Hiking and Camping must haves _Review

I had the amazing opportunity to get to try a few products from Mountain Warehouse.  Just a little back ground information about them, via their website. 

Mountain Warehouse has been offering quality outdoor clothing and equipment at the lowest prices since 1997. From hiking clothing and camping equipment to ski wear and running gear we stock everything you need for your outdoor activities.

Most of the products we sell are exclusive to Mountain Warehouse, unlike other outdoor clothing shops. By cutting out the middleman we can produce the best quality products at the best prices. We pride ourselves on providing great value outdoor gear and at Mountain Warehouse you can be sure to receive honest advice from our knowledgeable staff.

The products that I tried exceeded my expectations.  Each one being more than I thought it would be.  

First The Bolt 18L Backpack

This backpack is lightweight and so comfortable.  I like that even after hours of having it on, it still felt lightweight and didn't cause my shoulders or back to hurt.  It has a lot of room in it, and has a hole at the top for a water bladder if you want to add one.  I chose to bring bottled water on our hike to share, and it wasn't heavy at all!

The Bolt also has two straps to help distribute heavier loads, one of which goes across your chest and the other around your waist.  For our hike the waist strap was not needed and I liked where the chest strap laid.  Other backpacks lay too low, and make it very uncomfortable, where this one was just right. 

I have used this backpack on several occasions other than hiking.  It is great loaded with everything you might need for hiking, to adventures out with the kids.  There are no drawbacks to owning the Bolt 18L backpack it is amazing and will be used for several years to come.  

The next item we were privileged to try was a flint starter.  This is a handy, light weight item that provides piece of mind when hiking or camping.  It also makes an excellent addition to any survival kit and stores very nicely in the Bolt 18L backpack.   You don't have to worry about matches getting wet, or a lighter not working.   One thing I can say for sure is that this starter put out more sparks than any other starter I've ever seen.  Starting a fire is quick and easy as seen in the photos below.  Just gather some dry material together, make a little tinder bundle and while applying medium pressure, just slide the striker down the flint stick and watch the sparks fly. 

Lastly, my favorite new hoodie, the Kittwake Womens Hoodie.

It is so soft, and comfortable, that I would seriously wear it  everyday!  There is just something about how it fits and the softness of it, that my other sweatshirts don't compare! 

The sizing chart is different than a US chart, our sweatshirts are S,M,L, but they have made it easy with this chart.

UK	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22
Euro	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50
German	32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48
Italian	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52	54
USA	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18
Australian	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22
		S		M		L

	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch	cm / inch
Bust/Chest	80 / 31.5	84 / 33	88 / 34.5	93 / 36.5	98 / 38.5	104 / 41	110 / 43.5	116 / 45.5	123 / 48.5
Waist	63 / 25	68 / 26.5	71 / 28	76 / 30	81 / 32	87 / 34.5	93 / 36.5	99 / 39	106 / 41.5
Hips	88 / 34.5	92 / 36	96 / 38	101 / 40	106 / 41.5	112 / 44	118 / 46.5	124 / 48.5	131 / 51.5
Legs / Regular	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31
Legs / Short	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29	74 / 29
Legs / Ski	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31	79 / 31

Womens Footwear

avg. insole length (cm)	24.3		25.1		25.8		26.6		27.5
UK	4	4.5	5	5.5	6	6.5	7	7.5	8
EU	37	37.5	38	38.5	39	39.5	40	40.5	41
US/CAN	6	6.5	7	7.5	8	8.5	9	9.5	10
AUS	5	5.5	6	6.5	7	7.5	8	8.5	9
Slippers	S-M					M-L

I want to apologize for taking so long to write this review.  I received these products right after returning from a camping and hiking trip and didn't get the opportunity until last weekend to use the products out in nature.  The items were given to me, but all opinions are honest and my own. 

The Fitness Games_Review

Thanks to Sweat Pink and The Fitness Games for giving me the opportunity to try out the new app, The Fitness Games.

This app gives you the opportunity to challenge your fitness friends, other fitness minded folks or even just yourself. There are four main challenge groups. Strength, Cardiovascular, Full Body and Cross Training.  I have figured out, if you don't have an extensive home gym or a gym membership, some of these are hard to do.

Over all, it's a pretty cool app, at least the idea of it is.  If you take sweaty selfies of yourself, you aren't the only one, and people aren't rolling their eyes at yours, because your other challengers/friends are doing it too.

I did get the Platinum version, so 16 more challenges than the basic.   They were really great workouts!  Well, the ones I tried.  

My biggest complaint about the app is challenging others.  I challenged a few people, and after weeks, either they don't know that I challenged them, or they just don't want to accept it.  So in all the workouts I've done, I have only won 1.  Not that I am that worried about winning or losing, but I think the point of the app is to make yourself better, and sometimes it's more fun to have the challenge of using your friends than challenging yourself.  

I would recommend this app, especially if you have several friends that like a little friendly competition.  It is available for iPhone and Android use. Thank you to Fit Approach and The Fitness Games!

This post was sponsored by The Fitness Games through my partnership with Fit Approach as a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I was not compensated monetarily, but was provided the Platinum Version of the application for review. As always, all opinions are my own.