A friend of mine once told me that if your shoes rub when hiking it is generally not the shoes  that are at fault but the quality of the socks that you wear under them. This particular friend is an ex-drill sergeant that failed to tell me this until day 2 of a 3 day hike around Dartmoor about 2 years back. During this particular jaunt my feet were cut to ribbons and needless to say that I have not worn the shoes since. The leather on my £150 Hi-Tec (not British made) technologically advanced premium pieces of walking wear has, in the intervening years, become iron hard. The very thought of wearing them again filled me with dread but because they cost so much I never threw them away.

I was recently sent a rather snazzy looking pair of Sockmine Tread Comfort socks (complete with COOLMAX technology…which apparently wicks moisture away from the foot) and, with my friends advice about the importance of socks in mind, I decided to give them the ultimate test.

Digging deep within a bag of old clothing stuffed in the darkest corner of the loft I found the much maligned boots, complete with bits of Dartmoor still stuck to them. After a quick beat on the back porch to get rid of the worst I slipped them on over the top of the Sockmines.

Noting a brief break in the horrible weather, I decided, with family in tow, on a quick walk around Knole park (a local National Trust park). This, I thought, was a great way of getting some much needed New Years exercise and, of course, putting the socks through their paces.

The socks themselves are surprisingly thick, with extra padding in key areas such as around the heel and ball of the foot. I received the size 9-11 and being a size 9-10 UK the socks fit well (arguably even better after the first wash).

So, off we all set – Lucan and I running through muddy puddles, trekking through tall grasses and climbing the odd tree stump. It was only about an hour later, when Emily asked how my socks were, that I recalled one of the main reasons for our long walk. I honestly had forgotten that I was wearing my new sockmines and more to the point had had non of the expected trouble with the hiking boots. Indeed, after a 2.5 hour round trip walk (including a stop at the tea shop for cake) my feet felt fine.

Of course this was not 3 day hike up and down the tors. However, the next time I am going on a longer hike and am going to ensure that I am stocked up on the British made Sockmines! What is more, I now know that I can wear my rather expensive hiking boots again. 

–          James

Luckily, I will have chance to buy some more at the British Family Fayre in August as Sockmine are going to be there with their workshop!

The Kings Speech

Last Thursday night uber-trendy London bar Sketch played host to the launch of King of Shaves latest innovation in male grooming, their Hyperglide razor.   I was fortunate to be invited by the King himself (Will King that is) and to be among the crowd. This was a rare opportunity to leave MrsB and Lucan at home and have a night on the town, so I grabbed it with both hands. The night was punctuated by a very entertaining speech by Will and music from Chicane (whom those old/young enough will know from their days of attending 90’s house parties wearing white gloves and waving glow sticks). Needless to say I had a great night but toddled off home relatively early complete with my goodie bag containing the new Hyperglide razor.

This rubber sucker storage solution is cool too!

Last-night, with about a weeks growth of beard, I simply wet my face and began to shave with my Hyperglide. It was obvious that I had set the razor too much of a challenge at this point. The bristles of my beard were had not been softened by foam or a shaving brush and I found the razor tugged, so had to opt for the addition of King of Shaves gel. Had I had just one or two days growth or just come out of the shower I am sure that shaving with water only would have worked far better.

During Will’s speech he made the point that this razor was perhaps the only true advance in razor technology in the last 30 years, other than the addition of more blades. I am a traditionalist when is comes to shaving and still use a cut-throat and brush most of the time because I have never got on with any of the modern razor designs. Even the old King of Shaves razor I struggled with, so I was somewhat sceptical that this new Hyperglide would be innovation enough for me. However, as soon as you start to shave with it I did notice the insane ‘slipperyness’. It actually feels a little unusual. To say that the blade glides is an understatement. If feels like your face and the razor are actually being repelled away from each other. In all it makes for one of the most comfortable shaves I have ever had. As for the result… my face has not been this smooth since I was about 13 years old. In fact MrsB spent a full 5 minutes stroking my chin in disbelief.

Before & After!

It is not often that that marketing lives up to the hype but with this totally British made and innovated razor I can say that it’s all true.

So, am I going to hang up my cut throat for good? I don’t think so. The straight razor is great for cutting through a forest of beard but  for day to day pruning the Hyperglide is in the Bradshaw house to stay!

The hyperglide is out now priced £9.99. King of Shaves will also be at the British Family Fayre in August (www.britishfamilyfayre.co.uk)

– James

In this vlog James and Lucan review the British made Airfix Quick Build Spitfire… with mixed results. We were very pleased to hear, earlier this year, that Airfix had bought some of their production back to the UK from China. We believe this move only currently applies to the Quick Build range which accounts for about 10% of Airfix’s production.

We were going to do our latest video blog on this latest purchase but we are overrun with press commitments at the moment that are taking over our lives a little (it really is not as glamorous as it might sound). So, this blog about the Patrona Shirt Shuttle Mk2 is going back to the old skool, but look for another video very soon.

So what is the Shirt Shuttle MK2? – Well, beyond having a pretty cool name is basically a device for transporting a freshly ironed shirt around without it creasing. Sounds too good to be true but is it… well I have put this British made device through its paces.

Please forgive the TM Lewin shirt it is rather old.

I first came across these guys via an article that was emailed to be by no less the 100 people. The story is a cautionary tale, aimed at small businesses, highlighting the risks of cheap manufacturing in China. Patrona were given of an example of having been lured into the offshore manufacturing trap and then stung when they had to write off £250,000 worth of faulty stock leading to their business nearly going under. You can read the full story here: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/british-firm-successfully-brings-manufacturing-back-home-175338800.html

Now, it must be said that not all Chinese manufacturing is bad (as not all British manufacturing is the best) but Patrona’s story is one that we have now heard many times… but arguably only from those that survived.

Anyway, on with talking about the Shirt Shuttle MK2:

At £30 (and then with £5 P&P) on top it really is at the very top end of what I would pay for a crisp shirt every day. This cost concern was further compounded when I received it. The distinct plastic feel and the general robustness of the thing did leave me questioning whether I had received value for money. That being said, it is very light and surprisingly compact, and the real test would lay in whether a shirt could maintain its freshness in transit.

I do a 60 mile round-trip commute on my (British manufactured) Triumph Explorer motorcycle every day and I often ferry my work shirts into the office in a backpack.  So, you might be able to imagine why the Shirt Shuttle seemed like the solution to a very big problem in my life, and how I was possibly going to be someone that could put the Shirt Shuttle through its paces.

My first use of the Shirt Shuttle was earlier this week. My small amount of experience standing at an ironing board and general lack of care when folding my shirt into the Shuttle meant that the end result was little better than the Waitrose bag that I would usually employ to protect my shirt. However, after a lot more care with the ironing and a little more time taken over the loading of my shirt into the device today’s results are markedly better.  Not drycleaner fresh, but certainly more than passable.  So the thing works!

All-in-all it is a very attractive design that seems to do what it says on the tin, provided you put in some effort loading a well ironed shirt as instructed. My only concern with this item is that the catches feel slightly flimsy and at £35 it is at a price that will put many off.

– James 

This is our first video blog (or Vlog, if you will) in which we discuss the British made Thermapen food thermometer. In this video we test this neat little device on our Sunday lunch which consists of a pork roast, and MrsB shows you how to get perfect cracking every time.

Note: this is our first vlog and so we apologies for the crude camera work and editing. Our next one will be better… promise!