Monkeys are customer centric
Just a quick post to say the guys at PowerTraveller have the right attitude when it comes to customer service. My Powermonkey charger stopped charging my iphone4 a few weeks back, a quick email was sent and a reply came back a few days later. Apparently the tip on the iPhone charger stopped working because of a software upgrade. I was sent a replacement chipped tip and everything is working great again.
A few of my blogging mates use these for outdoor uses, haven’t heard a bad report back yet. Top marks go to the tree swingers !!!
A cheap way to make your iphone waterproof
Several companies are charging up to 100 pounds for a waterproof case for the iPhone.
This seems a tad excessive when you can buy a set of three aloksaks for £3.29.
These are certified to 60m by the navy diving unit and are temperature rated to minus 40. Made of polyethylene you are given three sizes in the pack.
12.7 x 10.16
17.14 x 15.24cm
22.86 x 15.24cm
The smallest is suited to the iPhone and all the functions like touch typing and camera work perfectly fine in the bags.
I tested the water resistance by putting some tissue paper in the bags and submerging them for several hours, they all passed with flying colours.
For the gram counters among us the pack of three weigh in at 23g though I suspect this includes the cardboard packaging which can be discarded.
My opinion is these are a total no brainers for hikers.
The month that was July
The month that was July brought about my 31st birthday, I responded the onslaught of age by walking the Yorkshire 3 peaks in a respectable time of 6hrs 16mins.
My car broke down and wiped out my cash for the month, which eventually saw the arrival of my new motor which has brought a smile back to my face. I spent a lot of time reading, so much so that I was going through a book every week fuelled by the easy and cheap supply of books at Amazon. The picture shows some of the books, my favourite so far was minus 148 degrees a true story of the first winter ascent of Denali, mountaineering classic if ever one was wrote. Currently I am reading about the myths and legends surrounding Don Whillans, an amusing read full of eye witness accounts. The Primal Blueprint is a diet/lifestyle book which a friend mentioned around Christmas time, I have never adopted a diet before, me being a lean mean walking machine, but some drops in energy of late means I may well be adopting the 10 point primal lifestyle, possibly more to come on this.
My son passed his National Swimming level and is attending football camp this week so sport and fitness are second nature to him, this is something I always strive for.
I also picked up a new rucksack, the Inov8 Race Pro 30, this is for future lightweight ultra distance hikes I have planned for the future. I have been drawing inspiration from Andrew Skurka on this front who is currently pack rafting around Alaska.
I also adopted a new workout, it’s so simple its hard to believe it would work, but it certainly does, I wont bore anyone with the details, you can check it out here Simplefit.
Train tickets have been booked for the Great Glen Way in October which will see the FC Hikers back in action. Anyway that’s what’s going on with me at the moment.
Trail trainer’s
This is not something new to the outdoor world but it’s certainly new to me. Previously I wore North Face Hedgehog Mids which worked really well for me. The goretex inner was not perfect but it did a decent job at keeping my feet dry. unfortunately these boots recently died a magnificent death on the TGO Challenge. It was at this time I decided to take some advice from the fellow challengers. After discussing the merits of trail trainers in the Fife Arms in Braemar I decided I would give them a whirl.
I choose the Innov8 Roclite 320’s mainly because they don’t have an inner goretex liner so you can dry your trainers as you walk, and secondly because the shop was lacking in choice !!
I walked the second half of the TGO in the Roclites with seal skinz socks. This combination worked really well for me and my initial worries of the socks causing damp sweaty feet were unsubstantiated. Its a combo I will be using in the future and its great being able to walk straight through streams and puddles, the water actually cools your feet but the sock keeps out the water, a nice combo indeed.
My only niggles are the cushioning in the foot beds came detached but the nice people at Innov8 sent we some new footbeds for free. The laces are a bit short too but apart from this I am generally enjoying the whole trail trainer experience.
North Face Hedgehogs XCR mids
After close to four years service my faithful Hedgehogs have come to an untimely end. So now I thought it fit to look back at my old boots in a kind of review/reminiscence style.
I bought these for £50 from Millets back when I didn’t know the difference between crampon compatible boots and a pair of sandals. They were pounded around 3 National Trails, a TGO crossing and several over adventures of note. I loved these boots and I was desperate to get them across Scotland for the TGO. But Scotland eventually pounded my boots into submission on the outskirts of Bramear, even some emergency boot triage involving 10 meters of gaffer tape could not save them. So here is my review based on many miles of experience.
Soles – The Vibram soles look like they could do another 1000 miles easily. I found them to be grippy and I wore them year round up until crampon season. The inner soles are some of the best I’ve seen, really comfy and durable.
Waterproofness – The Gore-Tex inners worked great at the start, but after a year or so my feet would get damp every now and again. I suppose everything fades with time, having a great big rip in the front of the boot is certainly something which affects the waterproofness of the boot !
Fit – Quite simply the most comfortable boots/shoes/trainers ever to grace my plates of meat. Think the original Nike Air Max and your on the right lines. The mids are a cross between hiking boots and trail trainers. They have a lower boot line than a normal hiking boot but this gives your extra freedom when you are walking. However you also need to factor in ankle support, if you have ankles like Bambi then maybe these are not for you.
Would I recommend these to others….your damn right. If you are starting out and are looking for a boot that can deal with anything outside of winter then look no further. For the price you get an honest, comfy boot that feels a delight to walk in. There is no point in comparing them to a leather boot as frankly they both have good points and bad points that could keep a bunch of hikers arguing long into the night. Comparing them to trail trainer’s is another argument entirely…..I will report back on this in a year once my Innov8 Roclite’s have been given a real test!
I’ve joined the evil empire
I have finally gave in to Apple’s latest wonder gadget the Iphone4. For years I have avoided Apple like the plague until I heard memory map was available as an App. I had a quick look at the App at the outdoor show 2010 and then saw a similar App of Ken Knights iphone.
So I have signed my life over to Apple for 24 months, will things ever be the same again….only time will tell.
P.S. The closest i have been to the outdoors since the TGO Challenge is a pub beer garden. Football comes first while the World Cup is running.
Alpkit Airo 120
I took delivery today of the new Alpkit Airo 120 2/3 sleeping mat. The wee airic which I had a several problems with is now discontinued. I actually loved the mat when it worked but it let me down too many times as you can see here.
This new mat costs £35 which is an increase but straight away you can see the difference in quality from the wee airic. The 33D Mini Ripstop Nylon feels stronger and nicer to touch. The mat comes with a stuff sack with compression strap and a nice feature is the addition of a small pouch inside the sack where the repair kit can be stashed. The sack is also smaller than the previous range so you can stow it away nice and small.The valve seems a lot better quality than the wee-airic.
I really wanted a neo-air but the greedy buggers set the price too high, I can afford the neo-air but I refuse to be bent over backwards on price. Alpkit did replaced my 2 faulty wee-airics and I placed my faith in their new mats even though I was offered a full refund. Time will tell and I will report back with my usual no bullshit review after the airo has been out and about on at least a National Trail.
Specifications Airo 120
Update August 2010
No issues as yet with the airo 120. A few wild camps have brought no issues. I like the way the repair kit tucks into the bottom of the stuff sack. It seems a lot toughter than the old wee-airic. All good up to now.
New Family Tent – Outwell Nevada 5 birth
So with the addition on young Pepper at Christmas we are now unable to book into hostels, most B&Bs and bunkhouses. So i was left with 2 options a family tent or a caravan.
Not wanting to park a caravan on my drive i popped down to go outdoors tonight and came home with this for just short of £200. Not bad, managed to haggle 20% off with the manager.
Anyway here is a little info a picture
Berth: 5
Bedrooms: 2
Doors: 3
Height (cm): 200.00
Length (cm): 485.00
Width (cm): 360.00
Flysheet Hydrostatic Head (mm): 3000
Weight (kg): 18.20
Pack Size (cm): 31 x 69
Pole Bag Pack Size (cm): 7.9/11.0/12.7
Bedroom Dimensions (cm): 215 x 180 x 180
Bedroom 2 Dimensions (cm): 215 x 140 x 180
Fire Retardant: Fire Retardant
The Outwell Nevada M will comfortably accommodate 4-5 people in it’s conveniently segregated 3 + 2 inner, and leave plenty of room for storage and living space.
It’s easy and quick to set up, and features the full Outwell Sealed Ground System for maximum comfort and protection from the elements, as well as insects and dirt.
There’s also great internal living space for all the family, with ample storage pockets to keep your family’s stuff organised and out of the way.
The flexible living system includes good ventilation all round using vents and the breathable inner.
Other great features include an electric cable tidy,2 side doors and one optional front door, large windows to let light in and give good views out, and a rain-safe door for added protection.
All in all, this is a simple and roomy family tent that will ensure a trouble-free, comfortable camping trip away.
And don’t forget, you can add some luxury to your camping experience with the Nevada M carpet, or enlarge and secure your camp base with the Nevada M Extension and Nevada M Footprint.
Update : First thoughts
I found a video on youtube and followed it to test pitch it in the backgarden. Pitching was very easy, i was worried about putting up such a beast of a tent. The build quality is good and i am very pleased with the features of the tent. Taking the tent down was soo easy, took about 15 minutes with two of us.
Update – Sept 2010
We love this tent and the ease at which you can pack it away but one if the cords inside the pole snapped when packing away the tent. There was no tension on the pole which meant it came as a bit of a suprise. Anyway its under guarnatee for a year so a replacement pole wont be a problem. UPDATE – Go Outdoors fixed the pole in a jiffy and its good as new again.
Outdoor show 2010
I’ve seen quite a few bad reports on forums about this years outdoor show but i must strongly disagree. We arrived early which meant we were one of the first through the doors. Within minutes lil Thomas had won a prize by hooking a fish from a sand pit and this set the tone for the day.
I listened to Ben Fogle and James Cracknell talking about their adventures and was in awe at their stories, both really cool guys with plenty to say. Fogle surprised me the most, I really didn’t like him at one time due to his numerous TV appearances. But the guy has some guts and his track record in the outdoors is pretty impressive.
There were a few gear suppliers at the show, but this doesn’t really float my boat. We spent most of the day letting Thomas try out loads of activities and myself and Leanne chatting to some really interesting outdoor folk. At the fashion show Thomas was given a Spotty Otter gillet in a giveaway.
I popped over to the Trail stand and played a little personal joke on Matt Swaine, I couldn’t resist. I spent time talking to Action Nepal – Doug Scotts charity who i always love to speak too, i came away with a signed poster of Dougal Hanston on Everest, one of the most iconic pictures ever taken on a mountain. I chatted with the guys who took Top gear to the pole in a super 4×4, £43k to trek to the pole, maybe one day !!
The owner of a new social networking site fidgetstick had some interesting ideas for outdoor networking and I duly signed up. More to come on this.
All in all an action packed day, I always say you make your own fun. So what if big name brands were missing….shopping isnt my scene, I leave that to the missus.
On the Sunday we headed home via Alton Towers Water Park. Great weekend and stacks of freebies, just check out the picture to see what we blagged. Shy boys get no sweets !!
New tent bargain
I have been considering a new tent for solo backpacking trips with a lightweight theme. My current tent the NF Tadpole 23 is a great tent but it weights 2.2kg so is a little heavy on the lightweight front.
So after careful consideration and months of checking the internet for bargains I have decided to buy a North Face Mountain Marathon tent. Yes shock horror I have overlooked the all conquering Atko and Laser Comp. My reasons are simple, I don’t want to be a sheep, every Tom, Dick and Harry has these iconic tents and quite frankly they are way overpriced especially the Atko. Far enough the Atko is a better tent, and the laser comp is lighter but frankly I don’t give a rats arse for the sake of amazing construction or an amount of weight that I have shit bigger than
I have bagged a quality tent for £70, don’t be fooled by all the hype surrounding other tents, they are all the same when you look at the components and for some reason lightweight means more expensive……go figure.
Anyway I cant think of a valid argument why I should have spent £225 on a lasercomp or £320+ on the Atko. It’s funny isnt isn’t, recently I have seen walking poles for over £100, an inflatable lilo for over £110 and coats for over £300 and yet I have managed to buy a new tent for £70 delivered to my door. My crusade to stick two fingers up at outdoor pricing goes on……………….dont be a mug !!!
Update April 2010
I used the tent on its first National Trail – Wolds Way. 4 nights varied conditions. The tent itself is low to the ground so wind is never going to be a problem but changing clothes inside the tent is a struggle for the larger man. I found the tent really easy to erect once I got the hang of it, the shape of the tent is confusing at first. Leave the inner attached to the outer and you have no worries about getting the inside wet when its raining. One of the main plus points is the ability to unpeg the inner and create more space inside, I found this extremely useful for cooking. The weight saving on my NF tadpole was noticable and I have plenty of extra room inside my pack. Inside there is bags of floor space. All in all, very pleased so far the real test awaits in May and 200+ miles across Scotland.
Update June 2010
Well the tent survived the TGO challenge. The tent did not fail me, although I think I may have taken the title for the smallest tent on the challenge. Pitching has now become a doddle, you can actually pitch the tent extremely quickly with just 2 pegs, get inside and out the rain, then finish your pitch once its eased off. For the price I paid I am extremely happy with its performance. It does has its downsides though, mainly the height of the tent, its so close to the floor you can’t sit up. I didn’t find it a problem but I was jealous of the height of some of the other tents on the challenge. Great tent at this price, but there are far better tents out there, trying to find one at this price will be the real challenge !!
Walking Poles – Rip off Britain
I have often overlooked walking poles as an unessecary evil of hiking. However after reading Andrew Sukra’s blog I am beginning to take a look at them. However what I cant seem to figure out is the crazy prize range on these sticks.
Go outdoors have Hi Gear Walker Antishock Poles for £3.99, so why are some poles closer to the £100 mark. Even Alpkit are charging £60 for a pair. Seriously 100 notes, is it really worth it ?
Alpkit delivery
At last my patience has delivered the rewards. I have waited probably 7 months for Alpkit to get some Filo down jackets in stock. So it was with great pleasure this morning that my waiting list email came through and I hit that order button.
An XL was ordered in blue ice colour, it should match my NF Mammatus jacket.
I came close to breaking just before Christmas after a friend put me on to some great jackets from PHD and Berghaus, but I held out. I am not I disputing that the PHD jacket is the best out there but lets put this into perspective.
PHD Alpine Down Jacket 660 grams, £202
Alpkit Filo Jacket, 740 grams, £75
If I was climbing Alpine peaks every weekend or off to Alaska then I probably would have went for the PHD jacket, but for occasional use in British mountains I think there was only one sensible option. £127 saved, result.
Rope work
So a cheap way to get yourself up to speed on climbing knots is to utilise the internet. I have ordered a 5m length of Beal Top Gun 2 climbing rope to practice knots.
This website is also great for learning knots – it may not have them all but it’s enough to get me started.
The rope has been ordered and despatched and the rest is up to the UK postal service.
TGO Kit – Rucksack
I have been looking about on the internet just out of interest with regards to lightweight rucksacks and the Osprey packs seem to pretty popular. The Aether 60 would probably suit me best and comes in at 1870g fully featured.
There are lighter packs out there but they tend to come with a compromise. The OMM Villain 45+10 RL looked very handy and light at 1160g which can be stripped down to 710g but this requires leaving behind a few bits that would leave you feeling uncomfortable.
Lightweight is great but not as a compromise, so am I left pondering the need for a new pack.
I bought a North Face Prophet 65L pack a few years ago with the knowledge that it could take me anywhere I ever dreamed of, in fact I saw it on an Everest summit picture a few months ago. But this whole light weight ethos had blinded me and so I was tempted to go open my wallet again on a backpack.
Taking a look back on my blog I spotted my 4 key features which I vowed to follow when I started this whole outdoor thing on mine, so it seems I will be taking my trusty Prophet pack across Scotland safe in the knowledge that I saved £130 quid which could buy me a flight back to Morocco to play with some real mountains.
By the way the Prophet is the greatest pack ever made and comes fully fitted with more features than a BMW 7 series and weighs in at a tender 1870g. Anyone who says different can go whistle (oh yeah its got a whistle on the chest strap).
The money saved on a backpack could take me back here !!!
Bringing the silver screen to the Trail
My Sony W715 phone has a few great functions, one being it has a great screen for watching movies on. I have been toying with the idea of watching movies in my tent for a while and decided to take the plunge.
A lot of people are under the impression that a movie file is just too big to store on a mobile phone, but the new San Disk M2 Memory cards mean you have up to 16Gig storage. These cards are about the size of your finger nail so even the most battle hardened light weight enthusiasts would struggle to argue a case against this. At the moment i have x2 4 gig cards so i have plenty of capacity.
The movies will need converting down to the relevant resolution size to fit the mobile screen size and i found this bit of software very easy to use and very FREE. Converting a full length movie means the average size of the file is 100MB. I have converted American Beauty last night and it works great. I plan on taking 10 films on the TGO challenge 2010, i am watching all the Oscar best Picture winners at the moment so this should give me an opportunity to eat into the many films still to watch.
Battery power was one concern but i watched a full movie on my phone last night and it only eat up 25% of the battery power. I have a spare battery and plan on buying one of those battery charging kits thats name eludes me as i type….monkey charge….powermonkey….something along those lines.
Shaving grams for TGO
Adventure medicals .3 First aid kit
I was introduced to these a while ago by lostme and it looks the perfect way to shave some grams off my base weight. The kit weighs in at 60 grams and includes
* 2….. After Bite® Sting and Itch Relief Wipe
* 2….. Bandage, Butterfly Closure
* 3….. After Cuts & Scrapes® Wipe
* 4….. Dressing, Gauze, Sterile, 2″ x 2″, Pkg./2
* 1….. Tape, 1/2″ x 10 Yards
* 5….. Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, 1″ x 3″
* 3….. Bandage, Adhesive, Fabric, Knuckle
* 1….. Moleskin, 2″ x 2.5″
* 2….. Safety Pins
It will replace by Lifesystems Trek first aid at 240grams.
WEIGHT SAVING 180grams
Adventure Medicals Emergency Bivvy
I bought the 2.0 version of this a year ago and was very impressed with the design and versatility, I often use it for extra warmth when using a light weight summer sleeping bag. The emergency bivvy comes in at 100 grams and is half the weight of the 2.0
The reduced pack size will also comes in handy.
WEIGHT SAVING 100grams
TGO – Thinking about gear- Mitts
The successful TGO application has started a million questions running through my head and I think I need to get some on them down on the blog before I lose them forever.
Kit weight is something a lot of people love arguing about, but it has never been a deal breaker for me, until now…..I find myself looking on lightweight sites for gear for the challenge.
Mountain Laurel was a site I stumbled upon and is well worth checking out if you want to shave a few pounds off your pack.
Some waterproof mitts seem a good idea and after months of failed attempts to locate the elusive Haglofs shell gram mitts I decided that the Mountain Laurel’s eVENT Rain Mitts look the business.
These come in at 27gms per pair and the Mountain Laurel website has the following info:-
• Two layer eEVENT ripstop fabric is the lightest fully waterproof, highly breathable fabric available.
• Comfort down to 35+ degrees worn alone or mid 20’s with a liner glove while on the move.
• eVENT 3 Ply ripstop on the high wear palm and thumb front area for durability. Slightly heavier and tougher than the 2 Ply eVENT for the high wear area.
• Minimum of seams to maximize strength.
• Anchored wrist cordlock / bungee closure is easy to use with mitts on.
• Ergo wrist and thumb shape reduces seam stress while holding trekking poles.
• Long gantlet wrist covers jacket cuffs.
• Sized to fit over a light to medium thick glove/mitt liners. Sized a bit larger than some mitts to give more room to vent and to not become stress the seams under a trek pole strap
Sony EricssonW715
I had owned one of these previously but it all came to an early end with a dumfounded act of buffoonery from my fiancée who decided to give it a whirl in a 40 degree spin cycle. My works phone upgrade brought us back together.
This is a great phone with widescreen viewing, wi-fi, camera, walkman, internet access and an in built GPS receiver to name a few.
I will be using the phone to track my jogging routes and walks but this time its staying well away from the laundry basket.
Update 23/11/09
GPS tracking – Easy turn on the tracker application, start a training session. Then do your walk. The walk i did was over 8hours and the battery was fine. Then when you get home drop the GPX file onto your PC using the USB lead. If you have memory map the route you have walked can be shown on memory map. I have also used this for my regualr jogs and it displays the results in a handy format so you can analise your results.
Video Player – A handy fucntions to have on the trail to pass the lonely nights in a tent. The BBC iplayer now allows downloads and a this can be done on a PC before your journey and transfered onto your phone of memory card. Sound and picture quality is good and the size of the memory cards means you can have a video per night on the trail.
Music Player – It can do the job an ipod brings to the table. I downloaded some Outdoors Station podcasts to listen and the whole process was remarkably easy. So the Ipod will be getting left at home next time i hit the trail.
Montane Jetstream Jacket
The Montane Men’s Jetstream Jacket is the lightest weather-resistant jacket in the world and I have been using this jacket since July mainly for jogging. The first thing you notice about this jacket is it’s slim-cut Pertex Quantum fabric. The feel of this fabric against your skin is super silky and a joy to wear. The jacket is breathable but does get damp after about 30 minutes of jogging. I also have this in my backpack when out in the hills, it works well as a wind stopper and adds quite a lot of warmth when used in a layering system.
Dont expect weather resistant properties, the jacket can only handle the lightest of showers, it does however dry very quickly. It may surprise you to find that i sleep in this jacket when out in the hills, take it from me, the feel of this jacket over the top of a fleece or thermal layer makes this jacket a perfect sleeping partner.
Features
- Full-length front zip with anti-snag baffle
- Self-fabric elasticised cuffs and hem
- Articulated arms Active cut with drop tail
- 3M Scotchlite 360° reflective dots and Montane logo
- Hi-line collar
- Separate pocket-come-wearable stuff sac
- Colours: Fluoro yellow/silver/black
- Fabric: Pertex Quantum
- Weight (Medium): 70 g (2.5 oz)
Verdict
One of the best and most used purchases i have made in 2009 and a quality piece of kit, purchased for £32. I am not a lightweight fan but this jacket has surprised me with just how versatile it is.
Update June 2010
I have sported this jacket on a National Trail and the TGO Challenge, both times it was a pleasure to carry. 70 grams for an extra wind proof layer is just a win win situation. There are plenty of similar style jackets out there and I doubt if there’s much to pick between each of them. All I know is this is a great extra layer to have in your day/rucksack.
Bushbuddy Ultra
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This arrived at the start of the week and i had a quick play with it earlier in the week. Today i gave it a proper testing, i popped down to the beck with Thomas and collected a bag full of wood, i took about 2 minutes and dry wood was easy to find even though the ground was damp.
When looking for wood you should be looking for 3 types of wood size, tinder (thin twigs/dry leaves), thicker twigs and finally bits of wood no fatter than your finger to keep the fire going once its up and running.
I prepared 3 piles of twigs and prepared a cotton wool ball coated in vaseline, the bushbuddy was taken out of it Snowpeak 900 pot and set up on firm flat ground.
The cotton bud and tinder was placed on one side of the bushbuddy inner and it lit first time, i burnt my tinder for a minute then moved up to the medium sized twigs, two minutes later there was sufficient embers in the base to put the pot support on and get the water on the boil. It’s also at this point when the flame gets clean and the gas from the wood starts to ignite.
I did not time the boil because thats all a bit anal, who cares, the main reason i bought this was to chill at the end of the day by building a fire and getting my food cooked. I have a jetboil for times when i want to boil water at speed. Anyway it took about 10 mins to get the water at a rolling boil from starting the fire.
Job done, perfect at the second attempt. Anybody could easily use a Bushbuddy, which is a very well designed and made but of kit. Things to consider for anyone thinking about buying one…..
- Dry wood is the key, be careful in your wood selection
- The exchange rate will affect the purchase price, you can only order it direct from Canada
- The ultra is easily dented and you will need a suitable pot to store it in, i chose the Snowpeak 900L pot which the bushbuddy was specifically designed to fit inside
- Your pots will get a covering in soot
- Apparently a windy area is not suitable for the bushbuddy, i will be testing this out over the winter months.
- You will never have to worry about buying fuel again
Initial thoughts
Very pleased with the quality of construction and ease of use. Its super light and its good fun to use. More to come on the Bushbuddy, i will be using over the winter months and let a few others try it out as well.
Update June 2010
I used the BBU as my primary stove on the TGO Challenege 2010, backed up by my mates Jetboil. I adore this bit of kit and the whole idea of using wood as a fuel. I would recommend a backup option like a small meths burner for long haul trips, more to come on this. I learned not to over fill the BBU with wood and that its perfect for one person to cook on. If you decide to boil over 500ml of water this brings about some small issues which can be tackled with experience. Dont be scared of buying a wood burner, half the fun is learning how to get the best out of it.
VERDICT……
Alpkit additions
I had a few spare pennies so ordered some kit from my favourite outdoor company..Alpkit.
The flat irons cutlery cost £11 and weigh 37 grams for the full set, these will come in usefull on the Hadrians Wall.
Airlok XT dry bag (XS) cost £3 and was just slightly too small for packing my Pipedreamm 400 sleeping bag into it. However no tears hear as everyone needs a dry bag and i am sure it will come in useful for something…maybe storing waterproof gear in my pack after its took a drenching.
Set of 5 clippers costing £2.50, shiny red and grey micro clips, great for holding things together.
Tent torch – picked up for £3 in my local garage and will solve the age old problem of trying to light a full tent with a head torch.
New kit
Well my 30th birthday brought me many goodies, but the picks of the bunch was the new outdoor kit. So in my haste to tell the world about my pressies here we go.
Haglofs Oz Pullover– Just about the lightest waterproof jacket on the market. The build quality of this jacket is amazing and the gortex paclite feels strong enough to take a good kicking in the hills. It survived a recent hour long torrential downpour on Black hill. I don’t over heat in it and it packs down into nothing, at 175g it should be able to take everything except the extreme Scottish winter and high level mountaineering. Size wise i had to go for a XL which fits a broad 6ft 3 frame really well all though anybody bigger will struggle. Design wise the charcoal colour works really well and i plan to wair this for the forth coming football season, i think it will fit in well with terrace fashions….stone island is dead, long live Haglofs lol
Alpkit Pipedream 400– I have not given this an outing yet so i will stick to the company specifications. Once again Alpkit come up trumps in my eyes for sticking two fingers up at retailers and their high prices and keeping it real with a damn good product backed by people more than happy to give you help. More to come on this one.
| PipeDream | 400 | 600 | 800 |
| AK Comfort/ºC * | -3 | -10 | -17 |
| Fill weight /gr | 400 | 600 | 800 |
| Min weight /gr | 750 | 950 | 1150 |
| Compression bag1 /gr | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Lwt stuff bag2 /gr | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Min pack size /cm | 21×201 or 24×172 | 23×211 or 26×182 | 25×221 or 29×192 |
| External dimensions /cm | 210×70 |
Alpkit Wee Airic
Just bought 2 Wee Airics from Alpkit for the unbelievable price of £30 for them both delivered. Went for the Chilli and Kelp colours.
My thinking was for wild camping and also a mat for Thomas. The only down side is the size but this can easily be solved by putting my usual clothes dry bag at my feet end to keep everything nice and warm. Check the weight out, amazing
Specification
Weight (gr): 495
Dimensions (cm): 126 x 51.5 x 2.5
Factory Packed size (cm): 53 x 7
Realistic Rolled size (cm): 53 x 8.5 or 28 x 10
Mini Diamond Ripstop
What Alpkit say….
Airics work the night shift to make sure you are warm and comfy. Airic self-inflating sleeping mats are the perfect partner for Alpine Dreamin’ at under-inflated prices. The Airic family is a range of self-inflating sleeping mattresses. There are 4 members in the Airic family and their use ranges from car camping to alpine climbing. Inside each Airic is a layer of die cut open cell foam. This foam is what makes a self-inflating mattress different and superior to an airbed. When you open a small valve the foam is able to expand and sucks air into the mat, after a couple of minutes the mat will be semi-firm. A few breaths of air is all it takes to make the mat firm enough to sleep on. Close the valve and catch your z’s.
Wee Airic is the specialist, great when you want to lighten your load, go Alpine and all that.
Initial thoughts(just delivered)
No weight to them at all, easy to inflate and very comfy to lie on, perfect size for a child. I am 6ft 3 and quite broad shouldered, the mat lets me lie on it on my back with my shoulders on the mat although you better not roll over, length wise anything below my knee is not on the mat.
Comes with a repair kit, bag and compression straps. Very very easy to deflate and pack away – i am talking 30 seconds. In its bag it is too big to fit in a normal day pack (too long) the other option is to fold pack it, the mat then fits into a rucksack easily.
I am planning on using this for wild camps, i can increase the warmth capability by putting my adventure medical survival bag around it to reflect the heat. To increase the length i always carry a dry bag for clothes, this is going to be my foot rest.
Very impressed. If it stands up on the trail i will be investing in the fat airic for tent camping. But the proof is in the pudding as they say, more to come on this….!!
Update July 2009
Well one broke as it did not hold its air fill, however Alpkit replaced this at no extra cost and postage was free. I still think these mats are great, however i would recommend if you are going for a lightweight pack for overnights then fold them don’t roll them to fit it in your pack. I plan on using these for the Hadrian’s Wall trip and reckon if i am still liking this mat at the end of a weeks thru-hiking then its the mat for me.
Update October 2009
Two wee airics were taken on the Hadrians Wall and my airic died on the first night, leaving me with 5 nights of restless sleep. Basically the inner air chambers came away from the mat causing it to turn into a giant balloon. If i can dig out the photo i will post it up. Once again Aplkit replaced the mat (thanks) but my mind is made up on this mat now.
Update May 2010
Myself and Peter Crawford both carried a wee-airic on the 2010 TGO Challenge. Both mats failed after 8-10 days with small bubbles appearing inside the mats and my air valve had a small annoying leak. To be fair before the problems we both slept like logs on these cheap little mats but eventually they gave out. No love lost for Alpkit though, they agreed a full refund for both mats.
UKmase 