Red Yeti's Blog

04 Jul, 2007

“Suitable” footwear – What’s “suitable”? To me and to an increasing number of others it’s “approach shoes” or even “trail running shoes“.

The difference between having lightweight well designed approach shoes and clunky old leather boots is amazing. A pair of these can make the largest immediate difference to how easy I find it to move about – except perhaps for not carrying a pack!

Ask anyone that’s been with me recently in South Wales – I’ve started running up hills (with a pack on) for no apparent reason. It’s just such a pleasure, and I don’t normally enjoy running.

This isn’t some crack-pot idea used only by a few crazed thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail. One of the foremost advocates of the use of approach shoes for summer and winter (using “mid” height versions) is Chris Townsend. Who, apart from having a truly awe inspiring amount of walking experience in all conditions has just become head of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (congratulations Chris!). Someone whose opinion it’s therefore hard to dismiss.

I used approach shoes the first time I did half the TMB in 2003 but for some reason persuaded myself to go back to boots until this summer. I’ve got a pair of Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCRs but it’s a bit of a hard choice between them and the Keen Targhee IIs for me (LB has a pair that she loves).

However, there’s no way to be sure without trying them on. Remember to bring any insoles like Superfeet that you might use! Even then, walking around the shop isn’t enough, you must try to hammer your toes into the front of them by stomping down a slope (any good shop outdoor shop should have one).

It’s also vital to try walking across a slope (the edge of some stairs with someone’s shoulder below you to steady you will do it). You need to let your ankles start to “turn over” and see if the cuff starts to push hard into your foot just below your ankle. Almost any shoe will do this to some extent so it can be hard to judge. But if it’s quickly uncomfortable then beware, a few kilometres of walking could bruise and/or blister it.

Finally, like anything else, remember to check for stitch faults in the pair you decide on. I was surprised to find a bad one in a pair of Montrails that I got from Snow & Rock (who replaced it of course – but they also have a three month “half your money back if they don’t fit” policy that applies no matter how much you’ve worn them).

06 Jul, 2007

I certainly won’t be writing this much detail about everything on here! But there are certain things that are so important to comfort on a long walk that they’re worth concentrating on. Like socks for instance.

There’s no point in spending a money on good footwear if you then put on a pair of cheap socks. We’ve tried X-Socks Smartwool and Sealskinz as well as a host of cheaper ones. The cheaper ones aren’t worthy of mention. I’ve found Bridgedales to be fine but only Thorlos give Smartwool any competition in my experience.

What we’ll take

You certainly don’t need a fresh pair of socks every day! You’d probably need an extra bag to carry them.

I’m planning to take one pair of thick Smartwools, two Smartwool liner socks and a pair of Sealskinz in case it gets really wet.

Then, each night in the hut, I’ll wash out the thick sock and liner from that day. Roll them up in my towel and squeeze the water out. They should be dry enough by the morning. Even if they’re not completely dry you’ll be putting on the dry, spare liner sock and quickly getting them damp with sweat anyhow.

Taking an extra pair of thick socks pretty much guarantees that you’ll have a dry pair each day and taking just one pair for a week seems like under doing it, but it can be done!

X-Socks

The X-Socks were of the lightweight hiking variety (I must admit I’m not sure which ones now – have you seen how many there are?). We found they were too thin and both ended a weekend with slightly sore feet but that’s our own fault really for choosing the wrong thickness. But the most off-putting thing was the smell! Being synthetic it was very, very cheesy after just a day’s walk. There are lots of people that love these socks but even with thicker ones I wouldn’t want to put up with that smell.

Smartwool

Gorgeous. Really cushioned and grippy. Best of all, because it’s only Merino wool in contact with your skin, they are amazingly smell resistant (there’s elastane in them but it’s not touching your skin). Nothing much more I can add. Wouldn’t buy anything else. Apart from a pair of…

SealSkinz

Sealskinz appear to be tougher than other brands of waterproof socks. Possibly because they’re not a laminate fabric. And to be clear – they have nothing whatsoever to do with seal skin!

Wearing waterproof socks whilst walking up hills with a pack in pouring rain obviously will not keep your feet 100% dry, but they do at least get no worse than rather damp. Which means warmer feet of course.

My first pair actually failed within four days of use but that seems to be very much the exception. Also, I simply stuck them in an envelope with a covering letter saying they leaked and they sent me a brand new pair within a week.

There are now many people that use an unlined approach shoe (no waterproof membrane), which is cooler, combined with a pair of Sealskinz when it’s wet.

Liner Socks

Both LB and I went from thinking Liner Socks were just more unnecessary faff to not wanting to be without them. They can certainly prevent blisters in our experience. The theory being that they provide a slip plane between the liner and the outer sock that prevents friction raising a blister. Smartwool make these as well.

10 Jul, 2007

A non-Haute Route gear related post for a change. But if you’re in to making your camping kit lighter -read on…

Got hold of one of the “Gossamer Gear NightLight 3/4 Sleep Pads” (not to be confused with the smaller “Torso” Sleep Pad) and have been trying it out in South Wales for the last couple of weekends.

Summary

Pros

Very light Inexpensive

Cons

Big!

Overall: I plan to use it in future in place of my Prolite 3/4 length though this is just first impressions.

First impressions

I’ve always been a fan of Thermarests. The 3/4 length 2.5cm mat that I’ve carried for nearly ten years was only replaced last year by the latest version; the Prolite 3/4 length. They’re very comfy for the weight.

But, the stated 370 grams of the Prolite seems to be the lightest of the actual production examples that a recent OM thread could turn up. Mine weighs in at 436 grams.

So I thought I’d try the NightLight which is a sort of state-of-the-art version of a standard foam sleeping mat of the type carried by D of E groups in the British hills (most of whom seemed to be in the Black Mountain range of South Wales last weekend).

I always think you can spot a D of E group a mile off. They’re smaller than your average walker but are carrying packs the size of a VW Beetle. And strapped somewhere on the outside of the pack is a foam mat, looking like it’s trying to soak up all the rain that’s running off the pack just to add some extra weight.

Surely a foam mat is a step backwards?

Well, a stated weight of 7.8 to 8.2 oz (221 to 232 grams – mine is 222 grams) and a very comparable R value of 2.27 (the Prolite is 2.3) means the NightLight needs some serious consideration. Also it can’t puncture. Have you ever tried finding a Thermarest puncture? Even in the warmth of your own bathroom, bent over the bath looking for a stream of bubbles, it’s surprisingly tricky!

At £22 from Winwood Outdoor it’s also not going to break the bank (especially in the context of the amount I’ve spent on gear this year!).

My first thought when it arrived three weeks ago (after about a five week wait as the order came in from the USA) was: “Oh Hell… that’s enormous!”.

At 4\’11? (1.5m) it’s 3? (7.5cm) longer than the Prolite 3 but somehow manages to feel closer to full length. I can get my feet on it if I have my head on a rolled up fleece + duvet jacket. Meaning even with the fractionally lower R value it will provide insulation for almost your whole body whereas the Prolite 3/4 length won’t.

I didn’t relish the thought of strapping it to the outside as even though it’s closed cell foam and therefore shouldn’t soak up water, it would still be a big wet bit of unwelcome plastic in a dry tent at the end of a day’s walk.

Jamming it inside the bag seemed to allow almost no room for anything else (a mistake on my part – I should have known better – but see below!).

But the 214 grams weight saving tempted me.

So we took it and I slept on it the first night on flat, soft grass.

Very comfy. Comparable to the Prolite in fact. Trying them out side by side on a hard floor at home, the Prolite has the edge (just). But, and I’m not too sure of this yet, I have a feeling that if there was a stray point from a rock sticking up into your back, the Prolite would tend to let it “show through” whereas the more resilient foam of the Nightlight might try to “even it out” more. Giving a more rounded and perhaps therefore a less pointy and uncomfortable mat. This seemed to be true of where we camped on Saturday night in fact but as the title says, this is just first impressions here.

But I still couldn’t see how I could take the mat and still fit anything else into the bag!

So, I cut it in half and LB and I tried using one each as a torso mat.

It worked but our legs were on the floor of course. Although a waterproof jacket seems to be capable of providing enough insulation to stop condensation building up on the foot end of a sleeping bag overnight (good tip that) it’s not enough to stop your legs getting cold. “Use your rucksack” some would say. Well, it sounds good in theory but apart from them not being the most lump-free objects to sleep on, after a typical summer day in Wales a rucksack can be holding enough water to make a whole D of E group’s breakfast porridge and therefore isn’t a very welcome tent guest.

Meaning it’s got to be all the mat – or none of the mat. And it’s surely just too big?

But that 214 gram weight saving nagged at me.

And then, I realised that I was being stupid – just let the thing unroll as it wants to and use it to line the inside of the sack. I can’t believe I missed that considering I’ve even wondered about getting a frameless pack and that’s exactly how you give them the required stiffness.

So, I tried that and oddly I think it might be easier since it’s cut in half. I think that sticking the two “egg box” shaped faces together when flat and then rolling them into the bag makes the mat really want to spring open and therefore stick to the outside of the rucksack – giving the maximum room down the “core” of the pack. (The picture shows an XXS Exped Drybag containing my first aid kit at the bottom of the bag)

Which meant it fits in to the Granite Gear Vapor Trail I’ve just bought (only had it out this weekend – great – more on that some other time) along with all the other kit: PHD Minimus sleeping bag, 1 litre pot, MSR stove kit, Rab Drilium, Montane Atomic Pants, Montbell Thermawrap, Jack Wolfskin Gecko micro-fleece and to my amazement the Terra Nova Voyager Superlite tent! I already mentioned I’d spent some money on gear didn’t I?

The bag was a little “taller” than it would have been with the Prolite, but it was that extra 214 grams lighter at last.

LB will try it out next weekend but I think there may be another mat making its way from the USA soon…

(Pictured with a 6?/15cm steel rule for scale – the size of the gap in the middle stays the same all the way down inside the rucksack – it’s just perspective that makes it look like it gets smaller towards the bottom!)

12 Jul, 2007

The Haute Route in August – ah… warm and sunny. Maybe…

Obviously we need to bring water proofs. Although I’ve been hugely impressed by a pair of Paramo Cascada trousers for winter user - Paramo’s just too heavy for summer. So something light and breathable.

I’ve been amazed at how breathable eVent based clothing is. My Rab Drilium jacket has actually allowed me to dry out after I put it on over a wet t-shirt. But if I had to get a new jacket I’d probably go for the Montane Quick Fire I’ve not used one but I’ve been very, very impressed by all the Montane gear I’ve had and I hear good things about the Quick Fire in particular. They’re well cut – especially their women’s range.

For trousers it’s hard to beat the weight of the Montane Atomic Pants (“Atomic Pants” – that sounds very odd in British English!). My large ones weigh in at an amazing 178 grams and really do pack down to the size of a large orange. They’re pretty breathable (not to eVent standard but not bad at all) and the pair I have now are very waterproof. The first pair leaked like tea bags! But Montane sent me out a new pair (with a credit card number as security) that I needed in a hurry while they tested them. Sure enough there was something wrong with them and that was that. So if you have a pair that don’t seem right – send them back!

With my long legs and a pair of approach shoes the rain runs straight off the trouser legs and into my shoes. So I spent a while looking for small, short, light gaiters. And a thread on OM turned up the perfect pair (all outdoor knowledge is there… somewhere…). They’re made by a Canadian company called Integral Designs who are a very nice bunch of people and are happy to talk about making up kit to order should you be so inclined (I haven’t have anything made… so far). Shortie eVent Gaiters are perfect. At 70 grams for the pair including the stuff sac there’s no reason not to throw them in the bag.

And of course – the SealSkinz socks I might have already briefly mentioned in an earlier post.

One bit of kit that’s proved to be incredibly useful in the recent sun/rain/wind cycle that we seem to be running through every half an hour in the UK has been a Montane Lite Speed wind proof. Fantastic bit of kit that I wish I could have bought years ago. It has a really big range of comfortable conditions from sun (with wind) through to a showers. And with mine weighing only 186 grams (large) and packing down, as they say on the site, to the size of an apple it’s always with me. But, probably not on the HR. I’m expecting warm and dry, or wet and soggy. So at the moment I think it might stay at home. I’d be interested to know if anyone would take one though?

So that’s

• Waterproof jacket
• Waterproof trousers
• “Shortie” gaiters
• Waterproof socks
• Possibly a wind proof

13 Jul, 2007

So there I was writing a simple entry on hot weather kit that I thought would take me twenty minutes and an hour later I’m still on it (trying to make it smaller!) and I started to wonder “Why didn’t I just send a kit list?”

Well, I have done in the past and it has proved useful to people, so that’s fine. But it doesn’t get across why I’m choosing the particular kit I am.

Good kit is very enabling and poor kit can literally be disabling – poorly fitted footwear can mean blisters that make it near impossible to walk.

Good kit can make the difference between having a fantastic time, despite extremes of weather, and having a miserable time or even worse.

And really good kit is “invisible” you hardly even notice it when you’re using it. You just get on with whatever it is you really came for.

And I’ve spent so much time (probably far too much time!) looking at, reading about and even occasionally finding time to actually use lots of it that I know what works for me and can take a reasonable guess at what should work generally.

Kit lists have their place. Without one to tick off I would constantly forget to bring things! But exactly what should be on that list and why? Well, that’s why I’m blogging it.

I hope it helps!

13 Jul, 2007

The Haute Route in August – ah… warm and sunny. Dust-dry trails, roiling heat haze rising from glaring rocks… Here’s hoping!

Sunblock

Sunblock is a no-brainer. The excellent and amazingly comprehensive web site over at Needle Sports (no I’m not sponsored by them – exactly the reverse in fact) has some nice smallish tubes of sun cream that should last for the whole route for one person. I’ve been looking for an alcohol based gel block for the last ten years (since I used some in Australia) but I’ve only just managed to find one in the UK. Garnier have brought out Ambre Solaire Clear Protect Gel that dries almost immediately with hardly any residue. Pretty strong on the perfume though! Not tried it properly yet but next year I might try Lighthiker’s trick of squeezing some into a plastic soft drink bag.

Sunglasses

I’d count sunglasses as essential in the Alps in summer (and winter of course!). Although I’m happiest without them, even I can’t put up with the glare coming off the rock for hours on end. And there’s good evidence that exposing your eyes to that much UV will damage them in the long run. A wrap around pair is preferable of course just to keep the light to a minimum. Also, it’s possible for cheaper specs to be worse than no glasses at all since they may not block the UV properly. Because they’re dark, your pupils enlarge but since the they’re not blocking the UV your eye is getting even more UV exposure than it would have done if you just squinted. So, probably not worth skimping on the price too much.

I’ve just come across the Adidas Evil Eye sun glasses. The interesting thing for me is the versions that come with the ability to convert into ski goggles. The arms click out and are replaced with a head band and there’s a thin foam insert that clips to the back of the frames to form a seal. They also have a clip-in prescription lens available that you can take to an optician and have ground for your eyes. I’m not sure how well they’d work with regard to condensation since they’re only single skinned but the potential weight and bulk savings make them look very interesting…

Hat

I’ve always hated hats but something has just converted me: An LTM6 Airflo Tilley Hat

These things are beautifully put together and thought out. They deliberatly don’t fit closely to your head but instead sit on top of it loosely with a comfortable chin strap to stop it blowing off. The strap works well and has kept it on my head whilst walking over the windy tops of South Wales recently. I read recently that Ryan Jordan reckons his Tilley is his favourite bit of kit (notice he’s almost always wearing one in pictures) and Chris Townsend gave the Tilley T3 a “Best Buy” in a recent TGO review

Extra Water Container

Typically I only carry two litres of water but I’m going to bring an extra bottle in case it’s very warm. For once I’m not about to recommend some cutting-edge, shiny bit of gear for this: an old tonic water bottle is perfect!

Any plastic bottle that’s been used for storing fizzy drink works. They’re made of much tougher stuff than the ones for still water. Wash it out, fill it with hot water and bicarbonate of soda for a couple of days, wipe off the sticky label residue with meths or white gas and your done. Tonic water bottles seem to have the least residual taste/smell from whatever they held before.

In summary:

• Sunblock
• Hat
• Extra water container