2015 Maxpedition Sabercat Wild Camping Loadout

[-Zen-]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been on here but thought I'd start the new year with an updated kit list for 2015. At first glance this looks like a heavyweight kit but when you pair everything down it actually comes out around light-medium weight.

I'll be going to Glen Quoich near Braemar in the Cairngorms with a friend for a 2-nighter sometime soon so it's missing an item or two that I will include for future solo ventures (lightweight fly fishing kit, journal, hatchet to name the main absentees) but I'm really happy with this kit and the way it's panned out!

I thought this would be easier to upload as an image - importing tables from MS Word looked time consuming - and so the formatting is a little squint to make up for the spread over two pages but here's the almost finished article:

If anyone has any thoughts, opinions or questions feel free to reply, a lot of thought has went into the list so I'm happy to explain my reasons and choices for the kit. And of course, if you're planning a trip in Scotland sometime soon and would like my company an invite is welcome.

I'll be uploading a seriously pic-heavy thread once the last of the items have been ordered and arrived (the very few items noted as "TBC" in the list) and I'll be keeping an online blog on my kit/outings/shenanigans in the near future.

Cheers and have a great year,

Zen

 

[sandbender]

"...If anyone has any thoughts, opinions..."

I find those images impossible to read and painful to look at, maybe I'm just getting old.

Stick up some pics of the gear itself please.

 

[Bishop]

It'll be interesting to see it all loaded up on your back so looking forward to the pictures.

Personally I'd swap out the trangia style stove & trivet for a DIY pop-can stove with side jets, no trivet required and add something for a windshield.

 

[petrochemicals]

One light source is pushing it, rather than spare batteries take a spare head torch

 

[Angry Pirate]

Personally I'd have gone with a waterproof jacket and trousers and used a seperate tarp. The poncho tips the scales at 1.1 kg and my wetproof kit / tarp combo is similar weight but would give the extra waterproof protection in case it's tipping it down, my tarp is up for the night and I need to head out for a wee. Plus if you're walking all day in torrential weather waterproof trousers are a must I reckon.

 

[sandbender]

"...Plus if you're walking all day in torrential weather waterproof trousers are a must I reckon..."

I cannot get on with waterproof trousers and now either wear a pair of running shorts in the warmer months or Buffalo trousers in the winter. My legs get wet if it rains, but I am waterproof and dry pretty quickly.

 

[Trojan]

Good list and similar to mine- pics would be good.

I am interested in what food you would take as that would add to the weight.

 

[-Zen-]

Personally I'd swap out the trangia style stove & trivet for a DIY pop-can stove with side jets, no trivet required and add something for a windshield.

This sounds pretty interesting, I'll definitely look into it!

 

[-Zen-]

Good list and similar to mine- pics would be good.

I am interested in what food you would take as that would add to the weight.

Pics will be up soon, I have all of the kit above with only a few pieces still to arrive by mail so it shouldn't be too long. It's taken a while to get this far and I'm happy to hear we have a similar outlook. What kind of food do you mostly take to camp?

 

[-Zen-]

Personally I'd have gone with a waterproof jacket and trousers and used a seperate tarp. The poncho tips the scales at 1.1 kg and my wetproof kit / tarp combo is similar weight but would give the extra waterproof protection in case it's tipping it down, my tarp is up for the night and I need to head out for a wee. Plus if you're walking all day in torrential weather waterproof trousers are a must I reckon.

Yeah this took some considerable trial and effort to decide on but I personally find my setup works for me. Wet trousers aren't a bother to me as long as they dry quickly at camp, which they do well at. As for using the poncho as a tarp I find that if it's bucketing down I'll be less inclined to do out of camp activities once I'm set up - the bivi gets rolled out (seen as it's completely waterproof) and the bag stored inside while I gather fire wood and any resources I need. Once I know I'm settling down for a bit the 'tarp' gets strung up, any water pooling on my bivi gets shook off and I'll get on with cooking, maintaining kit, crafting or whatever while under cover. I'm not a weight-weenie so a slightly heavier poncho at the aid of better quality is completely fine with me. In Scotland it gets used a lot - as expected - and while I've had great success before with lesser quality (but lighter) ponchos, I find the pop studs break constantly and the material can be uncomfortable to wear as it's not very breathable. The Hazard 4 solves this problem and then some, it's a smashing piece of kit and a stalwart of my kit, different strokes for different folks I suppose!