CWT without a tent

[walkingpoles]

There are many walk reports, so I concentrate on the bits where there is no report on and add a lessons learnt and some photos later.

I was naive about not bringing a tent. It needed some luck (Mostly that hostels aren't overbooked. Usually there is no signal so you cannot reserve in advance. Booking everything from home isn't ideal either as your schedule will get upside down anyway). There were long days interspersed with rest days. Compromising on distance is not possible without a tent. Going light was mandatory also. The longest stretch was about 40km. September is probably ideal for going without tent, as it is late in the season but the days are not too short yet. I like munros, so there were some plans off track (or putting the track over summits). Didn't succeed completely, but got to climb 8 of them during the CWT.

I've seen Knoydart before, so that I decided to start along the Great Glen way

Day 1
High noon train from Glasgow to Fort William, pit stop in Morrisons and easy walk to Banavie. Hostel "Chase the wild goose" is nice. Food in the bistro next door (Calling in and reserving advised. They let me wait for more than hour due to missing capacity). Even though it says "Restaurant" in big friendly letters on the outside of the building, inside is only a pub without food and the bistro.

Day 2
Along the Great Glen Way to Invergarry, Saddle Mountain Hostel.
Walking along the Great Glen Way is hard: lots of tarmac and hard paths. I walked too fast, got blisters all over. In hindsight I should have stayed at Laggan and made the next day a very easy one to Invergarry. The hostel is a great stop. The caretakers are hikers themselves. Bring your own food or walk to the pub (about 10min walk).

Day 3
Cluanie Inn
30km is long distance at the beginning of the trail. At the end of it, I'd found it a perfect distance. With the condition of my feet I didn't dare to go the way Harveys map suggested and followed the A87. Walking alongside the road is fine. Traffic not too heavy and enough space so that you don't need to fear for your life. Surprised how much litter was lying along the road, though. Absolute disgrace. I made sure not to leave any rubbish behind and car drivers with motors under their *ss throw it out of windows.

When phoning Cluanie they told me that they are fully booked. I was too afraid to walk for over 40km to Glen Afric youth hostel so I hitched along the road (12km. I made up for it the next day.) to the Cluanie Inn and walked to Glen Afric hostel.

Day 4
"Rest day", spent munro bagging. You can't buy food at the hostel. (EDIT: I was there again in 2017. Now they sell dehydrated food.) But at the end of season the free food shelf is better equipped than any supermarket. The hostel itself closes over winter. If you arrive too late in the year, there is a bothy nearby.

Day 5
Bendronaig Bothy
Very nice walk. I should have stayed at Maol Buidhe, given the condition of my feet, but pressed on (anticlockwise. Don't go clockwise, or you will regret!). Arriving at Bendronaig after dark. I crossed the dodgy (and abandoned) footbridge because it was too dark to see that next to it is a proper bridge for cars. Also very lucky to check in the dark that the fence around the bothy is barbwired. That could have meant the end of the trip. Bothy itself is top (with toilet). The rat turned out to be a big bug.

Day 6
Gerry's hostel in Craig (now run by Simon)
Amazing place. Powerful drying room. Little shop with food. Record player and fire. We listened to Scottish Folk, RocknRoll and Erik Satie. I will go there again to climb all the munros I had to walk past. Unfortunately I was limping badly, using my poles like crutches. The reason I pressed on the night before was that I was afrad that Gerry's might be full, so that I had to continue to the Teahouse bothy. With a start at Maol Buidhe that would have been a stretch in my condition.

Day 7
Kinloch Ewe hostel/hotel
Easy day. It's a bit tricky navigationwise: At the start, shortly after the Gerrys, there is a path leading up the forest which is not in the OS-maps (but on Harveys). Later, due to hydroscheming, there are a lot of new roads. But the general direction is obvious and all the roads lead to Kinloch Ewe. I walked the last stretch on tarmac, which is not too bad. Pubfood in the evening. Met 3 CWTers.

(edit 2024: I was back in Kinlochewe. Even though the sign "bunkhouse" is still up, the bunks have gone for good. This time I stayed at Simon's BnB in Incheril and enjoyed it very much. Simon is very happy to host CWTers. You can reach him at simalexruadh "at" gmail.com or by contacting the Stag hotel.)

Day 8
Rest day, buying chocolate and compeed in the store and walking only in my bothy boots. The thistle stop cafe is much nicer than the pub. In a shed behind the church you can find a great gallery by a wildlife photographer.
(edit 2024: the thistle stop cafe has now a different owner and calls itself the Old Hall Cafe. The pizzas are great. The store is now community owned, still sells compeed and is much nicer than before. I can recommend the home made crystalised ginger.)

Day 9
Lochivraon Bothy
It felt great being able to walk properly again. After this I never had any problems anymore with feet or knees. I'll write a bit in more detail about the next few days, because the path I chose deviates from Harveys. I got a monthly subscription to OSmaps (4 pounds), which allows you to print A3 maps all over. The path from Kinlochewe is the same as to Shenavall but before Loch an Nid, you continue straight ahead and follow the river/path to the big Loch. Unfortunately, one of my poles broke. There are two houses. A nice one and the bothy. The bothy got a toilet which is great (it means, that there is no human waste in the river next to it). Rather cold, but nice and very scenic.

In the evening I climbed the nearest munro, just to try out my new freedom.

Day 10
Glenbeg Bothy
That was my favorite leg of the trail. Follow the loch. After it, it is 5km on tarmac. At a tourist stop you can follow a path down to the spectacular Corrieshalloch gorge. On the other side there is no path anymore, but it is an easy climb to the mainroad. No fence. Then upwards, through the trees, and find a way through the lodges and upwards to Beinn Dearg (1083m). Somebody built a ginormous stone wall on the mountains. Smelled like slavery to me. No idea whether sheep are impressed by it. It's a fine mountain. I climbed a second easy munro on the way down and descended to the Lochs Tuath and Prille. It is better to stay on the south side of Loch Tuath. Loads of stags everywhere. After this it is an easy descent to Glenbeg Bothy. Unfortunately it is not maintained by the MBA anymore (ask google if you want to dig into the story). The bothy is still in good conditions (some nettles defending the entrance and some paint cans should be moved from the bothy to the shed). It would really be a shame if this place is left to rot. The scenery is amazing and water source top quality.

Day 11
Schoolhouse Bothy
Easy walk over the rather remote Seana Bhraigh. Very scenic again. The northface of this mountain ridge present itself as a spectacular cliff.
Schoolhouse Bothy complete with blackboard and a volume by Shakespeare (go to the end of "what you will"/"twelfth night" which goes "for the rain it raineth every day" for a particular Scottish experience. Great place. I didn't trust the water coming from the private lodges in Corriemulzie estate, but there is new wire bridge on the north side over the river Einig which leads to some top quality water streams. According to the MBA website, the bothy was meant to be closed, which made me a bit nervous. Luckily it was open. Since Oykell Bridge Hotel was fully booked, the Plan B was walking on tarmac into the night and staying at the Motel further north. Glad, that Plan A worked.

Day 12
Inchnadamph Lodge
7km to Oykell Bridge Hotel and then a proper breakfast. Comes in at 16 pound, but was worth it. They serve breakfast after 8:30. Felt welcome even though I was dirty and didn't look like their regular guests. Got a healthy piece of cake for lunch with me.
After Benmore Lodge I got overcondifent and ascendet Ben More Assynt by the southridge. It's very spectacular. I didn't know the weatherforecast. And when the wind gusts hit you sideways on that narrow ridge, the ratio danger/fun is not so favorable anymore (backpacks double as sails). Only attempt this in good weather! Even if you have experience you won't enjoy it when the **** hits the fan. Occasionaly people die on that ridge. After Ben More Assynt, the ridge to Conival is OK, even in dire conditions. Descent to Inchnadamph is easy again.
My raincover flew off when I was on the ridge. Very lucky that my sleeping bag didn't get soaked. I'll write more about it in the lessons learnt. Inchnadamph Lodge got bunks, a big kitchen and a drying room. They sell food, but if you don't want to carry around some pasta and sauce the next days, it will be instant noodles.

Day 13
Glendhu Bothy
Easy. Very scenic plateau and waterfalls on the way to Glencoul. It takes a bit of navigation if you don't follow the paths, but the rockfaces are easy to avoid. The bridge at Glencoul bothy got rebuilt, so no crossing rivers there. Both, at Glencoul and Glendhu the bothy is not in the nice house, but both bothies are great places. Also felt great to finally smell some sea water. I had high tide, unfortunately. On low tide you can try and pluck some mussels. Take care when walking along the fence leading to Glencoul. Some bits of the wire are lying well hidden on the ground, presenting possibly nasty traps.

Day 14
Old School, B&B at Inshegra, Kinlochbervie
Probably I could have made it to Strathan Bothy. But proper food once in a while is not to be undererstimated. I took the clockwise direction around Ben Stack. Extremely scenic, very interesting geologywise, amazing views and an atrocious wind on top of that little hill. It didn't come in gusts, so it was kind of predictable, but I had to make sure to stay away from cliffs. It was raining a lot previously so that I had to ford a torrent (rather than a small river) when walking along Loch a Gharb-bhaid Beag. Walking poles help. Speaking of wind, on the shore of that loch there is a boat hut with the roof lying next to it. Rhiconich hotel was fully booked and the pub hadn't opened yet when I was passing, but the Old School B&B was waiting anyway. The most potent heating device is in the toilet. Food was good.

Day 15
Cape Wrath/Kearvaig Bothy
First to London Stores at Badcall (that's apparently where people live who lost everything at poker:). The shop is great. Even Green and Blacks Chocolate and Ginger cake. Got resupplied and walked north into the bog. Top quality bog I have to say. At Strathan bothy I stashed some gear to lighten my pack.

Phone the MOD in advance! It's a bad surprise when you see the red flags in the wind at the border to the "Danger Area". Even though they display the phone number, there is no phone signal at the border, so you have to phone them when still in Kinlochbervie. I knew that the manoeuvres were only meant to start 2 days later. But the red flags were already flying in the wind. At the cape they told me that the military put them out early because of bad wheather forecasts. That's not how you win a war, MOD!! If they are shooting, though, it's definitively better to know what you're doing or stay in safety. Bombers, ships, choppers, artillery... proper war zone I suspect. I saw some craters.

At the cape, if you ask nicely you can stay there. I just stayed for the sunset (it was warm. Together with a nice couple who also just finished the CWT we sat outside, barefoot, drinking beer and watching the sun). With the last light I made it over to Kearvaig bothy. Amazing beach. In the morning I was watching seals swimming. Just around the corner to the right is a seastack which is even more scenic than the one at sandwood beach.

Day 16
How to escape the cape/Back to Strathan Bothy
Getting off the cape is actually harder than getting there. The bus and ferry service are not very reliable. Walking out felt much better anyway. Back to Strathcailleach Bothy where I had a late lunch. A fire was going and the bothy is generally nice with its paintings. Then I took the wrong decisions to walk to Strathan bothy to collect my gear. In the good hour it took, I got hit by atrocious rain and wind. Heavy weather just got redefined. Apparently the MOD didn't start the manouvres due to bad weather. Again, that's not how you win the war, MOD!!

Day 17
Easy walk over Sandwood Bay to Old School B&B. The beach and its seastack is amazing. I met up with the couple from the day before (who made the right decision and stood at Strathcailleach). Too much wind and waves to go for a swim (also rather cold) but getting off the trousers and walking with the feet in the water felt like holiday anyway.

Day 18
By car to the Rhiconich Hotel, where a National Express Bus should take me to Inverness. But the bus never came. I spent the day with the lovely couple and her mom who dropped me off at Inverness. Train back to Glasgow. Escaping the cape is hard.


I didn't meet the 3 CWTers from Kinlochewe again. Disappeared without a trace. I assume that they didn't make it in the end. If you don't reach the goal, you reach your limit. It's the richer experience.

[walkingpoles]

In this post I'll put some lessons learnt and a disscussion of my gear. Photos will come in a third post.


lessons learnt: Some good some bad

- Keep your stuff dry
Raincovers may fly away. Have you got a plan B? Backpacks are close to waterproof. In particular, in heavy rain and without protection there will be a pond forming in the bottom of it. Bad luck if you packed the sleeping bag at the bottom. I was twice extremely lucky. Next time I will put sleeping gear into a proper waterproof bag. I simply put it in a plastic bag, but that wasn't good enough. Luckily the cover of the sleeping bag was somewhat waterproof too.

- Tarps are great if you know how to use them, but if a walking pole breaks (one of mine did) that strategy gets a bit compromised.

- Make sure your feet and knees are up to it during the first days
I have regrets. Walking too fast on tarmac also goes here. The first 30km stretch should be scheduled for when you are confident you can do it.

- Walking poles for women
Walking poles for women are shorter (and hence lighter) than the ones designed for men. In case you are not taller than 1.8m, you'll be fine. On the other hand, if you are a woman >1.8m, head for the men's section. But you probably know that trick already.

- Chocolate can be restocked
Eat the food first that you can rebuy at Kinlochewe and Kinlochbervie and hang on to the stuff that you can't. Chocolate, biscuits, oatcakes and muesli/porridge can be restocked easily. Same with pasta. High tech dry food and Kendal mint cake is impossible unless you pass by Ullapool. Also, I didn't see jetboil system cartridges in Kinlochewe, so starting the trail with the smallest one might be a bit optimistic or possibly spartanic. Depends a bit whether you insist on tea for breakfast or whether you are good with cold muesli.

- Know your boots/in-soles
The in-soles of my boots were too thin. When wet, it was difficult to insert them properly into the boots. I went with hiking boots, so that there is some ankle support. If you go and plan to hike on mountains while doing the CWT, consider that too. Many stretches are on difficult terrain and my ankles would not have forgiven me to do it without support.

- Don't carry water, or only little (and make a plan for when you should do so nevertheless)
I fixed a cup outside my backpack. Whenever I was crossing a trustable stream, I'd drink from it. If you see on the map, that the terrain will get flat (for example towards the cape), fill the bottle at the last trustable stream.

- Don't overextend/overload your backpack
It's better to buy the next size backpack. Carrying comfort gets compromised if your backpack is designed for less volume than you use it for.

- Elastic bandage
Some of my joints got problems. Fortunately only one at a time. Being able to fix a knee or an ankle can make the difference between finishing or not.

- Go light unless you know that you can carry it.
I donated lots of food to the free food shelf in the first hostel.. And given how much free food I found in later hostels, many people make that mistake. The food logistics has to aim for the shops not the cape.

- Ask for weatherforecasts if you plan to do adventureous stuff
I got regrets on the south ridge of Ben More Assynt. Standing on a spectacular ridge with windgusts from the side and slippery rock is best avoided. Also make sure to have map coverage/compass when you go roaming on hills. Even though the hills are small compared to Alpine standards, they look like Alpine 2'500m hills or even higher when you are up there. Most places don't have a path, and navigation and dealing with rockfaces can be tricky. Underestimation isn't called for.

- Egg powder for the win
Great for lacing high tech dry food to top up the calories. (The extreme stuff they're selling at Tiso's in Glasgow has 800 kcals. Nowhere near enough. I had often egg soup with bouillon as a second course in the evening. Egg powder turned into scrambled egg is also nice for breakfast.

- Know the daylight hours
Fortunately I checked the fence whether it was barbwire when I arrived after dark. If you're still out, make a plan latest half an hour before the lights vanish. Reading maps will get harder, too.

- If people talk about northern lights, take them seriously
Big regrets.



List of gear
One set of clothes that is not allowed to get wet and one set of clothes that may get wet. Basta. Make sure that the gear that is allowed to get wet is comfortable to wear even if wet. In hostels with potent drying rooms you can attempt to wash something.

broke/bad
- Raincover: took off in high wind. I got a bin liner the next day from the hostel to put inside my bag. Unfortunately they can leak too. If you overextend your backpack, make sure that the raincover still fits before you encounter the first rain.
- waterproof trousers: they didn't deserve their name
- Walking poles. Black diamond, women edition. In principle great. Folds so small that you can put them inside the backpack for checking it in for flights. One broke.
- Spork was too small to reach the bottom of the dryfood bags. My mistake.

OK
- gators: keep the feet dry for a bit longer. I liked them also in morning when the grass (reaches your knees at some spots) was still wet.
- 52litre Osprey backpack: bright red colour wasn't really fashionable but it was easy to find again when placing it somewhere below a summit. Probably would have also meant some protection if the MOD decided to fire 2 days early or would have made the job easier for mountain rescue if things went really badly.
- Stove MSR Windburner: packs nicely. But CO means to cook outdoors and no ignition is a drawback (never ever lose your lighter/matchbox! Or bring two of them.). The no ignition is also a design flaw: The stove is meant to work in hurricane conditions but you won't be able to light it.
- Boots: Salomon Quest: especially in-sole and straps are bad. Never had a shoe before where double knots didn't work to keep the laces in place. Sole was a tad too weak to comfortably deal with scree. In-soles are a nightmare to refit when wet. The boots were sensibly waterproof, though, which I enjoyed heavily. Ankle support was enough and they are rather lightweight.
- Arcterix jacket Theta: Not completely water proof but felt OK to wear even if wet. A strap in the hood and the hanger broke. A bit on the expensive side but it didn't let me down.
- Harveys: waterproofness is top, unfortunately they don't cover some interesting bits which aren't next to the path that Harveys presents as sensible. I was glad to take some printouts of OSmaps with me. There is no reason to stick to Harveys red path (or stay within the map) if you see a better alternative (in case you know what you are doing).

topnotch
- Bothy sandals: When properly soaked, the floors of bothies aren't exactly dry after you walked over it with your outdoor gear. So they help to keep your dry socks dry. If you have to get out during night, it was usually more comfy to walk barefoot in the sandals than putting on the wet boots.
- Katadyn filter: At most places, boiling works well also. More like a luxury item, but I liked it on the second part of the walk. At the schoolhouse bothy, the water level was so low, that I basically got water out of a pond (alternatively it would have been the stream with private huts upstream). Filtering also helped saving fuel.
- Bandana/buff for walking and sleeping: Covering your head while sleeping makes a big difference
- Sleeping gear: Lightweight is worth money. My mat and bag weigh 800 grams in total.
- Hand desinfectant: Also doubles as a wound desinfectant.
- Lots of plastic bags: The sun shines 3 times a day. Also packing is easier and more sorted.
- Lyrics of the element song by Tom Lehrer: Kept me occupied for the whole trip. And much lighter than a book. Reciting it is also great to speed up when climbing something and to slow down on tarmac.
- Long johns: The combination of thin hiking trousers and long johns was more flexible in the bothies than a pair of warm trousers.
- Tape and Compeed: oh yeah. Compeed can be bought at Kinlochewe. When walking in wet boots, the compeed has to be renewed every other day.
- Soap: Got a soap with which you can wash hair, body, kitchen stuff and clothes.
- Compass: Navigation mistakes usually mean doubled distances in the best case.
- plastic cup with a handle: strapped to the backpack, always ready for drinking out of streams.

To bring along next time:
- a candle

Stuff I brought along in vain:
- sun glasses
- spare batteries for the gps
- peronin (didn't work for me. Was meant to be used for lunch. I used it occasionaly for dessert in the evenings.)
- bag for my camera (you won't have it around your neck anyway)

Stuff I didn't use but will bring along again:
- fluorescent band to wear when walking on roads in darkness.

[walkingpoles]

And a random selection of photos. No selfie, though. I saw myself in the mirror at Strathan bothy. It was probably sensible not to have taken a selfie

Camera is a Panasonic Lumix LX 100. 400grams were heavy enough. Occasionaly I missed the zoom. Or my full frame sensor, but I'll take it again with me.

Getting started: We are not in Fort William anymore

Anti-smoking policy at Gerry's hostel in Craig. Pretty convincing.

Baby newt rhymes with cute

Ben Eighe

Highland humour meets toilets

Convincing argument to keep going

Corrieshalloch gorge (I bet that this is more spectacular than Inverlael)

Glenbeg Bothy

Shortly before reaching Glencoul

Bothy still life

Holy mountain Ben Arkle

Sandy beach, no wood

Ministry of Defense golf course (that's the flags you don't want to see)

Kearveaig beach inspired

Cape Wrath from Kearveaig

Kearveaig stack

CWT may get philosophical

or downright existential

Murals on the Parph

[onsen]

Informative post Walkingpoles, thanks for sharing...and well done.

[speedfreak]

Congrats and thanks for the report.

[EileanB]

Thank you for that, interesting and useful.
I was particularly interested in how you managed without a tent. I know I am beyond the stage of being able to carry one comfortably however light, and though the CWT is probably beyond me too, I still enjoy multi day walks and it's good to see how the logistics work.

[prog99]

No headtorch in your kitlist?

[walkingpoles]

Thanks for all the replies.

I know I am beyond the stage of being able to carry one comfortably however light,

I keep changing my mind about this issue. My back problems were the reason for not taking a tent with me.

There are only two legs (on the Great Glen variant), which can cause problems when not bringing a tent: 1 reaching Cluanie, 2 reaching Inchnadamph. Biggest problem in both cases is that the hotels/hostels might be fully booked.

Reaching Cluanie from Invergarry is the more unforgiving one.
If you book Cluanie in advance and are prepared to walk on tarmac, the leg should be doable. Having an early rest day beforehand might help. And in the worst case, you can hitch. If you want to follow Harveys, you have to be confident about your fitness. There is no road to hitch and walking in darkness is not great out there. From Fort William, going through Clona Glen (or by train to Glenfinnan) or trying something creative with Invermally bothy and going straight north might be worth considering also.

Inchnadamph can be handled:
You won't know exactly beforehand when you'll reach Inchnadamph, so you can't book it way in advance. There is mobile connection if you follow the path from the schoolhouse bothy southwards up the hill (it will take about 15-20min.) or from the top of Seana Bhraigh so you can phone them one day in advance. There are lots of alternatives though, like having a rest day at the Schoolhouse bothy or stay at Oykel Bridge or the Motel and walk straight to Glencoul.

Going without a tent is easier if you allow for plenty of days for the trip, so that spending the rest days can help with booking ahead. I also made sure to stay in bothies during weekends. Unfortunately the MOD-schedule forced me to speed up.

During summer, depending on wheather and your position, walking through the night might be a feasable plan B, too, in case hostels are fully booked. In september, only partially recommandable.

Not taking a tent also means that it might get hairier, if things go wrong. What if stuff like: What if I hurt my ankle or knee and have to go slowlier than planned? What if I make a navigation mistake and end up in the wrong valley? What if the bothy burnt down the day before I arrive?

I considered 2 possible coping strategies here: Being happy just to survive the night, find the next road in the morning and hitch into civilisation or being able to continue the CWT the next day. For the first option, the cheapest and lightest bivvy bag will do, but the sleeping bag might get wet. If opting for strategy 2, bringing a tarp is an idea, but they are only half a kilo lighter than the lightest tents. And given that the ground will possibly be top quality bog, the sleeping gear might get wet nevertheless.

and though the CWT is probably beyond me too,

There is only one way to find out
Also fish are bigger when being told about than when caught.

No headtorch in your kitlist?

Yeah. I even used it. But no interesting story to tell, I am afraid. It's a black diamond one and has a reading/indoor setting and a walking setting.

[Marty_JG]

If you don't reach the goal, you reach your limit. It's the richer experience.

I wanted to contribute because I like that philosophy!

Just wanted to add a few thoughts for consideration:

In-pack drybags. Getting a set of drybags, even cheap ones, and put them in your rucksack. They make finding things that much easier and they obviously keep your kit dry if your pack itself has a leak. They also make for packing the sack really easy, the silky fabric easily slides next to each other.

Firesteel. A decent striker & steel e.g. Light My Fire 2.0 you'll be able to light a gas system in the wind & rain. Takes a bit of practice but they're not difficult to use.

Alcohol Stove. They're not for everyone but they're lightweight and you can get emergency fuel (Meths) pretty much at any stop: store, chemist, garage (let alone begging the local farmer, tradesmen, etc.). I got a 28 gram Vargo burner with integrated pot stand, does need a windshield. Love it.

Tent. I hear you about the weight issue. You can get a very light 1-person single skin tent for semi-reasonable money. EG Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo for around £200, just 640 grams, uses one of your walking sticks.

That's it for now I think.

[walkingpoles]

Alcohol Stove. They're not for everyone but they're lightweight and you can get emergency fuel (Meths) pretty much at any stop: store, chemist, garage (let alone begging the local farmer, tradesmen, etc.). I got a 28 gram Vargo burner with integrated pot stand, does need a windshield. Love it.

Tent. I hear you about the weight issue. You can get a very light 1-person single skin tent for semi-reasonable money. EG Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo for around £200, just 640 grams, uses one of your walking sticks.[/list]

That's it for now I think.

Thanks a lot for your feedback! Much appreciated. My burner was too heavy for a bothy oriented CWT, I agree. Didn't know that such tents existed. When I looked around in stores I only found 1kg tents (and a pricetag along the lines of 600$). I'll buy one like this next time. Probably got its disadvantages, too, but 640grams for the comfort to know that you can pitch a tent if you ever need, is sensible.

If you don't reach the goal, you reach your limit. It's the richer experience.

I wanted to contribute because I like that philosophy!

I'll get you a pint, when I'am back in the country.

[Marty_JG]

Single-skin tents are not as warm as two-skin designs, so not ideal for summit camping in a blizzard but otherwise you can compensate with sensible gear/sleeping kit.

The biggest difference is condensation. Breath has a high moisture content, inner tents tend tend to have reasonable ventilation but single-skins trap moisture in as well as they keep moisture out. The reviews say the Lunar Solo doesn't have as much of a condensation issue as some models but either way it won't be more than a few drops, just keep a microfibre towel handy.

I'll take you up on that pint if you're at the Spring meet.