On 8 August 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard climbed to the top of Mont Blanc, 4,805 metres up, the first people known to have done it. The climb was set in motion and rewarded by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, and it is traditionally taken as the start of modern mountaineering. Two men and a summit that became a story people kept retelling. Two centuries later, that story is on a lot of desks.

Montblanc is a pen maker, and it put the mountain on everything. The white star, adopted in 1913, stands for the snowcap, and the number 4810, the peak's height in metres, turns up in its branding. Explorer is the fragrance version of that idea. The original came in 2019 from three Givaudan perfumers, Jordi Fernandez, Antoine Maisondieu and Olivier Pescheux, and I like it because it never pretends to be niche. It borrows adventure as a mood. Montblanc explorer extreme pushes that mood into colder weather: the brand says the signature is pushed beyond intense, with warm amber and leathery accords. The summit here is the office, and I am fine with that.

The trick is to read the first grid as one family. Explorer Extreme Parfum is the one this edit is named for. Explorer Platinum and Explorer Infinite, both eau de parfum, are its siblings, so you can smell the family in one sitting. Then the Legend side of the house: Legend Eau de Parfum, Legend Blue, Legend Spirit and Legend Elixir with vanilla, plus the Collection Star Oud, which is the outlier for anyone who likes oud.

Start with a simple test: spray a leather scent on your wrist, then your shirt collar, and check both an hour later. Skin and fabric hold scent differently, and you want to know both.

Tom Ford has two in this grid and they make a nice comparison. Ombré Leather Eau de Parfum comes with patchouli and vetiver, and Eau d'Ombre Leather Eau de Toilette leans into vanilla and amber, the softer, sweeter reading. Chanel's Bleu de Chanel Parfum is the polished all-rounder. Maison Margiela's Replica Jazz Club is the mood piece, and Dolce&Gabbana's Velvet Exotic Leather is dressier and warmer.

Viktor&Rolf's Spicebomb Dark Leather brings incense and dark leather together, and it is the loud one. Burberry's Hero Parfum Intense uses cedarwood and a leather accord, a friendlier way into the idea. Matière Première's Falcon Leather comes from a smaller house, for anyone who likes to be asked what they are wearing.

A pairing I like: a leather scent with a wool coat or a good jacket, and leave it at one spray on the chest. Leather is meant to hang close.

What I would skip: a heavy leather on a hot commute. In a warm train car it turns a nice idea into a lot.

One rule for evening scents: apply before you get dressed, not after. Warm skin holds a spicy scent better, and you avoid spraying a jacket that will smell of it for a week.

Viktor&Rolf's Spicebomb Night Vision is a cologne with citrus and woods, the brighter option for a bar or a dinner. Prada's Luna Rossa Black uses musk and bergamot, and Gucci's Guilty Pour Homme Eau de Toilette Intense is a bolder step up from the classic. Armani's Acqua di Giò Parfum with bergamot and rosemary and Armani Code Eau de Toilette with mandarin and cedarwood are two ways to go from Armani, one fresher, one more polished.

Valentino's Uomo Born in Roma Intense is the modern party bottle, Chanel's Allure Homme Eau de Toilette is the quiet one, and Jimmy Choo's Man Extreme rounds out the grid for anyone who wants a name they do not see on every shelf.

Evening scents work best with a plan. Choose one for dinner, one for a late night out, and keep them apart. A fragrance that is meant for a long dark evening can look overdressed at a lunch.

What I would skip: a spicy evening scent at a dinner table that you share with strangers. Strong scents and strong food compete.

Here is how I would choose a parfum: test one on each arm, wait for the dry down, and pick the one you still want to smell at bedtime. Parfum strength scents stay close and last a long time, so one spray is often enough.

Dolce&Gabbana's K Parfum with fig and sandalwood is the smooth one. Valentino's Uomo Born in Roma Extradose Parfum is the stronger sibling of the Intense from the evening grid. Burberry's Hero Parfum with cedarwood is straightforward and woody. Coach's Pure Platinum Parfum and Azzaro's The Most Wanted Parfum are crowd-friendly picks, and Armani's Stronger With You Parfum brings vanilla leather and lavender together.

Prada's Luna Rossa Ocean Le Parfum, with lemon and oakwood, is the fresh one in the group, a sea-facing option for someone who wants parfum strength without a dense cloud. Tom Ford's Ombré Leather Parfum with amber and jasmine flower closes the loop with the leather theme from earlier.

A pairing I like: one parfum for cold days and an eau de toilette for warm ones. It saves the strong stuff for when it can breathe.

What I would skip: reapplying a parfum through the day. Do it once at the start, and let the scent settle.

I think Montblanc Explorer Extreme is a good winter bottle, and I would not ask it to be more than that. It is warm, leathery and easy to wear, with the kind of amber that suits a wool coat. If you like the original Explorer and find it too bright for cold weather, this is the natural next step.

I would test it against one Tom Ford leather and one parfum from the last grid before deciding. Balmat and Paccard had a mountain. You have a wrist, and the same patience.

Explorer Extreme is a cold weather bottle, so I would test it against other scents that do serious work in a coat. Tom Ford Tuscan Leather and Eau d'Ombré Leather are the obvious leather comparisons, and Matiere Premiere Falcon Leather and Bois d'Ebène take the same idea somewhere more unusual. The two Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire bottles, Néroli Amara and Moonlight Patchouli, are the ones I would smell for contrast. When the weather turns milder, Bleu de Chanel Eau de Parfum, the Emporio Armani Acqua di Giò Parfum and Valentino Uomo Born in Roma are easy to wear. The plain Montblanc Explorer Eau de Parfum is first on the shelf for a reason. What I would skip: Dolce & Gabbana K Intense on a hot day.