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

My Western Mountaineering Summer-lite bag at ~11,300 feet and Terra Nova photon tent worked well on recent trip:

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101_0144[/url] by blackhound59[/url], on Flickr

Earlier in the trip at 11,500 feet on Boreas Pass showing a wildcat gear frame bag and Revelate Design harness and seat bag.

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101_0121[/url] by blackhound59[/url], on Flickr

Erm … wonder where those pictures were taken :wink:

BTW … very nice work there Kevin!

You probably guessed Stuart. Looking for something shorter and nearer next year. Perhaps Wales…

@Twang, I use the PHD bag inside a 176g Terra Nova bivvy bag (under a tarp) so the weight of the waterproof fabric isn’t an issue, the strength of the 900 down is it’s party-piece. Personally I didn’t bother with the dryshell fabric, it seems to cope with condensation ok and I’m quite particular about keeping it sheltered from the weather.

This is it in it’s stuffsac, sat on top of a 3L dry bag. If stuffed directly into the drybag, there is still plenty of room to fit in my minimus vest with ease-

I’ll admit that it is a sleeping bag with a very specific purpose and is cut quite slim. The Minimus is slightly more versatile and I doubt very much if you could notice the 100g difference once fully loaded. Having siad that if boosted with a down vest or down jacket it has coped to just above freezing and if conditions colder than that I’m in my winter bag anyway.

PHD do 2 sales a year, more often than not they do a special run of Minim 300’s for about £150. These make for a great all-round 3 season bag and IIRC are about 500g.

Blackhound the trip must have been amazing, any pros/cons of the kit you took?

Kevin, if you fancy something a little nearer home this year, there’s always the Bear Bones 200 in Oct.

http://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/

What frame bags are people using?? Are there any cheap (and I mean <£50) alternatives to custom ones and/or expensively branded ones?

Buggybags seem to be the cheapest I know of for bespoke bags.

Ebay sometimes throws up generic frame bags, but they don’t make full use of the main frame triangle so storage space isn’t as good and I suspect aren’t quite as stable.

I’m still lusting after a Wildcat bag, but I just made one out of whatever fabric I could lay my hands on as a short term solution whilst I gather the funds. It seems to holding up well enough and although fiddly to get right, it really wasn’t that difficult other than a bit of forward planning before stitching together.

Stuart, thanks for link – had missed that one. If I am not away II owe the other half a holiday!) then I will look into it.

Anthony – Kit worked well. Bag was just warm enough in Canada / Montana with a Craft base layer and Patagonia capilene leggings. I do sleep cold though. The TN photon elite tent was excellent. One day while touring it rained for all but 30 mins between 7.30 and 17.30 and was enough room to shelter and kept water out.

A tarp and bivvy bag would have weighed similar, packed up a bit better and might have been more practical for the Tour Divide. As I was touring for a few weeks afterwards (in Oregon) I wanted the extra privacy of a tent. Thought the tent would be warmer and I have limited experience of tarps so did not want to risk something I was unfamiliar with.

I took a few bits I didn’t need and I got lucky with the weather so could have made a few different clothing choices in retrospect. However if I was to do it again would have taken same clothing and a bit less other stuff.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6030033932_59b3cfc4d2_m.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/6030033118_c07713d624_m.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6148/6029477129_c74887cb47_m.jpg
Some photos from last nights (cold) bivvy on dartmoor. Last time i did a bike bivvy it was on a Muddy Fox Explorer so this was a chance to lighten the kit and upgrade. I used a 20 year old sleeping bag that is knackered and paid the price of a cold night, wind probably had a chill factor of around 2 degrees. Still cracking night out and the need to purchase more lightweight kit is now very pressing.

Pics are tiny!!! Get them bigger!!

Morning All

Me and my son are planning on taking a little light weight hike and camp this afternoon and I have a question about stoves.

I was going to make a little drink can stove then wondered about a small tin can (220g baked bean can) with a ring of holes drilled around the side instead?

It will only be used for boiling water so doesnt need to be anything super fancy. Any reason why this would’nt work?

If its all good then roughly how much meths would it take for boiling about a litre of water? Is there any great science to this or just chuck some in and top up as required?

Cheers All :)

Just google ‘supercat stove’

What you describe sounds like a great stove, maybe 1.5 oz meths per pint of water? Guessing

OMG, i just lost an hour reading some of this, inspired to give it a go now.

Sign up here – http://www.bikeandbivi.co.uk

I did a few weeks back (Kev on bikeandbivi) and although new has a whole mountain of information. I noticed that quite a few STW regulars are now on there inc Ton this week.

Just got hold of a new Nemo Gogo Elite bivy.

I’ve been looking for a tent/bivy compromise that’s still lightweight and packs small & this looks promising. Lots of pics & words on my blog[/url] if you want to know more about it.

:) , just been checking your new bit of kit on http://www.bikeandbivi.co.uk !!!!!

Spurred on by this thread and a fellow forum member. I’m heading out with a couple of friends to attempt the SDW in 2 days tomorrow.

Candodavid you might also like … http://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk link to the forum from the main page.

Ready for this weekends beachriding bivi trip along the Moray coast :-)

Sturider, where can I buy one of those solo mini coffee things? Is it a Bialetti?

I was interested by the idea of freezer bag cooking and that got me curious about food dehydrating. There are dehydraters available to buy which seem to range from £25-100 but I also found a number of designs across the net for making your own out of a cardboard box lined with foil/insulating material.

A couple of 100w bulbs sit in the bottom and you can fashion some shelves made from bbq skewers to rest wire racks on. You could also make a more substanial one out of plywood if you so desire.

I’ve not got round to reading up a great deal on “cooking” times etc as yet but it seems that its all dependent on your dehydrater and personal taste.

I think I’ll give it a go making one next week as I’m off, has anyone got any experience of using or making a dehydrater?

I shall also read up on dehydrating in a normal oven. I wonder if this would be more expensive to run?

We got one in at the weekend. What had originaly been planned as a Dartmoor bike bivi turned into a Canoe camping exursion before metamorphing into an on foot adventure after I managed to do my left paddling shoulder in. The venue was somewhere along the wild South Devon coast a mile or two from the nearest road, carpark and ice cream kiosk…..

The Venue nestled in lovely, desolate Devonian coastline…

Off we go to visit the famous sea cave. Only accessible at low tide…

Ahh, this must be it then….

Jim, Si & Tim were surprised to find out this was actually my second visit in fifteen minutes…..this time without the toilet paper ;-)

While the others went for a swim I climbed the cliffs and did some scoping for sea mammals.
All I actually saw were three lily-white retarded land mammals jumping around in the surf ;-)

Early evening cuppa on the go in our chosen bivi location, A little cove that was cut off from the rest of navigable dry land at high tide.

My one-pot Paella knocked the baubles off the Vesta Pack Chow Meins the other three cooks were rehydrating…

My bed…..

Morning, low tide view from the sleeping bag, shortly before it started raining…

Second coffee of the morning…

Slugwash Flickr: South Devon Coastal Bivi[/url]

lovely location, looks like fun :-)

Have anyone here tried nesting sleeping bags?
I have a Marmot Arete, and if I get say an Alpkit pd 600 or SH 800 as an autumn bag (I am based in northern Sweden, so it can get cold), do you think I can use the Arete inside it for winter camping, or will it not have space to loft properly?

In the winter I am looking at potential temperatures down to -30

Have anyone here tried nesting sleeping bags?

I have for winter camping (in tent) before. I used a large cheap old mummy bag (from when i was a scout) around my alpkit bag. worked well.

however there probably isn’t room inside an alpkit bag for another bag – they are pretty snug. I would email alpkit – they are pretty clued up.

HTH

looks awesome slugwash.

can we have your one-pot Paella recipe… please :D

“has anyone got any experience of using or making a dehydrater?”

I’ve had an EzDri Snackmaker probably 12 years ago with about 10 shelves. A mix of mesh & solid shelf liners. Cost about £80 iirc. They have a video on youtube. Looks like you can buy them again the UK now.

I’ve never worked out how much it costs to dry food. The heater doesn’t generate that much heat, certainly doesn’t seem to be close to the 500W they claim the heater is – more like a 100W lamp or a PC. The key to drying food is to keep the warm airflow over the surface of the food. Drying times reduce if you turn the food during drying.

Needless to say some things work better than others. Try to remove as much water as possible before drying for sauces, or wet foods. Cut up solids smaller than you probably would normally. (I learnt that one the hard way with some veg stew where the chucks were too large & wouldn’t rehydrate). The thinner you spread the food on the sheets the quicker it dries. I’d say average drying time is about 10-14 hours. I try & do as much drying as possible in the winter just so i’m using the heat from the dryer to warm the house.

Once dried, i store the results in sealable sandwich bags in the fridge (i don’t know if the fridge is absolutely necessary tbh). I’ve used foods dried a year after drying & they’ve been ok.

I’m veggie so can’t say what it’s like for drying meat.

Dhal dries great. Cook it thicker than normal. It ends up sort of powdery but rehydrates fine. Add green leaved veg (spinach, chard etc).
Rice dishes work well, mixed veg & nut pilau is a favourite.
Stir fried beancurd, veg & rice works ok if the beancurd & veg are cut small.
Tomato sauce for pasta works well. Add thinly sliced mushrooms or veg.

I dehydrate breakfast – muesli with finely chopped banana & kiwi, made with soy milk, maple syrup. The last thing i do at night when camping is to make a brew & use the rest of the hot water to overnight soak my breakfast. If i’m doing a long walk i’ll add a spoon of Torq neutral per portion to bump up the carbs.
I’ve tried pasta. That took about as long to rehydrate as cooking a quicker cooking pasta from scratch. Won’t do it again.

If you were making a drier, i’d suggest you need to get a fan blowing air over the food as well as some heat source. A 100W bulb plus a PC fan with a speed control (like the one Zalman do) would work. Look at the youtube video at how the shelves are designed on the EziDri. They channel air around the shelves. The fan is in the centre bottom of he unit, & warm air is vented from a hole at the top.

some bits of kit that I have for sale that maybe of interest to followers of this thread.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-valleys-clear-out-continues-hope-bivvy-kit-altura-saddlebag

I have for winter camping (in tent) before. I used a large cheap old mummy bag (from when i was a scout) around my alpkit bag. worked well.

however there probably isn’t room inside an alpkit bag for another bag – they are pretty snug. I would email alpkit – they are pretty clued up.

HTH

Thanks. I emailed them, they said I have to try. I guess it depends on too many things like the persons size and the specific bag involved for them to be able to give a general answer.

I need a new bivi bag.
Anyone have any real life experience’s with the Rab storm bivi
are they roomy, water proof, pack small enough and light

I love my new marmot one. Loads of room enough for a winter down bag plus more, but only come in REALLY bright colours.

http://www.bikeandbivi.co.uk/php/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39&p=182&hilit=marmot#p182

marran – Member
Have anyone here tried nesting sleeping bags?

No (well not since I was a teenager with an argos bag), but Andy Kirkpatrick talks about it in one of his gear articles, worth a read.

http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/gear/

Anyone bivvied/camped in or around the Berwyns?

TheBrick: Thanks for the link, good read.

For some reason he uses a synthetic bag as outer, but I guess a generously cut down bag like Alpkit SH800 would work as well

looks awesome slugwash.

can we have your one-pot Paella recipe… please

Yes, it’s an easy one that. I’ll post it up some time.

Meanwhile, this weekend’s bacon and bean stew with dumplings was less sucessfull.
I forgot the bacon and the dumplings disintegrated :-(

Flickr – Last Bivi of the Summer[/url] (photo’s currently awaiting sorting)

It’s definately getting a bit cooler out on the hills.

Is anyone else getting out under the stars at the moment? And is this thread slowly dying now everyone’s over on the two new bikepacking forums ;-(

Is anyone else getting out under the stars at the moment?

tend not to over the summer – getting excited about the season starting again….

I agree with tom, far prefer autumn bivvying myself – it get’s dark earlier and there’s less tourists, both helpful for stealth camping.

Also I much prefer fresh and frosty to damp and muggy, I find it easier to keep warm than cool and there’s fewer insects about – yup the seasons just starting :D

Ooops!
Here is a recent bike/BOB bivi from Kidderminster to the Stiperstones and back on my Alfine 11’d Charge Duster. Only a 1 nighter but was a good trip.
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DSC05308[/url] by cheeezzy24[/url], on Flickr
DSC05297[/url] by cheeezzy24[/url], on Flickr
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DSC05311[/url] by cheeezzy24[/url], on Flickr
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DSC05316[/url] by cheeezzy24[/url], on Flickr

Is anyone else getting out under the stars at the moment? And is this thread slowly dying now everyone’s over on the two new bikepacking forums

Shame people arent posting on here, I do like the new forums but still like to check this one out as well.
Ive got one of the Tesco’s ultra light down bags, how warm is that going to keep me in the next couple of months or is it time to start looking for a winter bag???