If you are racing 10K snowshoe or putting yourself through a tough biathlon or just plain grinding out big miles in mingin’ winter weather on foot or by pedal you need to conserve energy, minimise weight and protect yourself from the elements.

This is where the new Aorangi ( or Aoraki ) winter beanie from i-RULE comes in. Its roots seem unashamedly nordic and it would not look out of place in a XC ski  race but  there is no weird Euro tassle attached thankfully. The Aoraki is for those smart enough to use i-RULE kit, the cool weather equivalent of their legendary TROPPO bandana.

The beanie is incredibly light being made of a Meryl microfibre which delivers great wicking and breathability; all good attributes in any season but the coup de grace for this product is the fantastic Turbo Merino headband which provides terrific warm and thermo regulation without getting sopping wet ( or maybe I don’t train hard enough? ).

Well priced at $NZ36 the Aoraki ( or Aorangi ) is just one of those indispensable accessories anyone serious about off road endurance should scrunch into their pack. Recommended!!

The people at NathanSports are honest to goodness FREAKS. To say they are obsessed with the detail of trail running performance would be a massive understatement. When testing their range it’s hard to find an angle, option, feature, or function they have not considered and tested. I have used and enjoyed their hydration belts in previous years but until now had no experience of their RACE VESTS. Although there is an excellent array of models I settled on the HPL 020 to get familiar with the systems.

Before I get onto the features and performance; the BIG stand-out on opening the pack was picking the unit up; it weighed close to nothing; no heavy old school cordura here!

The product is aimed squarely at the serious trail runner who is hitting up mountain marathons and tackling 50km plus trail races. It’s function is to not only meet the hydration necessity but to provide additional storage in an ergonomically sensible way. It achieves all these goals effortlessly. I’ll explain how and why.

Forget those impinging narrow cordura straps that irritate and maim; the HPL020 uses a breathable, lightweight mesh

woven in broad bands for support; straps - so 1990’s! Rather than obsessing about the pack digging into your shoulders and constantly, restlessly shifting your load under strain; the webbing allows you to load up, run and forget.

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