On the Trail of Kit Man

Up there, in the clear fresh air, it isn’t just the stars that are glowing. You can climb a mountain and find at the top of it a bleeping nightmare of hi-tech gadgetry and hardship-avoidance devices. Worried about getting lost? Relax with a handheld GPS unit, featuring a 3D and aerial display, plus an in-compass and barometer function. Even the sacred covenant between outdoor types and wet socks has come unravelled with the development of ‘hydrophobic’ fabrics which repel all moisture. At next month’s Outdoors Show in Birmingham, all this kit and more will be on display for an audience which seemingly can’t get enough of it. When we ask people what they come to the show for, they list two things,’ says the inspiration for outdoor tech in the first place, and the thrill to see the new gear, the gadgets, the breakthroughs. That’s what they love.’ The event, the showcase of Britain’s booming adventure business shows everything the tech-savvy adventurer could wish for, from solar-heated sleeping bags to remote-controlled lanterns.

The rise of Kit Man, as the gizmo-fixated menace of the 21st-century mountains has been christened, reflects both changing social trends and the dizzying speed of scientific advance. Modern hikers have moved on from the Spartan routines of 50 years ago, when discomfort, bad food and danger were seen as part of the authentic outdoor experience. They also have more money and a conditioned attachment to life’s luxuries. However, basic pioneering disciplines: map-reading, camp-playing, First Aid – have declined, to be shakily replaced by the virtual skills offered by technology. With so much gear now available, Kit Man and his kind stand accused by the old-schoolers of being interested only in reaching the summit by the easiest means.

‘I think these people are completely missing the point,’ huffs author and TV presenter Guy Grieve, who spent a year living alone in the Alaskan wilderness. ‘The whole idea of going into the wild is to get away from the things that tie you in knots at home. I’d prefer to take as little as possible – a tent, a rifle, and a few pots and pans. All this technology, I mean, it might look fantastic on paper, but when there’s a real problem, it’s almost certainly going to let you down. What will see you through is the old stuff, the maps and the bits of rope. There are times when you need that kind of dependability. Who’d want to be stranded out in the wild with a gadget freak?’ Travel and adventure writer Clive Tully agrees: ‘Be suspicious of anything that claims to make your life easier,’ he warns. ‘My experience is that people who depend on technology are woefully ill-prepared in other ways. You still need to be able to read a map and do the basic stuff.’

None of which is enough to keep Kit Man from his toys. The mountains and hills are alive with the sound of ringing mobiles, beeping biometric pressure metres, clicking ultra-violet radiation sensors and the whirring of the current ultimate in gadget chic – a micro-helicopter which can be controlled from an iPod to send back live pictures of the route ahead. Thus tooled up, Kit Man must consider what he is to wear. And as any visit to a contemporary outdoor store shows, this involves not only acquiring new clobber, but new jargon. When he asks about a pair of pants, he will learn about Moisture Vapour Transfer Rate, Hydrostatic Heat Resistance and Wickability. It is tempting to scoff at Kit Man, but not everyone sides with the romantics. Many in the adventure business say gadgets have encouraged thousands who would otherwise not have ventured into the great outdoors. Evidence from the American market also suggests that technology has had a positive environmental impact, and increased safety standards.