Category: Outdoor Gear
One or more cruxes of the Pennine Way
31st March 2007 Upon pondering my progress along the Pennine Way, I started to look at how things might pan out from a logistical point of view, the further north that I continued. Once the section between Littleborough and Marsden is out of the way (hopefully soon), things extend beyond the realm of the day trip and overnight stays, weekend trips even, become a necessity. The land also gets wilder as you continue north, a joy for the hill walker but a challenge for users of public transport like me. And unfamiliarity with an area adds to that. Because I have been that way more than a few times, the Yorkshire Dales sections shouldn't prove to be too much trouble until I get beyond Ribblesdale. Hawes, Thwaite and Keld will be new to me but that's an attraction in itself, seeing new places and enjoying scenery afresh. It will also mean exploring the transport options and they seem to extend from the east. The same applies to Teesdale though Dufton is accessible from the Settle-Carlisle railway, at least on foot. Between Alston and Bellingham, the Newcastle-Carlisle railway and assorted bus connections help access to Alston, Hadrian's Wall and around. Beyond Bellingham, things require even more care with Byrness having limited transport options though they do suffice with good planning.
However, all that still leaves a 27 mile section before Kirk Yetholm is reached. There are mountain refuges along the way so purchasing a lightweight sleeping bag such as PHD's Minimus or Piqolo has come to mind. I also got to wondering if there were any ways to split the marathon journey into more manageable chunks, especially as I am not trying to do the entire Pennine Way in one go. That this is not straightforward becomes obvious when one peruses a map; as one goes north along what becomes the Scotland-England border, the sparsely populated Scottish side is evident to the left and it is a good distance to habitation on the English one. For example, crossing the Cheviot from Wooler and continuing from there is next to a twenty mile day. Ingram and the hamlets of Upper Coquetdale (accommodation is provided in Alwinton and Harbottle but it does not come cheap) may help but long walk-ins are involved from these too. This is wild country all right and I believe it to be the crux of the Pennine Way so that overnight stay in a refuge seems to be the best way to overcome it. Anything has to be better than a one day (up to 14 hours walking at my speed) marathon.
A new rucksack
22nd March 2007 I now have got a replacement for my Eurohike pack: it has turned out to be Osprey's 1380 gram Atmos 50 after all my musings on Karrimor and Gregory packs. Mind you, I still have my eye on the Gregory Z55 for multi-day trips so my heavyweight Karrimor Cougar may yet get retired as well. That said, I have been tweaking the Karrimor's adjustable back in light of the Osprey's fit to see if it performs any better.
Returning to the Osprey, when I went looking for an Atmos 50 on the online stores that we have in the U.K., almost every single Atmos 50 pack that I saw available was in red and grey. This might now be changing: I have since spotted a blue Atmos 50, my preference because I think bright red to be a little loud, on Snow+Rock's website. In the U.S., I think that the colour availability is better.
Having seen that Atmos' features were to my liking and that some good words written about it on OutdoorsMagic.com and BackpackingLight.com, I decided to see if I could get one in my choice of colour and fit (it's medium back length for me). Alan Sloman also is using one that he ordered from the U.S. for his Big Walk from Land's End to John O' Groats to raise money for Sue Ryder Care who looked after his late father and he seems to be getting along fine with it (at least, it's about his sore feet and beer drinking that we keep hearing...). My search started with my getting in touch with Osprey Europe who said that Snow+Rock and George Fisher should have what I was after. When I enquired Snow+Rock said they would have to get a blue one on special order, while George Fisher were expecting a delivery of Osprey packs, blue ones included. In the end, I ordered from George Fisher and the Atmos was with me in a matter of days, and very nice it is too.
It's all very well for something to look good but it has to function well also so I loaded the pack up with a 12 kg weight to give it a good work out and tried it around the house to get some idea of how it performs, going up and down stairs as well to see how it would behave going up and down a hill. Of course, the real test would be to take out in the great outdoors but I want to see how things go in case I needed to send it back. In any event, I don't think that muddy rucksacks can or should be returned and you can't be too careful while out and about, hence the apparent madness of wearing a rucksack while going around my own home.
The first impression that I had when I put it on was how good the fit was. The weight in the sack was supported by what seems to be a solid hip belt with no folding apparent, a complaint levelled at other packs when you load them up, and it doesn't compromise freedom of movement either. The shoulder straps function well but the hip belt reduces the amount of load that they need to carry, a relief to someone who has suffered from sore shoulders thanks to near useless hip belts (all they did was to strap the sack to your body). The curved back system, designed to improve ventilation, is also comfortable and having tried it a few times, it does seem to be getting more comfortable each time.
On the volume front, the pack also performs and the I found no problem so far with the curved back system impacting on what I can carry. The pockets on the back of the pack also work well with the big one taking overtrousers and a map case very easily; it's very useful to have both near to hand. Speaking of having things near to hand, both wand pockets are handy places to put water bottles and the hip belt pockets are a neat touch. I still use a film camera and they make useful places to put rolls of film so film changes can be done without having to take the rucksack off. There is also a place to take a hydration bladder but my use of water bottles and the wand pockets mean that I may never use this feature.
All in all, the pack seems really well designed and I look forward to taking it out and about. If there is any omission, it is the lack of a rain cover but George Fisher sent a me a rucksack liner with the pack and use of that along with a spot of care on the packing front should see me through. Even though I don't plan on walking in downpours, it has happened but thankfully not that often. In any case, I have always been able to dry out afterwards. Let's see how things progress from here.
Time for a new rucksack?
6th February 2007 My Eurohike Weekender 45 rucksack is looking its age these days with a slight rip in the fabric of the hip-belt and the zip on one of the side pockets beginning to open where it shouldn't. It was never anything but a budget model but has served me well on many a day walk since its purchase in June 2002. It should last a while longer but thoughts are emerging in my mind that I should start considering its replacement before too long.
My current weekender pack is a Karrimor Cougar 65 + 15, a heavy beast at 2.75 kg with an adjustable back system and the substantial supportive hip-belt that lugging such a thing requires. Its weight and bulk precludes its use as a daypack but informs my future choice for that use. A supportive hip-belt, absent on the Eurohike, is very good at taking weight off the shoulders and is very much seen as an asset. Weight is very much another consideration.
With the last point in mind, I been looking at lightweight options purveyed by Gregory, a quality U.S. manufacturer not as well known over here. Options from that manufacturer include their G and Z packs. The latter is quoted as being able to carry a greater weight in comfort than the former; the weight of camera equipment, transport timetable information and water do add up. My ideal choice would be a mythical "Z45": maybe they should make one. One fly in the ointment is that Gregory do not do adjustable back systems, not necessarily a bad thing because of the weight that they add, but instead offer packs tailored to the length of your torso. Not only does the back length vary but also the pack volume as well. For example, the G pack comes in the following sizes: S (40-44 cm; 43 L), M (45-49 cm; 48 L) and L (50-54 cm; 51 L). If they offered multiple volumes per back size, that would be ideal but they don't and they may well have good reasons for this. However, it does make pack choice a little more tricky.
Another way of looking at the choices made in the range available is that I might need to challenge myself regarding how much I carry around with me. A 45 L G pack is fine so long as I keep the weight down around 11 kg while a Z35 will carry less volume but more weight. Then, there's the Z55 and this offers something of a compromise but I do wonder if a 55 L pack is overkill for a day walk. That said, it does offer flexibility for walking weekends without the weight of my Karrimor; it weights 1 kg less.
There are alternatives to all this from what could be considered as the more mainstream players in the U.K. rucksack market. For instance, Field and Trek do have a tempting 45 L Karrimor in their winter sale and the Lowe Alpine Walkabout 45 is also an option. Choices, choices...
The right jacket has arrived at long last
8th November 2006 After a wait that seemed to stretch on forever, I find myself with a package containing the Rab Latok jacket I had ordered back in August. The previous month, I had received a different kind: the Rab Latok Alpine. A fine piece of craftsmanship, it was a jacket that truly had me second-guessing my decision. However, it was not meant to be; this particular model had to make its way back to its place of origin. Silence followed, and I found myself wondering if the Rab Latok would ever find its way to me. Last week, an email, sent only after my workload subsided, seemed to spark the journey once more.
Upon opening the package, I was struck by the striking similarities and noticeable differences between the models. The cut of the Latok is undoubtedly longer, a design feature that, while not immediately apparent, is surely beneficial for those frigid days when every inch counts. The fit, however, appears closer - an aspect that, while perhaps not ideal for warmer weather, would prove invaluable on a cold day out in the wild.
The sleeves of the Latok are longer than I expected, but thankfully not unmanageably so. They will undoubtedly provide the necessary protection and insulation that one requires when braving the elements. Now all that remains is for me to test this new addition on the hill, an opportunity which may present itself this coming weekend.
A jacket has arrived…
11th September 2006 ...but it's the wrong one. The label was one give away: it says Latok Alpine, not Latok! However, a few other things confirmed my suspicions: it has two external pockets rather than four and the closure is single-zipped rather than double-zipped.
Thus, I emailed The Outdoor Shop to see what they had to say about it and, to their credit, they have agreed with me. Now I have got to send back a jacket that that is a good fit and very lightweight in exchange for something that definitely includes winter use among its capabilities.
While I reckon that the Latok Alpine appears a good product and wouldn't mind giving it a try, I suppose that I better get what I ordered. OUTDOORSmagic.com reports that the 2006/7 Rab range is coming out, so I might even get one of those. Tower Ridge seems to have some already! It's back to waiting again, I suppose.
