Umbrellas

When I took an umbrella on last year’s walk along the Peddars Way it caused huge amusement. However, I had the last laugh when we suffered some light but persistent rain late afternoon on the second day. I found it was much more comfortable to hold an umbrella than to put on overtrousers and pull on the hood of my jacket. Fortunately, it wasn’t windy.

The model I took was an M&S Ultralight collapsible, which weighs a modest 229g and folds down to 24cms. The spokes are flexible plastic and the end caps can flip off, so it’s much less likely to suffer a catastrophic failure in high winds. My only criticism is that the canopy material is not waterproof, so after sustained rain it tends to wet out. It doesn’t affect its effectiveness, but it’s a shame it’s not made of truly waterproof material.

Wally with a brolly?

Having sort of tested the theory of carrying an umbrella, I decided to have a look at a couple of other makes: a Senz Mini and a Golite Chrome Dome. I was lucky with the Senz Mini as I found it in a sale for £29.99, rather than the usual £39.95. It’s a slightly odd-looking beast as it’s asymmetrical with the handle positioned near the front. The theory is that it withstands winds much better. If you are interested, there’s some videos on the Senz site showing how it works. In the pictures below, it is the grey umbrella. It does look and feel a bit strange but it certainly works. It weighs 293g (not the 260g advertised), and it’s pretty robust.

The Senz Mini and Golite Chrome Dome umbrellas

I was tempted to use it for the TGO Challenge. However, recently there was an article on BPL.com by Francis Tapon, extolling the virtues of brolly backpacking made me think again. He uses a Golite Chrome Dome.

A quick whizz around the retailers revealed that Ultralight OutdoorGear had one in stock, so I though I’d give it a go. This is slightly different beast as it is not collapsible (unlike the Senz and M&S brollies). It is 63cms long, but is the lightest at 224g. The shaft and spars are high density fibreglass and Golite claim the shaft is virtually unbreakable. The canopy is waterproof polyester and metalicised to reflect the sun.

Despite the fact that it is more difficult to pack than the collapsible umbrellas, I’m quite drawn to the Chrome Dome. The handle grip is more comfortable and it just feels right. It’s also waterproof, so the rain won’t soak into the canopy. It’s also quite a bit lighter than the Senz. It’s not a totally straightforward choice as packability favours the M&S or the Senz. Strength favours the Senz or the Golite. Weight favours the Golite and M&S.

I know that Scotland is rather different from East Anglia and high winds would preclude using an umbrella some of the time, but for the right conditions, it’s difficult to beat a brolly for comfort. For the luxury of not having the rain beat down mercilessly on the hood of a waterproof and the possibility of avoiding the dreaded overtrousers, I reckon it’s got to be worth the modest weight penalty.

Pocket Stove

Hats off to Bob for producing some highly innovative British made lightweight stoves: the Pocket Stove and the Honey Stove. I’ve used gas almost exclusively for cooking. However, there are some attractions to other fuels like meths and wood, as Andy Howell has pointed out, especially travelling in Europe. So I thought I’d give the titanium pocket stove a whirl.

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There’s a picture slide show above, showing the Pocket Stove, its components and an Evernew Ti meths burner together with the Evernew DX stand/stove. The pocket stove weighed 55g on my scale (1g less than advertised!). I also bought the Evernew Ti trivet (14g). The Pocket stove, Evernew burner and trivet come to a total weight of 105g.

The beauty of the Pocket Stove is its compactness and the adaptability of using it as a windshield for a meths burner or as a wood stove. It’s very easy to assemble and surprisingly robust. It stays assembled nicely when you’d expect it to fall apart. I’ve not used it yet, but it does tempt me to dabble with meths and wood, especially for short trips. I reckon Bob has produced a winner here.

Hill Fit by Chris Highcock

Many of you will be aware of Hill Fit by Chris Highcock through reviews on Alan Sloman’s blog and Martin Rye’s blog. Chris very kindly sent me a copy to review as well. I think many like me struggle to maintain a good level of hill fitness. I’m lucky in one sense as I think I have a reasonable amount of core fitness that I’ve retained from my youth. Must have been all that football and cricket I played! I’m also lucky in that I’ve stayed reasonably thin, presumably because I have a high metabolism. Nevertheless, there are times when I do struggle a bit out in the hills. It’s not just a question of fitness or stamina, but strength. This is especially true when climbing hills.

This is where Hill Fit comes in. It’s not really a fitness book per se, it’s about a simple method for building core body strength. It is this approach that makes it different from other fitness books I’ve read and failed to put into practise. If you have a decent level of base fitness, which is true for many walkers, then walking 17-18 miles in a day is not usually a problem if it doesn’t involve much uphill. For instance the first day on our Peddars Way walk last year was over 17 miles and I felt pretty good. However, there are days in the Lake District where I’ve felt more tired after 7-8 miles, when I’ve had a lot of uphill.

Chris’s book gives enough background on fitness and strength to help you understand what is going on, without overwhelming you. There’s plenty of references at the back if you want to delve deeper into the whys and wherefores. I found the explanation just enough to answer my questions. Chris makes the point that his strength routine does not take the place of walking, but compliments it. Walking is still the best training for walking!

The strength routine consists of four basic exercises which should be done once or twice a week. Each exercise has a series of progressions to improve strength but shouldn’t take more than about ten minutes in all. Two of the exercises I’ve come across before. One is an exercise that I used to do before going skiing to strengthen my thighs and hips. The other is one that I’ve used to help my back. No gym equipment is required. One exercise requires a towel, but all the rest can be done without aids.

Does it work? I can’t give you an answer at the moment, but they are now part of my training for the TGO Challenge along with some walking. I’m hoping that it will stand me in good stead and that my strength for hill climbing will be improved. Having tried an exercise bike and gym membership, I feel this simple regime is likely to be more physiologically and cost-effective for backpacking.

If you are interested, go to Chris’s website hillfit.com and you can see the contents along with some comments from people more qualified than me! The book is downloadable as an eBook and costs £9.95. Well worth considering if you are looking for a simple way to get fit for the hills.

Disclaimer: Hill Fit was supplied to me free of charge to review.

Big Brother Google

Google has become an indispensable part of Internet life for many, including myself. Its search engine is without peer. Gmail has become the email client of choice enabling me to access emails when and where I want and giving me security of storage. Its spam filter is excellent. Picasa enables me to share my photos. It also helps me manage and edit them as well as putting together slide shows. YouTube helps me share videos and slide shows.

Google Reader keeps me up to date with a myriad of blogs. Google docs gives me online storage. Google earth helps me to reconnoiter and plan trips. Google maps and Streetview help me find where I’m going and to visualise unfamiliar places. I’ve used Google cart to buy stuff as well. Google has probably gathered a staggering amount of data on me. As yet I don’t use Chrome but I’m tempted given the recent unreliability of Firefox.

However, I must confess I have a growing unease about Google. Its growing ability to integrate the data it gathers on me with seemingly little restraint or constraint, I find worrying. What safeguards do I have that it might not be misused? Precious few as far as I can see. Both Google and Facebook appear to follow the path of “if its not prohibited, we’ll do it”, rather than taking a step back and looking at the broader picture of ethics and social desirability. One really creepy thing is the intention to use face recognition technology to recognise you from any photos across the web.

I am wondering whether I really want Google to know so much about me, even if, in theory, it is anonymous. How can I be sure that information won’t be misused or hijacked? I’m giving serious consideration to de-Googlising my life. For some emails I’ve gone back to my service provider’s email address. I know it’s not totally private, but at least it’s not being data mined. I’m wondering whether to use services other than Picasa or YouTube. Perhaps I should ditch Reader as well. If I use a patchwork of providers, then integrating the data to build a picture of me becomes much more difficult.

I’ve not succumbed to Facebook because I find their attitude to privacy even worse. It’s even making me a bit cautious about blogging (fortunately, I’m not on Blogger!). Are we sleepwalking into a world of perpetual surveillance and tracking? With mobile phones our service providers track our whereabouts and usage. Android and iOS feed back data. It seems our only defence might be to disintegrate our lives. In some ways that’s a shame as the integration of Google is one of its attractions. Am I being paranoid?

Exped shrink bag and schnozzel

Recently I bought a 20L Exped shrink bag and schnozzel. As they are unavailable in the UK, I had to order from Unterwegs in Germany. German prices are little different from UK prices for comparable products, but shipping was quite expensive at €13.80. The picture above shows the uncompressed size.The picture below shows the compressed size with an Alpkit Pipedream 600 sleeping bag. The “valve” is actually just a hole with a flap to seal, but it works fine. It is certainly effective in compressing a bulky sleeping bag, if you kneel on the shrink bag.

I’ve also bought a Synmat UL (which I’ll post on at a later date). I was intrigued by the schnozzel attachment to convert the shrink bag into a pump. The concept is similar to the pump bag Exped provided with their original down mats. Because the shrink bag is 20L, it is much more effective as a pump than the original smaller pump bags. It takes around five goes to fully inflate the Synmat. It’s a lot easier than blowing up by mouth. As with all Exped products, the quality is unimpeachable. Both products are well worth considering if you have an Exped mat. Weights are 182g for the shrink bag and 26g for the schnozzel.

Dartmoor video

I’ve put together another video slide show to the music of Harold Budd. This time it’s my walk across Dartmoor in April last year. It’s about six minutes long so get a cup of tea or coffee, sit back and relax.

Blair Atholl to Aviemore

I love putting pictures to the music of Harold Budd, so here’s another slide show with music. Blair Atholl to Aviemore via Glen Tilt and the Lairig Ghru is a classic backpacking trip. I did this in 2007. Although mainly dry, there was some rain right at the beginning and a spectacular snow shower opposite The Devil’s Point, which made for some moody pictures. Brew a cup of tea (or coffee) and enjoy a three-minute journey through the Cairngorms.

 

The true beauty of the Peddars Way

To balance the distress of yesterday’s picture, this is the true face of the Peddars Way. I recommend you take three days and enjoy it. We certainly did. Here’s a short slide show of our walk. The trip report is here.

Rubbish

The Peddars Way was an unexpected pleasure last year. Not that I didn’t expect to enjoy it. The company of Alan and Darren stacked the odds towards enjoyment. No, it was the countryside. Don’t get me wrong, I love the hills and mountains, but Norfolk is beautiful in a quintessentially English way.

What surprised me, was the comparative solitude, given we were walking through woodlands and farmland. The PW largely avoids habitation and Norfolk is surprisingly sparsely populated. This is not wilderness in the classic sense, but refreshingly empty.

The one thing that disturbed and disappointed me was the rubbish. Not that the trail was constantly besmirched by the stuff, but every so often, there would be something dumped by the wayside. Sometimes it was a plastic bag, empty or full.

The most shocking example was when we crossed a bridge over a disused railway line near Swaffham. Looking over the parapet, this was the view that greeted me. Words fail me.

Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX

I should have written a post on these a while ago. I bought a pair cheap in a sale just before Christmas, with a similar logic in mind to the X-Over shoes. However, these are a proper running shoe, but have a GoreTex liner.

Strangely the flex is slightly stiffer than the X-Overs and the sole under the fore foot is more cushioned. They share the 3D chassis with a very firm heel cup. The overall stiffness meant they required a couple of walks before they loosened up.

The lacing system is the Salomon Quicklace system with the pros and cons I outlined before. The tongue is less padded so a bit of care is needed not to over tighten.

It might seem a bit controversial to have a pair of shoes with a GTX lining. I’m not a huge fan of wet feet and I was keen to try a shoe that would keep me reasonably dry. My experience of GTX linings in my Fastpackers has been favourable. I’ve not found them particularly sweaty. I expect the Ultras to be even better as they don’t cover my ankles.

I’ve used them quite a lot for dog walks and like them. It’s good not to get wet feet. As the weather has been cool, it’s not surprising that my feet have not been sweaty. Grip is difficult to assess as I’ve not been on any demanding terrain. I suspect they will be ok, perhaps better on wet grass but worse on wet rock.

TBH, again, I see these as lowland shoes. I’ve found contouring on slopes in shoes uncomfortable compared with boots, so I’d rather use light boots in the hills. However, on gentler trails, especially in spring and autumn, I think these will be a good choice. Apologies for this seeming like a Salomon lovefest, but they do make good footwear and they fit me perfectly.

How effective is wind power?

Alan Sloman provides the answer on his blog. Hop over and have a look.

Incoming: Salomon X-Over shoes

I am fortunate that my feet seem to be the same shape as the last that Salomon use for their shoes and boots. I can be fairly confident that any Salomon footwear that I order online will fit straight from the box. I’ve been looking around for a trail shoe since walking the Peddars Way. For lowland trails, boots are overkill. I still prefer lightweight boots like the Fastpackers for the hills but using trail shoes on the PW would have been more sensible than the boots I used.

Most “trail shoes” are really designed for running. The X-Overs take many of the features of running shoes but turn them into an approach shoe. They remind me a bit of the Montrail CTC shoes. The soles are relatively soft rubber with chevron treads. I suspect they will be grippy in most circumstances but I also expect they would get clogged in very muddy conditions.

It’s a personal thing, but I don’t particularly like the very open mesh used in running shoes when I’m walking. I find them a bit cold in breezy conditions. They are also a bit like blotting paper. The mesh on the X-Overs is more closed and I suspect wind resistant. I doubt whether they will keep out water for very long, being unlined, but they do have a low profile rubber rand, which should give some modest protection against puddles. There is also a soft rubber toe bumper.

While the forefoot is flexible, the heel has a very solid cup. The X-Over uses the Salomon 3D chassis system, similar to the Quest and Comet boots. Consequently the heel section is fairly rigid and gives good support.

The tongue is quite heavily padded, which is a help as the laces are very thin. The lacing system uses the Salomon Quicklace system. All it requires is one pull on the laces and they lock using a pulley system. I’ve found this to be very effective on other Salomon shoes, but it takes some time to get used to and benefits from a bit of micro adjustment. The only drawback is that you can’t really adjust the upper and lower laces. I’ve not found this a problem in the past, but it might be an issue for others.

At 365g per shoe (size 9), they are fairly light. I rather like the colour scheme. I bought mine for £85. Once the weather improves a bit, I shall take them out on a few dog walks to see how they shape up.

The state of my gear: sleeping bags

l to r: Western Mountaineering Highlite, Alpkit Pipedream 400, Cumulus Quantum 350 (click on picture for slide show)

While sleeping bags are not quite as mission critical as footwear, rucksacks and tents, getting the right bag can make a huge difference to comfort and enjoyment. As countless experts will tell you, down bags are really the only choice the majority of the time.

When I was base camping, I had some synthetic sleeping bags from Vango, Ajungilak and Mountain Equipment. The Vango bag was a bit of a disaster as the outer material wasn’t very air permeable for some reason and it was a sweat box. After a couple of tries I had to ditch it and buy the Ajungilak.

When I started backpacking again, I had to forget the synthetics as they were too bulky and heavy. The first bag I bought was the Cumulus Ultralight 350. This is quite a sophisticated bag with trapezoidal baffles on the top side. The only criticism I had is that there is no neck baffle and the down is not the highest fill power.

The next step was to fill either side of the temperature continuum. An Alpkit Pipedream 600 for colder weather and a Western Mountaineering Highlite for warmer temperatures. I’ve not used the Pipedream 600 that much because I’ve not done much cold weather camping. I have the older version made from Pertex. Apart from the hood, which is a slightly odd shape, it’s an excellent and very warm bag.

The Western Mountaineering Highlite is one of the lightest bags you can buy at 470g. It has an unusual quilting pattern. The down is contained in rectangular boxes, where the horizontal baffles are sewn through and the vertical ones are box wall. This is a very effective way of ensuring an even distribution of a modest amount of down (c.225g).

The disadvantage of the Highlite is a lack of a zip baffle. Not only does this make the bag a shade colder than it could be, but it means that the cold zip puller dangles in your face if you sleep on one side. Fortunately, my mother sewed a small zip baffle and zip garage to cure this. At the same time she also added a neck baffle. These two mods have transformed the Highlite into an excellent summer bag, warm down to about 5c.

I was seduced by the next iteration of the Pipedream 400. With new materials and a reshaped hood, this is a really excellent bag. Weighing a modest 740g, it is warm down to freezing and slightly beyond. Compared with the Cumulus Ultralight, it has more loft and an excellent neck baffle. The hood is also markedly superior to the old style Pipedream. The material is not quite as luxurious to the touch as Pertex, but still very pleasant. Although the price has risen to £150 (mine was £120), it still represents superb value for money. If I just had to have one sleeping bag, this would be it.

My last sleeping bag is a morality tale of not believing advertised weights. The Cumulus Quantum 350 is advertised at 665g. I had inspected a friend’s bag and liked the Pertex material. For a higher spec of down and Pertex, as well as more sophisticated trapezoidal baffles, I thought this would be a good buy. When I weighed it, the bag was 727g. I’ve moaned about this before, but it is irresponsible of manufacturers and retailers to advertise the wrong weights.

Despite this disappointment, the Quantum 350 is a very good bag. The material is silky smooth and the trapezoidal baffles eliminate cold spots. The neck baffle is a bit on the small side, but generally it’s a very nice bag. It also packs down smaller than the Pipedream. However, taking everything into consideration, I would say that the Pipedream 400 shades it over the Quantum 350.

Given the longevity of down bags, it’s unlikely that I’ll be buying another for some time. The Pipedreams and the Highlite cover most situations. As a side sleeper and a restless sleeper, I don’t fancy a quilt. IMO, it’s difficult to beat Alpkit bags for a combination of value and quality. If you are solely focused on quality, then Western Mountaineering should be on your list. That’s not to say that I’m unhappy with my Cumulus bags, both of which are very good.