Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear…..

still s8tannorm

Sorry :oops:

Ok then, TJs comments have scared me. The potential litigation could be tremendous … next year it’ll be the Welsh B&B Thing

i think some people did that last year?? :lol:

Wah, wah, wah.

Blimey, you lot are tetchy this afternoon. I quote a statement from the horses mouth and people still say it’s rubbish :roll:

Even if Ray Mears spends half his sleeping nights outside, it’s quite good I reckon. I only caught the tale end of the interview, but in the bit I did listen to he says that is what he does for a living – learning about different survival techniques around the world. He said he felt extremely privileged to be able to do it and how it was something he’d been interested in when he was a boy.

Boblo, which goretex bivvy bag weighs 250g?

I reckon it’s the fact the sun’s come out … everyone’s going slightly odd (er than usual) :wink:

New here hello :)

This thread is what got me to sign on to STW, it has been a very good read with some excellent links and information, i like the leaning to extreme lightweight kit £££ and Lidl specials, keep up the good work.

As valleydaddy pointed out the Lidl special i sort of went into one today for a look, and bought it, for £12.99 you cant go wrong and wont cry if you burn it down.

Some random weights, i bought Mrs ace a Terra Nova laser several years ago, thats 1270grams bagged up, excellent tent.
I also have a british army poncho that i have spent many nights under, that weighs 952grams.

The valleydaddy special :)
Well you get what you pay for, the poles are nasty but usable, overall tent construction seems very good, and it had a dual door of windproof or open with midge net. Hydrostatic head is 2000mm, floor size is 120cm X 190cm and it sits at 90cm highest point by door and comes with a 3 year warranty ! it has some internal pockets in the tent. Overall cant moan at £12.99 if it only lasts several trips its a good base to start from.
Rocktrail Hiking tent by Milomex Ltd (no web address anywhere on packets or manual)
Overall Bagged weight 1600g
Unbagged weight 1512g
Guy Ropes, Flo green x4 29g
Pegs steel 20g each. 11 supplied 217g (factor in a +/- variance on weights to uncalibrated scales and i didnt weigh each peg to check)
Tent, single skin 777g
Poles, fibre glass shock corded, front is 2 pole A-frame with a 3rd running the spine. A-frame 207g Spine pole 274g both 481g.

I reckon with a play around you might be able to ditch the poles and use extra guy lines to hang the tent, also swapping out steel pegs to alloy or Ti or carbon as well could drop the weight down to around 1kg.
Its cheap and ripe for a starter to play with and could be bought down a fair bit in weight, quite a good impulse buy. Just have to put it up and have a look.

Listening to the arguments above I decided on a tent rather than a bivy for the Tour Divide as weather is unpredictable. Bugs are a problem in some areas and I have not done enough bivying to be confident about it. When the TD is over I will be travelling around a bit and may need some privacy as well.

My thought process was something like ‘what would it take me to leave a town early evening to do another 2/3 hours on the trail?’ A tent I hope will allow me to do this.

I also sleep ‘cold’ and a tent might keep me a bit warmer than a gale blowing around inside bivy. I have an Alpkit pipedream 800 but it proved to big for my set up and bought a smaller, less warm bag.

Excellent thread this. (Did 4 hours with fully loaded bag today in the sun)

Would still go for a bivy if the weather was looking good and just for a weekend.

Anthony – Member
Boblo, which goretex bivvy bag weighs 250g?

Errrm, well, errrrrmm, shuffle shuffle…

You when you ‘think’ you remember something and, well, errr….

Suffice to say, I just went and weighed it. GOOD NEWS!!! The top half weighs 250g. Bad news, so does the bottom half… :-)

Yep, senile cretin that I am. It weighs just over 500g. Heavier than I remember for sure.

That happens when you get older. I find myself repeating things these days. At least I’m not repeating myself.

I hope this doesn’t annoy Ian too much, but George Fisher are selling Siltarp 1’s for £45 with free delivery.

I may have indulged and it’s showing as being dispatched :-)

Erm … must resist, must resist, must resist!

Following on from the cheap aluminium pans a few pages back …. it would appear they’re now cheaper. 4 hard anodised pans for under 7 quid seems rather good value.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleman-204028-Solo-Cook-Kit/dp/B000YESELO

Looking for a tarp myself after alpkit have sold out. Siltarp 1 looks a bit small though?

You are made of sterner stuff than me Stuart – I have just succumbed..

How much weight do you mind carrying Chew? DD stuffs well made and well priced but not the lightest.

http://www.ddhammocks.com/products/tarps

We had 5 and a half under a big one before Christmas.

EDIT: Or have a look here, plenty to go at. http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page112.asp

We had 5 and a half under a big one before Christmas.

Steve won’t be happy :? his toes still haven’t thawed out :wink:

Thanks Stuart

Think thats ideal, and hopefully i wont need it for this years WRT if we’re not going to be able to bothie it like last year.

that links sold out but this is fine

http://www.proadventure.co.uk/acatalog/DD_Tarp__new_lightweight_model_3m_x_3m.html

You’ve met her Kevin … she’d kill me if another one turned up :wink:

Anthony, that sort of thing usually happens to me.
It would be wrong to order one from George Fisher and send it back to Winwood wouldn’t it?

It’s second hand now so I’ll give you £30 :D

wow this thread is on fire tonight!!!

Who mentioned fire again :oops:

Cheers for the PSA on the rab bivy bags.
sold
Andy

I’m currently feel like I’m stuck in some sort of a bivi limbo…

… There’s nothing I can think of that I need to buy or make. My next definite bivi is all planned out (a crafty little Easter sea kayaking excursion along the South Devon coast). And, although we might be able to get a Dartmoor biking bivi in this Saturday, the weather looks crap and there’s a beer festival attendance planned at Newton Abbot on Friday night.

If I’m not careful I might have to turn my attention to putting some shelves up or turning over the vegetable plot in the garden :-(

There must be something I need to fashion out of old tent flysheets or coke cans or something :?:

Funnily enough i have the same feeling at the moment.
I need to spend some money that the wife doesn’t know about. :oops:
Whores and lapdancers are old hat now so don’t bother with those kind of suggestions.

Slightly different purchase but…. (Slugwash’s Kayak reference made me think of it)

… as a side and as a Dinghy owner as well a bike owner if anybody fancies a really good book have a look at this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unlikely-Voyage-Jack-Crow-Odyssey/dp/1574091522

Read it a few years back and it stands out as one of my all time favourite books.

Sets off in a Mirror form Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales and end up by the Black Sea. Most nights he stretches a tarp over the boom and sleeps on the boat. Gets captured by pirates, stays at Eton, negotiates the Bristol Channel with a breeze block on some rope for an anchor and all while wearing a Pith Helmet. Great book and well worth the £10

Last of the big spenders I picked up one of these today :wink:

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/outdoor-solutions-ground-sheet/

just to use under bivvy or to sit on

also a pack of these for emergency warmth

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/outdoor-solutions-twin-pack-emergency-blankets/

decided against the tarp as on page 33 (I think as it was really heavy) the above ground sheet is a lot lighter

Poundland, full of win!

you know you loves it you do! :lol:

Did you get the Vesta meals though?

I tell you the best Bivvy food for a £1

yes sure did they only had beef curry today in the Merthyr branch so will give that a go, I just hope my guts can take it 8O

anyone tried the black diamond twilight bivy bag[/url]? Only 220g for a bivy bag at £119, seems pretty light, shame about the colour.

Any other recommendations on which bag to get? Currently considering the Alpkit hunka xl at 525g for £40. Is the rab ranger event at £75 worth the extra?

Oh i’m 6’2″ and fairly broadly built shall we say hence considering the hunka xl for extra room ;)

The siltarps certainly are tempting for the weight, are they fairly durable or likely to rip at the first breath of wind?

I had a normal Hunka, it was a touch tight/small for me, I sold it to IanB, Ian looks like he may weigh 10st wet through with his coat on. I don’t (I think I may be half again) the XL suits me better.

Great bag though and it seems to breathe just fine.

6’2 and broad get a Hunka XL! or a tent/caravan/B&B

from what the boys say the Hunka xl is well worth the money :wink:

but as Stu says above the RAb is good value to – so you pays your money and takes your choice :wink:

BBC 4 now about lightweight fabrics for camping.

just catching last 20 mins :wink:

Didn’t see all of it but wild camping gets a mention. Maybe worth watching on the iplayer tomorrow.

saw the end of the 2 guys wild camping in the snow – bit like us last year :wink:

No one seems to be mentioning tarp tents here
im currently using the Golite Shangri La 2 has the options of outer only ,inner nest or floor if foul weather/ winter
The S.L.3 and S.L.5 are also real popular with loads of room for little extra weight and shared between 3 or 5 people
http://www.golite.com/Product/ProdDetail.aspx?p=370002110&mc=&t=&lat=

im also selling my mint condition North Face Solo Tent
1 man 1.1kg , 80 rats if interested
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/the-north-face/solo-12/

Mau, that £120 Black Diamond bivvy is 300g and only water resistant? Rab Survival Zone-Lite and Terra Nova Moonlite are both considerably lighter and cheaper, not sure on the sizing but the standard Survival Zone is huge compared to my sleeping bag.

Ian, to wet your appetite for the phd kit further, I bivvied last night in the Lincs Wolds. Car temp when I returned was 3’C (5′ below their recommendation of 8′) and I was toasty enough to do away with the silk liner-

Tarp,
Balloon bed,
Rab Survival Zone,
PHD Ultra bag,
Silk Liner,
PHD Minimus vest,
Lifa Base layers,
M&S Merino socks,
Wool beanie.

Was a glorious kit and bike-loading test for my WRT set-up, 8.30pm start- 3 hrs riding on dusty fast trails riding mostly by moonlight, solo bivvy, breakfast then home by 6.30am. I’m just sat catching my breath having a cuppa then off to work. It’s lovely making the most of this beautiful weather we have been having.

I also managed to stumble on the 200g Moonlite bivvy on F&T for £50! but with their reputation I don’t hold my breath :-( It was showing as 1 in stock so fingers crossed.