Torridon - The Kit

A couple of people have asked me what kit I took with me on the trip to Torridon, well, what kit I use generally, so I'm giving a separate entry for this alone. Please bear in mind that:
1. The kit I used has been pieced together in a largely evolutionary process which has not reached fully evolved status and is a work in progress. Other people have a 'better' kit set up than me so I am not representing this list as a guide, just a baseline of where I'm at at present.
2. This work in progress is progressing very slowly as any surplus cash I have is generated from selling 'stuff' on ebay and which tends to be spent on petrol for trips rather than updating my kit. Suggestions for improvement are welcome, but please be mindful of a very limited budget to be able to respond; I would rather get out in the hills than buy new kit!
I have also made some notes as to how I use some of the items; it's been useful as I write the list up to reflect how I could be more efficient, and again if there are other ways you have that you think could be useful please add your thoughts!

Shelter
The shelter I used was an MLD Trailstar, which I've used a number of times now. It's a great, lightweight shelter although I need to re-do the seam sealant after TheNewNomads was dripped on a couple of times overnight. It weighs 470g including the 2mm Dyneema guys and line loks. I could trim down the guy lines as I've never needed the length currently on them. I currently store it in a not very efficient Outdoor Designs Silnylon Ultralite sack which weighs 16g.

The pegs I use with it are a mix of pegs from my old Trisar, at 17g each, and some Akto pegs at 11g each, totalling for this trip at 128g. I store them in a thickish plastic bag which weighs 3g. I got some lighter pegs for Christmas so will use those on the next outing.
The shelter doesn't have a groundsheet with it, just being a skin in effect, and because I had left my polycryo bundled up (and now slightly green and smelly) after my last outing, I used a rather heavy silnylon groundsheet I have which weighs 342g in a mesh stuffsack. (I don't normally use this groundsheet.) It wasn't big enough to cater for more than one person so Kim brought a separate sheet. That totals 956g without Kim's sheet.

Generally I like my shelter set up though obviously there are areas I could make a lot of saving (the polycryo groundsheet instead for example though I find it to be a pain to fold up and pack, and it wears out quickly so will replace with a lighter silnylon sheet I think). But my main concerns are the size of the thing where pitch space is tight, and in full on winter weather with bowling winds of rain or snow I would say you have to expect some ingress, despite the ability to pitch low. Even on the top of a hill with a double skin tent you are going to get spindrift inside the fly if the weather is that way so expecting better performance from a single skin shelter would be I suggest illogical. We had some weather in from the front opening so this is my experience.
For the future I am thinking tents again, maybe something like the GoLite Shangri-La 1 or 2, though I love my basic tarp and am looking to do a lot more of that this year. I will certainly look to get a bug net for the Trailstar for the midge season. For winter I am drawn to the Vaude Power Lizard or even the old Akto or TN Laser Competition.

Sleeping

The lightweight crowd may groan at this but for this trip I took a heavy Snugpack Softie Elite 3, a military spec bag, weighing 1685g inc stuffsack. Swapping out the stuffsack for a lighter compression bag would reduce the weight some, and I could change the zip pulls etc. But I like the bag a lot, it's olive green which I strangely love, it's got a great lined feet area for hardcore bivvying with boots on (not that I'll probably ever do this) and I like the shoulder and hood baffles. A great thing was that in the morning when I discovered my feet were venturing for freedom outside of the shelter, a bit of a flick of the bag and a quick wipe with a bit of pack towel and the bag was fine. Amazing considering how wet the weather had been through the night.

It's a 3 season bag which I lined with a Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Extreme liner, which I like the feel of and which seemed to help boost the rating of the bag. It weight a whopping 414g; yes, the weight made me gulp too. It was above freezing though I suspect not by too much overnight on the Torridon trip. I was warm enough but did have my clothes on too! I do sleep horrendously cold though which is incredibly annoying because it means I have to boost whatever bag arrangements I have which of course means more weight, and more cash.

A great asset was borrowing a POE Bamboo sleeping mat (610g) which I've had a bit of trouble finding a link for so I suspect it's not for sale now, but I've never tried a mat with insulation in it before and it was a revelation for me. Definitely something on my wish list for next winter.
I don't bother with a pillow when sleeping but was incredibly impressed with Kim's Big Agnes Clear View pillow, so very light. I may add that to my list (it's always so interesting walking and camping with others to see what they have and how they use it; I always learn something new).

Thinking into the future, for cold weather I would really love to be able to afford a 4/5 season bag and to take fewer clothes and possibly not take the liner, but the low cash flow I've had this year has meant a lot of compromise. For summer I have the option of using this liner with a bivy bag for sleeping outside, but I do like using quilts instead so would like to get something better than the Thermarest Down quilt that I currently have (which may in the future be subjected to a MYOG makeover...). A lot is driven by cost; if I spend money on this then I have less to spend to get to the Lakes or further away and I would rather get out there! I tend to spend in smaller increments to 'patch up' kit I have, but I do recognise that saving for some bigger items would give me different benefits. Hmm, food for thought. It would mean I wouldn't be able to get away as often as I have managed to do...


Pack

I use a GoLite Jam original version (since replaced with Jam 2) that weighs 560g. I used it first on my West Highland Way walk back in August last year and it's been with me on every overnight plus walk since. I like the pack a lot, though would love a better front pocket and pack compression straps to really cinch it down when it empties. Hip belt pockets would be really lovely too, though I don't miss padding at all (maybe that's because I have plenty myself!). Most of all I really miss having a top pocket. I used to find it so useful for segregating my stuff, and I felt more secure against rain finding its way, rather than through the roll top that's on this pack. It, like me, tends to have a bit of a pear shape thing going on, where I prefer a more structured pack.
I did try on an Osprey Exos 46 which felt absolutely fantastic with about 10Kgs of shop weight loaded into it (I know you could probably argue this with most packs), but I'm not sure I could put a use to all the straps and 'features' that abound. I have an Osprey Hornet 24 on loan which I'm trying out so will report on that at some point soon too, though my kit wouldn't squeeze down that much for an overnighter with it.

For packing I use a mix of sea to sumit and exped dry sacs but am seriously thinking of getting a big sea to summit pack liner and doing away with some of the other bags. There is an advantage though in that they keep your kit organised, though conversely I find I get a better pack shape if I stuff extraneous, loose stuff in it.
Thinking to the future I would like to replace it, even one day with a mighty Laufbursche huckePACK, a Colin Ibbotson (or should I call it Tramplite?) Skins pack, but if I could find a supplier in the UK for an Osprey Hornet 46 I would seriously consider that, or even an OMM pack...

So, so far the weight is at 4225g...

Cooking

Once again I took my bea-yoo-tiful Caldera Cone (34g, plus plastic caddy 73g), with my MSR Titan Kettle (90g)  but this time took a Gram Cracker (3g) with Esbit tablets (14g each). I do like the proper foil sealed Esbit tablets rather than the Hexamine tablets you get with Highlander Hexi stoves though I find them hard to obtain. I used a heavy, blow torch like Turboflame Multi Task lighter (76g) to light the Esbit which did take after some gentle persuasion. I had a basic bic lighter and a few waterproof matches too; at one point all combinations were used it was that damp!  I also took an MSR Titanium Mug at 60g which was useful for coffee while I was using the pot; no I don't have a Kuksa...

Food wise I described it in my post but I am really proud of myself, that I prepared a bolognese sauce and dehydrated it at home before trying it for the first time here. That and eating proper ramen noodles (Blue Dragon, 4 bundles in a pack weighing 250g, one bundle is a large portion for a meal but they hydrate really quickly; £1.07 from Asda) made me feel like a 'real' backpacker!

The bolognese was stored in a normal supermarket freezer zip type bag but divided up into a Pour and Store bag I'd got from Morrisons and the food reheated in that (4 for £1 if memory serves correct). They have a gussetted bottom which means they can stand up if you have somewhere flat to put them. I opted for the cradling in my hands option to warm up and 'manipulate' my food to encourage it to hydrate. (No idea if that worked but my hands were toasty on the inside at least!). I added the ramen noodles to the Pour and store bag when they'd cooked, including the v small amount of water left from boiling in a tribute to Ray J, and ate (scooped) from the bag with my Spork (10g).

On the walk itself I think I had a snickers bar and I usually take a bag with a handful or two of GORP, literally raisins and peanuts in this case, with the addition of a couple of brasils and walnuts.
Other than that it was porridge for breakfast (a mix of Oat So Simple original with a handful of fat steel cut rolled oats) made with water that I'd boiled for coffee. A slightly squashed banana was consumed to avoid further squashing in the pack (messy).

For water; water was plentiful! And there was no need to filter it either as it was running straight off the hillside, especially the following morning. So I had my 600ml Tango bottle (28g) as my main receptable - which I also drink directly from - and my 2l Platypus (47g) which I just used at camp to collect water. It has a narrow opening and collecting the water from the burn (from the loch so maybe it could have been contaminated, though low risk) was very, very cold. I could barely feel my fingers at the half full mark. I would have been better off using the MSR Kettle to collect water to pour into the platy instead.

Clothing

As usual I had my black Icebreaker Bodyfit200 long sleeved top, a dark heather coloured Berghaus Spectrum Micro Full Zip Fleece and my black Mountain Equipment Seraph jacket which was worn AT ALL TIMES!
This was coupled with a pair of black Craghoppers Kiwi Stretch Pants (I must write about these; they've been fab) and topped off with a pair of Berghaus Deluge Pants which have performed fantastically since I bought them and worn on my walk with Cath and Gareth too.
I brought along a pair of Helly Hansen Lifa long johns for evening wear (!) and my lovely heather Rab Photon Jacket in case the weather was cold (February, Torridon, but actually it was ok!).
On my head I wore a Trekmates Merino Wool Beanie which is super; warm, stretchy, comfortable, and when raining I wore my SealSkinz Cold Weather Hat that really does nothing for me but is warm and waterproof and generally feels ace!

On my feet I wore a pair of Smartwool socks though I have so many pairs I can't remember the specific model, and (horrors) I wore my old lightweight for leather, Brasher Hillwalker GTXs which kept my feet dry and warm though as usual with this particular pair I did start to get hot spots though no actual blisters. I lace them in a particular way to alleviate pressure off my achilles - before I bought these a few years ago I had no idea there were so many ways you could lace up a pair of boots. You Tube it and you will see what I mean!
On my hands I wore a pair of Outdoor Designs Merino StretchOn liners, covered with Trekmates Tromso 3-in-1 Gloves (I don't use the liners that came with them). The OD liners are great. Reasonably priced and keep my hands warm. The Trekmates I'm not sure about yet and think I might prefer mits but will carry on with these til next autumn/winter.

Poles
I have a pair of Leki poles, they must be at least 12 years old. They did have an anti shock system which I'm not sure still works, but which is fine for me as when pitching the Trailstar it helps to have something a little more rigid to use to tension against. (The shock system 'boinging' on the Coldedale Zen walk woke me from my sleep!) But they are incredibly heavy. I really don't want to weigh them! I compared them with some carbon fibre poles Kim showed me, from Gossamer Gear and was staggered. But I don't NEED to change them yet; they've saved me on a few falls now and despite being a little bent they still do the job!

Hygiene
I have an MSR Blizzard Snow Stake after reading the Phil Turner inspired make your own poo stick article from Colin Ibbotson, but without the accoutrements of gross grain ribbon etc. In terrain such as Torridon it was difficult to dig a hole more than 6 inches deep before hitting rock so packing out is a better option. I use a small roll of Andrex On The Go (natch) which is convenient though I'll also use moss or snow if I have to!

I use a normal Oral B toothbrush without having sawn the handle off, with a small 'pot' of Theramed toothpaste which I swallow when brushing my teeth rather than swilling and spitting as I'd do at home. I used babywipes for my face and bod though on my own I usually use my MSR packtowel ('Ultra' I think though I'm not absolutely sure which variety now, there's quite a few) cut in half in conjunction with some water boiled in the kettle and a small tube of face wash / bar of soap (which I find better personally for cleanliness and is okay if stored in a small plastic bag). The towel then gets attached to my pack (in decent weather) to dry as I walk. The packtowel is a great, simple piece of kit that I used to wipe off water from the bag, sleeping pad and anywhere else, and having cut it in two I can separate one for hygiene. When I'm out for more than a couple of days I boil it in my pot to keep it sanitised. I don't know what other people do?

I take a small selection of plasters and compeed with some painkillers too, in a small plastic bag. I have actually used items in my kit; compeed and micropore tape with melolin for blisters on the West Highland Way (the scissors on my classic Victorinox penknife were invaluable in cutting it up), and painkillers when I did my knee in on the Coledale Zen walk in the autumn. I've never needed more but I think with walking alone so much I want to learn more about general stopping blood and fixing up more dire problems for myself if I do ever need it. I know first aid kits have produced a lot of discussion in different blogs; a matter of risk management and I'm risk averse in this case.

Well done if you have got this far! I am running out of steam but have covered most of the points, apart from:

navigation: I took a compass, whistle and mini thermometer combo I have on a lanyard, 65g, a guidebook and OS map with an Ortlieb mapcase (very much needed in the wet). Plus a Tikka Plus Headtorch (the switch seems to be playing up so I shall look at alternatives now) and spare batteries; all items I take on every walk I do.



I am conscious that there will be a few small odds and sods I've not mentioned, coffee, maybe other bits of food for example, but by and large this is what I took. I think it was pretty well equipped and I felt safe and comfortable (apart from that dodgy switch on the torch which I must get sorted). While there is room for improvement, hopefully you will find it interesting / useful / amusing to see what I have!

(A last point; I will spreadsheet the kit and weights at some point for public viewing...!)