OK. so I promised it a while ago and it contains pictures that really should be censored but here is the blog of Martin's Chocolate Fish merino pants and their return to their homeland of New Zealand. Where they could potentially have been cast into the fires of Mt Doom but for 2 reasons, firstly there was no fire only a little steam and secondly, I still wanted them and would have been very cold without them.

After trains, planes and automobiles had conveyed them many miles to the distant continent of Africa the pants were to make their debut on day 2 of the climb of Kilimanjaro where together with a long sleeve base layer of artificial polypropylene they would remain being worn day and night till not just reaching the summit but also returning to the hotel. In this first trial, their thermal properties were second to none despite the Arctic temperatures and altitude and as for the other claims they certainly smelled better than the polypropylene base layer.

After a good old hand wash their next and slightly unexpected appearance was in Botswana where having passed the area where Malaria infection could have been a possibility (according to no less reliable a source than the NHS IC Website) they became a night time and early morning undergarment of choice when sleeping out in the open as the night time temperatures plunged, once again they significantly outperformed their artificial fibre alternatives especially in the fragrance department.

After being used for the same purpose throughout Namibia they moved on to South Africa and made an appearance again in the Kingdom of Lesotho, the country with the highest lowest point!! Here though they were probably not required, they did pass on to their wearer the confidence to tackle the bushfires that were the biggest threat, their odour protection not being tested by soiling.

So after nearly a month in a bag being carried over Australia and Singapore the pants next made an appearance on the Island of Borneo. This time for an assault on the highest peak in South East Asia Mt Kinabalu. This was only a 2 day trip so thermal properties were more important than self cleaning and for the first time they were joined by their brother the Merino base layer, an early Christmas present that had found it's way to Singapore.

Within Asia they also proved useful on trekking trips on Northern Thailand and Sa Pa in Vietnam, both of which proved much colder than expected. But their true test was yet to come..... If the proof of the pudding is in the eating then the proof of the pants is in Nepal, a 21 trek of the Annapurna Circuit to be precise. I have to confess they were indeed worn on most days, they made it to their second highest altitude yet 5416.78m - the 0.78 being my inside leg measurement. The cold temperatures meaning washing on the line froze rather than drying meant by the time we reached they thermal springs at Kalopani I was unsure from where the Sulphurous smell eminated but it was soon to become evident it was indeed the hot springs.

After this triumphant victory it was time for the pants bearer to take them back to the land in which they were made and all the way to the fires of Mt Doom, or Ngauruhoe as it was called before Peter Jackson picked it for a more famous role. As the only fires were in the sky and causing me sunburn I decided that there was no need to cast anything into any fire. The final trip of the pant so far was to Fox Glacier where I knew from the previous performance of the pants I didn't need Fox's Glacier (mints to freshen the breath) to freshen elsewhere.

How will the pants fare in on the salt flats of Bolivia will and what will they make of Patagonia....... :-)