Mickaël Berthon, 34, a passionate ultra-trail runner and Raidlight ambassador, has set himself a challenge: to cover the entire GR5, a project called Sea to sea, from the North Sea to the Mediterranean - a first!
He set off on 11 September 2022 from Hoek Van Holland in the Netherlands with one goal in mind: to cover less than 31 days of the European trail. A crossing from north to south through 5 European countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France.
He covered no less than 2,163.55 km and 61,819 metres of ascent and descent!
Right from the start, his adventure was fraught with pitfalls: roadworks cutting him off, changes to the route, capricious weather and pain linked to the extraordinary effort he was making - nothing could stop Mickaël from reaching the end of this GR.
But as a Raidlight ambassador, "Mickaël was able to find the right equipment for his challenge". And "if there's one thing he could count on during this tumultuous crossing, it was his waterproof Raidlight jacket: the ULTRALIGHT MP+ 2.0. A faithful ally for more than 2,000 kilometres through mountains, cold winds, rain and snow".
"This Ultralight MP+ trail jacket is the most breathable and waterproof trail jacket he's ever had (...).
In the event of light rain, he could keep it on all day without the rain coming through. And when it rained heavily, it was perfectly waterproof for more than 5 hours, and beyond that, it just felt a little damp, but his T-shirt didn't even get wet! Whereas I'd already been soaked to the skin for 3 hours.
"So you're going to tell me that being waterproof is great, but it also has to breathe, because the aim is not to end up in steam room mode! There again, top! He kept the jacket on all day long, even on climbs, because its breathability prevents any sensation of dampness due to perspiration. (...) It was a real time-saver, and meant he didn't have to take the jacket off and put it on again 15 times due to temperature and weather variations. "Compact at last, that's for sure! Once folded, it's the size of a pétanque ball, but a featherweight version!
"This new jacket is really good and I'm really jealous! (...) completely justified value for money, (...) the fit is great".
The Ultralight waterproof jacket won us over thanks to the excellent waterproof/breathable properties of the MP+ 25,000 Schmerber and 60,000 membrane, its light weight of just 150g and its compactness.
Mickaël also used the almost complete Raidlight trail outfit, with the R-LIGHT t-shirt, R-LIGHT 2in1 shorts and R-SUN visor.
His second most important ally was his trail bag, the Revolutiv 18L collection 2020, now known as Responsiv 18L. A complete, practical trail waistcoat with numerous pockets, two flasks with integrated pipettes, a pole-holder system on the front and a FreeLock tightening system, all designed to be as ergonomic as possible.
Finally, if you'd like to find out whether it has achieved its objective, click here!
Visit his Facebook page Mickaël Berthon: Quest for authenticity
We'd like to thank Fiona, Mickaël's partner, for sharing her words with us, giving us some fascinating feedback on this ultra-trail experience with our Raidlight products.
"A big thank you to Raidlight, because high-performance equipment, especially for a record attempt like this, where every hour and every gesture counts, really makes a difference".
