Latest Great Outdoors: New Waterproof Jackets & Scottish Watershed Report plus a look back to the July edition: three-season sleeping bags & more

Cloud Inversion on the Scottish Watershed Walk

In the August issue of The Great Outdoors, in the shops now, I review thirteen new waterproof jackets, including the Rab Myriad that I wore on the Scottish Watershed Walk. The latter also features in my backpacking column, which I wrote on my tablet in a hotel room in the Great Glen halfway through the walk.

This issue also features some great photographs: a wonderful atmospheric picture of the Langdale Pikes by Stewart Smith and an even more atmospheric and moody picture of Loch Lomond by Damien Shield. Elsewhere David Lintern interviews Charlie Ramsey on the 35th anniversary of his run over 24 Munros in 24 hours, known as Ramsey's Round (which took me four days on my continuous Munros and Tops walk); Keith Fergus looks at the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs area in literature from Sir Walter Scott to Alastair Borthwick; Cameron McNeish explores the spectacular far North-West of Scotland; Daniel Neilson visits the Val Venosta in the Alps and Jim Perrin praises Dorothy Pilley's Climbing Days. There's a big feature on walking and camping with kids by John Manning and the Hill Skills section has more on this. In the gear section Daniel Neilson reviews six knives and multi-tools; Geoff Barton tries the Thule Perspectiv Day Pack camera bag and David Lintern tests the unusual Therm-a-Rest Altair sleeping bag. David Lintern also pops up in the Wild Walks section with an excellent piece on an ascent of Bruach na Frithe on his first visit to the Cuillin.

The July Great Outdoors came out while I was on the Watershed Walk and I didn't see it until I returned home. It has my review of fourteen three-season sleeping bags, including the Rab Infinity 300 I used on the walk, plus my first report on the walk, sent from Moffat. Daniel Neilson reviews hydration reservoirs and filtration systems (neither of which I took on the Watershed) and also the Fjallraven Keb jacket and trousers plus the Komperdell Ultralight Vario 4 trekking poles.

There's also an interview with Terry Abraham about the Cairngorms In Winter film, with a short bit from me about still photography, and a review of the film by Andy Howell. The Hill Skills section is mostly about photography too with advice from photographers Ray Wood, Mark Gilligan and Chiz Dakin.

Elsewhere Carey Davies spends midsummer night on Suilven; Mark Gilligan looks at Lakeland tarns; Ed Byrne learns about rescue dogs; Paul Beasley looks at the impact of military training on Dartmoor; photographer Ray Wood records a scramble in the Carneddau with an iPhone and Jim Perrin praises Showell Styles' The Mountains of North Wales.