Hi!
Is the hottest day of the year really the right time to talk about gear designed to stop you from getting cold?
A couple of weeks ago, to celebrate after a wonderfully exhausting ABR Festival, the Adventure Spec team enjoyed a mini wild bivi expedition in Wales.
Naturally we hoped the weather would be good.
But 31°C... dare I say you can have a little too much of a good thing?
It was scorchio hot.
Back dripping with sweat hot.
Hydration bladder drunk-dry hot.
The perfect conditions to test ride the new Mongolia 2.0 gear that is on its way later this year.
It's rare to find a group of riding buddies who are all happy to ride past the campsite and bed down on the side of a hill without a tent, but it turns out Adventure Spec attracts 'type 2 fun' employees.
As the sun set the day finally began to cool and against all expectations, we began to feel a little chilly.
Pure bliss.
Chris had been riding the Himi 450 with our new Hard Parts and Magadan Panniers.
He'd packed well.
Of course he brought shorts, but he also packed his Core Long Sleeve and Long Leg base layers.
They took up almost no room in his bag, but it allowed him to add just enough layers to stay comfortable.
There's some surprising tech in the fabric of the Core base layers, silver ion yarn that prevents odour build up, lycra and nylon that helps wick away moisture.
But the feature that Chris was most grateful for this evening was...
...the long sleeves and long legs.
If you've ever camped on the side of a Welsh hill on a hot summer evening you will know why.
The midgies.
Also know as 'the not quite deadly but very annoying little Brtish mosquito' to those who live in more exotic parts of the world.
I have a theory that goes something like this:
Thankfully for Chris, his Core Long Sleeve and Core Long Leg provided coverage that left the bare minimum of flesh open to attack, without the bulk or extra heat of a jacket or full pant.
Which meant that the only thing keeping Chris up all night on the side of that hill was my snoring.
Sorry Chris.
I hope you have a great insect-bite-free night in the wild this summer.
🪰🤛
Greg Villalobos
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