When compiling outdoor gear guides at T3, we always try to include at least one more pocket-friendly product within the line-up of models featured. Because, let’s face it, not everyone can afford to drop £500 on a pair of boots or a waterproof jacket (especially at the moment), and not being loaded should never be a barrier to getting outside. Far from it. The countryside is free, and there’s plenty of perfectly decent and affordable kit out there, which is capable of keeping you warm and dry enough to enjoy it.
But surely, as the old cliché goes, you get what you pay for…right? Well, not necessarily. Because I have tested some truly excellent cheaper items over the years, and I’ve had very expensive kit completely fail on me. Of course it doesn’t always go that way – I’ve come across plenty of seriously sub-standard stuff at the lower end of the market too, but I have learned not judge a book/boot/whatever by its price tag alone. Budget does not automatically equal bad. And neither does cut-price necessarily mean corners have been cut.
