This is just about what was worthy of note and what I thought you might be interested in.
Bergen: Berghuas Crusader 90-120
Can't complain with this bag. Its split main compartment enabled me to pull out tarp and hammock from the bottom without disturbing other stuff stored above it. This made setting up camp in torrential rain quick and efficient. The pack was comfortable and I never had to fiddle about to maintain comfort during the hikes. I used liners to ensure dryness in case of a tumble in the many rivers we crossed. Since the bag has its own water resistant lining to stop water migrating through the fabric and stitching, the benefit of drybags was to prevent wet stuff getting the dry stuff wet.
The only thing to consider is that it was a little larger than it needed to be and also heavy at 3.5 Kilos (with side pouches) I don't worry about weight, but if flying in small aircraft it does become an issue when you have to decide what to leave behind.
Bum bag: Snugpak Patrol
Natty piece of kit used for short patrols where you need to have a bit of 1st aid capability as well as camera, note pad pencil blah blah.
I didn't use mine much as I had large pockets in clothing.
5 of our party had these bags, all of them failed in same way. The stitching securing the hip band to the body of the pouch was faulty, leading to a weak spot that runs. Although I didn't use mine with the hip strap, on examination it was clear that it too would have failed in short time.
Boots, US Junglies (I think)
I modified mine by substituting the laces with big chunky zip closures purchased from an army supplies depot. These make the boot "fit" the same every time you put them on and entry and exit from the boots almost as quick as slippers!
I broke these boots in by the "wet walking" method followed by daily "sweat" use for a couple weeks interspersed with a couple of hill walks. By the time I went they were lovely and I had no blisters. The drain holes work fantastic.
Socks: Bridgedale Trekker
Personal taste, but I found these a few years ago and for me are the best. Not cheap but worth it when I get home from a 20 miler with feet in good condition.
Shirts and Trousers (pants, for American readers): Craghopper NosilifeThese clothing items are impregnated with an insect repellent and given a chance, dry rapidly. Most of the team were using these products. All performed well, I personally can say that I had no bug bites and stayed relatively leach free. I had one on my hand and though several attached to my boots, none seemed to want to venture up my legs.
They have large useful pockets, hence didn't use the bum bag as much. Also very strong fabric, resistant to tearing. However that barbed "wait a while" rattan is vicious stuff and in a tug of war between shirt and vine, the vine wins..... eventually, but you have to work hard to tear one of these shirts.
Water Filter: Pure hydration pattern 58 water bottle
http://www.purehydration.com/cms/wp-content/files_mf/how_it_works39.pdf
Everyone has a different view on water purification and confidence is key.
As a team at base camp we used a pair of the Sawyer Water Squeeze systems adapted to fit large 5 litre bags. These are superb and work well. However with a majority of the team using them, the filters did begin to clog after about 5 days. I think there is a way to back pressure clean them.
With confidence in that system, I swapped to my own Pure Hydration bottle which has the same type of 2 micron filter. This did me well for over a week before it too began to clog. It still works, I just have to be more patient but unlike the Sawyer Squeeze I will have to replace the filter before too long.
I liked the Pattern 58 because I could drink straight from the bottle without fiddling about with pipes and connections.
I want to buy a Sawyer and make a converter to interface with my SIG bottles.
Hammock: DD Hamocks Frontline
Good value for money hammock. Particularly like the double layer in which I put a sleep mat to insulate against cold air during the night in the UK.
I modded the slings with climbing static lines and karabiners which provided both drip guards and a tensioning system. Combined with the 3 meter tarp I didn't once get damp.
Before I left, I managed to rip the bottom layer of the hammock and had to effect an emergency repair. I used "McNett" tenacious tent repair tape and a nylon repair sealant type glue. I was very impressed with this stuff. It held much better than I thought it would and was soon bouncing on it too see how well it would hold. It held. At least in the UK.
A week in the jungle though and the heat and humidity got into it once part of the repair failed, a new rip found the weakness and that was that. The second layer though was plenty strong enough and with the sleep mat sandwiched between the layers I didn't have any sleepless nights.
I now looking to replace with either a Hennessy or a UK Hammocks design.
Camera: Fuji Coolpix water proof something or other
Cant remember the model, I borrowed it from my Dad thinking that a water proof camera would be just the ticket for the nasty damp jungle interior.
Turns out that water proof means that water vapour is so well sealed inside that extremes of temperature and humidity outside, make it mist up on the inside. Secondly the camera had no manual mode and was difficult to predict results from its many many scene modes.
By the end of the second week, I was constantly trying to find ways of clearing condensation by cooling parts of the camera with respect other parts. A right pain in the bum.
You might never do a trip like this again, so take a camera you are completely familiar with and pop it into a drybag.
Well that's about it really. There were lots of little things I could talk about. Sporks: I broke several of those, not all my own! Recommend a metal one really.
Oh, head torch. Buy one that has a red light setting and make sure it is sealed against moisture. (IP54)
I had a spare fortunately, as the cheap non-sealed one disintegrated within days.
Don't show off and buy a super powerful one; Number one its heavy and number 2 all that light will be thrown back at you from trees and shrubs just feet away whilst calling in insects from over the horizon. Save it for the "my torch is brighter than your torch competition" back home.
You will all want to know about knives and like.
We used a locally made Perang which has a thick heavy, slightly curved blade, bevelled on one side only. It has a sweet spot when chopping with a lot of momentum when used correctly and was originally designed for lopping off heads!
Attached to its wooden sheath is a rattan knife, a small pointed blade on a long handle. This we used for smaller crafty work, so most of us didn't bring any sort of blade from the UK. I had my small Spyderco folder as a back up and never used it.
Hope that was useful or at least informative.
Look forward to a local pub meet soon.
MORFY
Bergen: Berghuas Crusader 90-120
Can't complain with this bag. Its split main compartment enabled me to pull out tarp and hammock from the bottom without disturbing other stuff stored above it. This made setting up camp in torrential rain quick and efficient. The pack was comfortable and I never had to fiddle about to maintain comfort during the hikes. I used liners to ensure dryness in case of a tumble in the many rivers we crossed. Since the bag has its own water resistant lining to stop water migrating through the fabric and stitching, the benefit of drybags was to prevent wet stuff getting the dry stuff wet.
The only thing to consider is that it was a little larger than it needed to be and also heavy at 3.5 Kilos (with side pouches) I don't worry about weight, but if flying in small aircraft it does become an issue when you have to decide what to leave behind.
Bum bag: Snugpak Patrol
Natty piece of kit used for short patrols where you need to have a bit of 1st aid capability as well as camera, note pad pencil blah blah.
I didn't use mine much as I had large pockets in clothing.
5 of our party had these bags, all of them failed in same way. The stitching securing the hip band to the body of the pouch was faulty, leading to a weak spot that runs. Although I didn't use mine with the hip strap, on examination it was clear that it too would have failed in short time.
Boots, US Junglies (I think)
I modified mine by substituting the laces with big chunky zip closures purchased from an army supplies depot. These make the boot "fit" the same every time you put them on and entry and exit from the boots almost as quick as slippers!
I broke these boots in by the "wet walking" method followed by daily "sweat" use for a couple weeks interspersed with a couple of hill walks. By the time I went they were lovely and I had no blisters. The drain holes work fantastic.
Socks: Bridgedale Trekker
Personal taste, but I found these a few years ago and for me are the best. Not cheap but worth it when I get home from a 20 miler with feet in good condition.
Shirts and Trousers (pants, for American readers): Craghopper NosilifeThese clothing items are impregnated with an insect repellent and given a chance, dry rapidly. Most of the team were using these products. All performed well, I personally can say that I had no bug bites and stayed relatively leach free. I had one on my hand and though several attached to my boots, none seemed to want to venture up my legs.
They have large useful pockets, hence didn't use the bum bag as much. Also very strong fabric, resistant to tearing. However that barbed "wait a while" rattan is vicious stuff and in a tug of war between shirt and vine, the vine wins..... eventually, but you have to work hard to tear one of these shirts.
Water Filter: Pure hydration pattern 58 water bottle
http://www.purehydration.com/cms/wp-content/files_mf/how_it_works39.pdf
Everyone has a different view on water purification and confidence is key.
As a team at base camp we used a pair of the Sawyer Water Squeeze systems adapted to fit large 5 litre bags. These are superb and work well. However with a majority of the team using them, the filters did begin to clog after about 5 days. I think there is a way to back pressure clean them.
With confidence in that system, I swapped to my own Pure Hydration bottle which has the same type of 2 micron filter. This did me well for over a week before it too began to clog. It still works, I just have to be more patient but unlike the Sawyer Squeeze I will have to replace the filter before too long.
I liked the Pattern 58 because I could drink straight from the bottle without fiddling about with pipes and connections.
I want to buy a Sawyer and make a converter to interface with my SIG bottles.
Hammock: DD Hamocks Frontline
Good value for money hammock. Particularly like the double layer in which I put a sleep mat to insulate against cold air during the night in the UK.
I modded the slings with climbing static lines and karabiners which provided both drip guards and a tensioning system. Combined with the 3 meter tarp I didn't once get damp.
Before I left, I managed to rip the bottom layer of the hammock and had to effect an emergency repair. I used "McNett" tenacious tent repair tape and a nylon repair sealant type glue. I was very impressed with this stuff. It held much better than I thought it would and was soon bouncing on it too see how well it would hold. It held. At least in the UK.
A week in the jungle though and the heat and humidity got into it once part of the repair failed, a new rip found the weakness and that was that. The second layer though was plenty strong enough and with the sleep mat sandwiched between the layers I didn't have any sleepless nights.
I now looking to replace with either a Hennessy or a UK Hammocks design.
Camera: Fuji Coolpix water proof something or other
Cant remember the model, I borrowed it from my Dad thinking that a water proof camera would be just the ticket for the nasty damp jungle interior.
Turns out that water proof means that water vapour is so well sealed inside that extremes of temperature and humidity outside, make it mist up on the inside. Secondly the camera had no manual mode and was difficult to predict results from its many many scene modes.
By the end of the second week, I was constantly trying to find ways of clearing condensation by cooling parts of the camera with respect other parts. A right pain in the bum.
You might never do a trip like this again, so take a camera you are completely familiar with and pop it into a drybag.
Well that's about it really. There were lots of little things I could talk about. Sporks: I broke several of those, not all my own! Recommend a metal one really.
Oh, head torch. Buy one that has a red light setting and make sure it is sealed against moisture. (IP54)
I had a spare fortunately, as the cheap non-sealed one disintegrated within days.
Don't show off and buy a super powerful one; Number one its heavy and number 2 all that light will be thrown back at you from trees and shrubs just feet away whilst calling in insects from over the horizon. Save it for the "my torch is brighter than your torch competition" back home.
You will all want to know about knives and like.
We used a locally made Perang which has a thick heavy, slightly curved blade, bevelled on one side only. It has a sweet spot when chopping with a lot of momentum when used correctly and was originally designed for lopping off heads!
Attached to its wooden sheath is a rattan knife, a small pointed blade on a long handle. This we used for smaller crafty work, so most of us didn't bring any sort of blade from the UK. I had my small Spyderco folder as a back up and never used it.
Hope that was useful or at least informative.
Look forward to a local pub meet soon.
MORFY
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