I select to handle monitor of what gear labored and what didn’t on my backpacking journeys for future reference. When you’d select to see your entire tips of drugs I launched for this, the southern half (140 miles) of the Cape Wrath Path, it’s detailed on this (linked) gear tips publish.
Gear that Labored
Feathered Pals Tanager 20 Sleeping Bag – This hoodless sleeping bag saved me comfortably heat all via your full journey regardless that nighttime temperatures have been masses decrease than anticipated and beneath freezing nearly each evening. The perfect of the bag cinches spherical my shoulders and neck, so I wore a fleece hat, a Powerstretch hoodie, and my OR Baja Down Pullover with it each evening and slept like a child. Weighing 19 oz, I assumed it’d be too heat for this journey, nonetheless the extra insulation was good. Examine my take into account.
Sea-to-Summit Etherlight XT Insulated Sleeping Pad – A mannequin new sleeping pad for me, nonetheless masses additional cosy than my earlier NeoAir Xlite or Xtherm. A full 4″ thick, it has a masses softer truly actually really feel with “air-sprung cells”, with a pillow lock carry out so your pillow stays put at evening. Examine my take into account.
Exped Schnozzel Pump Bag and Pack Liner – One totally different slam dunk. You in all probability can definitely not have too many points sacks in Scotland, so having one which serves quite a lot of options was a win. In fact, I actually like the fact that I would inflate my sleeping pad with 2-3 bagfuls of air. That alone is priceless. I’m shocked at what number of fully totally different individuals use a Schnozzel. Examine my take into account.
Exterior Analysis Baja Hooded Down Pullover – I’ve been carrying this hoody nearly day by day since closing October. I wore it to sleep in the course of the journey and spherical camp when cooking breakfast and dinner. It has a totally adjustable hood and kangaroo hand pocket. Examine my Evaluation.
Ragged Mountain Gear Highland Hoody – Ragged Mountain has a horrible website, nonetheless they make really good and low price technical clothes you might solely purchase at their retailer outdoors of North Conway, NewHampshire. The Highland Hoody is Powerstretch hoody with a half zipper, thumb loops, and a excessive collar that covers your face. It dries quick, it’s easy to vent, and enormous heat. I wore it day-after-day of my journey, often all day, and all evening in my sleeping bag.
Montbell Versalite Rain Pants – These rain pants are a bit delicate since they solely weigh 3.7 oz. Nonetheless they’re fairly breathable and pretty easy to positioned on and take off with out having to take away your footwear. I put them on over my extended pants, often quite a lot of circumstances per day, to remain dry all via passing rain showers and hail storms. Examine my take into account.
Montbell Tachyon Anorak Wind Shirt – A wind shirt is a ought to have in Scotland. After the native climate “warmed” up, I wore this wind shirt over a wool shirt as quickly as I wanted a bit extra heat. It’s over 10 years earlier and going sturdy. Examine my take into account.
Darn Extremely efficient Hiker Boot Socks – The grit and sand in Scotland streams eats by means of socks and rapidly destroys them, which is a matter on account of frequent stream crossings are an unavoidable actuality of life correct proper right here. Nonetheless my Darn Extremely efficient Socks weathered the onslaught with out displaying any positioned on and tear. Examine my take into account.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear DCF Shoulder Pocket – This waterproof shoulder pocket is simply unbelievable for carrying a cellphone and digicam in order that they’ll merely helpful. Examine my take into account
Soto Amicus Put together dinner dinner Set – This fluctuate and put collectively dinner set modified my MSR Windburner on day 3 of the journey (see above). I rapidly purchased proper right here to favor this cookset over the Windburner. Having two pots made it easy to boil a one-liter pot of tea every morning after which decant cups of it into the cooler and smaller 1/2 liter put collectively dinner pot to drink. You in all probability can’t really do this with a Windburner and will attend spherical for the pot to chill out must you need to drink out of it (which defeats the intention of a quick boil). The one-liter Amicus pot might also be large enough to retailer the Amicus fluctuate and a 230-gram gasoline canister, making it much more space-efficient to pack than the Windburner. The Amicus Differ is additional extraordinarily environment friendly than the Windburner’s whereas being surprisingly wind resistant. Examine our take into account.
iPhone XR – Loaded up with the OS Maps and ViewRanger navigation apps, which will be the simplest apps for UK navigation. I primarily used my iPhone for navigation (complemented by a compass) and would burn about 30% of the battery per day. I purchased this cellphone with 256GB of onboard reminiscence so I would retailer your full 25k and 50k Ordnance Survey map set (in each apps) and on no account should stress about downloading additional map tiles all via my journey. The XR has an eSim efficiency so you may run two sim having fun with enjoying playing cards are as rapidly as on the cellphone, to keep away from paying extended distance charges to your fundamental cell phone supplier. I purchased am Gigsky eSim for knowledge, nonetheless it solely ever labored in foremost metropolis areas and on no account all through the countryside. I ended up counting on my Verizon Sim card and their $10/day worldwide cell phone service as quickly as I wanted Web and wasn’t close to a close to wi-fi connection diploma. All of it labored very efficiently.
Gear That Didn’t Work
MSR Windburner Differ – My Windburner Differ stopped performing on the third day of my journey, necessitating a detour as soon as extra to Fort William and a misplaced day to purchase a varied fluctuate. I wasn’t going to stroll into the highlands with a non-functioning fluctuate all through the winter situations we’d been experiencing. I’m not precisely optimistic if it was the fluctuate or an incompatibility with the Primus gasoline canisters which was at drawback, though I think about it was the latter since I’ve used that very same fluctuate many circumstances with MSR, Jetboil, and Snowpeak canisters bought all through the USA. Primus gasoline is the one gasoline that I used to be capable of finding in Fort William and the Windburner would vent a worrying quantity of gasoline every time I screwed the canister on or eradicated it. That’s, till the fluctuate stopped functioning altogether, regardless of swapping in fairly a number of canisters to see if the issue was express to not less than one among them and on no account the remaining. I couldn’t waste time making an attempt to chase down the concept set off, so I tossed the Windburner and bought the Soto Amicus cookset to interchange it at Cotswold Open air in Fort William. I used to be fortunate that the Windburner/Primus canister failed after they did, on the outskirts of Invergarry, which is a one-hour bus journey to Fort William. It might need been masses worse farther north, the place there are NO gear retailers.
Yama Mountain Gear Rain Mitts – The wrists are too momentary and expose your wrists (the place the blood flows near your pores and pores and pores and skin) to the chilly and rain. I’ll in all probability purchase some Sealskin waterproof gloves for my subsequent journey. Your dexterity with rain mitts is just too poor. Evaluation forthcoming.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Dirigo 2 Tent – The Dirigo 2 is sort of prone to inside condensation on account of it doesn’t have enough air stream. Fortunately I launched a camp towel alongside, so I would wipe down the within of the tent each morning. I assumed this tent would carry out elevated, nonetheless I’ll convey a particular shelter subsequent time, in all probability an MLD Trailstar w/ a nest or a Tarptent Stratospire One. Scotland eats single wall tents alive. A double wall shelter is method preferable. Examine my take into account.
Ragged Mountain Intervale Gaiters – I hate carrying gaiters when there’s no snow and efficiently, I nonetheless hate them. I ditched these gaiters, the primary likelihood I acquired. They have been too scorching and made my calves sweat/socks damp. I favor muddy legs.
First Help Gear – I’ve regularly prided myself on carrying an ultralight first assist package deal deal, nonetheless I need to return to the drafting board on this one and improve my package deal take care of additional bandages and antiseptic wipes. I lower myself pretty badly on the second morning of the hike and didn’t have what I wanted to patch myself up. It was messy. I used to be fortunate to run into somebody who had elevated first assist provides and insisted on dressing the wound precisely.
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