With Torid Slim Zip and Inara Slim Zip at Lanzarote
Maier Sports Endurance Test
The Canaries offer mild temperatures all year round and hikers also get their money's worth here because the islands offer fascinating nature and great volcanic landscapes. Here you can find out what Sabrina and Igor from the blog "Explore the Outdoors" have experienced in Lanzarote.
Hiking is our passion
Hello, we’re Sabrina and Igor. Outdoor adventurers and bloggers from Germany. Hiking for us means experiencing nature up close. We have been exploring the region around our home town of Trier, the Saarland and Luxembourg as well as the entire world for more than two years. In the summer of 2018 we then turned our dream into a reality: our very own camper van. We wanted to take our self-converted van and discover all of Europe while hiking. Our motto? “Explore the outdoors” – which also inspired the name of our blog where we talk about our experiences and hikes.
In the Valley of a Thousand Palms
The thermometer is showing 15 °C when the alarm clock rouses us out of bed at 8 in the morning. Heavy clouds hang in the sky and it’s windy but that doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm for our upcoming hike at all. This is our first time in Lanzarote and we want to take a look at Haría in the north of the volcanic island. And we also want to test our new outdoor pants: Igor is wearing the Torid Slip Zip and Sabrina the Inara Slip Zip.
We like them as soon as we put them on for the first time. “Fits like a glove,“ Igor exclaims. The municipality of Haría is also known as “The Valley of a Thousand Palms” – and that for good reason: the fertile region adds a splash of green in the otherwise very black volcanic landscape on the island. There is still the tradition of planting a palm tree here to mark a wedding or birth as it is supposed to bring good luck. Are we really going to come across 1000 specimens on our route? We can’t wait to find out!
Towards the sun
We’re starting our tour today on the highest point of the island. Just a few minutes after we set off, the clouds disperse and the first rays of sun tickle our faces. The temperature has now risen to 20 °C and the wind has eased. Time to shed some “ballast”. Thanks to the zipping technique, we quickly turn our hiking pants into Bermuda shorts and treat our legs to their first sun of the year.
We go past the Risco de Famara cliffs and the landscape slowly changes from a barren black to a lush green. The sun is beating down now and it doesn’t take long for us to start sweating. But that doesn’t matter as the dryprotec fabric dries our pants in no time at all. Another practical detail: during the 2.5-hour hike, the pants don't pinch, slip or rub and we can move freely across the rocky terrain.
The imposing force of a volcano
We take a breather at an observation point where we have a clear view of the sea. Always at hand: our smartphones, which we can easily stow in the pockets of our pants. We take a few photos and then continue our hike. Past the countless palm trees, we finally reach the small town of Haría and take a short break here. After all, we still want to get to the main attraction of Lanzarote: the Cueva de los Verdes.
This lava cave was created about 3000-4000 years ago during a volcanic eruption and is one of the must-sees on the island. Before we start to explore the cave, we zip our pants legs back on as it could get colder at a depth of 50 m. The trail, approx. one km long, takes us past bizarre lava formations and to an unusual optical illusion. We don’t want to reveal too much, but one thing is certain: it could get wet. It’s a good thing then that the water-repellent fabric simply lets splashes of water bounce off our pants.
Our conclusion
Both the Torid Slim Zip and the Inara Slim Zip impressed us during our hike: great fit, comfortable and breathable. We really appreciated the zipping technique. It lets you zip off the pants legs to create Bermuda shorts in a jiffy. We will most definitely be taking these outdoor pants with us on future (mountain) hikes with fluctuating temperatures.
