Hdwhciwckllc;wkcn

Is the worst blog post ever!

haha i try

Laser Comp is great tent, I’m using one for WRT loathe bivvy bags and tarps. Best if sharing it’s with the better half or a very good friend and are so tired it no longer matters.

Using GPS, memory map prints and good old compass and paper maps for when it all goes tits up, my legs are buggered and I just want to get back to the start.

As for location I’m just hoping a grid ref isn’t Snowdon’s summit if it’s going north.

Now if only the two spacer blocks would show up the bike would be finished and the figuring out how to carry everything can begin.

Anybody used Inov8 Race pack with the horizontal bladder? Any good for biking?

Mavic Switchback, fine to walk in and ‘excellent traction with Terra Grip Outsole’, i do like the way these companies decribed their products 🙄

be nice to add some for wales….

I picked up some maps based upon the general area when I went through the map box I realised I’m 3 off having the whole of wales on 1:25 😯

Driving up from Hertfordshire if anybody needs a lift, but going up the day before and camping over before the start.

The Fatbike race was in February this year, results are here[/url] if you want a spoiler.

If you want a gas stove to work in very cold weather you need a piece of copper pipe, flatten it and bend it around your stove and gas canister, a sort of U shape so the two ends are in the flame, bind to gas canister with copper wire. Great heat sink, all the stove manufacturers will recommend you don’t do this, I’m not even saying try it, but it works in snow and at altitude.

The ‘X Mug’ fits in a MSR Ti Kettle, along with stove, gas, stove, spork and windshield. So definite win imo. Accept I can’t bung it in a flame but it will hold coffee whilst I boil water for more coffee.

Joystick with Piggyback cell and a beacon diffuser. Should provide light for night riding and light your campsite. Then Hope Vision One headlamp, as I can put AA batteries in it and not worry about no charging facility.

£60 seems a bargain when you consider this Black Mountains 3 Day[/url]
Rider package
The cost of entry into the Black Mountains 3 Day is £150 per person

I’ve ridden an Inbred with 100mm for years, recently went to 80mm forks and the handling is much more fun, getting too old for long travel 😥

A good addition to the Crux is the Primus Windscreen

You don’t get the advised 5mm clearance but it hasn;t affected mine this last two years.

That’s it blame me when it all goes wrong 😆

Enjoy the field test!

Cheers, confirms my suspicion that I don’t need to pay the extra!

Bot Fly 😕

Nitromors to strip the paint, wear gloves. Various grades of wet and dry, etch primer, quality primer, cellulose is the easiest to work with if no breathing equipment.

Best advice is take time in the prep, and wait for a warm day.

X Bionic, plenty of compression helps hold them up

I’ve used both the Primus ETA and the Jetboil. The Jetboil was a miserable experience a over priced kettle, the ignition is poor and fails, at altitude in was really crap and almost got hurled of the mountain (in case you ever want to take it mountaineering). Best setup I found for gas is the Optimus Crux[/url] and would sooner invest in a setup like the Optimus Crux Weekend HE Cook System, I fit a gas cartridge, crux, and folding spork easily into a MSR Ti Kettle.

@ IanB

Do you notice the extra insulating capacity of the Exped to the extent you could use a lighter weight bag, compared to a mat without insulation?

We seem to compare the raw weight of mats when there is actually more to it than that in terms of performance, particularly with regard to insulation and how that would affect choice of other equipment.

The Exped is noticably warmer than a thermarest, both a base camp model and ProLite 4, and much comfier. In summer I’ve used it with a Mont Bell UL Down Hugger 7, (this bag has hardly any down) for high alpine camps, and it definently works at keep ground chill at bay. It’s also been used for glacier camps, although the better half used it, no complaining in the mornings so can safely assume it works, she was using a 3 season Mountain Hardwear down bag.

I went for the PAC mat based on the R value, depth of padding (a better night’s sleep means a better chance of continued silliness the next day) and the fact the GoLite quilt has no back section in the bag. So bag choice is determining pad choice.

The Balloon bed is good, it works, pure function, but the balloon bed with a OMM Duo Pad for the legs is about the same weight as the PAC mat, with a much greater R rating.

I’ve got a Pacific Outdoor one and even on frozen ground I don’t feel the cold from underneath.

Which PAC Outdoor have you got? I picked up a Peak Elite AC this afternoon, pack size and weight are fantastic, 396g for full length mat 🙂 Seems as comfortable as my Exped Down Mat, but much lighter.

On the scales the Bag and Mat are coming in at 1028g.

Nice setup 🙂 What volume is the bar mounted drybag, it looks massive in some of your photos?

Yeah but the balloon bed has half a kilo on a ‘regular’ mattress, and is comfier than a OMM Duo Pad. The POE Ether is a low weight when compared to the Exped Synmat so isn’t too bad.

Balloon Bed, GoLite Ul quilt and the comfort of a Mammut inflatable pillow, if it’s cold Rab down socks.

MSP – Member
Yep, that was my plan, but the length makes it a awkward, and it has carbon end poles (fixed in place) so I am a little concerned about how tight I could pull the straps. My old tent I used to stick in an alpkit airlock extra dry bag, the strap point made it nice and easy, the shape of this tent when packed just makes it more difficult.
Maybe one of the revelate slings is the answer, just not something I had been planning on purchasing.

The Revelate Sling requires you to crank down the straps as it’s for carrying drybags. So if you have concerns about pulling down straps the sling may not be that different.

But, obviously, the best kind of camping out coffee is Lavazza and…..

that’s just getting too organised 😯

Can’t fault the 591, no problems with 1000’s of miles of use.

Lyons Coffee bags, best coffee option for camping 🙂

I normally carry a steripen, and the filter it comes with. Just see a lot of talk about backpacking but not much mention of water supplies, and wondered what people are doing.

I prefer the 2/3 season bag, easy to unzip and vent, than lay curled up shivering.

Thanks, I’ll click ‘add to basket’ 🙂

The OMM Trio Chest Pouch makes a good basis for ‘bodging’ a pocket onto the front harness.

Does anyone carry a water filter/purifier?

How much weight is on the bars? That tent looks quite precarious perched up on the bars.

Disk pads are a real rip off to me, £20 a set in LBS!! WTF!

njee20 – Member
Isnt that what Superstar (and arguably On One/Planet X) do?

Yeah, and then the bike snobbery kicks in.
The ‘feel good’ factor of ownership is the real price being paid for.

‘You are not what you own’ (Fugazi – Merchandise)

I got one of the Tangle bags when they first came available last summer. Great bag, fits a 20″ Inbred no problem. If anybody wants I can take the tape measure to it for dimensions.

The feedbags are good, but the service is shocking! Mine took three months with no response to numerous emails. Did get a second one for free though as they acknowledged the crap service! I use them on most rides not just multiday rides 🙂

Bigface0_0 – Member

Anyone used one of these? Super light and extra small

http://www.balloonbed.co.uk

The Balloonbed is excellent but short! I use a OMM Duomat for my legs, with a GoLite Ultralight quilt it’s a fine lightweight system. If it’s cold I add Rab Down Socks.

The sleeping bag, socks, mammut pillow, balloon bed easily fits in a 8l Alpkit Drybag, mounted with a Revelate designs harness.

Also have Epic Ride Designs – Mountain Feedbags mounted on the bars

The Rest of the luggage I use is Revelate Designs bags with Backcountry Research ‘Awesome Straps’ to hold various kit to the bike.

X Bionic Energizer has become my favourite this winter.

I went with these 🙂

Warm for first 4 hours! Added Kahtoola microspikes a few times.

Great weather for testing new luggage 🙂

I’ve used my Laser Comp in all weathers, it’s well made and has taken on some crap weather. Sleeping two is cozy, but depends what kind of trip you are doing to the comfort level imo. The world’s lightest tag is helped by the 1g or 2g titanium pegs, they work but i prefer something more substantial on the guy ropes, the Alpkit Ti pegs are a good buy.