Can Someone Review My Gear List Please?

[widu13]

Thats a shame I used the shop fairly regularly (and the old one in Morland) but had resisted the temptation to go these last few months (always ended up buying something &#128540 - I'll miss it.
still regarding the Buffalo stuff, I'm sure another supplier should be able to place a custom order, I just recommended Penrith Survival because I'd had good service there.

I used to use them in the 80s when they were trading as Survival Aids. I've spent a lot of money there in the past!

 

[NothingRhymesWithRachel]

i sympathise with you Rachel as my wife has the same problem. Haven't got much to recommend I'm afraid but if you want to go down the pertex windshirt route, Buffalo will make custom versions of their products to your size requirements - contact Penrith Survival and they'll help you with that. Hope it helps.
For cheap synthetic mid layers, have a look in Primark - certainly not technical in any way but cheap and do larger sizes.

I went to Matalan today for a gander, and I found a men's XL Regatta coat. It's not too heavy, weatherproof and it fits (it's a tad loose in the chest and upper-upper body, but just about fits the hips - the next size down wouldn't fit around me at all), but it was £23 and will do the job for the time being. I'm not a 'sweaty' sort of person despite being quite warm, so I'm not overly bothered that Regatta aren't as breathable as other brands for now.

I also bought a Lambswool jumper (again, men's department). It's very warm and fits nicely, goes well with the coat in terms of insulation and comfort. Tiny bit itchy on the arms when I first put it on, but I got used to it after a few minutes wear!

Now the main size-wise thing I need is trousers. Plus sized hiking trousers that fit a 27 inch inside leg... now there's a miracle if I ever needed one haha.

Thanks for the info, I'll take a look at Penrinth!

 

[Herbalist1]

Glad you got a coat that was a reasonable fit. How were the arms - when my wife's tried a larger size men's coat the arms are always way too long!
as Widu as pointed out - looks like Penrith Survival has gone - but you could try another Buffalo supplier.
good look with the trousers.

 

[NothingRhymesWithRachel]

Glad you got a coat that was a reasonable fit. How were the arms - when my wife's tried a larger size men's coat the arms are always way too long!
as Widu as pointed out - looks like Penrith Survival has gone - but you could try another Buffalo supplier.
good look with the trousers.

Oh man the arms are ridiculous; my arms are a little shorter than average, so there's probably a good 4-5 inches of overhang. But I use the velcro sleeve tightner things. Makes the sleeves look a little ruffled (which I hate, but again this is a lifelong problem, I've never in my life owned a long-sleeved item that fit me properly), but it 'fits' as far as things go!

 

[sunndog]

Arktis do a good smock sized pertex windshirt that should fit

 

[Goatboy]

The names of the companies escape me at the moment and they're not cheap but there are two companies one near Applecross the other on Skye that do bespoke outdoor gear in fabrics ranging from GTX, Ventile & Nikwax Anology. They do off the peg stuff too and if you visit will also alter off the peg stuff from.stock or off the sale rail. If you do mail order they send you a pack of swatches with a catalogue of styles and show you how to measure yourself up so that they can send out fitted kit. They do outer jackets & trousers as well as some midlayers. Handy if you don't conform to the accepted "norm".
Memory coming back a bit as I type, the one near Applecross was called Slioch 'till a couple of years ago when they had a staff buy-out.
Both did cracking gear.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[SCOMAN]

If you want to go down the Buffalo route Arktis are selling off their Buffalo 'type' smocks very reasonably. The Antartica shirt they are selling are basically like a Norgie top but a mix with a merino content. They're nice but quickly go 'bubbly'.

http://www.arktisoutdoor.co.uk/index.php/product-category/sale/

 

[forrestdweller]

I'm guessing that he meant cheap compasses. Big fan of Silva myself but I've had very poor results with other brands.

in case that's a referrence to my post: the earth is divided in five (?) magnetic zones -if using a compass in the wrong zone can lead to misfunction (=if using a compass only adjusted for northern hemisphere in the southern hemishphere can cause the needle to get stuck and not moving); you need to get a compass which works worldwide (i use a recta dp65-- no connections to maker!) or get your compass adjusted (or purchase one locally)....

has nothing to do with quality/price....

 

[mrcharly]

in case that's a referrence to my post: the earth is divided in five (?) magnetic zones -if using a compass in the wrong zone can lead to misfunction (=if using a compass only adjusted for northern hemisphere in the southern hemishphere can cause the needle to get stuck and not moving); you need to get a compass which works worldwide (i use a recta dp65-- no connections to maker!) or get your compass adjusted (or purchase one locally)....

has nothing to do with quality/price....

It was Tallywacker who used the phrase 'unreliable'.
It's really not that big a deal. My first Silva was an australian one, I used it for years in the UK. Sure, the needle doesn't swing as freely as one balanced for your magnetic zone, but I've never seen one totally stick.

I have seen GPS give reading 100s of metres out (some of the signals were bouncing off hills) and I've had a garmin unit fail due to vibration. Oh and then there is running out of power.
As least with a compass you know if it is working or not. Nav-instructor John says they are reliable. State-level orienteering competitor (me) says they are reliable.

 

[widu13]

Suggesting a quality compass is unreliable is fairly absurd! Being subjected to variances does not automatically make a compass unreliable. Despite years of training and use I failed to navigate across a desert at night in Jan '91 without the help of a compass. I have also failed to cross a moor in 2m visibilty in the daylight. If you can't see **** a map is only good for toilet paper. I have never failed to "march" on a bearing.

 

[mrmike]

The names of the companies escape me at the moment and they're not cheap but there are two companies one near Applecross the other on Skye that do bespoke outdoor gear in fabrics ranging from GTX, Ventile & Nikwax Anology. They do off the peg stuff too and if you visit will also alter off the peg stuff from.stock or off the sale rail. If you do mail order they send you a pack of swatches with a catalogue of styles and show you how to measure yourself up so that they can send out fitted kit. They do outer jackets & trousers as well as some midlayers. Handy if you don't conform to the accepted "norm".
Memory coming back a bit as I type, the one near Applecross was called Slioch 'till a couple of years ago when they had a staff buy-out.
Both did cracking gear.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

Think the other one is hilltrek?

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

 

[Goatboy]

Think the other one is hilltrek?

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

I think you are right, that's ringing some bells.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[spiritwalker]

Scotland and nobodies mentioned a mozzinet or bug repellent your probably safe that time of year but come on its Scotland = Midges

 

[tallywhacker]

I wonder if the description of compasses as "unreliable" could be explained please?
Except for very few and very localised abnormalities I have found compasses to be very reliable and a basic essential for good navigation.

Just got home, sorry for the delay. Sure, no problem. In the initial draft i condensed everything because it was far too bulky, i am also rather poor at wording some things (as mentioned in the opening section). Seems i stripped it down a bit too much and fudged what i intended to say.


I initially said:
"Up to you, but don't rely on them, learn your route well. Compasses are more of an emergency tool, they can be quite unreliable"

What i meant to say:
- Near certain areas depending on the type of rock (bowfell being a great example) readings can be skewed due to relatively high magnetism. The fells around the greater langdale valley in particular have quite a lot of the offending rock, so while it is rare in most areas i guess in some it can be a more widespread problem. IMO it could potentially become a problem in the kind of weather a compass is really needed, like fog, especially if not following an established trail.
- I also meant to emphasise that the primary port of call should be prior research and common sense. A compass to me is a failsafe, by no means do i mean not to carry or use one. There are some folk who will pull them out every time they pull out a map, even if the visibility is perfect and there are obvious 'landmarks' to get a bearing off without a compass. What would those people do if they lost their compass?

Hope that clears things up. I have edited the post. If i am wrong please do say so John, i respect that you are very clued up on the subject.

 

[tallywhacker]

I have seen GPS give reading 100s of metres out (some of the signals were bouncing off hills) and I've had a garmin unit fail due to vibration. Oh and then there is running out of power.
As least with a compass you know if it is working or not. Nav-instructor John says they are reliable. State-level orienteering competitor (me) says they are reliable.

I have had the same experience with GPS readings, i won't even carry GPS any more. A friend is an officer in the merchant navy, i brought this up with him and he explained the good ones monitor your movement to remove such anomalies somehow. He voiced doubts that any 'civillian' GPS would have this feature. My magellan obviously does not, but it is neither a recent or top end model.

A compass is much better as a 'cr*p, im' lost' tool IMO, also far lighter. Also feels manly to use a map and compass. xD

 

[mrcharly]

A compass is much better as a 'cr*p, im' lost' tool IMO, also far lighter.

That's actually how *not* to use a compass. the people who always pull out a compass with their map have it right.

You always pull out the compass with the map to cross-check orientation. Orient the map by the compass. Check visible features against what you can see on the map. Do they correlate with the orientation of the map? Still not sure of position? Take several bearings on features, transfer to map and find where they cross.

Nothing visible due to fog or cloud? Orient map by compass - check slope of ground against contours on map.

There are a lot of map and compass techniques.

 

[tallywhacker]

If you take that quote in context i am drawing a comparison against a gps as an emergency tool, i am not saying that is it's only use. For general purpose compass use i used the word failsaife in the preceding post.

As for people using a compass when there are plenty of visible landmarks (which is what i said), all they need to do is look and pay attention to see that the map can only fit in one possible orientation. If you can competently figure out your bearing visibly via landmarks to put against a map you don't need a compass every time. So no, you don't need to always pull out a compass with a map regardless of how text book it is.

If you feel you need one in such a situation, that's up to you, but i know for a fact that i don't. If i was unsure of orientation, i would then use a compass, hence failsafe; but then i don't wrap myself in cotton wool. Sounds 'edgy', not meant to be. HYOH.

 

[Robmc]

If you take that quote in context i am drawing a comparison against a gps as an emergency tool, i am not saying that is it's only use. For general purpose compass use i used the word failsaife in the preceding post.

As for people using a compass when there are plenty of visible landmarks, which is what i said, all they need to do is look and pay attention to see that the map can only fit in one possible orientation. If you can competently figure out your bearing visibly via landmarks to put against a map you don't need a compass, no debate. So no, you don't need to always pull out a compass with a map regardless of how text book it is.

If you feel you need one in such a situation, that's up to you, but i know for a fact that i don't. If i was unsure, i would then use a compass, hence failsafe, but then i don't wrap myself in cotton wool. HYOH.

I'm with you on this, but it's horses for courses I suppose.

For such a long and comprehensive (and excellent) post you made, there was bound to be some healthy debate.

 

[tallywhacker]

Just hoping i have not derailed the thread, i don't mind the debate at all.

 

[SGL70]

A Compass might be important, but learning navigation or orienteering is more important, methinks. I would recommend the latter - you get to train using map/compass when fatigued (and we are many that could use a bit of excercise ). Also, it is normally safe to fail in such a setting....but to each, his/hers own...

As for the kit list....well, anything suitable that gets you outdoors is good - time/experience will refine the list for you. I dont really know the environment you are going to, so I'll refrain from advicing....but from my hiking experience we city dwellers (myself included) tend to come overloaded with kit, when comparing with the Saami who is out there in a professional (and cultural) capacity.

My 2 cents...