lightweight camp kit

[gaahl]

hi i know this has been done before but this is what i have so far for a walk into the dales/lakes with overnight camp

Vango Banshee 200 Tent
Alpkit Wee Aric sleep mat
Snugpak Travelpak Lite
MSR Pocket Rocket Stove and Titan Kettle
MSR Dromlite bag 2L
Alpkit Gourdon 30 Drybag

what other lightweight essentials i missing ? apart from some grub

thanks

 

[Mirius]

Clothes would be good Welcome to the forums!

Seriously though the search for lightweight kit is an understandable one, but are you looking for just lightweight items? There are some specialist forums that deal with that sort of thing. or were you looking for general advice about kit you haven't listed?

I have been there in the past with my toothbrush with the sawn off handle and it's a delicate balance to maintain

 

[gaahl]

Hi yes just general advice, i'm not looking for mountain climbing light just not wanting carry a massive weight as not sure how far i will wander before picking a spot to spend the night. The stuff i have so far is well priced compared to a lot of fancy gear but is all on the lighter side

Ta

 

[ZDP-189]

Vango Banshee 200 Tent
http://www.vango.co.uk/products/tentsinfo.asp?typename=261

2.2kg 2 man tent (1.1kg/pax)

Alpkit Wee Aric sleep mat
http://www.alpkit.com/airic/

460gr shorty lightweight self inflating sleepmat

Snugpak Travelpak Lite
http://www.snugpak.com/20_outdoors/21_10_travelpaklite.htm

700gr fairweather/ warmweather bag

MSR Pocket Rocket Stove and Titan Kettle
http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/pocket_rocket_kettle.asp

207gr cooking kit

MSR Dromlite bag 2L
http://www.msrcorp.com/hydration/dromlite.asp

130gr water bag (plus 2kg water)

Alpkit Gourdon 30 Drybag
http://www.alpkit.com/gourdon/

658gr 30L waterproof rucksack

Well, you have good taste in kit. I have been planning to make my own drybag rucksack for a while.

You'll not shave much weight without making your own and/or compromising durability. The main problem may be that your shortie mat and lightweight sleeping bag will leave you a bit cold.

 

[Mirius]

Kit is something that comes with experience. I doubt if you'd get more than half the members of this forum to agree on any particular item of kit. It's a balance of price, performance and most important of all, preference. Some of the things that you've got now you'll stick with, other bits you'll abandon and replace.

For what you've got I'd say that you are looking at a summer camp in the hills, your rucksack probably isn't big enough to take all the kit you should need at other times of year - but again it depends on what and where you intend to work. If you intend to basecamp as it were by the car and use the pack as a daysack, then it'll work, but that isn't in my experience a load carrying system. That though is my experience from carrying heavy packs where a proper hip belt is crucial (others hate hip belts, but I'm a wimp and see no point in straining my back to carry weight on my shoulders - since that weight then transfers down the spine to the hips. Why strain your back for no reason is my opinion).

But that aside, common sense should be your guide and you can break it down into various groups:

Protection - tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag etc
Cooking - stove, fuel, lighter, pans, cleaning kit etc
Food and water (how available, can you restock, water purification?)
Emergency - first aid, emergency shelter etc
Clothing (washing?)
Hygiene - your washing kit, foot powder etc
Navigation - maps, compass, gps (ability to use)

I won't bother to try and list more because it all depends on what you are doing and what you know - and only you know that. Think through the day from getting up in the morning to going to bed and realise that if you don't have it, then you won't have it. Then all you need to do is to reduce the huge pile of kit you've amassed into something that one man can actually carry without an entire sherpa train

Weather is always an important factor in the hills. If you haven't experience then I'd suggest getting hold of a copy of Langmuir, but as I say it all depends on what you have already.

 

[Mikey P]

If you are interested in lightweight camping, you can get some good ideas from http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk. You can also get some podcasts from there too.

Whilst you don't necessarily have to go down to the cooking in foil pans and cutting bits off your toothbrush, it is a good way to get top tips on reducing the weight you carry.

 

[scoops_uk]

Kit is something that comes with experience....

I won't bother to try and list more because it all depends on what you are doing and what you know - and only you know that.

That's very good advice, there's no such thing as the perfect setup, most find a different set up suits different activities and that that setup will change with the seasons and personal preference.

Best advice I can give is to spend as much time using your kit as possible, what might look good on paper can be dissapointing in the field. As an example, I wouldn't be surprised if you find the titan kettle filled with pasta on top of the pocket rocket, mounted on a small gas canister (that fits inside the kettle) pretty top heavy and difficult to keep stable whilst stirring your dinner on a lakeland hillside.

Using your kit teaches you its shortcomings and the next time you buy something you'll make a better informed purchase. My other top tip would be to pick a wet dark windy night, like tonight, and go and pitch your tent a few times by the light of your head torch. You'll probably feel a pillock, but you'll be glad of the practice when you have to do it for real.

Hope you have a great trip, the Dales and Lakes are fantastic.

Scoops

 

[rik_uk3]

hi i know this has been done before but this is what i have so far for a walk into the dales/lakes with overnight camp

Vango Banshee 200 Tent
Alpkit Wee Aric sleep mat
Snugpak Travelpak Lite
MSR Pocket Rocket Stove and Titan Kettle
MSR Dromlite bag 2L
Alpkit Gourdon 30 Drybag

what other lightweight essentials i missing ? apart from some grub

thanks

You need a torch of some sort? Another pot to cook in, you won't feed well with that little Titan kettle, you'll come home with the need for a hearty meal

 

[spamel]

Lightweight kit, I love it! Reminds me of a great big welsh guy that I went through training with, Taff Casey. A really nice guy with an awesome sense of humour, something I've always found with the welsh.

I'm still to this day not sure if he was being serious or if he was taking the mickey, but he had his whole washing and shaving kit for excercise in a soap dish! He had cut his tooth brush down so far that he had the head and that was it! He had razor blades, but didn't bother with the actual holder, a small piece of soap, a half empty tube of kids toothpaste and half a flannel to stop it all rattling! He was made to actually use it in front of 1 and 2 Troop as his Troop SSgt didn't believe he could use it. He showed his Troop SSgt wrong, who lost his rag and sent him to jail!

Ahh, those were the days! Such character building days they were!

 

[Mirius]

I can believe that since my wash kit used to fit into a plastic soap dish. Cut down toothbrush, one of those disposable razors and so forth. It was a slightly larger soap dish but then it also used to contain the pertex towel instead of the flannel.