Sanny: Like a veritable Scottish Mr T, I ain’t camping in no rain, fool!
There can be few as enthusiastic about a night outdoors than our Sanny.
What’s the chief thing you look for when choosing kit?
At the risk of sounding like a bit of a cliché//ACCENT//, it has to be quality of design and construction with price being a secondary consideration. Experience is a brilliant teacher. I’ve lost count of the number of light bulb moments when I’ve been cold, wet and miserable and had plenty of time to reflect upon how different kit choices could have turned a character-building suffer-fest into a truly enjoyable day out. For me, the key is to take those learnings and apply them to my kit choice. For example, down jackets are great for warmth to weight ratio and packability but in the dampness of a Scottish winter nothing beats a synthetic belay jacket. Being realistic about the conditions you are going to be facing on your next adventure is a wise approach. If it is going to pour down, an outer first pitching tent is preferable to some gossamer thin, inner pitching model designed for the California sunshine. Finally, I like brands that design their kit to last and will happily repair them when the time comes. Patagonia and Hilleberg are standouts in my experience. You may pay a premium, but you won’t be buying twice.
Favourite piece of camping kit
My Patagonia DAS Light Hoody. I have tried many insulating jackets over the years, but this one really hits the sweet spot. Whether sitting around camp, stopping for a mid-ride snack or just general wear when the temperature goes down to single digits, it does a great job of keeping me warm, and when the wind gets up or the riding gets seriously arctic, the helmet-compatible hood and two deep hand pockets keep me as snug as a bug. It washes well too, which is always an important consideration if you have a hankering for open fires. It’s so good that it comes with me on pretty much every ride, which I reckon is a sign of success.
Advice for a good night’s sleep
Easy. Invest in a well-insulated inflatable mattress that packs down small in your bag and throw in an inflatable pillow. While that ultralight three-quarter length inflatable crisp packet in disguise may be tempting you in the quest to save precious grams, nothing beats lying down and feeling immediately comfortable and warm after a long day adventuring. Oh and treat yourself to an eye mask and earplugs. Nature is great, but f**k me, it can be bloody loud and bright at times. Try camping next to a stream and manage not to be bursting for a pee come three in the morning, I dare you.
Any unexpected luxury items?
A portable wood-burning stove. Yes, you read that right, they do exist although they weigh a bloody ton so no use for bikepacking. However, if it is absolutely bucketing down for three days in a row, nothing beats turning tail and booking yourself into a shepherd’s hut complete with wood-burning stove and a traditional pub just a two-minute walk away… In more practical terms, real food. Forget the freeze-dried option. Take in proper ingredients that you have to cook from scratch. My good friend Dene recently did this at Ryvoan Bothy with his daughter Jay. While the hardy outdoor types stirred their packet of desiccated who knows what, Dene broke out fresh langoustines with garlic and butter. I wonder which you’d rather have?
Favourite camp breakfast
Apple pie with Ambrosia custard heated on my stove. OK, so this may seem a bit arse backwards eating your pudding first but apple pie and custard are the Nectar of the Gods as far as I am concerned. I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth, but there is just something about the mix of flavours that gets me out of my sleeping bag and ready for the day. Maybe it is the pure sugar hit or simply the fact that sleeping out should always feature little treats – kind of like when you bribe your daughter with jelly babies to go just that little bit further on hill walks. Clearly, I am just a big wean! [That’s ‘child’ for our non-Scottish readers – Ed]
Bad camping kit choices
I shall resist revealing the product name to spare blushes, but I once took a tiny wood-burning stove with me on a trip. It was, to be brutally frank, an unalloyed disaster. While my head was filled with visions of ruffty-tufty, tanned outdoor types in the Sierra Nevada laughing as they sat round their mini campfire while downing a cup of freshly brewed Joe in the late evening sun, the harsh reality was me becoming increasingly creative in my expletive-laden invective as the damned thing proved to be a complete and utter nightmare to light. Even when I did manage to get it going, the damp branches made for a smokey old time. By the time I had not so much cooked as kippered my dinner, I was ready to set about it like Basil Fawlty with a tree branch. I bet it would have bloody worked then though! The look of disappointment on my daughter’s face at the prospect of barely tepid hot chocolate and stone-cold s’mores meant that it was quickly consigned to the shelf of disappointment. Writing this reminds me to ignore the urge to break it out any time soon. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the smoke didn’t even scare the midges away…
