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Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby boriselbrus » Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:57 pm

Lots of good advice that I won't duplicate.

One other thing is to try the rucksack on before buying it. Even with my 32" waist there are a few models (especially Osprey) where I run out of adjustment before I run out of waist so can't get the hip belt tight enough.
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby widdershins » Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:58 pm

Hi! I'm a solo female hiker of a similar height and weight, and I've been at this for over a decade. Here's how I manage:

Pack -- get one that fits well and is adjustable for your build. One that comes in smaller or women's-specific sizes may help a lot with the comfort and your ability to carry it over longer distances. I love Osprey packs -- they're not the absolute lightest on the market but they just kill it with the design, and they last for years. I use an Osprey Eja 48L for my multi-day hikes -- I hauled mine fully loaded over the Trotternish Ridge last summer and survived to tell the tale. Keep in mind that the bigger the pack, the more tempted you will be to take everything with you. The first pack I bought was a 65L and although I occasionally use it in winter or on "luxury hikes" with friends where we cover 7 miles in a day and bring multiple bottles of wine, it is mostly overkill.

Trekking poles -- Yes, they are another expense, but I always use them on multi-day hikes. They take some of the weight off my legs when I'm carrying the big pack and enable me to go miles further each day than I would without them. They're also good for helping you stay stable when you're carrying a big load, poke at dodgy bits of ground and pole-vault over bog (not that you will run into much of this on the WHW). Maybe you have a friend willing to lend you their poles?

Clothes -- merino wool is your friend. Great for thermoregulation and preventing smell. One merino t-shirt (you can get them secondhand on eBay, or in the sales) will last you for several days without needing changes of clothing.

Food -- I carry a Jetboil stove and only make hot drinks and just-add-water food on the trail to reduce the need for extra pots, utensils etc. In the mornings I have porridge with powdered milk and dried berries, and hot tea. In the evenings, something like an Ainsley Harriott flavoured couscous sachet with a handful of dried veg and a little tin of flavoured tuna makes a filling and tasty hot meal with protein.

Toiletries -- just a few products in a ziploc bag (alas, my 10-step skincare regime does not come with me on the trail), travel-sized everything, wipes are your friend.

I use Lighterpack.com to track how the grams add up -- great to do when you're bored at work or hung over on a Sunday. I also have a handheld luggage scale I bought for £6 on Amazon that tells me how much my pack actually weighs once it's loaded.

I still make packing errors on trips, because you can't anticipate everything. You can always post excess kit back home in a jiffy bag when you pass through a village. The WHW is a great first long hike because there are so many points to buy/jettison whatever provisions you need/don't need or ditch out altogether if you're really struggling.

Also keep in mind that many of the ultralight backpackers posting videos on YouTube and kit lists elsewhere are in the US, where the climate tends to be much more stable and they don't usually need to be prepared for everything from midges to sunburn to hypothermia in the one trip.

I love shopping for gear and enabling others to do the same -- PM me if you'd like to chat!
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby rgf101 » Mon Apr 19, 2021 9:29 am

> something like an Ainsley Harriott flavoured couscous sachet with a handful of dried veg and a little tin of flavoured tuna makes a filling and tasty hot meal with protein.

They're harder to find than they used to be, and Asda's the only place I know that still has them, but these tuna pouches
https://groceries.asda.com/product/tuna/john-west-tuna-with-a-lime-and-black-pepper-dressing/910000439001
are handy, as the pouch makes for less waste bulk than a tin. That and some of Ainsley's couscous was my go-to hill meal for a long time.
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby SteveNorthumberland » Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:10 pm

some excellent advice on here i am hoping to do the whw maybe late may early june

if you want to look at my gear list its here

https://lighterpack.com/r/uw8l1f

i posted a thread on here so you can also look at the comments i got back and my explanations as to why i am taking some items

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=103823
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby AyrshireAlps » Mon Apr 19, 2021 3:02 pm

I've been doing some planning for a few self supported treks this year, and come to the conclusion that unless you're either willing to remortgage your house for UL kit, or are happy to be too cold/uncomfy/not take appropriate kit, then chasing an arbitrary weight is futile.

Make a list, look at what others are taking, like that above, the do a dry run. By all means the have a second sweep to clear out unnecessary stuff, but I'd rather sleep comfortably, it have that extra mid layer than chase the weight.

I've got my base weight down to just under 9kg, that's for 5 days carrying everything with no option to get supplies. 4kg of food and water on top of that, give or take a kilo. But I'm 85kg and 6'1", so it's not too bad.
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby Marty_JG » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:37 pm

rgf101 wrote:Ainsley Harriott's flavoured couscous is] harder to find than they used to be.


Aye, but there are loads of variants. Merchant Grains are in many supermarkets now, from Lidl to Tesco to Sainsburys and the ALDI own versions delicious. That lispy Essex boy I keep wanting to bully does some. Not just couscous but all sorts of grains, rices, pluses, flavours.

For me it's a splash of water in the bottom of the pot, to prevent sticking but also to help steam, tear in some salami.

Yummy yummy yummy going in my tummy.
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby davekeiller » Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:14 pm

@Marty I think it's the tuna pouches that are hard to find.
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby Marty_JG » Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:09 pm

OK
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Re: Recommended Beginner Kit - Pack Weight?

Postby cruachan06 » Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:12 pm

I haven't tried them yet (planning to do an overnighter on the Clyde Walkway as a dry run) but I bought a load of Summit to Eat meals for the WHW, they get pretty good reviews and aren't too expensive.

If you haven't already check out Girl Outdoors on Youtube, she did a loadout video (pack weight of over 20kg!) plus a series of videos of the trip, and a lessons learnt video at the end, all of which was very informative.
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