2 month Backpacking/Wildcamping through Scottland June/July

[Andra]

Hello there dear Humans:)

My girlfriend and I are planning a two months trip (Mainly Wildcamping with occasional Stays at BnBs (to wash clothes, etc.) through Scottland. This alternatively to a backpacking Worldtrip that we initially intended but that we declared as too bothersome and risky due to current Corona-Situation.

Now since we're both quite the newbies when it comes to actual Wildcamping outside of Camping-Areas in Switzerland I am reaching out to some enthusiasts that maybe have mercy with us and spare us from some disasters when travelling scottland.


We both are looking for a complete set of new Equipment and having read through plenty of (probably payed and advertisement crowded) reviews and "Best of"s have marked down a few possible purchases. Maybe people experience with such "expeditions" could help us out if our research is a complete failure or if it is actually an alright choice:

Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba NX (2 Person)
This tent is all over the Internet, fairly lightweight and robust and totally within our price range.
Question here is, is this weatherproof enough for Scottland and big enough for us to spend a few hours inside while we try to not get murdered by the Scottish Midge?
Or would it be worth the extra weight and buy the Motha Hubba (3 Person)? Maybe someone even has a secret-tip for an alternate Model/Manufacturer?


Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering (AlpineLite or Ultralite?) or Highlight Absolute 0:
Both, the WE and Highlight, seem to have highly rated reviews. Are those two viable choices for Summer-Camping in Scottland or will we both be swimming in sweat because they might be way too warm?
Does anyone have a secret tip or experience with something that would work well?


Backpack: Bach SPECIALIST 75:
i'm basically a bit lost when it comes to Backpacks, is 70L enough/too big? Is the above a good choice or any suggestions?



i majorly appreciate any input or feedback on this as I would love to get rather high-end equipment that could last us through more similar trips. We're already considering going to Sweden/Norway if things in Scottland turn out to be exciting and fun).

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and help us out and have a lovely New Year!
Andra

[Kendrum]

Hi Andra,
There is no right or wrong answer and you'll probably get a lot of different opinions, but I just wanted to point out that whilst it can get cold in Scotland in the summer because the weather can be a bit rubbish, it doesn't have the overnight extreme drops of temperature that you would have at altitude.
In June / July you wouldn't expect to need a very warm sleeping bag. But have a look at average summer overnight temperature and compare with your own country.

Rain is definitely going to be encountered so I like a tent with a porch for relaxing, eating, storing kit.

When you say backpacking do you mean being tourists in towns and villages or do you mean long distance hiking across the hills? I assume since you came to this website that you mean you are hiking. The size of the pack depends really on what kind of trip you are doing. A contributory factor would be how much food you are planning to carry and if you are cooking on a campstove. So that depends if you are walking the West Highland Way which has plenty options for food on the way or spending 2 weeks at a time in the hills.

I'd make sure you budget for more campsites than you're thinking of. You can wild camp of course but unless you're spending the whole time on hill tops it may be hard to find suitable spots because you don't want to be camping in fields with livestock or crops.

Let us know a bit more about your trip so we can help better.
Enjoy planning!

[davekeiller]

I'm not familiar with those specific items.
I googled the sleeping bag you suggested, and the retail price is the UK is about £500, and the bag is rated for temperatures down to about -10C. That's both very expensive and warmer than you'll need in June and July. At that time of year, the temperature is unlikely to go below freezing. Something like this would be perfectly adequate and half the price https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/haglofs-ursus-2-D2124067.html?colour=133

The backpack is made by a Swiss company who are not well known in the UK, but about 70l would be about the right size for an extended backpacking trip. Osprey and Lowe Alpine are both popular in the UK, but there are other brands. The main thing is to find a rucksack that fits you and is comfortable.

The tent is perfectly adequate, although there's plenty of choice on the market. Personally, I'd probably carry the extra kilogram and buy the elixir over the hubba hubba as the fabric is more waterproof and it's £200 cheaper. Vaude and Wild Country/Terra Nova are similarly priced and popular in the UK.

[Marty_JG]

Hubba Hubba is fine for the conditions, and you should be okay with 2 of you in there as you each have a good sized vestibule, a an entrance each, and the internal shape. An alternative is the Naturehike Mongar. It's basically a high-quality clone of the tent and much cheaper.

For sleeping bags have a look at AEGISMAX on Amazon / Aliexpress. They do a range of down bags for not much, I'd not take them deep midwinter without support but they'll do you 3 seasons. Depending on how warm you sleep, what you'll wear sleeping, etc., there are several different weights of the Aegixmax bags, higher weight = more warm.

Look at the Osprey Exos 58 . Very comfortable, full of great features, great weight, wide acclaim from hikers.

Finally use the site lighterpack and put EVERYTHING on it. You'll see how just a few grams here & there make kilos and kilos pile up.

https://lighterpack.com/welcome

[Andra]

Hi everyone,
thanks a lot for the amazing responses and information. Sorry also for the long delay, busy times and catching the flu during these times is also kinda interessting (negative corona-test for the ones that get curious;-))

When you say backpacking do you mean being tourists in towns and villages or do you mean long distance hiking across the hills? I assume since you came to this website that you mean you are hiking. The size of the pack depends really on what kind of trip you are doing. A contributory factor would be how much food you are planning to carry and if you are cooking on a campstove. So that depends if you are walking the West Highland Way which has plenty options for food on the way or spending 2 weeks at a time in the hills.

Well either is the plan, since June and July is probably also the touristic highseason we'll surely hike from campsite to another every once in a while, but overall our idea is to very spontaneously roam around scottland, find interessting looking places on google maps and then try to reach these locations and scout them out / sleep there.

we'll try to carry food on us obviously and we'll also have a water-purifier with us to gather water from lochs and streams on the go without having to carry the weight on us all the time.

The WHW is definitely on the list =)

Something like this would be perfectly adequate and half the price

The tent is perfectly adequate, although there's plenty of choice on the market. Personally, I'd probably carry the extra kilogram and buy the elixir over the hubba hubba as the fabric is more waterproof and it's £200 cheaper. Vaude and Wild Country/Terra Nova are similarly priced and popular in the UK.

Since we're also looking to go to norway in autumn / winter, i hoped to be able to combine a sleepingbag for both purposes, but i assume i'll rather go for a cheaper model for this summer trip, and then decide afterwards if its good enough or if i need an upgrade for a winter-session:D

Hubba Hubba is fine for the conditions, and you should be okay with 2 of you in there as you each have a good sized vestibule, a an entrance each, and the internal shape. An alternative is the Naturehike Mongar. It's basically a high-quality clone of the tent and much cheaper.

For sleeping bags have a look at AEGISMAX on Amazon / Aliexpress. They do a range of down bags for not much, I'd not take them deep midwinter without support but they'll do you 3 seasons. Depending on how warm you sleep, what you'll wear sleeping, etc., there are several different weights of the Aegixmax bags, higher weight = more warm.

Look at the Osprey Exos 58 . Very comfortable, full of great features, great weight, wide acclaim from hikers.

Finally use the site lighterpack and put EVERYTHING on it. You'll see how just a few grams here & there make kilos and kilos pile up.

Thanks alot for these suggestions, the naturehike brand does indeed look interessting. I'm shocked to find out that thousands of people have massive issues with leaky MSR Hubba Hubba / Elixir tents.. apparently the seams are not sealed and leak within minutes of light rain.. So seeing these reviews the MSR brand kinda sounds too bad for the price..

On the other hand i've read that the chinese knockoff Nature Hike does fix this issue by seam-seaing the tents out of factory (which apparently only happens to the newest models of MSR AND ONLY IN THE USA.. what a joke..

So being pushed away from the leaky MSR tents, i also looked into Hilleberg tents. But sadly the designs and features of those tents do not convince me.. they may be extremely reliable, but none of them feature "panorama" views through the mesh or anything other that feature kinda "nice" highlights except for extreme durability and weatherresistance.
Or am i wrong with this?




So long story short, i am spinning around by the many possibilities.

Did anyone else spiral the same route as I am currently and might show me the way out of this rabbithole?

[Caberfeidh]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone mentioned anything to you on the subject of midgies?

[Marty_JG]

Hilleberg are designed for harsh conditions and to last a lifetime, and they do separately sell mesh inners so with the right choices of shelter you can get those panorama. But (a) most mesh inners are sold out (b) Hilleberg tents are heavy and (c) their tents are brutally expensive. Their mesh inners alone are much more expensive than a Naturehike tent.

By the way, I only mention the Mongar model as you brought up MSR, you might want to check out the Naturehike Nebula 2. It has the same basic features (2kg, 2 doors, 2 vestibules, panoramic) but unlike inner first then flysheet it erects all-in-one which will be very handy if it's raining.

[Andra]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone mentioned anything to you on the subject of midgies?

well.. i dont think one can google "wildcamping" and "scottland" without finding MIDGIES.
sadly yes and i dont know how horrible it will be.. i have a few friends over in Aberdeen and they say that the midges are not even worth mentioning most of the time...

Do you think it will be a problem if we're flexible enough with a rented car and loads of spontaneity to change places to another location (part of scottland) if the infestation is bad at said location?

Hilleberg are designed for harsh conditions and to last a lifetime, and they do separately sell mesh inners so with the right choices of shelter you can get those panorama. But (a) most mesh inners are sold out (b) Hilleberg tents are heavy and (c) their tents are brutally expensive. Their mesh inners alone are much more expensive than a Naturehike tent.

By the way, I only mention the Mongar model as you brought up MSR, you might want to check out the Naturehike Nebula 2. It has the same basic features (2kg, 2 doors, 2 vestibules, panoramic) but unlike inner first then flysheet it erects all-in-one which will be very handy if it's raining.

i've seen the Nebula but i was uncertain about the design.. if its windy and rainy, won't the mist just be blown through the tiny "ceiling"?

Due to the prices i am also almost willing to give it a blind shot and to try it out before the actual trip to become confident with it.

I have also seen the Naturehike Cloud Up 3 Person Model. Since the other are all "only" two person tents, and as Caberfeidh already announced, we're both kinda scared of the midge......., i assume the extra space will give us more room to fight... (jk..)

Any idea on that model, or why would you suggest the Nebula?


Thanks so much for caring and your inputs

Have a lovely day

[ScotFinn65]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone mentioned anything to you on the subject of midgies?

well.. i dont think one can google "wildcamping" and "scottland" without finding MIDGIES.
sadly yes and i dont know how horrible it will be.. i have a few friends over in Aberdeen and they say that the midges are not even worth mentioning most of the time


Related to the midge issue, you may find this long distance walk video by 2 non-Scots very informative of the terrain and the summer midge infestation and the impact on mental well-being

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=99549

[Andra]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone mentioned anything to you on the subject of midgies?

well.. i dont think one can google "wildcamping" and "scottland" without finding MIDGIES.
sadly yes and i dont know how horrible it will be.. i have a few friends over in Aberdeen and they say that the midges are not even worth mentioning most of the time


Related to the midge issue, you may find this long distance walk video by 2 non-Scots very informative of the terrain and the summer midge infestation and the impact on mental well-being

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=99549

nice.. meanwhile i am the kinda guy that will get up at 3 in the morning to hunt down a single mosquito i have in my bedroom...

But genuinely, would you suggest not doing a trip during june/july because of the midge?

Its actually something that gets me worried aswell, then again i've been to islay for 2 weeks in 2018 and i havent even encountered a single midge..
also i've read on the east coast its apparently not a problem at all, is that true?

[davekeiller]

@Andra on the subject of sleeping bags, if you're thinking of going to Norway in the autumn/winter, I'd consider what sort of conditions you're likely to encounter there and get a bag that's going to be warm enough. Then I'd consider whether that bag is going to be Ok for Scottish Summer use or if it will be too warm. The Norway one will be the expensive, high spec bag and you can use a much cheaper one in Scotland. Western Mountaineering are a US brand and don't seem to be very common in the UK, so you might find it easier and cheaper to buy from a British or European brand. Rab and Snugpak are both British brands which are common in the UK.

On the subject of Midges, they're found all over Scotland, especially in the highlands. They like sheltered spots, especially near water. You won't be able to avoid them by moving to a different part of Scotland, although wise choice of camping spots can reduce how badly you get affected.

For reference, the School summer holidays are generally in July (Scotland) and August (England), and this represents the peak of the tourist season.