In a recent blog post I reviewed a new book by celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls. Some of the feedback to the post was quite scathing of bushcraft’s new poster boy. Some people suggested that he was a fake and that cuddly Ray Mears is the real deal. So let’s take a look at both of their biogs.

I know that Bear Grylls served with the British SAS which is about as tough as it gets. He was trained in unarmed combat, combat survival and Winter and Desert warfare as well as a whole host of other specialist training that got him to where he is today as a tough nut. He broke his back in three places in a parachuting accident. Undaunted, he fought his way back to become the youngest person to climb Everest at 23 years of age. He has done countless TV programmes about survival in extremes.

Ray Mears, on the hand, is the Godfather of bushcraft on TV. He’s like the modern day equivalent of the Bushtucker Man as he instructs us how to survive in extreme wilderness conditions. He seems to revel in the environment and, unlike Grylls, you can imagine him preferring the meagre conditions of a woodland floor rather than a hotel room. He’s so knowledgeable and at ease with bushcraft that I’d always assumed he had an army background. In fact, it was his love of nature as a boy growing up in the North Downs that set him on the path to where he is today. He couldn’t afford camping equipment as a young lad, so would improvise with what he could find in the woods. As he grew older, he had a few mentors in his life who taught him what they knew. Since then, he’s learnt bushcraft techniques from indigenous tribes around the world and his gentle approach and huge respect for nature has earned him many friends in the bushcraft world.

By my reckoning, I actually think that Bear Grylls is more hardcore than Ray Mears. By no means could he be called a fake. If I did drop out of a plane into an emergency situation, I’d choose Grylls to help rescue me. Ray is a gentle giant who is happy to let nature envelop him. He could find food and keep you amused indefinitely but could he get you out of the wilderness? Whichever way you look at it, they are both inspirational characters and genuine experts no matter what practices they employ in their TV programmes.

For those of you lucky enough to go travelling on company time and money, congratulations, we are all jealous, except for the part where you have to work like a dog and possibly don’t get to see any of the sights.

The other unavoidable element of a business trip of course, is that you’ve got to look the part, so your luggage must be smart. Luggage in pink, for example, is best reserved for hen weekends, not business trips.

Practicality is also an issue. Generally, you want to complete your journey in the shortest possible time, keeping the spare hours free for endless meetings, so it’s important the case you take fits the carry on luggage - category. Small enough not to have to check it in, posh enough to match your Armani suit, and big enough to carry everything you’ll need for two days’ hard slogging.

A skyflite carry on luggage case in the 20 inch size is perfect for this type of trip. It’s light enough to haul up and down from the overhead compartments, and it’s perfectly designed to comply with most airlines’ accepted standards for cabin cases.

For additional items it does have an expanding part, which is perfect for those souvenirs you will need to buy to placate the family you left behind. It comes in a durable polyester material and is approximately 25% lighter than comparable suitcases.

The main features are the fully lined interior compartment with three zippered interior pockets. So you can organise every aspect of your life, one pocket for your wash kit, so long as its under 100ml, one pocket for your travel adapter and all things essential and finally an empty pocket on the way there, full with dirty clothing on the way back. Now doesn’t that make a lovely present for the other half!

I’ve recently moved house. I count myself as one of the lucky ones who managed to sell up before the whole mortgage market went nuts. In any case, I moved down the road from my last place. Our new place was a bit of a bargain as it was a run-down bungalow that needed a bit of work done on it and a large, overgrown garden. I call it a garden, when in fact the word jungle is probably more apt. The house and grounds have been uninhabited for four years prior to our purchase so the garden has gone slightly wild. When we first looked round, it needed a machete to get round the whole place. It turns out we have some wonderful trees and plants growing; elm, ash, yew, eucalyptus, firs, hazels…the list goes on. So where do we start in clearing it back?

The first step was to buy a pair of hunter wellingtons each. The wellies have been worth their weight in gold as my legs would have been scratched to ribbons from all the brambles if I hadn’t had them. I never knew how essential a pair of wellingtons would be as I’ve always been a bit of a welly snob and refused to buy them, preferring my waterproof hiking boots. But, with the sheer amount of mud, brambles and anything else my garden has to throw at me, waterproof hiking boots would not have been the best choice and the wellingtons have proved indispensable. The jungle is still out there, but in a couple of weeks it will look a whole lot better with the help of a landscaper and tree surgeon who will no doubt turn up in willies rather than waterproof hiking boots.

Camping has come such a long way from the classic days and the simplicity portrayed by the likes of Carry on Camping. Today, you can go camping in the middle of nowhere and still get internet access via a satellite phone. It becomes impossible to get lost with a good GPS. We have almost insulated ourselves against nature. I have been bemused over the past two years by the media attention thrown over camping and the subsequent ‘coolness’ that has attached itself to camping. I mean, who would have thought of buying Cath Kidston tents a few years ago? Or tents with little roses emblazoned all over the canvas? I’m slightly worried that I’m becoming a grumpy old man or some kind of annoying camping purist. The fact remains that I enjoy camping at campsites less and less now, unless they are pretty rustic, with the odd camping lantern swinging in the breeze. The thought of the big holiday parks fills me with dread. They may be great for kids but I think toddlers are just as happy digging up worms and running around in the bushes as they are watching shows and sticking 10 pence coins into slot machines. Kids love to go camping – just being outdoors should be enough.

Anyway, I digress. Back to ‘cool’ camping. I guess it’s just something that makes me shiver when I see the ‘whats hot’ and ‘what’s not’ fashion barometers in the papers with trite comments like “We love the new flower wellies by so and so..” or “Get yourself one of these season must haves – a rose petal fold out camping chair”. The only rose petals I want on my camping chair when I go camping are natural ones from a real rose bush! It just seems to drag the whole consumerism problem into camping, which has been so wonderfully uncomplicated for such a long time. I guess when it comes down to it, we’ll just have to see which tents stand up to the great British weather. Here’s praying it won’t be the fashion tents!

Years ago, when I was only just out of short pants, I decided to undertake a big camping trip across Canada. It was a revelation, at the time; I really didn’t have that much to worry about. I was 21; the world was at my feet. I saved my student loan and blew it on the trip. One of the things that I really enjoyed was researching what type of camping equipment I was going to take with me. I only had an old tent, which was battered and abused, and weighed a small tonne. So I went on a trip up to Newcastle to visit my girlfriend (who was coming too) and we both went to a few of the good camping and outdoor shops that they had there.

As we were backpacking, weight was a big issue. We knew that we were going to do some big hikes so we needed to make sure that we had the best kind of gear. We found a really good shop that had a few tents pre-erected on the shop floor, but best of all they had a really good range of light tents. It was a choice between the North Face Tadpole and the Voyager from great British tent manufacturer Terra Nova (then Wild Country). The Tadpole was really light – I think it was about 1.5kg (this was 15 years ago!) and the Voyager was marginally more. We ended up getting the Voyager. It was a good light tent, plus it was way more roomier than the Tadpole. We figured that it would be better to get the bigger tent as we may have to sit out rubbish weather in the mountains and needed a bit more space than the Tadpole offered. I love North Face gear but in this case it was the home-grown tent manufacturer that came up trumps.

Personal hygiene usually flies out of the window when you go camping. Many campsites now have good, clean toilet facilities; but some of the smaller, more basic sites are severely lacking. And, of course, you have no choice but to go back to nature at backcountry sites. But there is a solution if you are car camping; the portable camping toilet. It’s a dirty job but somebody has to do it. I’m going to delve deep to look at some of the best camping toilets on the market.

The Fiamma Bi Pot 39 camping toilet is a strong, self-contained fresh water flush portable toilet. A very simple system that is both strong and easy to clean because it can be completely dismantled, including the valve, for thorough and total cleaning. Its sturdy handle makes it easy for transportation.

The UKayed 20L camping toilet has a large, practical, removable cap making it easy to use and empty even by children. It is ultra hygienic with water flushing and two flushable tanks.

The cleverly named Kampa Khazi is an excellent compact, lightweight and cheap camping toilet. It’s about half the price of the other camping toilets on this list but its nifty design makes it an ideal option for light use on camping trips.

Every luggage manufacturer seems to brand their luggage set as the most lightweight on the market or 40% lighter than other luggage brands. They can’t all be right can they? Unless of course, they are now so light, they are invisible. Oooh… invisible luggage, now wouldn’t that be the next step in travel innovation!

I went in search of the lightest luggage set for this luggage review and stumbled upon Delsey, which is claiming to have redefined the term ‘lightweight’ with the launch of its helium collection.

The Delsey Helium Fusion 17” trolley tote (got all that!) in pink, is pretty gorgeous. The website I found has a 50% sale, so if you like it, now would be the time to get it. It has inline skate wheels, the standard telescopic handle, and an integrated ID tag.

Apparently this particular luggage range has bonus features such as treatments against corrosion, water damage and staining. Oh and it’s bullet proof too. If I buy it and just happen to become a controversial celebrity the very next day, this feature will come in handy.

Delsey allegedly has impeccable customer satisfaction. As producers of 4 million pieces of luggage each year across over 100 countries and over a century in existence, that’s impressive!

I do have one quibble though … Delsey’s new Helium range is generally sold by the piece rather than by the set. Why is that? Surely, if it’s lightweight, treated against chocolate ice cream and any other substance, and bullet proof you would want the entire collection. No? Just me then.

I am always on the lookout for a luggage bargain, and my usual haunts are market stalls, discount stores, and luggage and bag shops. Now, however, I’m going technical – I shall be attempting to pick up a luggage bargain on Ebay.

One of my all time favourite friends is off skiing for the first time this Christmas in Austria, so I want to get her a fabulous bag that will hold all of her ski gear as well as all her ‘normal’ clothes, accessories and Christmas presents. I don’t think a cute little “travel backpack” will do for this one.

With the above criteria in mind, I’ve logged into my Ebay account and am scrolling through the listings. I decide “Samsonite luggage” will do the trick, so I find the perfect item: a Samsonite X+II Upright 76 luggage trolley suitcase bag (as it was described in the heading!). Usually they retail for around £195.

This particular bag had a ‘Buy it Now’ price of £109, whereas the bidding – in the last few minutes - was at £83. I bid. Someone else bid. I bid again. Someone else bid. I played auction tennis right up to the last dying moments, when all of a sudden a red mist descended in front of my eyes and I absolutely refused to let that other person have it!

I ended up paying £112! Only three pounds more than the ‘Buy it Now’ price but it still hurt! In order to deny my competitive streak access to my wallet in the future, I have decided to stick to straightforward fixed-price transactions, and stay away from the temptations of Ebay. By directly using shopping comparison with for example Bizrate.co.uk, I could have avoided myself all this stress. E-bay bidding can give you a heartattack.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a pretty rudimentary list of camping essentials – the very basics you would need when you go camping for a weekend. Since then I have come across numerous posts on the subject in blogland. Of course, what campers consider essential items is a matter of personal preference. Some people will need more than others to make their experiences more enjoyable and comfortable. Some people, for example, only need a pen knife and flint lighter; others wouldn’t dream of going away without an iPod or a bottle of wine.

So with all the variables involved it is hard to create the ideal checklist. But our friends at Online Travel Blog have made a sensible stab at it. Their list is broken down into various categories, such as Sleeping, Cooking and Clothing. Something that I’d omitted from my previous post is a First Aid kit, so I’m indebted to them for reminding me about this important item to take when you go camping. Accidents happen when you go camping. Unfamiliar environment, basic tools, fire, alcohol, storms can all spring surprises on you. So it pays to be prepared with a first aid kit which includes at the very least: plasters, paracetemol, aspirin, insect repellent, sun screen and antiseptic cream or wipes.

The Timberland Pro has become the ubiquitous work boot. They have steel toecaps making them the ultimate safety boots for the workplace. But they also make great camping boots too. You might think that camping boots do not need to be too technical but imagine sloshing around on the campsite in a pair of slip-on shoes or cheap trainers. If the weather is inclement, and it often is in this country, you’re going to need something more substantial to protect your feet. The beauty of these shoes as camping boots is that as well as being warm, dry and comfortable, they have fantastic grip in mud and the steel toecaps mean you can drop almost anything on your toes without getting hurt. Tent poles, thermal mugs, camping lanterns, gas bottles, whatever you drop, your feet will survive. Imagine dropping a camping lantern while wearing flip-flops – it doesn’t bear thinking about. Yes, I can see the sense in owning a pair of hardcore camping boots.