Last month I had a short trip in the Cairngorms with a tent I was testing for the first time. The weather was windy and cloudy with a few showers, which was good for the test but the reason I didn't go any further than my camp spot.
I did make a video about the tent and the stove system I used - Robens Alta Via 1 UL and Primus Lite Ultra .
I didn't write a blog post but I did take some photos showing the ever-changing and dramatic skies so here are some of them. They don't show the wind (the video does that) or that I took most of them braced against rocks, sheltering behind boulders, or lying down. It wasn't as nice a day as it looks!
Camp in Coire an Lochain
The lochan in Coire an Lochain
Clouds swirling round the Cairn Lochan cliffs
The wind rippling the surface of the smaller lochan in the corrie
The cloud descends on Cairn Lochan
Clouds above and below. View to Meall a' Bhuachaille
As I left clouds filled the corrie
View to a cloud-filled Coire an t- Sneachda with the end of the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda on the right
The weather on my week-long Moray Way walk in late May was pleasant.
There was a strong wind the first four days but it wasn’t cold and although
often cloudy there were only a few very short showers – my waterproofs never
came out of the pack. The last two days were hot and sunny, making water and
sunscreen the two most important items in my pack. I required copious amounts
of both.
The weather was not challenging for gear. The Moray Way is a
low-level walk. On the windiest days I had no problem finding sheltered places
to camp. Nights were mild with the temperature only once falling below 10°C. Underfoot the ground was
dry and often hard. Much of the route follows disused railway lines and too
much is on tarmac or hard packed forest roads. I found it harder on the feet
than mountain walking where there is more variety underfoot and much less
regular pounding on a flat surface. Rougher terrain was actually welcome.
This was my first use of this pack and it was fine. At 910
grams it’s ultralight but still has an internal frame. It carried 12kg
comfortably. At 16kg (when I had four litres of water) it did pull down on the
shoulders and hips a bit but I didn’t have any soreness or aching. The design
is fairly standard for lightweight packs – roll top, mesh front pocket,
open-topped side pockets, hipbelt pockets, and compression/adjustment straps.
The fabric is a Dyneema Composite one and it has taped seams. It’s probably
waterproof – the few brief showers on the trip were not enough to test this.
The SoloMid pyramid tent has become a favourite shelter in
recent years. I like the headroom, the space, and being able to pitch it with a
trekking pole. I took the InnerNet, which effectively makes it a double-wall
tent, in case the first midges were out. They weren’t and I never did up the inner
doors. The total weight with pegs was 1020 grams, so still very light for such
a roomy shelter. I only had one light shower in camp and the wind was never
strong enough to be a problem so I never closed the outer door either.
I pitched the SoloMid with a Pacerpole and used a pair of these throughout the walk, as I have on every trip for many years.
Launched just two years ago this down bag has already gone
from Rab’s range, which is a shame as I find it excellent for summer use. (It is still available for now though). It’s
ultralight at 330 grams and packs into a tiny bundle. There’s no fill on the
bottom of the upper half, just thin nylon and straps to hold it in place on a
sleeping mat. I don’t use these so I can sit up in the bag without the mat coming
with me. The upper is wide enough that I can wrap it around me to stay warm and keep out drafts. The lower
section is insulated top and bottom.
As has been my approach for several years now I took two
mats – one for comfort, one for security. I’ve had too many failures to trust
inflatable mats anymore. The inflatable XLite is comfortable enough and
lightweight at 370 grams. The closed cell foam Superlite 8 is not very
comfortable but can’t be punctured and weighs only 190 grams. The Superlite is
bulky too. I couldn’t decide whether strapping it to one of the sides, which
impedes the pocket, or on top, which impedes access to the main pack, so I alternated
between the two.
These two items work together, the heat exchanger pot
slotting onto the stove to give a stable unit. I took them because I’d be
resupplying with food that needed simmering and I wanted to eat out of the pot.
The Petrel stove simmers well and the Ramen pot is wide rather than tall and
narrow and so much easier for stirring food and for eating from. Both are
lightweight - the stove 96 grams, the pot 194 grams. They worked fine.
Mugs, Cups, Spoons, Bottles & More
I took two drinking vessels – the Snow Peak TitaniumBackpackers Cup (37 grams), which is the classic Sierra Cup design, and is
useful for dipping water out of burns and could double as cooking pot if
needed, and the Sea To Summit X-Mug (68g), which folds flat, holds more and keeps drinks warmer than the Cup. I didn’t really need both of them but I
did use both.
I also took two titanium spoons – a standard one and a
long-handled one. Again, one would have done but I like two in case of loss (it
has happened). I also prefer the shorter one except when eating out of food
packets.
The total weight of the pot, stove, mug, cup, spoons,
lighter and fire steel, all carried in a mesh bag, was 520 grams.
One concern was water. Both how often there’d be sources and
how clean these would be. With the first I ended up carrying four litres of
water for the last few hours on several days, both for camp and to get me to
the next source the following morning. For water that needed treating I took the
LifeSystems Peak Series 650ml Collapsible Squeeze Bottle Water Filter System
which I used enough to justify its 120-gram weight, especially on the coastal
section where any running water had come through farmland, villages or both.
Otherwise, for day use I had my now twenty+ year-old GoLite
700ml hard plastic bottle. I like it because it’s light at 78 grams and has a
wide mouth and so is easy to fill. For camp and when much water had to be carried,
I had two collapsible water bags, a 2-litre Platypus (45 grams) and a 2-litre
Hydropak (80 grams). These three are all I usually take on backpacking trips.
Clothing
Clothing was about comfort and staying cool rather than dealing
with storms or cold. The first four days I walked in nylon trail pants (EddieBauer Guide Pro, 400 grams) and a polyester Rohan shirt (so old I’ve forgotten
the name – the current Frontier shirt looks similar) that I like because it
closes with studs not buttons and has big pockets. These kept off the wind and
didn’t get sweaty. I did take a windshirt – I always do – a now well-worn PatagoniaHoudini (110g) but I only wore it a few times as the wind wasn’t cold.
Once the weather was warmer I changed to an old pair of
shorts and a favourite BAM bamboo T-shirt, which is very soft, very comfortable,
and after much wear somewhat disreputable.
I had one warm garment, which I wore in camp early and late
when the temperature dropped to around 10°C.
This was another favourite, the very light (220 grams) insulated Berghaus Hydroshell
hooded jacket (now replaced by the very similar MTN Arete Synthetic Hoody). It
was all I needed.
Waterproofs, unworn but I’d never leave them behind, were
the 335-gram Montane Cetus Lite jacket and an old pair of Berghaus Paclite
overtrousers (225 grams).
Shoes
Altra Lone Peak shoes have been my favourite hiking footwear
for many years and they were fine for this trip as I expected. I wore them with
thin Darn Tough socks the first four days and then without socks for the warmer
last three days.
Other Stuff
I had a tiny headlamp (Petzl Bindi), Kindle, compass, first
aid kit, repair kit, and various other items. Camera gear of course and
smartphone and power banks and accessories. Lots of little things in fact that
lived in some zipped bags.
Note: I am an Amazon Associate. If you buy from the Amazon links I receive a commission at no cost to you. Every click helps! Thank you if you do purchase something or click on one of my links. StoreID: christownse0c-21
Note 2: All photos were taken on the walk.
Note 3: After the walk I made a video about the gear I used.
A belated look at the July issue of The Great Outdoors. A problem with the internet has stopped me posting for a while.
In this issue I and Steph Wetherall each review an ultralight big pack and a standard weight big pack. Also in
the gear pages James Roddie reviews eight outdoor apps, Steph Wetherall reviews
Maier Sports Lawa Shorts, Fiona Russell reviews the Berghaus Rain-Motion
Jacket, and James Forrest reviews the Alpkit Atlas boots. Steph Wetherall also
looks at sleeping bag ratings and why they don’t work for everyone.
In the main features there’s a look at big human-powered
adventures ideal for summer months. David Myers describes setting the fastest
known time on the South West Coast Path. Hannah Mitchell treks through the Fann
Mountains of Tajikistan.
The Skills section sees the experts of Glenmore Lodge giving
advice on navigation, refuelling, river crossings, and prepping for better hill
days.
In shorter pieces Nadia Shaikh enthuses about bugs, in
particular the shieldbug; the Peak District’s new wildfire engagement officer
tells Claire Maxted what his job involves; Jim Perrin recalls his first ascent
of Catbells; and Juls Stodel gives advice on navigation.
Wild Walks looks at routes reachable by public transport.
James Roddie climbs Beinn Liath Mhor from Achnashellach railway station in the
NW Highlands. Simon Stokes also takes the train, in this case to climb Ben More
from Crianlarich in the Southern Highlands. It’s the bus to the Old Dungeon
Ghyll Hotel in the Lake District for an ascent of Bow Fell for Vivienne Crow.
Another bus in the Lake District takes James Forrest to the start of a walk up
Red Screes. Also in the Lake District Norman Hadley takes the train to
Windermere for Sallows and Sour Hawes. Down in Shropshire another train takes
Andrew Galloway to Church Stretton for a walk over the Lond Mynd. In Wales Ian
Battersby climbs Pen y Fan and Craig Cerrig-gleisiad from Pont ar Daf, which
can be reached by bus.
Just back from this year's Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool. To my surprise this was the 20th show. I didn't think there had been that many. As always there was plenty to see and plenty of people to chat with, often the only time I meet them face to face each year.
Three days in this vast hall with its temporary outdoor gear village.
Amidst all the new gear it was good to see Keela promoting its Legacy Project, which is about restoring, repairing, and reworking items so they last longer.
Paramo has long been a leader in environmentally friendly gear. This year they showed a prototype jacket made with fully recyclable components. The jacket has no zips but all the features you'd expect. Production isn't planned to start until autumn 2028 though. However some of the design features such as zip-free waterproof pockets will appear on other garments as early as next winter. This sounds an excellent project.
Paramo prototype
Here's a look at a few new items I found interesting. I'm writing an over view of the show for The Great Outdoors magazine (last year's review here) and I'll be reviewing some of the gear over the next year. Many items won't be available until next spring or even later so don't expect to see them in the shops for a while.
The last few years have seen many new stoves arrive and there were two more good-looking ones at the show. Soto had a regulated stove that runs off plug-in horizontal canisters. The only stove I'm aware of that ran off these long narrow canisters was the Primus Grasshopper back in the 1970s. That stove used the canister as one of the stove legs.
Primus itself had a winter/cold weather version of the new Lite Ultra (which I'm currently testing). The Ulti Lite has a regulated radiant burner.
There were many new sleeping pads on display and some ultralight closed cell foam ones from Big Agnes caught my eye. There hasn't been anything new in this area for many years, all the attention going to inflatable mats. Big Agnes is a new lighter weight foam that is said to be as durable as heavier ones. Mats made from this are also more compact when packed, which will be excellent. An even lighter foam, is coming too. A full-length mat made from this will weigh just 99 grams!
The weights of some inflatable mats are coming down too. Sea to Summit's Ultralight Ion R5 mat only weighs 315g while having an R-Value of 5. It's also very compact.
Rab has revamped its sleeping bag range, something that seems to happen quite often. Completely new is a quilt in the ultralight Mythic range.
Of the many tents on display Robens has an ultralight trekking pole solo model, the Via 1, which is available now and which I have on test.
At the other extreme of backpacking tents Terra Nova had the Odyssey 1 and 2, which are designed for winter mountain use. The design is clearly derived from the Hilleberg Soulo, though with some different features. The solo Odyssey 1 is also lighter weight and less expensive (though by no means light and still costly).
Finally I liked Xtorm 3in1 Travel Charger, which combines a power bank and a wall charger. This looks excellent for long trips where both those are needed.
