and Outwards’ online store – they have a physical shop in Clitheroe – to buy a pair of Meindl Magic 2.0 gore-tex approach shoes.

I ordered the shoes at 3.30 on a Friday afternoon. I received an order confirmation, but no notice of shipping or tracking number. They arrived at 9.30 the following day (Saturday). They were sent special delivery which required a signature, so it was handy it was a Saturday.

The bugger about buying clothes on the internet is the inability to try them on before-hand. I’d previously been fairly lucky, but in this instance I ordered size 9.5. Sadly, I’m not a clown, so had to return the shoes for a smaller size.

I took a quick look at their website on the Monday to check out their returns process, and was presented with 2 issues: 1; they no longer sold the shoes I’d bought, and 2; the “free” shipping isn’t free for replacements. Bugger. Point 2 was not unreasonable, but #1 meant it wasn’t looking good for my replacement pair. But I phoned the shop, and was in luck. Apparently, they’d stopped doing the shoes over the weekend due to a rise in RRP from the manufacturer, which they felt their customers wouldn’t stomach. They could, however, still get hold of the shoes and would replace mine at no additional cost. Winner. They don’t seem to have much of a returns “process” – no tracking number or anything, just send ‘em back and they’ll sort it. Chap on the phone was very helpful.

So I returned the shoes on the Monday (Royal Mail parcels + insurance). On Wednesday, I got an email saying they’d received the shoes, and that I’d get my replacements in 3-5 working days. 2 days later, I got a further email, with a special delivery tracking number and confirmation that they had put the new shoes in the post. These turned up the following Monday. Rock n roll.