The revised kit list
Quite a few people have enquired what sort of gear I used on the trip, so here’s a fairly comprehensive list along with some comments on how it performed. Most of it was tried and tested, with the exception of my footwear choice, which was a calculated experiment.
As time has gone on I’ve made more and more concessions to “lightweight”, but with the focus always on stuff that’s going to keep me as comfortable as possible. I’ve never been one for expensive featherweight misery.
Hilleberg Akto Tent
Very light and bombproof, I find it hard to criticise this little baby as it has seen me through so many tough nights when lesser tents would have crumpled. But the fact remains it is rather prone to condensation, which is pronounced in cold and snowy conditions. This was a real problem.
Vargo titanium pegs
Weighed practically nothing, lost a couple in the snow though.
PH Designs Minim 500 down Sleeping bag
Officially rated to -11, but I found I generally needed to wear all clothes (up to 7 layers) and use a silk liner to stay warm, it was however bloody cold. The bag has a drilite shell which I found to be very effective at dispelling moisture and keeping the down dry(ish)
Thermarest NeoAir
Star of the show. Incredibly comfortable and warm even on snow. Well worth the rather high price tag. This really is a game changing piece of lightweight outdoor kit.
Lowe Alpine TFX Expedition 75+20
Very solid load carrier which functioned superbly. Downside is it is too big for anything but longish treks making it quite specialist.
OMM Trio Chest Pouch
Really great bit of kit that allowed me to carry my daily food and camera on my chest. Very good for grabbing a bite and or a photo in horrible conditions.
Paramo Aspira Smock
Paramo Aspira Salopettes
Superb performers. The smock was worn with only a merino base layer every day, and was warm enough even in -24 windchill. The salopettes were also rock solid. I’d go so far as to say I’d be very reluctant to venture into the scottish mountains in winter without Paramo.
Mammut Base jump pants
Chocolate Fish Taranaki merino base layers (top and long johns)
Tried and tested kit - I’f go for Choccie Fish over Icebreaker any day - quality is superb.
PH Designs Minim down gilet
PH Designs Sigma pullover
Top quality insulation. The gilet weighs and packs down to nothing and the Sigma, whilst slightly bulkier is ridiculously warm and was a saviour on many a frigid night in the tent.
Wigwam silk/merino/nylon socks - fast drying
Rocky goretex waterproof socks
Mountain Hardwear gaiters
Montrail Hardrock Mid boots
My strategy with footwear was to go very light and fast drying to combat the effect of multiple river crossings. Everything worked brilliantly and for the most part my feet stayed pretty dry and warm. On my return I noticed that the boots had worn quite severely in some places which casts doubt on the toughness of the highly technical materials, however, they were super for the duration of the trip. The Mountain Hardwear gaiters were a last minute buy and were poorly designed with the velcro fastening freezing and losing function in snow and ice.
Rab Power Stretch Gloves
Mountain Equipment Gore Tex over mitts
Mountain Equipment neck gaiter
Haglofs powerstretch beanie
All did exactly what they said on the tin. I’ve found Powerstretch to be a good fabric and the gloves kept me warm even when wet. One thing that also worked well was using surgical latex gloves to break camp on frozen mornings. They kept the worst of the cold away from your hands and meant we could keep other gloves dry to put on.
Jetboil stove and spare canister
A great purpose built water boiler. Gas canisters with a couple of minutes warming in a pocket. Very light and easy to pack as a unit.
Be well expedition rations (freeze dried)
These were, unfortunately, pretty disgusting. I purchased some heavy Wayfarer meals in Ullapool which kept me going a bit. I’m currently investigating better food options, but really couldn’t recommend these.
Stoats porridge bars
Snickers
Assorted nuts
Beef jerky
Honey Stinger energy chews & energy gels
My strategy was to eat little and often and make sure things were handy for keeping going when the weather was too foul to stop. This worked well, but I was pretty sick of the above by the end of the trip.
Silva compass & spare
Canon Powershot G9 camera - broke this slipping on ice on Sandwood beach!
Basic first aid kit
Mini toilet trowel
Platypus 3L hydration system - Froze!
Nalgene bottle - doubled as a hot water bottle
Waterproof matches
Exped dry bags - how did I live without these?
Kahtoola lightweight crampons - mistakenly sent these home unused from Ullapool, would have come in very handy on the last leg of the trip.
Leki retractable trek pole
Garmin Etrex H GPS - not used much, but was a re-assurance in white out blizzards in Sutherland
iPhone - Podcasts helped with the long dark nights
A good book
Diary - for keeping route notes
Laminated A4 route sections
Ortlieb A4 Map case
