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.

Woodstove success!

The more I use this little stove, the more I like it!
Tonight my first 'proper' end-to-end run using the EK750OB - using some home-made tinder, started using some of the tinder on the end of a stick from a spark from a firesteel and knifeback, sticks collected on Sunday's walk... 375ml of water, around 8 minutes... Yay!
Afterwards I deliberately let the stove die down to embers to practice bringing it back to life. I struggle on this. Tomorrow evening I have plans to meet up with Dave Watson of Woodland Survival Crafts in a local wood for some quick one-on-one fire training and to see if that is all I need or it is worth booking onto one of his 3-day firestarter courses!

'Blue Peter' Time - Part 3: The cone..

As per the comment in 'Blue Peter' Time - Part 1 - here is a quick and dirty shot at a cone windshield made using two of the foil baking trays joined with a concetina fold sealed with alu tape...


Weight is 19g. I might add a little re-enforcing alu tape around the edges and folds yet so maybe push another gram onto that weight. It feels a bit flimsy for carrying in a backpack but hey, I'll give it a go this weekend (looks like weather will be delaying this weekend's hike until Sunday).

A stove breakthrough!

Tonight I've had a breakthrough with the Einzel-Kocker stove. After much coaching by MacE I've got a repeatable 8 minute boil time for 375ml of water just using a handful of sticks picked up last walk!
The trick appears to be to use WAY less fuel than you think!

Assorted weekend updates:

On Saturday I increased my hiking pack weight to 9.4kg by adding my tripod because there was a particular photo I wanted to capture on the route we were planning on walking. When we got there the view was blocked with plant growth so I need not have bothered carrying the extra weight. But it was a useful experiment in that I now know I'm a wimp and 9.4kg is more than I'm currently comfortable carrying in the Golite Jam rucksack. Curiously I'm ok moving but the weight starts to tell when I'm standing waiting for my wife to climb over styles. I was getting somewhat grumpy and tired by the 8 mile point... I'm still a little off the 14kg design limit but hey, more training required for heavier loads - but that is why I'm practicing before hitting a few 'real' backpacking trips. I'm still struggling to imagine carrying anyone carrying more than 20kg!

Sunday was a day out racing with the BHPC. This was only my second time cycling this year and it told! I took my GTX (which I guess is a custom-made, higher spec and lighter predecessor of this trike) which is lean and low but set up more as a touring rather than a racing bike. It was a good fun day out, a little damp around the edges and I was stuggling to keep my pace up for the 35minute race.


I've been practicing with the Einzel-Kocher EK750OB and I think I'm getting more proficient using it, but I'm not yet at the stage of trusting my abilities to get boiling water for coffee out of it... On Sunday at the races I used the MSR Pocket Rocket because it is quick and simple. I am undecided yet as to whether this is the way to go for the trip or if I'd rather avoid carrying a gas canister inside a faired cycle... I guess any gas leak *should* dissipate before it became a problem but..... I am sure that my problems with the EK are down to my basic inability to make fire. I have the same problems trying to light the log burner in our holiday cottage.
I fear this is one of those lost skills - 50 years ago everyone (who didn't have someone to do it for them) could light their household fire. Now it is an automated gas boiler... I'm contemplating booking on one of those bushcraft courses. Oh, and I've ordered more kit - a decent wood working knife to aid splitting wood, making kindling,etc. I know more kit is more weight and I might be better off just making do with a gas or meths stove but it does feel more natural to be using a wood burner! And firelighting is prehistoric tech - just how hard can it be???

Einzel-Kocher EK750OB here!

With very prompt shipping my EK750OB wood burner arrived today. So did the rain, so no evening testing tonight :(
Weights on the website are prefectly honest against my scales...
1) Minimum useable weight - stovebody + lightweight pot stand - 84g
2) Stove, lightweight pot stand, EK meths burner, ash tray, nylon stuffsack - 109g
3) 'ready to go' wood & meths burner - neat and tidy with top and bottom caps fitted, in nylon stuff sack - 130g

Finish is nice and tidy, no sharp edges (that I've found yet!)
Hopefully it'll be dry enough to wonder out into the garden tomorrow night and have a 'first burn'!

10 mile kit shakedown

Having parted company with my old racing bike (ok, it isn't a 'normal' one) I had a little cash to invest in more new kit this week... :)
First off, thanks to the suggestion from Mac E and Podcast Bob I've invested in a Golite Jam2 pack. The pack will be no use for the Glyde trip but I'm planning on hiking/backpacking to gain fitness and put the rest of the kit through its paces.

First modification is going to be trimming down some of the straps!

Secondly I'm watching the letterbox for the Satmap full GB memory card to arrive... Having tried the options I have a few bits & pieces of Satmap kit surplus to requirements so for any of you who are interested I'll hold a mini-competition or two shortly and if there are no takers the stuff goes to eBay... Keep an eye on the feed!
Oh, and having received my EK mini-meths burner this week, liking the quality of the beast and then being tempted by the GramFairy(tm) I've ordered the matching Einzel-Kocher 750OB wood burner stove with the plan on using it in the sub-100g configuration as a replacement to the 426g Honey Stove for those times when a third of a kilo counts...

Anyway, today, sporting the new Jam we did a 10 mile walk out to the South Coast of the River Trent... Normally this would be a walk along a riverbank but, well, it seems we've had some rain...

There is supposed to be a 'high' path to the left and a 'low' path to the right but today the Trent has other ideas...

The bridge is normally high enough to play Pooh Sticks...

Pack weight, plus camera and GPS came to a comfortable 6.1kg (13.4lb). I'm struggling to imagine carrying the sort of weights that some seem to think 'normal' - only yesterday I was reading a forum posting from an American who was pleased to have economised and got his walking pack down to around 37 pounds! Maybe I'm just a wimp - I'm deliberately overloading myself on a daywalk with the plan of this being around my weekend camping weight! And I'm hoping not to be carrying much more for the full Glyde Around Britain...

I'd be lighter without the gadgets but I do like the SLR camera... And yes, I know, it is heavier than my tent... and sleeping mat...

Anchor Church - not quite the riverside residence we are looking for...

Disaster of the day - ok, not really disaster, more kinda cockup - was failing to light the Honey Stove. I blame it on complacency after it simply 'just working' last time I used it. I should have collected more light kindling rather than expecting the light twigs to go up. Everything in the woods having been soaked for the last week didn't help much either - I should have picked up more of the dry cowparsley stems when I had the chance. But that is the point of these shakedown walks. And the upside was that the MSR Pocket Rocket got it's first fieldtest rather than just being ballast - wow - I'm seriously impressed. It is complete overkill for a cup of coffee, but hey, boiling water in just three minutes. Plus full on roaring sound effects. Hmmm... and I didn't even turn it up to 11 yet!

I remember when this was all fields - last Monday!

The crops are doing well on it - pity this is supposed to be the footpath...

Stats for the walk - a smidge under 10 miles distance and a smidge over 1000ft accumulated ascent!

Weekend shopping...

After walking yesterday, today has been a rest day leading to internet shopping and some incoming additions to the gear list:

1) An EINZEL-KOCHER alcohol burner, shown here in Fenlander's Step-by-Step blog. This was chosen as a one-piece (ie. nothing to break/fall off) backup to the MBD Uno#1 where I'm worried I'm going to lose a small part, split a tube or something critical... As it weighs next to nothing and costs just a tenner it seems worth the investment.

2) I've been sufficiently impressed with the ease of use and customer support from the folks at Satmap (upgraded to the latest software this weekend thanks to them posting out a memory card with the new software on it free of charge) that I'll be ordering the Full UK Landranger (1:50k) maps for the Satmap Active 10. A full set of Landrangers for the weight of between two and three paper maps - a bargain! If I get the order in tomorrow the SD card should arrive in time for a longer walk north of home next weekend.

I forgot to mention in Sneak Preview that I'd picked up a Terra Nova Laser Competition at the Backpackers Club AGM meet. I was already fairly convinced to go for the Laser rather than the Akto by the lighter weight. When I tried the Laser for size to make sure I fitted and I was offered a brand new one at price too good to refuse the decision was made. It had its first pitching on a recent holiday to the Isle of Mull but I must confess I slept indoors. Further testing of the tent will have to wait until later in the year and until I've got more miles in my legs for walking...

Finally, I've been using Alpkit Gourdon rucksacks so far. I have these in 20l and 30l models. They are basically rolltop drybags fitted with a rucksack harness system. I'm planning on using these inside the Glyde as 'panniers' and, in the meantime, they're working out fine for day hiking.
For anything other than minimal overnight backpacking I'm thinking I'll be needing to move up to 45l or so. I'm looking for something to carry lightweight gear from multi-night trips up to doing something like the Coast-to-Coast. Ok, you can laugh now, the cyclist has the backpacking bug! At the moment the light weight of the Osprey Exos has attracted my attention but I'm nowhere near sold yet as it isn't cheap. Suggestions in the comments section below please...

Mini Bull Designs Uno#1

MBD Uno#1 and MBDCult remote fuel supply
Price:£21.85 at time of order (US$35.00) including shipping
Supplier: Mini Bull Designs
Included:
Burner & pin/stake to mount it on
3x longer pins forming the pot stand
1x 1oz(30ml) bottle with automatic feed system and fuel hose

What it does:
A miniature meths stove - a burner, pot stand and remote fuel bottle with a 30 minute runtime. The stove can be stopped at any time and any unused meths in the system recovered to the reservoir for later use.


Look and feel:
First impression on unpacking the Uno is that the shippers forgot to include it in the package! The build quality appears to be excellent - although there is very little 'stuff' to peer at... The burner unit is maybe the half the size and bulk of a sparkplug. There are a set of what look like nails - three long ones (130mm) and one shorter one (70mm). Weights are 7g for the Burner and 2g for its shorter ground pin/stake. The set of 3 pot stand pins come in at 9g, totalling 17g on the scales.
The Remote fuel supply (a 1floz, 30ml HDPE bottle) has a normal cap and when that is removed, it can screw into the remote feed base. The hose connects to the feed base. Collectively these remote feed parts come to 25g.
My scales made that 41g all up.
Also rather generously included in the pack was a 2nd hose and a 6in[1] length of spare wick.
(the lighter in the photo below isn't part of the stove, is included just for scale)


Initial Testing:

The stove was assembled as per instructions. 4 pieces of 'wall' from a Honey Stove were used as a windshield and heat reflector. Starting with a Tibetan 375ml mug full of water, the Uno#1 was ignited and an Alpkit MyTiMug placed on the supplied pot stand, the water added and lid placed on the mug. No fuss, no excitement, just heat. The reservoir bottle bubbled occasionally as the spare fuel level dropped. Time to first steam (at which temperature I could make coffee) was 9 minutes. Time to full boil (for tea) was 11 minutes. After recovering the fuel in the system back into the reservoir the bottle was about 12ml down from the starting point. Re-igniting the burner without the hose attached gave another minute of burn time with just the meths in the wick.


Conclusion:
Having progressed from a 'head' sized Trangia Tracker (which is greatly missed as one of the most weather resistant stoves I've owned) through an MSR Whisperlite (known in this household as 'the mad cooker') to a collection consisting of an MSR Pocket Rocket gas and a handful of meths stoves I'm still amazed at how small this little jobbie is. It really is that tiny that the parts could be in a jacket pocket and you'd have to check to make sure you'd remembered to bring it with you! Yet it still has enough grunt to make a cup of tea in around 10 minutes. My biggest worry is dropping it never to be seen again. To that end I'm thinking this is also a 'keeper' for the expedition kit and I'll be adding a 2nd meths burner of some kind as a backup or to alternate with as I see which cope with different outdoor conditions the best. A pressurised stove, such as The Penny Stove , will certainly boil water faster but it goes with the fuel put in at the beginning. It is possible, but fiddly to put it out and recover what is left but nowhere as easy as with the Uno. I think I'm convinced by the meths argument. The stoves work and I can easily see how much fuel is left. An empty meths bottle can be recycled anywhere taking plastic bottles, I'm unsure how easy it is to recycle a gas cylinder, but it is certainly a big lump to be carried around until it can be safely recycled.

I'm thinking that the MSR Pocket Rocket is going to be retired to weekend backpacking - oh well, at least it wasn't that expensive!

[1] Units - yes I know I mix-and-match. I blame the crazy English system where I was taught metric at school yet everyone in the real world used imperial. My wife still insists on giving me length measurements in inches and feet despite me insisting that I don't understand. And when will we switch to using kilometres for distance? The OS maps have been marked in 1km squares for as long as I have been using them yet speed and distance are still sticking with the old system. Then they wonder why we're confused. Bah, humbug. Bother, I think I ranted. Too late now...

Sneak Preview

I'm working steadily through my kit list for the trip - some has arrived, some is currently being tested and the wallet won't allow some to be ordered yet...

Recently arrived kit - yet to test:
Having recently parted with my old Buffalo pile/pertex 2-part bag (which could fill a 40litre sack/pannier on its own) I've invested in a down-to-freezing point Alpkit Pipedream 400 down bag with a claimed weight of 750g. It looks the part and packs down to about 1/8th the size of just one of the Buffalo bags. And thanks to the wonders of eBay I almost broke even on the kit refresh!

A number of items have been here for a while and are getting regular use - reviews later when they've all got more mileage on them:

It might seem odd investing in some lightweight hiking shoes but there are reasons for going for a pair of Inov8 Roclite 318 GTX. Firstly I'm thinking about riding in stiff-soled cycling shoes - the type you see racing bike riders wearing waddling into cafes - they make for more comfortable riding but just aren't any good for walking in. A pair of sandals is OK for a quick hop off the bike but no good for any distance. Secondly, I've noticed membrane shoes seem to be frowned upon but I really hate getting wet feet around the campsite. First thing in the morning, socks dried overnight - out of the tent door, shoes immediately soaked through - cold wet feet before even starting the day. Bah. And thirdly I'm planning on getting in plenty of leg work in the run up to the trip and these take a kilo off the load compared to my current leather boots. I'm not gram counting, but 1000 of the little hooters will make a difference to anyone!

The current cookware collection is an Alpkit MyTiPot and MyTiMug - as a set coming in much lighter than the Vango stainless steel cookware they replace. So far the MyTiMug has been getting regular use as a kettle on the stove trials and the pot might even become surplus to requirements! Thanks to Fenlander mentioning it I've picked up a 56g Tibetian mug (from Trek-Lite on eBay) that neatly slides inside the Alpkit one replacing an old 176g stainless steel mug but even better, returning the extra space it took up!
(Edit: Oops - it was MacE who recommended the Tibetan - sorry!)

Thanks to several bloggers mentioning it, not least of whom was Podcast Bob, I picked up a Cosy Kit which has worked a treat (or even too well!) keeping coffee warm whilst it brews. From the same supplier is the Flatworld picnic kit - a set of flat pack mugs, bowls and plates. Ok, I'm sceptical, but insufficiently sceptical to resist being parted from my cash and to be testing this bizarre concept.

On a different front, and another great find from the backpacking crowd is the Travel Tap. This is a normal drinks bottle with a filter - a filter good enough to safely put river water through it! I've never seen anything like this in the cycling world - no more riding on after running out of water when there are reasonably OK looking streams by the roadside - just top up and carry on! And no more worries about 'non drinking water' taps...

In the food department I've invested in a Food Dehydrator. In goes fresh fruit, out comes dried stuff like from the supermarket, but no longer at £1-a-time tiny servings - bargain fruit & veg has been disappearing into this thing since it first arrived with us a couple of weeks ago. My lunchbox has been revolutionised - wish I'd bought one years ago.

There are a few items on order at the moment - a LiPol battery for Satmap so it will charge from a powered USB connector - a solar charger for which I'll be building and fitting into the bike for on-the-go charging - more info later.

I'm waiting for a MiniBullDesigns Uno#1 and auto-filler bottle to arrive. It looks like this should be a slow-but-light-reliable-and-frugal meths burner hopefully to be used as the backup cooker for my trip using the Honey Stove as a windshield/pan support when there isn't fuel for, or it isn't practical to use the Honey Stove.

Well, I think that is all the kit that is sat here waiting to be tested, that is currently in use and that I'm expecting to drop through the letterbox shortly. Any comments appreciated - but remember that the cash only goes so far adding more items to the kit list!

Rob

Honey Stove '09

Honey Stove '09
Price: £34.99 + shipping
Supplier: Backpackinglight.co.uk
Included:
Stove - packed flat and consisting of 9-pieces of laser-cut stainless steel
Nylon carrying case

What it does:
This one is a bit of an oddity - rather than the convenience of hydrocarbon fuel, this one runs on wood. Better still, it runs on twigs that you can pick up for free by the trailside. One handful of twigs - 10 minutes - one brew-up! Think miniature brazier.


Look and feel:
The sheet steel parts look like a puzzle but after the first trial assembly all becomes clear and the stove then quickly and easily assembles into a strong, rigid structure looking more like a treasure box than a camping stove. A little care is needed as some of the edges are sharp - or maybe I'm just not careful enough! My packed unit weighs in at 426g including the bag which might sound a little porky compared to a sub-100g gas stove, but there is no fuel or fuel container to add to that weight. The unit can also double up as a windshield for use with a meths or gas burner.

Fuel Usage:
A handful of air dried twigs and sticks picked up in the minute before grabbing a lunch spot was enough to boil a pint of water with burn time to spare. The beauty of this system is that with 'free' fuel burn times are only limited by the availability and enthusiasm to collect it. This makes in-the-field 30 minute cook times for a stew a practicality - when using hydrocarbon fuel the temptation is to cook as quickly as possible to eke out the fuel supply. And there is the attraction of real flames!!!

Initial Testing:
Well, it just works! There isn't really any more to say - twigs in, heat out. Using tinder card (available from the same supplier) makes fire starting easy and ok it does need careful feeding to keep the fire going, but there is something strangely therapeutic about feeding a camp fire. And it certainly isn't as challenging or 'exciting' to use as the MSR Whisperlite I've just parted company with. By the time the coffee had brewed and been drunk the fire had gone out, the steel was just touch-hot and the contents had turned to grey ash. Disassembly, allowing the parts to air cool, the ashes checked to be cold, out and discreetly disposed of, and away! Not even that dirty!

Again 5-out-of-5.

Another 'keeper' for my touring kit - as a partner for a meths or gas stove - I'm trialling a few alternatives and haven't decided which to go for yet - more review coming!