The hiking gear and adventures thread...
Discussion
KobayashiMaru86 said:
Tempted by their 30L +5 backpack. Bag I use now is a good bag but is a camera bag (Lowepro) but it's about time I got something more for the job. Been hard to find a bag I like. I still want to carry a water bottle on the outside. I don't get on with the bladders.
I have a bag collection now. My camera (A7IV) just gets thrown in whatever bag I’m using unprotected. My standard day pack is a larger running pack. They’re so comfy for hiking. I use a Salomon XA 15. I have an Atom Packs RE30 for a larger day pack that I can do multi nights.
My pack collection sadly keeps going a lot further. Mostly Atom Packs, Gossamer Gear, Salomon and some Osprey!
w1bbles said:
Berhaus have a winter sale on. I picked up a £160 30L backpack for £80 last week (to replace my utterly worn out 2012 Berghaus pack). The 2024 version is much better and a real bargain.
This one: https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-arrow-30-rucsac-da...Matt.. said:
I'm back to my yearly attempt to find B2 boots that actually fit. It's a minor nightmare for anyone needing a wider toebox and narrow heel. I get such limited use from boots though as i'm in non-waterproof trail runners almost always but they have their uses for a couple of days a year. I was in my non-waterproof trail runners up around the peaks near Llyn y Fan Fawr over the weekend in the snow. I much prefer leaving the boots at home!
See if you can try these on, apparently a wider fit https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/hanwag-ferrata-tour-g...
Mr.Nobody said:
In my case, no, this one: https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-freeflow-30l-rucks...Still showing as £80 vs original price of £160.
w1bbles said:
Mr.Nobody said:
In my case, no, this one: https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-freeflow-30l-rucks...Still showing as £80 vs original price of £160.
Did manage to find a discount code so can get it for £72. Forget what the code is.
KobayashiMaru86 said:
w1bbles said:
Mr.Nobody said:
In my case, no, this one: https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-freeflow-30l-rucks...Still showing as £80 vs original price of £160.
Did manage to find a discount code so can get it for £72. Forget what the code is.
Weirdly, my perfect fit was a decathlon own brand, which I still use, as you barely realise you have it on. Not a brand I would have ever thought of buying. Wore that on many a 12 hour searches stuffed to the gills with kit and never any chafing or back pain.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
KobayashiMaru86 said:
w1bbles said:
Mr.Nobody said:
In my case, no, this one: https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-freeflow-30l-rucks...Still showing as £80 vs original price of £160.
Did manage to find a discount code so can get it for £72. Forget what the code is.
Weirdly, my perfect fit was a decathlon own brand, which I still use, as you barely realise you have it on. Not a brand I would have ever thought of buying. Wore that on many a 12 hour searches stuffed to the gills with kit and never any chafing or back pain.
Ok so I massively over promised and under delivered re Spine Race
.
Sorry, I've been living in the bubble, but home now.
It really is a remarkable event. Here's a quick interview with one of the runners that gives you a bit of an insight into why some people do it and why I spend a couple of weeks a year helping people like Dave hopefully get to the end (might be dusty): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE4gF1HNew1/
ETA some great candid shots by a professional: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE7Lvn1M5cD/?img_index...
ETA 2 (to add link to John's insta post on the incident below - note I physically put the diversion in, i was not part of the checkpoint staff)
I was in the four person safety team ahead of the race, checking the course conditions, setting diversions (more on that later!) and looking out for the safety of the elite athletes, hence why I'm now back at home even though the race doesn't finish until Sunday (which is mental!).
The conditions on Saturday/Sunday were brutal, particularly for those cutting the path through the peak district snow - there was a lot of blood on a lot of shins. Here's Pen Y Ghent at dawn on Monday with some runners having followed the diversion we put up earlier.

Monday onwards and it began to thaw almost in a couple of hours. Hawes didn't flood but we headed up to Cow Green Reservoir and in particular Cauldren's Snout. The weather was awful, completely clagged out, blowing 27mph, gusting 40 with sleet that necessitated goggles. One of us (not me!) climbed down it in crampons as the wind was blowing spray on to the rocks which was then freezing solid.
There was no way the runners could go up that safely, so we (I) set up the diversion to bypass it. I mention this as this diversion turned out to be the cause of one of the most controversial moments of the race.
Kim was in the lead out of Langdon Beck (near the Snout) with John hot on his heels. Kim followed the diversion but John did not (he posts his reason on his fb page, but essentially he was head down, hood up and missed it). John successfully navigated the original route (impressive!) and arrived at the top only to find a very surprised Kim.
ETA John's insta post on the incident: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE68cLrxQy0/
There was then an inquest which resulted in a time penalty to John, which in true F1 style was then subsequently reduced following further information.
Either way, it ultimately turned out not to matter as Kim absolutely smashed it. By the time he was closing in to Kirk Yetholm on Wednesday evening, three of us from the team decided to run up the Schil to see him fly by.

We headed back to the finish see both John and Lucy Gossage cross the line together. To his absolute credit, John stood back and let Lucy claim all of the credit and lime light that she deserved for winning the women's race.

In other news John Lovegrove absolutely smashed the field in the MRT Challenger North taking a new record as he did so which was nice as one of our team currently holds the MRT Challenger South record.
Here's me and the team team with him (and his can of cider) at the finish. Not sure who looks more tired, us or him

Oh and one of the other safety teams rescued a dog but I can't find the photo of that for some reason.
All in all, a hugely enjoyable five days and something that is highly recommended to anyone who is a keen outdoors person. Outdoor first aid, ML qual or MRT helps if you have it. If you fancy volunteering in the summer, either on the hill teams or manning the checkpoints, drop me a pm and I'll see if I can help.

Sorry, I've been living in the bubble, but home now.
It really is a remarkable event. Here's a quick interview with one of the runners that gives you a bit of an insight into why some people do it and why I spend a couple of weeks a year helping people like Dave hopefully get to the end (might be dusty): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE4gF1HNew1/
ETA some great candid shots by a professional: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE7Lvn1M5cD/?img_index...
ETA 2 (to add link to John's insta post on the incident below - note I physically put the diversion in, i was not part of the checkpoint staff)
I was in the four person safety team ahead of the race, checking the course conditions, setting diversions (more on that later!) and looking out for the safety of the elite athletes, hence why I'm now back at home even though the race doesn't finish until Sunday (which is mental!).
The conditions on Saturday/Sunday were brutal, particularly for those cutting the path through the peak district snow - there was a lot of blood on a lot of shins. Here's Pen Y Ghent at dawn on Monday with some runners having followed the diversion we put up earlier.
Monday onwards and it began to thaw almost in a couple of hours. Hawes didn't flood but we headed up to Cow Green Reservoir and in particular Cauldren's Snout. The weather was awful, completely clagged out, blowing 27mph, gusting 40 with sleet that necessitated goggles. One of us (not me!) climbed down it in crampons as the wind was blowing spray on to the rocks which was then freezing solid.
There was no way the runners could go up that safely, so we (I) set up the diversion to bypass it. I mention this as this diversion turned out to be the cause of one of the most controversial moments of the race.
Kim was in the lead out of Langdon Beck (near the Snout) with John hot on his heels. Kim followed the diversion but John did not (he posts his reason on his fb page, but essentially he was head down, hood up and missed it). John successfully navigated the original route (impressive!) and arrived at the top only to find a very surprised Kim.
ETA John's insta post on the incident: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE68cLrxQy0/
There was then an inquest which resulted in a time penalty to John, which in true F1 style was then subsequently reduced following further information.
Either way, it ultimately turned out not to matter as Kim absolutely smashed it. By the time he was closing in to Kirk Yetholm on Wednesday evening, three of us from the team decided to run up the Schil to see him fly by.
We headed back to the finish see both John and Lucy Gossage cross the line together. To his absolute credit, John stood back and let Lucy claim all of the credit and lime light that she deserved for winning the women's race.
In other news John Lovegrove absolutely smashed the field in the MRT Challenger North taking a new record as he did so which was nice as one of our team currently holds the MRT Challenger South record.
Here's me and the team team with him (and his can of cider) at the finish. Not sure who looks more tired, us or him

Oh and one of the other safety teams rescued a dog but I can't find the photo of that for some reason.
All in all, a hugely enjoyable five days and something that is highly recommended to anyone who is a keen outdoors person. Outdoor first aid, ML qual or MRT helps if you have it. If you fancy volunteering in the summer, either on the hill teams or manning the checkpoints, drop me a pm and I'll see if I can help.
Edited by ben5575 on Saturday 18th January 10:28
Matt.. said:
I’m definitely tempted to sign up for an event like the Spine (not the full one though). I need a challenge to aim for after hitting my goals recently. Does anyone have any other similar events that can be done as fast walks not runs? Fellsman is another I’ve been looking at.
Do the OMM (www.theomm.comm) in the short score class.RammyMP said:
That is a lovely day for it! Well done for getting out, I’ve only done it the once but really enjoyed it. Need to get back to the lakes, it’s been years. Did a short evening torchlit walk up our local hill last night - Mortlich (381m) in Aberdeenshire. Just nice to stretch the legs. I saw a head torch of someone climbing Morven (871m - peak in second photo) across the valley despite it being 6 miles away. If they were coming down they’d have witnessed a super sunset last night.
Feel privileged to be able to walk the hills from my doorstep on a school night!
Edited by thepritch on Saturday 18th January 09:35
w1bbles said:
Matt.. said:
I’m definitely tempted to sign up for an event like the Spine (not the full one though). I need a challenge to aim for after hitting my goals recently. Does anyone have any other similar events that can be done as fast walks not runs? Fellsman is another I’ve been looking at.
Do the OMM (www.theomm.comm) in the short score class.You can walk the Spine (or the Challenger South/North) - many do as the cut offs are very generous - I think it's based on an average 2mph across the length. But that of course relies on you not sleeping and it's the lack of sleep and the sleep monsters/hallucinations that is the real challenge. The elites somehow get across the line on (Sunday to) Wednesday, the back of the pack on Saturday/Sunday am - ironically it's actually harder for the slow ones as they are out longer and are even more sleep deprived.
Have a go at the summer Challenger South as a taster. It has a very distinctive vibe to it - everyone is out to get everyone to the finish - it's both horrific and very wholesome at the same time. And very addictive.
ETA photo of one of the competitor's shins who was breaking trail through the snow on Sunday. He finished yesterday. (NSFW)
Edited by ben5575 on Saturday 18th January 10:50
Matt.. said:
I have a bag collection now. My camera (A7IV) just gets thrown in whatever bag I’m using unprotected.
It's a bit nerdy and you in no way asked for this, but I got some Lowepro cubes for taking-gear-on-a-hike (as opposed to basing a hiking backpack around camera needs, which felt less good to me. I'm either hiking-and-might-want-to-take-photos, or I'm out taking-photos-and-I-might-need-to-hike to enable that - but those drive different kit needs imo). The Gearup Creator M fits an A7C on an L bracket with a 20-70 f4, spare battery and a set of mag filters to make the smallest full frame kit capable of taking pro(ish!) landscape shots I could assemble (2 litres / 18x11x20cm). An A7IV might be a bit of a squeeze though - size L probably better.
Nick

Hoofty said:
I got some Lowepro cubes for taking-gear-on-a-hike
Nick
I think many people use similar and it works well for them. Nick

My camera is treated as a tool so doesn’t get loving care more than the bare minimum. I use a Peak Design capture clip on my packs for carrying the camera. If it rains heavily it goes in a dry bag and stuffed into my pack. For taking in the cabin of a plane or travel it’ll get stuffed into my backpack and protected with clothing. If it’s lucky I might use some bubble wrap! My opinion is camera gear is often far more capable of taking some abuse than many would believe. I absolutely understand that not everyone wants a scratched and bashed camera though!
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