Andy McCandlish

The Rab Spark jacket was just a pleasure to snug up when the weather closed in. Clean and simple. Packed down light and tight. A superb all-rounder.

We were constantly amazed by the Berghaus Hyper jacket — fully waterproof, taped and breathable, yet it packed down to a ball no bigger than a fist.

It may be tucked away in a remote corner of the Highlands, but with a new cafe and top-notch enduro trails, Laggan Wolftrax is worth the journey once more.

The FSA dropper post’s action, thanks to sealed cartridge internals, was beautifully smooth, and during testing never stuck or hesitated, no matter where it was set in the travel.

Exposure Six Pack Mk9

Like all their lights, the Exposure Six Pack is an all-in-one design, which means the lamp and battery are contained in a single barrel-shaped body.

mtb jersey

A very thin, stretchy, and breathable body really lends this jersey to those warm days.

A small feature that tickled us is the inclusion of a foil blanket pre-packed in the tool compartment — a nod to the Crossmax’s big-mountain aspirations.

It does come with quite a weight penalty, but if you are riding hard and taking risks, the Evoc could be the pack for you.

The Scott Shr-alp RS is pretty expensive, but it’s lightweight, tough and a really capable shoe for long days on the hills.