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What does pinemartin taste like??
Kind of between red squirrel and weasel 😉
Actually boblo has a good point, no way do I want the little sparky things anywhere near my hi-tech lightweight fabrics.....
Can we get a summery of everything so far.. 😉
Mainly,
What doss bag ( both down & Synthetic)
What Tarp?
What stoves?
That would be great..
As I'm trying to deicde what doss bag to purchase..
Jury is still out on doss bags.
Tarp is the Alpkit Rig[7]. Which is out of stock.
Coke can stove.
Just wondered why people feel the need...? Is it mainly townies/frustrated boy scouts or...? Don't understand it mesen as you always end up stinking, all your gear stinks and those little sparky things play havock with nylon based fabrics.
I guess it's a primeval need to create light and warmth and head off deadly predators from the campsite. Is it not a nice social thing to do is sit around a camp fire and sing songs of old??
You are so right, a lot of our gear is highly flammable so an open fire would be a risk.
So in all it's a personnal preference and each to their own, as long as folk are aware of the risks and take the relevant precautions how can it be stopped?
Teeto:
My (cheap) recommendations, although not the lightest:
Coleman Solo cookset - £9
Coleman F1 Lite stove (77g) - £15
I never seem to be able to get a coke can stove to boil water in any quantity, but that may well just be me (so i'm not knocking them at all)
for a budget 1.5kg tent at a uber cheap price take a look at this
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_19495.htm
a summery
Like this:
[img] 
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😉
for a budget 1.5kg tent at a uber cheap price take a look at thishttp://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_19495.htm
When do these go on sale?
Tarp is the Alpkit Rig[7]. Which is out of stock.
Or, for 20 notes more, the Integral Siltarp - as featured on page 30.
Stoves - Meths for peace and quiet and ligher weight, but slower to boil. You can make your own, or buy something like a Whitebox stove for <£20.
Gas is you're in a hurry and don't mind the weight and the noise.
Sleeping bags - everyone has something different to suit their intended uses. Synthetic is easier to care for, doesn't matter (so much) if it gets damp and can be washed easily, but they're usually heavier and more bulky, though cheaper. Snugpak are a good choice to start with. I'd suggest going for a lighter weight bag and layering with clothes or a liner to suit prevailing temps, rather than buying a very warm bag and boiling in it on a warm night. Pick a down bag if you want lighter, smaller and more expensive (for a good one).
Ian, now thats what I call a club badge!!!! 😯
This is my set up:
[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5225/5610335500_7974ea2f75.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/12617230@N03/5610335500/ ]P4060689[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/12617230@N03/ ]blackhound59[/url], on Flickr
It is a Voodoo Aizan 29'er with Epic Designs (now Revelate)harness and saddle bag with a wildcatgear (IanB) made frame bag. Also a wingnut bag as an overflow.
The Wildcatgear bag is very well constructed with 3l of water in the main compartment, but can probably get more in and a map pocket on the other side. I also have 1.5l in the wingnut (the bidon you can see is empty).
It all looks overkill for 3-4 hours on Cannock but it is my set-up for the Tour Divide this year so just getting some miles in to make sure it all works. Everything stayed secure and did not feel to heavy once I got it rolling.
Looks well Kevin ... training going according to whatever your plan was?
I don't think it's anymore overkill for a few hours around Cannock than a 6" travel bike, full face and armour 😉
Hi Stuart, seemed to be struggling earlier in year but 2 weeks in Majorca has kick started my training.
Got a 10 week plan I started last week to get me into peak fitness - by my standards anyway. Saw one of my TD competitors ride 20% quicker than I ever have round a club TT course last Tuesday!
Just remember it's a long race, not a fast one 😉
blackhound that looks great, I like the idea of the water in the frame bag with the tube coming up on the bars I guess to keep the weight off your back?
what do you put where on you bike?
valleydaddy - it is about keeping weight off my back but there will so will use the wingnut on thiose occasions. I should be able to get about 6l on board.
The harness contains a spare set of riding kit, waterproofs, Finisterre Etibicoke jacket, bug net and some Patagonia leggings.
Frame bag water and maps plus tyre levers, puncture repair and first aid kits.
Rear bag has spare tube multi-tool, tent, sleeping bag and toiletries.
Tent is a Terra Nova laser photon I just bought in a sale and the bag is a Western Mountaineering one.
Wingnut will have a Thermarest neo-air mattress, plus personal items such as passport, camera, cash and food for on the go.
@Stuart - can the tortoise beat the hare again? He has already won Strathpuffer this year so he won't be a sweating mass by the side of the trail after 20 miles! So looking forward to it.
You'll just have to nobble him then 😀
Blackhound, if it's not too crass a question, how much did you get the Photon for please?
whats the consensus for a (reasonably priced) saddle bag with a good capacity?
or is coming up with a strapping system for a dry bag (that I already own) a better option?
These seem to be flavour of the month at the moment.
[img] 
[/img] http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=6693
I've got an Ortlieb version of the one above. Fully waterproof and you can fit a surprising amount in it.
Nice one, Kevin. You're several steps ahead of some TD riders who will be putting on bags for the first time in Banff!
I'm hoping to have my super-light gear well before the Welsh Ride Thing.
Don't worry about your speed. If you can ride all day, you'll do great. I felt pretty unfit on the start-line last year and picked up speed along the way.
Slightly different set up to some of the others so far:
[img] 
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Went on a stag do on the Llangollen canal at the weekend. Got there on the train so was loads easier with my Brompton. More people than beds so I bivvied on the back of the barge:
[img] 
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Woke up to these inquisitive critters:
[img] 
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Panniers have got beer and crisps in them 😀
Used my cheapo decathlon 2 season bag and decathlon thermarest. Was a bit cold so ended up wearing my jeans, merino socks and hat, and Finisterre Etobioke.
Weather was great, good weekend, and I had a nice ride along the towpath.
I think I might do a bit more bikepacking with a folding bike.
some great pics there Colonel, the ducks must have sensed the crisps 😉
I think flatfish has a bell to stop that happening to him 😆
Fair play to ya fella.
i have a bear bell, not a duck belled platypus.(see what i did there).
😉
kerching very good sir 😉
Is this the most 'tagged' thread ever?
Boblo - I paid £245 from field & trek. We have one in town but available mail order. Current tent a bit small and in TD want a tent i will look forward to getting in to.
Aidan - thanks again for advice a few months ago. I had achilles problems a few years ago just stepping on a loaded bike to ride all day about 4 days in. Learnt my lesson. Planning steady start and pick it up in Wyoming....
That's a good price for the Photon. Bargaintastic! I have the Laser Comp and (IIRC) they are the same size/spec, just different weights.
When you can get a 'proper' tent under 1kg, I can't see the point in messing around with tarps... Runs and hides 🙂
Boblo, you can run but you can't hide 😉 ... from time to time I do know what you mean though.
Field and Trek have some good prices but you have to keep checking. I got a Force Ten Helium for £100 in store, there was no mention of it on the website though.
Edit - I can't read
Page 10/11 has a good account of tarps and why some prefer them as opposed to tents. I also have a Laser Photon - never used it. I've not yet found an occasion where I'm expecting to camp out in weather bad enough to warrant a tent, though I'm loath to sell it. {edit: it was bought for a Polaris, just before they axed the proper overnight wilderness camp style events 🙁 }
I've bivied in very cold and quite wet, but the tarp has still seemed the right choice for being flexible and offering me much more space and convenience for cooking and a greater feeling of being out in the wilderness. I've had to learn a fair bit about tarp set-up particularly in worse weather, but it hasn't put me off using tarps.
Also, my siltarp weighs 306g and my Hunka 340g. Still sufficiently lighter than a photon 😀
but what about the midges?
I think what Ian says is very true ^. I find the real benefit of a tarp is the space it offers against a lightweight tent. I believe what lets people down is not taking the time to practice and understand what you can and can't do with a tarp ... it doesn't just have to be a straight forward ridge or lean to but it's those set ups that people see in their mind when tarps get mentioned.
@Colonel ... great stuff, I've a pic somewhere of one of the Rough Stuff Fellowship on a folder high in the Cairngorms - barking mad 😀
Midges - Gossamer Gear bug canopy - 85g, or buy a bivi bag with a built in bug net, like a Rab or something.
Yes my Rab bivvy bag has a built in net. It's also what they term a Crocodile entry. You can zip the midge net up and tie the entry up high (tree, bike etc) so you've a couple of feet of head room but still away from the winged teeth.
OK, tarp vs tent mission. August; Glen Affric. Midges so bad you're inhaling them. Or midwinter, 30mph winds, driving rain/snow. I know the Lasers are not that much bigger than bivvy bags but at least you can sit/eat/wriggle etc which in a bivvy bag is not much fun. And a tarp plus BB must be ~600 - 700g? Does this include miles of string, a machete and inflatable Fatty Mears? Not much in it really.
Tarps... pffffl. 🙂
Ianb, you may want to sell that Photon. I may know a [s]gear freak[/s] potential interested party if you want to move it on. Email in profile.
Having bivvyied lots and wild camped lots - if you are out in the wilds in bad weather a tent wins hands down every time.
For the record, I agree with you TJ 😀
Tent for me if the weathers rubbish...!
Post #1300 (get in)
Bugger missed it again.
My recommendation for a cheap-ish alternative to the Laser is the Terra Nova Argon, don't think they make them any more but they're not too bad a price
[url= http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/Product_Type/Tents/Clearance_Tents/Argon_800_GREEN_END_OF_LINE.html?view=description ]£90 ish from TN direct[/url]
1.1 kg for a 1 man tent you can sit up in. I've got the 900 which you can fit 2 in. Packed size is quite small, and you can ditch the poles and hang it from a tree too.
Thinking of getting either the Altura seatpack as per the previous page, does anyone what the volume is?
[img] [/img]
The Ortlieb equivalent is 2.8l. Which one has the most volume if anyone knows?
Hoping to sort out a bivy in the next week or so to test a superlight setup and see how miserable the experience will be. Setup will a balloon bed, 220g(ish) poncho tarp, silk liner and one of these to act as bivy bag and sleeping bag;
I expect it to be a miserable expierence but wish to see how miserable is unbearable and there's only one way to find out...
Ray Mears spends something like 250 nights/year sleeping outside (according to a Radio 5 interview a few weeks back). More often than not, he's sleeping under something he's put together himself. Plus he spends much of his time in parts of the world more extreme than Wales or Scotland.
Tents vs Tarps is a personal preference, and as with most gear choices there are lots of options available. I'm not saying tarps are better than tents in all instances, but don't dismiss tarps if it's a bit wet and windy as there are configurations that offer a good deal of protection if you practice them (though I'm not an expert in this field by any means).
Boblo - I'll think about it. I have my eye on some PHD stuff, so it would fund that I suppose.
edit - Boblo: yes, my tarp inc lines and 10 pegs weighs 306g. My Hunka isn't the lightest at 340g - if you could be confident of reasonable weather, a Rab Alpine Lite is only 200g, which would save a whole pound over a tent - even a Photon.
PSA - Just spotted this deal on Rab Bivvy Bags on Cotswold Outdoors -
[url= http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/dep/equipment/cat/tents/subcat/shelters-bivis/fuseaction/products.list/group/230/level/3 ]£70 of Alpine and £25 off Storm bivvy bags[/url]