The most essential component I was looking for in a glove was knuckle protection. Most proper winter gloves sub-£100 mark do not feature decent enough protection. These gloves do, with a hardened knuckle area that although is un-tested, gives reassurance.

I have tested these gloves during the winter months and found them to be supremely comfortable, completely water-proof and so warm they rendered my heated grips practically useless. The lining is thick, with a 'prima-loft' lining. I'm no material buff, but this is some sort of magicery going on!

I have not had to re-waterproof these gloves at all during the winter, unlike my textile kit which is a testament to its durability. Water simply beads on contact and runs off straight away.

In any case, I have only two gripes about these gloves;

The first being that with these gloves on, you look like you have Neanderthal hands, they're simply larger gloves but look a bit odd.
The second is the lettering on the index finger has fallen off. BERING has now become NG.

To be honest, I'm clutching at straws there, as at this price and this sort of value for money - it's hard to fault these gloves.

I purchased these gloves from Biker's Division Nailsea for £25 on promotional discount. Give Chris a ring on 01275 853232, check if they're still on promotion. If not, they're still great value for money!

This is a tent I picked up in Blacks for a cheap price, at £30. I needed a tent to attend this year's South Coast Simmer Rally, and thought this tent to be ideal and cheap for my tentative first steps into camping (never camped before in my life!).

I've never put a tent up in my life, but found the Eurohike Ryde to be easy to put together. The inner pitches first, with fiberglass poles, two longer and one shorter for the porch. It took me around 20 minutes to fully erect the tent alone, inner and outer and tensioning all the guy lines.

There's useful features within the tent such as a hook for a lantern and pockets for your phone/wallet when sleeping. These could be standard equipment, but I'm not completely tent-literate, so I found them useful. The porch area is tight but would accommodate panniers and maybe some leathers / textiles.

This two berth tent was for use with two people, myself and the fair lady of course. I didn't mind it being cosy as I'm sleeping with SWMBO, not with a mate (although I'm not sure which is worse sometimes!). It was a little tight, that was trying it without sleeping bags. My main bug-bear was with my legs fully extended they started to pull down on the inner, and with the sleeping bag being slightly longer, it would worsen the effect.

Based on the internal sizing I decided to return the tent to the shop (I didn't peg it out in the garden or get it dirty, honest!) and buy something a little larger and more accommodating.

The tent was even simpler to disassemble, and rolled up easily without any swearing and cursing whilst fitting it all back in its bag.

My views on the tent are thus;

It would be perfect for one person (or two smaller people) for summer use, having to erect inner first in the rain is not a great prospect, although a tarp over where you're putting your tent up might solve this.

Also, if you're over six foot you're probably going to find this tent a little short.

It's a long pack size, so I doubt if it'll fit in many panniers, but then what's wrong with a top rack or back seat / tops of panniers?

As it's this cheap, it's hard to complain about quality - it seems well made for the task at hand and is quite stable. Nothing broke or was torn and I'm usually incredibly clumsy and heavy handed! It makes an ideal 'My first tent' or provides a semi decent tent for a more seasoned user.

I must point out that I haven't spent a night in this tent, It was erected in my back garden in sunny conditions with low wind. I cannot vouch for stability under windy conditions or water resistance, but it seems well suited to the job. I have since returning it purchased a Eurohike Avon 3 tent, which I will erect and post a review on soon.

Hope this review comes in handy to someone,
Rgds,
Hans