The Vault Regulars

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Gallaway and Cumbria

 Why does packing take me so long. No you don’t have to tell me.
Because we are off to the Galloway hills on Saturday which then concludes with the Duddon Valley fell race next weekend, we have to prepare for the different options.

 We will be doing some day walks, an overnight or 2 backpack, a campsite and a fell race marshalling point as usual, on Swirl How.

 So having all the different clothing and gear requirements to cater for all weather conditions has meant almost emptying the loft.

 We also have some new gear to test out which i can’t wait to do.

 We have new sleeping bags from PHD - Minimus 500. At just under a kilo and graded as -10 deg C they won’t get much of tough test with us now being in summer. But we will get a good idea.

 We also have a new sleeping mat and a pair of gaiters from the budget brigade which look a very good bit of kit for the money. More to come.

 Also, the good people at Outdoors Look have asked me to review a couple of long sleeved, zipped necked baselayer tops which i am looking forward to doing. I have been sent these FOC.
One is from Trespass and the other from Helly Hanson. Both completely different to each other so that will be interesting.

 And lastly, a pair of Berghaus power Stretch gloves.

We will endeavour to blog along the way so hopefully i won’t forget the camera or the cables and i can let you know how we get on.

8 comments:

  1. It will be interesting to get your view about sleeping bags as I need a new one as I don't like the mummy style one I have now. I don't walk with it but it needs to be compact for storage at home.

    See you both at the fell race. Keep thinking dry with a slight breeze!
    Mrs G

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs G! Welcome.
    Sleeping bags eh. Well most backpacking sleeping bags are mummy shaped so it would be a struggle to find a good one that wasn't. However quilts with an insulated mat are becoming very popular. They are down and so would be small to keep at home. However its not good to keep down in storage for long periods.
    They are also expensive. Click on the link to view the quilts.
    http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=quilt&x=0&y=0
    Other companies do them cheaper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's always nice to try out new gear. Have a nice trip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Maria. It must be time for you and the family to be getting out now. No new posts for a while.

      Delete
    2. Yes, I'm heading for a two night backpacking trip with my son and father-in-law this Sunday - that is, tomorrow!

      Actually I *did* update last night :) The spring has been tough with the studies (luckily the hard work has meant good results!) and the blog has been neglected. Now I have a couple of nice trips planned for the summer, including a week in Lapland...

      Delete
  4. I think the problem with the "Mummy" style sleeping bag is that they're a bit restricting. They don't have the old fashioned zip up the the side to open when you're too hot.

    Mr G

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mrs G.
    Zips on mummy bags are not rare. Lots of bags come with full zips. Have a look at Webtogs site for a vast number of sleeping bags with zips or without.
    Our new PHD bags have full zips.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Maria,
    That will be nice.
    Good to hear all the hard work studying has paid off.
    Lapland, oh nice.

    ReplyDelete

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