You may have noticed but it’s been rather chilly recently. Over the snowy period, we were completely stuck and couldn’t drive anywhere. During one of the snow days, when neither of us could get to work, we decided we had to get to our friends place to go sledging.
It was a pretty darn chilly day but we wrapped up in some serious layers, packed our bags and headed off. I was wearing my new Teva boots and Vicky her new Oboz boots so we knew that our footwear was up to the job. Along with the usual snacks and bottle of water, we had packed our new Hydro Flask Coffee Mug. We had brimmed it full of the best coffee we had in the house as we knew this would keep us not only warm but motivated and energised throughout the day.
Ages ago I reviewed the Hydro Flask 21oz Standard Mouth Flask when we were hiking up in Snowdonia; I absolutely loved it and it’s one of my most used drinks containers. The big advantage of the Hydro Flask Coffee Mug compared to my other Hydro Flask is that it comes with a Hydro Flip lid which means that you are able to drink quickly, conveniently and easily directly from the flask itself. This is awesome for when you’re on the go.
As with my other Hydro Flask, it has a double wall construction which allows it to keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours or hot drinks hot for 12 hours. I certainly found this to be true and our coffee was still piping hot hours later, even after being out in the freezing cold. It is available in three sizes 12, 16 and 20oz. Personally, I like the 16oz, but you can choose the most convenient size for you.
As well as being a great flask, for outdoor lovers this would actually be brilliant for just day to day living or having at work. I use this mug at work as I often forget about my drinks and this flask that means that they don’t go cold if I leave it sat around for an hour or so. It’s also the perfect thing for environmentally-minded people as you can use this instead of those non-recyclable coffee shop cups.
One of the most important things about all of Hydro Flask’s construction is that they’re made from 18/8 stainless steel, meaning that it wont hold or transfer any flavours and cleans very easily. This is perfect if you want to use it for hot coffee one day and cold juice the next! Anyway back to the adventure… We had a gorgeous hour and a half walk through the now tundra-like landscape and arrived at our destination… The top of a very steep field.
When we arrived, the snow was pretty thick (by Cornish standards) and definitely sledge-able but as the snow started to come down thick and fast it got even better as the time went on. We had a few different sledges and makeshift contraptions at our disposal. These included: a giant inflatable Havianas flip flop; a surf board; a hay bale; a couple store bought plastic sledges;, a rubber boot liner and a Fatyak Hönö body board / sledge.
They all worked with varying levels of speed and success! The inflatable flip flop gave a nice smooth ride but at a less extreme speed, the boot liner worked well with two people and the surfboard even worked well with four people riding it like a log flume.
We had some pretty gnarly bails due to the field being hugely steep and having a hedge right at the bottom with very little run off. My favourite crash, tumble and roll resulted in a pretty epic snow beard!
The Fatyak Hönö body board / sledge was by far the fastest down the hill. I really liked how it could be ridden lying face down – head first or by sitting on it – feet first. There are handles at the front to grip when laying and handles at the back to hold when sitting. These give you a good grip and allow you to hold on tight and to turn and prevent yourself rolling.
It’s made with the same high quality plastic construction as Fatyak’s Kayaks and SUP. I’ve covered Fatyaks awesome range at length and in depth – it’s safe to say that I really love them – the Hönö is no different. The four handles make it easy to transport and at 4kg it’s light enough for anyone (even kids) to easily carry back up the slope.
The Hönö is a great family toy to have tucked away for days in the snow or for the family to play with at the beach. Unfortunatly, we don’t get days like these very often in Cornwall as I’d love to get out with it on the snow more often. It really is a hoot!
