RayonRandoZine No. 10 - The great outdoors magazine

Contents no. 10 - January 2023:

How to choose your snowshoes?

Folding pole test: Ferrino vs TSL

The best sleeping bags for extreme cold

How to choose your TSL snowshoes?

Choosing snowshoes is not always straightforward, as models differ considerably. Here is a guide to choosing the right snowshoes by considering 3 criteria in turn:

Size and flotation
Grip and terrain
Bindings and comfort.

This will help you make the right choice from our TSL snowshoes, selected to suit different uses.

The pole showdown:
Ferrino Thui vs Tsl Carbon 3 Compact

RayonRando offers a comparative test of 2 trekking poles. We alternated between them for 3 weeks in the Pyrenees, giving us plenty of opportunity to form an opinion of both.

On the left: Ferrino Thui poles, with an innovative deployment system (inspired by Komperdeel?)
On the right: TSL Carbon Compact 3 Light poles, which, as their name suggests, are carbon, compact and light

Here is how they performed in practice:

Featherweight champion: the Tsl Carbon 3 Compact

At 166 grams, they feel like holding chopsticks. Very pleasant. The Thui weighs 270 g, a standard weight that does not feel burdensome…

Deploying / folding: advantage Thui

This is where the Ferrino Thui stands out: no fiddling is needed. When I release the sections, they drop, fit together and lock themselves in place. There is nothing to do and it happens instantly. Magic!

The upper section also adjusts with a lever lock. You can therefore keep your setting and the pole will be the right length as soon as you deploy it.

Folding it away is also very easy.

That said, the TSL Carbon 3 is easy to handle with its 2 lever locks. In winter, being able to operate them with gloves is welcome. The sections slide easily. Naturally, you need to adjust the length each time you extend it.

Transport and storage:

The Ferrino Thui is extremely compact at 40 cm. Very convenient for packing inside a bag (in checked luggage, for example).

But the TSL Carbon 3 Compact is compact for a telescopic pole (65 cm). A tip: to pack it in a backpack, I separate the sections to reduce its packed size.

And in use?

I found both poles comfortable to hold, with pleasant grips. One small difference: the Thui has an extended grip allowing you to hold it lower down, for example on traverses across a slope.

Impact comfort: with the tips uncovered (the usual situation in the mountains), both felt comfortable on impact, with no vibration or jarring sensation. But the TSL stands out because it comes with special TSL tips shaped like spider's feet. I used them for 3 days: they resisted wear well and provided real impact comfort, with no slipping and good cushioning.

Comfort in motion: the TSL's lightness is a real pleasure. It reminded me of using Fizan's ultralight Compact poles. Although the Ferrino is not heavy, this is an advantage on multi-day hikes when every gram counts.

Locking reliability: good for both. In theory, the TSL is more likely to loosen, having 2 locking points rather than Ferrino's 1. In practice, however, both hold securely. On both models, remember to adjust the locking screw occasionally at the start of the day (the lever should require a little pressure to close).

Adjusting length on the trail: equally easy on both, as both have lever locks, and you only adjust one section on the TSL.

Conclusion:

During RayonRando's 3-week test, I found the 2 poles almost equally pleasant to use.

My conclusion for choosing between them is therefore very subjective: in the mountains I prefer the TSL's lightness while walking and its telescopic folding mechanism to the Ferrino's dangling elastic system.

However, on routes where you always keep the same pole length (lowland or coastal walks, for example), I think the Ferrino is the more pleasant option: simply deploy it and it is immediately the right length. Very practical.

Both seem good value for money, bearing in mind that the aluminium TSL version is available for almost the same price as the Ferrino (though slightly heavier than the carbon version).

You can find these models in your RayonRando.com shop.

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The best sleeping bags for extreme cold

Choosing a sleeping bag for severe cold is not always easy. You need sufficient thermal comfort to avoid the risk of hypothermia in deeply sub-zero temperatures or deteriorating weather. But this must be balanced against weight, packed size and moisture resistance.

RayonRando offers a selection of the best sleeping bags for extreme cold to face winter: