09/03/2023 First impressions review now posted. This was a very tough decision! On most of the forums and social media groups I’m a member of, the Primus OmniFuel II is the stove of choice. I do like to do my own research, however, and the ability to use multiple fuels, without the need to change nozzles, swayed this in favour of the OptiFuel. Both the Omnifuel II and the OptiFuel will take pretty much any […]
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Back to preparing for Europe, I realised I’d previously been a tad cautious with my sleeping arrangements. A cheap, thin ground mat has sufficed for several decades now and a pillow always consisted of a rolled up jumper or jacket, normally leaving me with a button or zip pattern emblazoned across my face in the morning. Now, at 55 years young, the time has maybe come to be a little kinder to my creaking bones […]
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In further preparation for the upcoming overland trip into Europe this year, it was time to look at my tents. I own a few tents but only two of them see regular use: the Hilleberg Staika 2 man dome tent, which I’ve now owned and used constantly for the last 30 years: and a North Face Trailhead 6 which is now about 9 years old and is the tent of choice for family trips. The […]
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This little device caught my eye the other day whilst browsing a few articles across the inter web! Due to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2023, this tiny business card size device (70mm by 50mm by 11mm and weighing 70g) utilises MediaTek’s 3GPP NTN-standard modem to support Bullitt Satellite Connect, plus an eSIM and independent GPS. It connects via Bluetooth 5.1 to any iOS (14 or later) or Android (10 or later) smartphone. It’s been […]
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Please note that this review is in 3 sections: Part 1 Unboxing & First Impressions Part 2 On the bike walk around (video) Part 3 Practical Use (this section will be completed June/July 2023 after a 10 day European overlanding trip) Transparency These bags are £530 here in the UK. Adventure Bike Shop (the main UK importers and distributors of Bumot products) supplied the two panniers at cost price, a circa 30% discount on the RRP. The bags […]
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I’ve travelled extensively on bikes all over the world and previously I’ve just strapped a couple of half decent sports bags/dry bags to the bike and off we go. I’m getting a little older now and thought it about time I invested in some decent panniers for an upcoming long haul trip from the Isle of Wight (UK), down through Europe and into and around Austria. I’d already installed the Bumot rear rack, soft luggage […]
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There’s been a huge amount of chatter on social media and some of the various motorcycle forums, regarding the need (or not) to lubricate modern O ring type chains. Many FB group members commented on my recent post regarding Scottoilers, and a large percentage of comments centred around lubrication of any kind being somewhat redundant. So my ears pricked up when Neil Wyenn, a friend and reviewer in the US, sent an email to Vortex […]
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Sitting in the garden on my fishing chair early this morning, my breath ballooned out in front of me as it met the winter air. A quick peak towards the skies, however, showed virtually zero cloud cover! Time to get the bike out! At 0930 every Sunday, a dedicated group of island based riders meet in the Halfords car park in Newport. At 10am sharp they depart for an hour’s ride around the island, culminating […]
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I absolutely love watching this build take place. Apart from the fact Thomas’ humour fits well with my own, which makes watching these vids a lot of fun, I’m fascinated that someone has the cajones to rip apart a new bike and virtually redesign it from the ground up! And the new design seems to work remarkably well, too! Be sure to give Thomas a like and a sub! If anyone deserves, he does! SUBSCRIBE […]
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Unboxing & First Impressions After the maths that compared the cost of these Moto-Teks to the 5 times more expensive Rottweiler Arrow kit, I came across a video by Nomad Sweden. He had purchased a kit from the Netherlands costing 170 Euros ($185 USD or £150 GBP). With shipping and import tax to the UK, you’d once again be around £220-250 GBP. Now take a look at the video from the 3 minute mark: It […]
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