Contents no. 8 - November 2022:
Snowshoe hikes around Puy de Sancy
Choosing a backpack to fit your height
Wood-burning stoves: do they deliver the heat?
Snowshoe hikes around Puy de Sancy
The highest point in the Massif Central, Puy de Sancy is a good winter destination: there is generally snow, along with a range of pleasant, varied hikes and landscapes.
Here are some ideas for beautiful snowshoe hikes, along with walks without snowshoes if the weather prevents access to the ridges. I completed them during 2 visits in February.
The routes presented here are generally technically straightforward, but watch the weather: wind at higher elevations can be powerful and bitterly cold. As always, I encourage you to be careful and gather information before setting off.
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Choosing a backpack to fit your height
When choosing a backpack, storage capacity, comfort and features are usually our main criteria, and that is enough.
But in some cases, you may wonder which backpack to choose for your build?
At RayonRando, we are regularly asked which backpack suits a short hiker, or an average-height hiker looking for a high-capacity backpack. Several questions arise:
- Are the backpack's dimensions suited to my back length?
- Which backpack should you choose if you are short?
- How do you choose a women's backpack?
- Might a high-capacity backpack be too bulky for my build?
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Wood-burning hiking stoves: do they deliver the heat?
Heading out wild camping with a wood-burning stove? It is hardly new, but it has become somewhat more popular in recent years. At RayonRando, we sell quite a few, although they remain secondary to gas stoves.
Wondering whether it is really a practical option?
On paper, wood-burning stoves offer several benefits:
- You have an independent fuel supply almost anywhere: you can (almost) always find fuel for the stove. There is no longer any risk of running out of gas.
- You no longer use petroleum products, and little wood is needed: the stove is small and takes very little to fuel it.
- It is compact and light. The models we offer at RayonRando fold down and weigh 350 to 400 g, comparable to a lightweight gas stove with its cartridge.
Yes, but is it easy to use, and does it really produce enough heat?
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