Ultralight Backpacking Gear that CHEATS the cold!

[@rocketiain84]

The Omm stuff is game changing for me, its a bit expensive and I would always go a size up from your normal size, but it gives a kind of breathable warmth that is unreal. Just wish I had the moneu to buy more of it... I daily drive the same hoody you have now with my decathlon puffy. Ive found the Omm gear doesnt pick up too many body pdour smells as well which is always a bonus for when your crawl out your tent and bump into a stranger 😂😂

[@DJVOutdoors]

Got the halo smock and flash winter tights, the tights are very warm as is the smock plus they look good

[@CleberToreto]

I started camping two years ago here in Ireland and I'm now starting the ladder from cheap gear to better gear and I noticed we tend to prioritize the actual gear over clothing. Your video reminded me that buying a more expensive piece of clothing is cheaper in the long run. Just to illustrate, I'm wearing the same hiking trousers for the last 15 years cause it is good quality but was a little expensive at first. Really good video

[@BackpackingUK]

I think clothing is often overlooked in place of tents, backpacks and stoves. It's really important, and once people realise this, it'll bring more enjoyment to their backpacking.

[@DJVOutdoors]

An extremely useful video Andy on keeping warm

[@suewheeler5795]

This year I treated myself to some phd kit. It's very expensive but I am so warm. I absolutely love it

[@scotbotvideos]

Nice overview, Andy. Here is my own ECWCS ( Extended Cold Weather Clothing System): Level 1 -- Trespass Timo for hiking, merino top & bottom for sleeping. Level 2 -- Next grid fleece hoodie with borg liner and matching bottoms for sleeping and a Craghoppers' light hoodie for hiking. Level 3 -- Helikon-Tex Wolfhound hoodie. Level 4 -- Helikon-Tex Tramontane jacket or Helkon-Tex Pilgrim anorak (depends on activity). Level 5 -- Ayacucho softshell Level 6 -- Craghoppers' AquaDry rain jacket Level 7 -- Helikon-Tex Level 7 jacket. I've become a big fan of Helikon-Tex recently, hence the investment in their garments. The Next fleece-hoodie as my "waffle" top and bottoms is a wee revelation.

[@goggles759]

Brilliant video again Andy,if I lost all my kit tomorrow,the first few things on my list to replace would be Buffalo mitts,Brynje string base layers and Tilak Ventile smock,took me 40 years to find this is the perfect combination for me,ignore the moaners pal,you’re doing a brilliant job 👍🏻

[@iwasapirateonce1639]

I would just like to add that OMM Core socks are the comfiest and warmest socks for the weight I have ever used, mine weigh ~43g and they are warmer than the 100g+ thermal socks I have at home, gamechanger for cold nights. In the US you can get alpha direct materials that perform just as well, and Mountain Hardwear also makes an Airmesh hoodie which performs similarly. I would only caution that these materials are very delicate (velcro will totally destroy them) so I generally avoid using any of this equipment on day hikes.

[@DJVOutdoors]

Love OMM like the colours best brand for looking cool on the mountains

[@psychoal1967]

Great informative video. For warm legs I would probably go with Buffalo Pants as the pertex fibrepile combination does not loose out in the wet, and your legs are likely to get wet. Thanks Andy!

[@BackpackingUK]

I’ve got a Montane Extreme Jacket that sounds like it’s got similar insulation. They are sometimes used by Mountain Rescue as they stay warm when wet.

[@earlebacciochi9796]

THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE ❤

[@angiethompson4457]

Thankyou fir this vid Andy.. been thinking about omm myself fir my long distance backpacking trips i do in Scotland. When your going a long distance it becomes all about the weight & versatility of the gear. Fab channel. 😊x

[@camping_guru_uk]

Hi, great vid as ever. Primaloft is amazing stuff. I've just recently tried a mesh (polyester) base layer and it was amazing. The best bit is it was less than £10 delivered including tax etc from AliExpress. I would love to hear your thoughts and even see you testing it out (if that doesn't sound a bit weird) 😂. The one i bought was the Darevie cycling mesh top, long sleeve. Cheers Gary. Ps, if i could find an Alpha grid type hoodie id be all over it but im 19st and 5'9" and the technical outdoor trade just doesn't cover stuff for people my size. 😢

[@markpearce7739]

Omm stuff is on a different level. Haven't regretted a single purchase.....

[@royalbrooks7163]

United states hiker in Oklahoma here and I've never heard of Omm but thanks man I'll be trying to get my hands on some of the great gear suggestions. It's been brutal here with -7 Celsius nights so I've been needing to upgrade my cold weather loadout.

[@AndyWragg]

Had the Rab Alpine Microlite for a couple of years now. Superb balance of weight and warmth. Also got the Naturehike down pants, and agree they could fit better but they are a great budget option. Mountain Warehouse do some great merino base layers for not a lot of money. I use the Karrimor merino heavy socks from Sports Direct got 6 pairs for next to nothing compared with the big brands. I use them all year round.

[@davidhale1568]

One point about the primaloft Active material is that it has a low melting point as confirmed by the sudden appearance of the hole in the middle of my partners Macpac active hoodie in a close encounter with a stove and a melted sleeve on mine when it really wasn’t that close. I can confirm they are amazingly warm and light. Also available in different weights

[@BackpackingUK]

I’d say it’s the same with all insulation really, I wouldn’t want to get any of it near heat 🔥

[@everyoneknowsadave3580]

Still lurv my Patagonia lightweight long Johns…. Ok they are expensive but I’ve had them for years and they still keep rocking and still keep me toasty warm … they also double up as jammies if the temps drop unexpectedly overnight ….

[@IvanDP1967]

Some serious kit there Andy. One bit of advice I would give (purely through personal experience) is to try the different fabrics and find out what works best for you. For example, I love my Merino and Down gear for the cold weather, but my good lady much prefers the synthetic material as she doesn't find Merino or Down as warm.

[@BackpackingUK]

Absolutely. I must also say, my Thru Dark Ithax jacket (uses Primaloft synthetic insulation) is very close to my Rab down jacket.

[@timwright5466]

ive always brought the cheaper end stuff but i took the plunge just before christmas and purchased a rab ultra lite ..and i love it apart from one niggle the pocket zip always seems to trap the material in it

[@francescodetela571]

I switched over to mesh base layers for winter and I find them way better than merino when active. Sleep clothes are still merino for against the skin feel. I do love my omm core stuff as the active midlayer on top of the mesh though, awesome combination. Same goes for alpha direct obviously. I do disagree in the "warm when wet" mantra that's thrown out there when talking about sinthetic insulation of any kind though.

[@529mt]

I found the OMM hoodie to be a like a crop top it was so small. I could tell it was really warm wearing it for a a minute though. Not sure I want to keep trying other sizes

[@JueJamie]

Great bits of gear! Could you give examples of when you would wear each things? Like what do you wear on the walk up to the camp, then at camp and on the way down. Would you wear the omm long John's with merino bottoms, or instead of? Cheers

[@BackpackingUK]

When I’m hiking up I’m quite minimalist. A base and a skinny fleece is all I need for around zero degrees. However, it’s a different ball game when I stop at a summit. I get cold really quickly. I’ll be adding layers almost immediately, especially when camping. The OMM Core stuff is good for sleeping in too, not just hanging around camp or cold weather hikes.

[@vijfaanboord2051]

Thanx for a good advice once again. Could you visually show us the difference in packing cheap vs expensive set of clothing to keep you warm in the same range of 0 to -5. I am thinking of the basic fleece and baselayers you can buy at Decathlon, the mh100 series are often also very light. Just to see wether it is between our ears that we “need” the expensive fancy gear. Or maybe not, and it is worth it.

[@rickycheadle4717]

Excellent comment and suggestion 👏

[@glyn_mtn]

Just out of interest... did you pay for the OMM gear or was you given it?

[@BackpackingUK]

I paid for all of it apart from the Barrage Jacket. That was given to me to test out.

[@glyn_mtn]

@@BackpackingUK that's fair enough, I'm just a sceptic when reading or listening to reviews of gear that's been received for free. I know, I'd probably find it difficult to criticise something given to me.

[@Rick-gb5jj]

Morning

[@tomwheeler7816]

you have just saved new to hiking ad camping a lot of money ,as they wont be buying lot of gear that just dont cut it ,

[@cuprajake1]

If you have thighs or a bum the omm wind pants dont fit 🤣 you need to be skinny runner physique

[@BackpackingUK]

Classic trail runner gear! My thighs are at the limits of OMM gear.

[@totomesch1940]

Too much gear, too much £££'s......... I think there is a tendency (amongst some) to get too hung-up on the gear, the latest this & that. For comparison, if you look at Liam Brown's latest video where he shows his winter/summer kit for 2025, his biggest investments are an Atom Packs 40ltr pack (the cheapest one) and a Z-Packs tent. He uses military surplus gear and brands such as Brasher & Craghoppers etc. I think you might be surprised at how well some of the cheaper brands perform. His full load-out weighs next to nothing, it's good enough to allow to do thousands of miles of hiking........ And most of his hard-earned revenue doesn't needlessly go to the latest & greatest bit of kit. ATB

[@BackpackingUK]

I don't really understand this comment. You say don't get too hung up on gear and needlessly go to the latest and greatest kit. Then you tell me Liam uses a near-£1,000 trekking pole tent and one of the most expensive backpacks you can buy. Both of which are the latest and greatest kit!

[@pootlingalong8928]

Why make comparisons? Backpacking UK has always discussed and reviewed the trends in outdoor gear and equipment , and thank goodness for that! Liam’s channel is almost exclusively about his travelling and the hikes he does although I doubt I could afford to be hopping on planes to foreign countries all the while like him! He always does a gear video at the start of the year but his channel is thin on detail gear-wise. Andy’s channel is more of an all round channel showing both his hikes (fabulous photography and editing btw) and the gear reviews. Most of us don’t go out and buy the latest stuff all the while but we all have gear wear out and it’s great to see reviews of possible replacements. Cheers Andy, you’ve built a very watchable and diverse channel, keep ‘em coming 👍🏻

[@earlebacciochi9796]

Some of his stuff is expensive 😮

[@totomesch1940]

@@pootlingalong8928 Oooohhhhh touchy, not had your vanilla soy latté yet? Don't worry dear, you'll soon feel better.

[@Themoviebrat90]

@@totomesch1940 your talking utter nonsense. You get a reasonable reply to your hypocritical comment and then try and belittle someone because you know you’re talking shite.