I had often visited Decathlon stores when on holiday in France and had always been impressed by their range of sporting equipment. Their own brand clothing seems especially popular over there, so when Decathlon-UK offered MyOutdoors a collection of their latest trail running gear to test, I was more than happy to volunteer my services.

2020 has been a whirlwind of a year, not in the least when it has come to testing gear.

We don't usually feature computer peripherals in these pages, but we were recently invited to test a rugged, shock and water proof, external hard drive designed for the outdoors and with the ever increasing volumes of data from video, GoPro and images it's an area of interest to many who enjoy the outdoors.

Winter boots that suit our feet are difficult to find. They are expensive and it takes a while for our feet to settle into them, or not. When they don't it's an expensive mistake. When they make it on Ebay or Facebook you'll have lost a few bob.

In the first of our Walking/Approach Shoe group test, Bryn takes the Italian made Aku Tengu Low GTX through their paces on his wild camping adventures.

New for this spring/summer, the AKU Trekker Pro GTX is designed for demanding treks on varied terrain. Marketed as an "all rounder" we've spent the early spring putting them through some serious testing in everything from mud to river crossings and solid trails to wading through snow.

Alpkit are known for making good, solid kit at affordable prices. They are continually adding to their range of outdoor focussed kit designed here in the UK. I was given the chance to test the running pack Alpkit have added to their line-up, Artlu 10l.

Koro titanium gas canister stove

The Alpkit Koro is a lightweight remote canister gas stove at a sensible price made in China for the Nottingham based company. Based on high altitude research and constructed using titanium it provides a stable and reliable burner at temperatures well below zero.

There's a few myths about using tarps, starting with the one that a tarp is a lightweight alternative to a tent. Quite simply it isn't! By the time you've combined the weight of tarp, waterproof sleeping bag cover and the guys and pegs you still need to keep your shelter upright you'll find there's considerably lighter tents available.

Using a tarp is more about the experience than the weight or cost. It's about being as close as possible to your surroundings while still having a shelter to protect you from the elements. Compared to a tent there are positives and negatives; ventilation and condensation just aren't issues with a tarp but to counterbalance those advantages there's no protection from midges. A tarp can be set-up in places tents wouldn't fit, but a wind direction change can turn a shelter into a wind tunnel.

Amazonas are a German manufacturer that make high quality hammocks and Simply Hammocks offered us the chance to test and review the Moskito-Traveller Pro from their Ultralight range.