The Great Outdoors April issue - base layers, gaiters, pack history

In the latest issue of The Great Outdoors I review fourteen base layer tops, three gaiters at different price points, and look at the history of the first ever internal frame pack, the Lowe Alpine Expedition. Oh, and I review a Berghaus fleece jacket too.

The issue opens with some tremendous dramatic images - the Aonach Eagach in winter by Ed Smith and the Milky Way above Snowdon by Alyn Wallace. Away from photography there's an interview with artist Andy Beck and his project of painting watercolours of every view in Wainwright's seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells along with a small selection of the final 1509 pictures.

Elsewhere in the magazine Alex Kendall describes a long-distance route through Snowdonia from Machynlleth to Conwy; Alan Rowan experiences seasonal changes on Lochnagar; Alex Roddie goes backpacking in the Yorkshire Dales; and Judy Armstrong visits the Ecrins, France's largest national park.

The regular columnists have very varied stuff this month. The ever adventurous Ed Byrne tries bothying in the Cairngorms and ends up as a news story after helping a walker in trouble. Carey Davies has a hard time too when he's assaulted on the way home from the Pyrenees. Roger Smith ponders EU funding for access and what could happen if it disappears. Jim Perrin likes Paul Evans' Field Notes from the Edge, about Shropshire's hill country.

The Hill Skills section is about Walking with Wildlife with advice from James Roddie on not disturbing the creatures of the wild; a look at Wildlife Trust nature reserves; what you might see after dark; and a guide to upland birds from Jamie Wyver of the RSPB.