Mark Richards, 

Experienced fellwalker and author Mark Richards gives an audio-visual guide to a three-day walking journey from the eastern edge of the Lakes to the Langdale valley. Called the Westmorland High Way, the DVD charts Mark’s progress along the route via Garnett Bridge, Sadgill, Kentmere, Troutbeck and Ambleside. The hour-long film has some great footage of the valleys and hills along the way, finishing with Mark’s ascent of the Langdale Pikes and Lingmoor Fell.

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Alfred Wainwright, 

Wainwright’s seven Lakeland classics, plus the extra Outlying Fells volume, are brought together in this boxed set. First compiled over half a century ago, these modest hardbacks still have iconic status. The versions here have all been revised by Wainwright’s former collaborator, Chris Jesty, who re-walked the paths in order to bring the information up to date.

Lakeside Walks and The High Fells
Carl Rogers and Steve Goodier, £4.99, Northern Eye, ISBN 978 0955355752/978 0955355783

Despite their diminutive pocket-size, these two volumes certainly pack a lot of detail. Each features 10 circular, thematic walks in the Lakes and includes impressive colour photos and maps. The lakeside walks are up to 13km/8 miles and the fell walks 18km/11 miles long. A smart and compact series.

Jonny Muir, £14.95, Cicerone, ISBN 978 1852846299

An engrossing book to delight hill-baggers and list-tickers everywhere, Jonny Muir’s round-up of 91 county tops ranges from Ben Nevis (1,344m/4,408ft) in Inverness-shire to the lowly Boring Field (80m/262ft) in Huntingdonshire. A there-and-back walking route to each ‘summit’ is described in words, photos and maps, charting the author’s three-month walking and cycling expedition to tackle them all. There’s familiar hills, such as Ben Lawers (Perthshire) and Slieve Donard (County Down), and lesser-known tops, such as Cold Overton Park (Rutland) and Milk Hill (Wiltshire). Andrew McCloy

Greatest Guides are lifestyle books, offering readers ‘simple, practical, and fun’ advice – in this case, about walking. Oh how I scoffed, at first, at the guide’s proliferation of photo-finish young beauties, grinning their way in hotpants up near-vertical hillsides. But by page three, I was a convert. The 12 chapters contain something simple, new and useful on every page, including a Beaufort chart, a guide to rucksack ‘litres’ and even a comparison of water purification methods. Ruth Somerville

This glossy collection of Cairngorms photos is the outcome of 20 years spent hiking and snapping away by the well-known outdoors writer. The 10-page introduction promises a blockbusting spectacle of a book. What follows is spectacular, but curiously downbeat, too. Townsend’s photographs are of scree slopes, granite, meltwater and turf; they play out in muted seasons, discernible only in the changing colour of grass (yellow to green) and sky (blue to grey). The result is intimate and subtle. Tristan Davison

Bob Bridle (ed)
£25, Dorling Kindersley
ISBN 978 1405365598

Gosh, this book is a class act. A 360-page opus of quite breathtaking vision, it spans history, continents, art, geology, science and, of course, a gallery of mountaineers, to provide no less than a survey of mountains in the human psyche. Phew! You could lose a day in the art and science section alone, pottering through the (hilarious) diary extracts of the alpine-wandering, dragon-fearing early naturalists. But it’s in the stunning layout where the book really scores: panoramic maps, grizzled explorer mug-shots and lush mountain ranges sprawl out over every page, constantly evoking the harshness and glory of the subject itself. Stunning. Ruth Somerville

Back system 
Good air flow around your back will help to reduce sweat, while a sturdy frame will transfer weight and maintain the shape and stability of the pack. See which system suits you: some designs hold the pack away from your body, but the shape could restrict how it is packed.

Opening
A zip provides quick and easy access, but a top-loading design with drawstrings and compression closure straps is more weather-tight and allows more flexibility with volume.

Pockets
Side and hipbelt pockets are convenient for stashing snacks, water bottles, cameras and maps without having to remove your pack. A pocket in the lid is useful for a headtorch, gloves and hat. Valuables are best stored inside, in a zip pocket near the top. Some packs also have side pockets that can be compressed flat.

Hipbelt
The hips are much better at supporting weight than the shoulders and back. This usually makes a chunkier hipbelt – rather than a thin one – more comfortable, especially with heavier loads.

Attachments
These are ideal for stowing walking poles, ice axes and monopods without having to open your pack.

Compression straps
If your pack is only partially loaded, compression straps will batten down any excess fabric and help secure the contents.

Fit
To find the best pack for your needs, it’s worth trying a range on. Shoulder the pack and adjust the straps to fit. Any pack will feel comfortable when it’s empty, so make sure you load it up with a realistic amount of weight. Does anything dig in to your back? Can you move easily? Most of the load should be carried on the hips, and the pack should hug your back.

Waterproofness
Packs are not usually waterproof, so some come with a separate elasticated rain cover. Alternatively, a waterproof rucksack liner is a good addition.

Hydration
Most self-respecting packs provide a pocket for a reservoir with a hole for the pipe, to allow hands-free drinking on the move. All the rucksacks featured here are hydration-compatible, with the exception of the Regatta.

Durability
Double stitching, tough fabrics, quality zips and reinforced areas are all signs of a hard-wearing pack, but these features can add weight.

– We’d like a chunkier hip buckle and bigger hip pockets, please!

VERDICT: An extremely well made and durable pack with plenty of adjustments to fine-tune the fit. Lightweight, too.