Backpacking Ben Lawers
- Thread starter theoctagon
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BushMoot: Come along to the amazing Summer Moot 31st July - 5th August (extended Moot : 27th July - 8th August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Cheers mate, thanks for feedback too, that vid was knocked up using one of the GoPro templates so a bit limited re sound. Hopefully I'll get better at the editing with more experience
You mean you're not taking the TS with you?Is there a thread I've missed re the trip?
Cheers mate
Lot i'll be wanting something a tad more on the heated side of things
no thread yet as its still some months away. Might get one more TS outing in before too long. Really want to pitch it in the snow
Lot i'll be wanting something a tad more on the heated side of things
no thread yet as its still some months away. Might get one more TS outing in before too long. Really want to pitch it in the snow
Good stuff, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a thread popping up re your trip
Great pics and video. What a fantastic place to camp
Many thanks
Nice one Matt, not watched vid yet but the pics look great
Did you get any snowfall while you were camping, how did the TS handle it? I've always wondered after seeing pics from Japan on BPL with a very flat TS under a foot of fresh snow
Cheers mate, the TS was superb, the snow was pretty soft so i thought i might have a bit of trouble getting it pegged out but it was fine. Used 3 snow pegs and the rest normal Easton pegs.
I woke about 3am and it seemed to have a bit of slack in it so I thought one of the pegging points must have come loose and ventured out to tighten things up but nothing needed adjusting. The problem was with the centre pole which had sunk into the snow. This was easily resolved by extending the pole a little. A crampon under the centre pole should prevent this happening in the future
Not sure if we actually had much snowfall or if it was just wind blown snow or a bit of both but the bottom foot or so of each edge was covered and I needed to do some digging to get to the pegs in the morning. Guessing it was the extra weight of this snow that made the pole sink a little. Will definetly be using the TS for further fun in the snow
Matt
Agreed, I'm hoping for lots of snow and winter camping in the Lakes this year but we shall see
Yeah he loves it!
Great report Matt
Cracking pictures as always but the vid adds another dimension, i really got a sense of the atmosphere of the trip.
Looks like a stunning trip & a good run out for the kit - i'm now going to search for a TS door
Cheers mate
Done a longer edit now which I'm a bit happier with, haven't got around to uploading it yet though
I've made my own Trailstar door based on the Cuben Oookworks one Yet to use it though!
Cheers mate
Matt
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Hi Mat, which snow stakes did you use? I'm aiming to get a Trailstar next Feb or maybe a Lightwave G30 (birthday present) is an inner nest essential all year round or just for midge season? Although I notice in the vid you used an inner, so maybe that answers the question. I can't help thinking the lightwave would work out cheaper, if I need a nest as well for the Trailstar. Any thoughts on that dilemma appreciated. Oh fantastic post by the way!
Hiya mate, I have some of the Terra nova snow stakes, they're pretty massive though but at least they're not going to bugde, I think some of the smaller Chinese ones from ebay would probably be enough. As for the inner, not essential by any means, guess it just depends on where you're going to be camping and when? I either use the inner, a bivy bag, a bathtub floor, or just a Polycryo groundsheet depending on time of year etc. From what I've read most people just use either a bivy or groundsheet. A friend of mine has had his Trailstar for over 3 years and never used a bivy or an inner, just very occasionally used a midge headnet, but he tends to camp high so midges etc aren't often a problem.
Trailstar or Lightwave G30, hmmmm, for me Trailstar every time but i'm biased as I love the thing. Trailstar plus Oookworks inner is going to be a bit pricey compared to the G30 though, but that said the workmanship on the Oookworks stuff is fantastic. There are a few cheaper inners available, think Bearpaw WD make one plus an inner is something you could always add at a later date. That said Tarp shelters aren't for everyone, if you think you'd prefer a tent and you don't need a three person tent I'd buy the Scarp 1, which isn't much more (inc fees etc) than the Lightwave (they also do a 2/3/4 person if you do need space for more). Plus TS weighs approx 600g where as the Lightwave is 2850g.
Matt
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Thanks for the great response Matt. My rationale for the lightwave or Trailstar was a 2 person requirement plus room for gear and the G30 is on offer at gooutdoors at the moment. I often use tarps and bivy bags as well as an Alpkit Delta if it's just me camping, I usually wild camp in Wales, near Trefan etc or the Peaks. In future I'm looking at extending my trips into winter, but my 11 yr old son needs to be a bit older and sturdier first, as in he needs to carry more gear! Apart from the fact I love the looks of the Trailstar, it was the weight and pack size that appealed to me. I've read loads of reviews, but I think you've convinced me, looks like I'll be ordering one in the new year! Thanks again.
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