Camping Kit List

I've been asked by a few friends about my kit list so here is my planned basic camping kit list for my Glyde trip. I have a selection of other items that I'm considering adding to increase comfort or as backup items in case of breakages so I'll update this list as I finalise my decisions. Weights are of the actual packed items I have here as per the photo, not claimed weights and generally include bags, etc. The size 9 shoe is in there for scale only...
For now basic minimum list is:

Tent(Left, green sack):
Terra Nova Laser Comp (bagged) 960g

Tarp (backup/fast pitch option to tent, right blue stuffsack - squishy):
Backpackinglight Microtarp 145g
Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag + carrysack 417g
Poly-io Groundsheet 70g
5 x Alpkit 'Nails' + tags 43g
Cord 30g
Mountain King Trail Blaze 128g
(walking pole)

Sleeping (orange centre top, red middle and green top right):
Thermarest Prolite 4 full length 626g (2 years old - much lighter options available now)
Alpkit PipeDream 400+waterproof sack 854g
Silk liner 111g

Cooking (dark orange top right):
MiTiMug (700ml) pan/mug/lid 110g
Tibetan 375ml mug (bagged) 68g
Folding Ti spoon 19g
MiniBullDesigns HN-Bongo-Deluxe meths burner (incl fuel bottle) 126g
Lighter 21g
Firesteel 10g
Pot cosy 25g
Windshield 10g

My spreadsheet says that lot comes in at just under 3.8kg. Obviously on a shorter trip it isn't necessary to take both the tarp and tent but at the moment I'm feeling on my long trip I want different options that I can choose on the day (or night).

I have a host of clothing, water carrying, fire lighting and other accessories that I'm sure I'll be throwing into the list for the Glyde trip but I believe the above is a working set of gear. I've not yet used everything in this combination - items are lighter replacements for my original 'high street shop' weight kit or, in the case of the cookset, a kit that I've been testing over the last year or so and finetuning.

Back into weekend walking...

With the cycle racing season done and the new trike 'almost real' I'm back to weekend walking.
Last week was a damp 4 mile loop alongside one of the local reservoirs, this week a 5.6 mile circuit out to the Ticknall Limepits (abandoned for 100 years and now pretty woodland) and back.
The featherweight Mountain King 'Trail Blaze' poles are working well - this is my first time walking with two poles and they make a big improvement on slippy uphill stretches.
In the above photo I'm also wearing an Epic jacket and jeans. These are both cotton but the threads are individually silicone coated making them waterproof. Because of the cotton both are very nice to wear, and don't seem to be as susceptible to catching and tearing on thorns as nylon fabrics. The fabric is not AS waterproof as some of the adverts make out, the jacket (Rohan Pampas) requires some internal heat to stop moisture slowly seeping through so I'd rate it around 75% as waterproof as a good Goretex jacket but much more so than a windshell like Pertex. It is currently my outdoor jacket of choice because it just feels right - it feels less 'hiker' and more 'wax cotton' without the maintenace problems of re-waxing). The trousers are Alpkit's Jeanious Jeans and they have become a constant companion! Again the Epic fabric means that a splash or shower just runs off them. Constant damp works through eventually but the fabric does not 'wet' and body heat quickly forces that dampness out. They would not replace a proper pair of waterproof overtrousers on the hill but for a 5 mile Sunday potter they do the job. They are a tad too warm for harder walking at the mo (I usually wear shorts or knee-length breaches enjoying the breeze around my lower legs) but I'm sure as we go into Autumn and Winter they'll be in their element. Oh, and the rest of the time they fit and feel just like ordinary jeans - I've even adopted them as stock wear for dress-down Friday wear at work where nobody seems to have noticed they are anything other than normal jeans...

Custom Mountain King Trail Blaze poles

My new pair of Trail Blaze poles arrived from Mountain King, up in Newcastle, this weekend. They're a custom pair in plain alu rather than the usual black or purple. I use a white 'blind' cane when walking around town (as much to avoid being trampled by people who expect me to see them as to feel my way!) so would have liked a pair of Trail Blaze poles in white, but plain brushed alu was the closest the makers could offer - and as I was offered this as a no-cost custom variation I'm grateful to the team there!
So, next walk I have a pair of 117g each poles to test. This will be an interesting change from using a single half-kilo or so cheapo hiking pole that I've been using for years.
Next weekend is another mad 'fairing building' weekend (adding a lid and tail to the nose/body I build and raced a couple of weeks ago - see photo below) followed by the last race of the UK 2009 season the weekend afterwards so these sticks will have to wait until after that to be tested...