[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

Snugpak Travel Lite.
I have used this last July on C2C and last weekend on the North Yorks Moors to Coast.
It has a great size and weight but it just is not warm enough!
On both occasions I have spent the night wearing every item of clothing I had!
I am going to bite the bullet and buy the Softie 3.

Snugpak Travel Lite.
I have used this last July on C2C and last weekend on the North Yorks Moors to Coast.
It has a great size and weight but it just is not warm enough!

Hmmm, I might take my Vango Venom 150 along as an extra liner just in case.

One reason I was taking the Travelite was to check out how it coped with bivi-bag condensation. A problem in colder months (or when midges abound) 'cos you end up breathing inside with your head retracted from the cold or insects. Not too much of a problem on a one nighter, but potentially more difficult on a multi-day bivi trip if bad weather dosen't allow you to dry out your down bag.

Tesco Down bag £39 Down & only 800grms!

Also, in the Slugwash family sleeping bag collection is a Tesco down bag. Much sneered at by some of my RAB loving backwoodsman friends, but they miss the point. It costs less than £40 and you don't have to worry too much about it around campfires, etc. (a dog chewed mine and I just shrugged my shoulders and patched it up with spinnaker tape. I'd have been crying for weeks and up on a charge of extreme animal cruelty if it had been a £200 designer bag). It packs down small and does the job. I've used mine in the Picos de Europa, on the OMM and on Autumn/Spring camping on Dartmoor and Snowdonia. My only real critiscm is it needs a silk or polycotton liner if you're not wearing any clothes as the inner material's not too comfortable next to the skin.

The ones in Tesco at Ivybridge today were labelled as weighing 900grammes.

...That's two day's in a row now that I've gone into chain stores and 'fondled' cheap sleeping bags 😯

The Snugpak Traval Lite head net was great for the midges last year,although odd at first as it is unsupported so lays on your face.
I have seen the Tesco down bag and I can not work out how they do it for the money?

I've got a Vango Wilderness 250 and http://www.vango.co.uk/sleeping-bags/wilderness-250.html do you tink its going to be warm enough for WRT with maybe a liner in it, Bivi (MOD version)???
Or do I buy one of those Tesco Jobs??

Vango reckon 8 degrees, so at the end of May you should be alright ... however a liner wouldn't go a miss. I've been using a Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme liner all winter with good results. They do a lighter thermal liner too.

How did the trip go??

Stu's back and I think he's left Taylor and Steve to fend for themselves 😯

We had a good time ta fellas ... don't let anyone tell you different 😉

Long day yesterday at 12 hours in the saddle for flatfish and myself and 10 for Steve. Rain last night but everyones kit stood up to it without problem. Cracking day today weather wise but we managed an early finish by pushing on into the dark last night.

wow that was severe then 😯

how was "the climb"???

I wouldn't describe it as 'climb' ... long, long, long push describes it slightly better 😀

Tesco bag looks very tempting. Any thoughts on how it performs? No winter bivi trips for me, but don't want to die from exposure in July for the sake of saving £60!!

Glad it went well Stu, Any pics of that climb?

http://flic.kr/p/56FmAM

like this in Ireland??

That's not a climb 😉

Can't post pics but I'll email you one over.

Stu email me and I'll post them if you want 😉

Few folk had the down tesco bags on the wrt last year ... reckoned they were fine and no one died 😀

8O[IMG] [/IMG]

A pic of "the climb" from Stuart

Tesco bag looks very tempting. Any thoughts on how it performs? No winter bivi trips for me, but don't want to die from exposure in July for the sake of saving £60!!

^ ^ ^
Huh! My Tesco down bag testimonial above not good enough for you then, petrieboy? 😉

Ah, doesn't do it justice ... most is 1 in 5 with a certain bit 1 in 3. When you're pushing up it feels like it's over 45 degrees! which I assume it is.

I hope the WRT is not passing through there????

I hope the WRT is not passing through there????

Took my Tesco bag on the WRT last year and it got a bit hot to be honest, sleept in endura baa baa and shorts . Had to take Baa off as it was too hot.

What happened to all the trip pics then chaps?

I was the only one carrying a camera, the camera in question is rubbish. We we're pitched up in forests both nights (flatfish was swinging from the trees) and we didn't set up camp until after dark so not much to take pictures of really ... perhaps that should say, not much my camera would take pictures of!

We did get a nice picture of a warning sign ... it warned us to be careful of BEARS for the next 5 miles. I'm not making that up either 😯

So, the big question... Every time I go to my local Tesco I see those dinky cheap down bags, and every time without fail I get told to move away from the camping aisle by my wife. She's sick of me looking at things like that and then deciding not to buy it. That is possibly understandable.

Anyway, to the point now. Should I buy an Alpkit SH1000 or similar to replace my current Army-issue green bag? Not only do Alpkit make them in a long (thanks people!), but their bag will be hopefully both warmer and lighter than the abomination that fills my Bergan every time I go out.

Should I though? Will it be warmer? Too warm perhaps? (given that I don't go out in the dead of winter these days) HELP!!!

I'm definitely buying a mat from them though...

Get one bought ... you won't regret it and it'll last years if you look after it.

I know!!! But there are just sooooo many choices!

I just don't want to be too cold. Or too warm. Simply "just right".

It's got a full length zip, if you start to get too hot just vent it from the bottom.

I don't think I've had many nights in the UK where a 'lightweight, cheap, 1 season' bag would actually have been warm enough ... that might just be me though.

BEARS!
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[b]"****"[/b] I am making a bear bell tonight for the WRT 😯

You know how to tell if you have come across bear poo in Wales? It's the one with the bear bells/whistles in it 😉

Route 66..!! god I hope thats not one of the way points for WRT...

Right, what canoe do I need then??

I think I can borrow a sea kayak from a neighbour 😉

Anyone got one of these? any good?
http://www.gapyeartravelstore.com/Beyond-2-3-Season-Down-Sleeping-Bag-p-539.html

you would never guess Im looking at bags again, would this be a good coicee but maybe with a liner? its well small and cheap and with the summer just around the corner... 8)
http://www.gapyeartravelstore.com/Snugpak-Traveller-2-Season-Sleeping-Bag-p-391.html

you would never guess Im looking at bags again, would this be a good coicee but maybe with a liner? its well small and cheap and with the summer just around the corner...
http://www.gapyeartravelstore.com/Snugpak-Traveller-2-Season-Sleeping-Bag-p-391.html

It's the same one as mentioned above by me and Basil. You can get them for £25 post free on ebay. I've not tested mine as yet. I was going to this weekend but as the forecast suggests that Dartmoor will be freezing I'm taking a three season down one instead.

Anyone want to join the full moon sleep out party on Saturday?

didnothingfatal - Member
Best setup I found for gas is the Optimus Crux and would sooner invest in a setup like the Optimus Crux Weekend HE Cook System.

well my HE system has just arrived 😀
One of those boxes you take off the van man and think 'is there anything in it, feels kind of empty'
The burner mechanism is a work of miniature beauty, half full gas can boiled the large pan (indoors) in about 2 1/2 minutes - handles could be better if I'm being very critical, but the whole package is neat and the small lid pan could be used as a 'mug' saving even more space/weight.
Weather being kind I'm off on a full-moon bivvy-bag bonanza this Saturday in the vicinity of Hindhead Punchbowl so will test it 'in the field'
I've got the bivvy geek bug I think 😕

That's it blame me when it all goes wrong 😆

Enjoy the field test!

that looks a great cookset let us know how you get on with it 😉

hoping to have a trip over the Easter holidays when the tribe are away at the outlaws 😉

may go into the Afan forestry and scare bikers on the Sunday morning like stig of the dump 😀

A good addition to the Crux is the Primus Windscreen
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You don't get the advised 5mm clearance but it hasn;t affected mine this last two years.

I should be out over easter too valley daddy.
Ride from aberdare to glyncorrwg then back again.
Not that it's that far.

Yes I've done that a few times, there and back in a day easily.

Just always make the mistake if eating too much at the Drop off and suffering on the way back 😳

Ok flatfish maybe we can sort a trip out over Easter, I am sure Steve would be up for a local one too, assuming he can get out of family duties.

penny stove arrived today.

Fool I hear you say but i'm not one of those people who can follow instructions well. But now I've got one to copy so will be churning them out by the dozen.

The thing weighs nowt and burns really really well.

I'm Happy

The boss has just rang and i've had a pink ticket stamped for an easter overnighter.

should be up for that depending on what day - hopefully I won't get as many punctures as I did last weekend!

NOBODY can get as many punctures as you Steve. 😉

You should go tubeless Steve. Recently changed a pair of tyres that had worn out - on close inspection of the inside of the casing I pulled out 8 large thorns. First time I'd been aware of them as no loss of pressure.

Just finished my MYOG meths/solid fuel stove ready for this weekend's Dartmoor bivi trip.

It burns meths one way up, but flip it over (and insert a couple of old cut down spokes) and it becomes a solid fuel/twig burning furnace 🙂

Meths mode...

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Solid Fuel....

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All the bits + fuel...

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One fuel tablet gets it to boiling (without foil lid) in about 41/2 minutes. About the same for meths...

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It packs down small and fits discreetly in your handbag 😉

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Food for this weekend's trip (excluding coffee bags & Nairns Fruit Oatcakes). I'm using the freezer bag method of cooking http://www.trailcooking.com/ .....

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308384@N06/5536937313/in/set-72157626077847855/ ]Food Photo With Notes[/url]

And, for those of you who've been following this thread recently, I'll be throwing caution to the wind and testing the Snugpak Travel Lite sleeping bag 😯

Good stuff. The custard is a great idea, I was eating apple pie and custard last weekend ... doesn't half just warm you up before bedtime 😀

Actually, I ate the custard about half-an-hour ago.

Not to worry though, I'll pop into Sainsburys later and get some more when I pick up the coffee bags 🙂

Good luck with the Travel Lite! We're up onto Kinder Scout tonight and forecast is hovering zero even down in the valley. Alpkit PD800 for me, although I'm only on a 3/4 balloon bed so will loose a fair bit to the ground. It packs easily into 8L drybag so it's not a big issue.

Stove looks great, should one assume the pegs are ti? That looks like a lot of fuel for the amount of food laid out!

Stove looks great, should one assume the pegs are ti? That looks like a lot of fuel for the amount of food laid out!

Cheers! No, they're not ti. I took them from my bnggered wheel collectiom (105 hub/Mavic CXP33 Rim. a combination I'm never going to use again so I can afford to lose the odd sized spokes 😉 )

There's a lot of fuel there 'cos I'll be testing the set up in the field and boring my gas-stove cooking companions with back to back solid fuel vs. meths vs. elder twigs MYOG stove demonstrations 😉

I'm also on a balloon bed but have done a risk assessment regarding the weather ([url= http://www.dartcom.co.uk/weather/index.php ]Dartmoor Weather Station[/url]) and reckon my chances of survival are fair to middling with the Travel Lite (and a back up Vango Venom 150 as a liner if necessary).

We're plotting up down in a wooded 'ravine' next to the River Dart as we suspect that the open moor will be crawling with yoofs out on Ten Tor manouveres.

Enjoy Kinder 🙂

Slugwash

What is you're windscreen/pot support made out of (or have I missed it?)

What is you're windscreen/pot support made out of

A sheet of aluminium that shinythings (of this forum) gave me....

[img] [/img]

Apparently, he used some on his boy-racer souped-up Audi Quattro engine to dissapate excess heat or something like that. Not exactly what you want your windshield to do 🙂

What a superb trip, Kinder was cold over night but warm blue skies today meant there was a lot of fun to be had. Someone else was enjoying it to, we arrived 11pm to the spot we had in mind to find 3 tents had already tucked up for the night!!

New 'Travel Tap' water filter- tested and great.
New 'Caldera Cone' stove- tested and great.
New 'Storm Matches'- flippin brilliant for lighting cold meths.

I weighed my complete 25L pack (all kit inside, we were yomping not riding this time) at 7.3kg. For my full on winter kit I was quite happy with that. Weight includes tent, -18' sleeping bag, food, water and filter, stove, & fuel, pots, down jacket, gloves/hat, and sundries. No camera though 🙁

Roll on the next trip.

Just as a heads up... [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-food-for-all-you-bivvy-types ]http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-food-for-all-you-bivvy-types[/url]

willard - great link

http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/Page/index.aspx

looking forward to trying some out soon

Any pics from the weekend events?

Any pics from the weekend events?

Having problems with flickr at the moment uploading and editing but here's a few...

Crossing the river...

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Woodburning mode (only in emergencies from now on. Solid fuel is best!).....

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The view upon waking....

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First coffee of the day...

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Morning airing...

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On the walk back out of the woods. WTF? ....

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308384@N06/sets/72157626183006577/ ]March Dartmoor Bivi[/url]

Popped my bivi cherry last night 😀
Kit performed well, full moon was 'awesome' and the woods at night are full of demonic creatures lurking just out of sight 😕
Haven't got the cooking thing worked out properly so munched on flapjacks, porridge with dried fruit, more flapjacks, chocolate, coffee and a fine malt - will try 'proper' food next time as that combination was a bit explosive 😳

Thanks for the inspiration guys, I think I'm hooked.....

Dead sheep
Body board
Tsunami or eeerr I dunno that is just elfin freaky

I'm using the freezer bag method of cooking http://www.trailcooking.com/ .....

what exactly is, tried to read that site but it seemed to be a lot about the recipes and not about what to do (but I have had a bit too much cider right now)

Slug... No bike this trip then?

Slug... No bike this trip then?

No, due to logistical bike carrying problems for persons coming from further afield (who didn't show up 😉 ) we chose to plot up at the hard-to-get-to-by-bike but ****in' beautiful riverside location. It'll be bikes and a moor crossing to another of our favourite locations on the next one in a couple of weeks or so.

FREEZER BAG COOKERY - what exactly is it, tried to read that site but it seemed to be a lot about the recipes and not about what to do (but I have had a bit too much cider right now)

In a nutshell (or a freezer bag 😉 ), it's rehydrating/cooking yer nosh with near boiling water in a freezer bag insulated in a little home-made cosy. Great for lightweight, washing up free excursions.

However, not without its problems as I don't think that the others were too impressed with my spontaneous campfire-side custard fountain caused by the action of a spork's prongs on the delicate fabric of a freezer bag 🙂

Yay! Just ordered my new sleeping bag and mat from Alpkit. Went for a SkyHigh 800 and Dirtbag as the best trade-off between weight and comfort. With any luck they will be with me in the next couple of days, so I might be able to try them out this weekend.

I have to say though, the people at Alpkit are really good. Very friendly and efficient.

In a nutshell (or a freezer bag ), it's rehydrating/cooking yer nosh with near boiling water in a freezer bag insulated in a little home-made cosy. Great for lightweight, washing up free excursions.

However, not without its problems as I don't think that the others were too impressed with my spontaneous campfire-side custard fountain caused by the action of a spork's prongs on the delicate fabric of a freezer bag

sounds impressive, did you dehydrate the food yourself? If you went for a spoon instead of the spork would that minimise the risk?

sounds impressive, did you dehydrate the food yourself?

No, I put some rice, sunflower seeds, dried veg, sundried toms, chilli powder and biltong in the bag and added water.

If you went for a spoon instead of the spork would that minimise the risk?

Yep, for sure, although no-one was seriously scalded in Saturday night's Dartmoor custard fountain disaster one of my fellow campers might have had to explain some dodgy stains on his trousers to his fiancee 😉

one of my fellow campers might have had to explain some dodgy stains on his trousers to his fiancee

What happens in the woods, stay's in the woods 😳

damn you guys, why on earth did I open this thread!!! After going through 15 pages I am now planning a trip myself :-s

JxL Thats the attitude, welcome.............

I'm still having nightmares about jets of boiling custard spraying towards me 😯
Good trip out and excellent pictures as usual slugs

Glad you mentioned the custard fountain... cos I would've 🙂

Cracking bivvy as usual. Got home and promptly fell asleep on the sofa!
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When's the next one then??

Reet, the gear acquisition has commenced! Check this out - winner baby!
[IMG] [/IMG]

There'll be no stopping you now ... it's a slippery slope you're now on and it leads to a dark place 😉

and I am loving the slope I am on 😆

Hay Slugwash how was the Snugpak Travel Lite bag? Did you use a liner?

how was the Snugpak Travel Lite bag? Did you use a liner?

I used my meagre Vango venom 150 down bag as a liner and I was very comfortable. The combination worked well and I guess the temperature outside was 3 or 4 degrees. I'll risk using the Travel Lite by itself when it's a bit warmer but, so far, I think it's a good bag 🙂

I had a slight condensation problem inside my Rab Survival Zone bivi bag but it didn't affect the down bag, only the Snugpak where it was in contact with the bivi bag. This lead me to think that if I put the sleeping bag inside my trekmates microfleece liner (which is less absorbant and easier to dry out) then this might save the sleeping bag from a condensation ingress problem. Unfortunately, I can't test my theory out at present 'cos I've mislaid the fleece liner 🙁

(must get a life 😉 )

<Warning>Right, I am about to sing the praises of Alpkit.</Warning>

I ordered a SH800 sleeping bag and Dirtbag mat from them yesterday. They were very polite on the phone to me and said they would get them out the same day.

I'd just got back from lunch today and found a package waiting for me from... Alpkit! I am now the very proud owner of a new sleeping bag (which is long enough for me) and a new mat. Not only that, but Izzy had put a note in thanking me for buying them! I'm impressed with them, I really am.

Ok, so I had to get the mat inflated and _might_ have had a try of the sleeping bag too, but to say I am chuffed is an understatement. I might even try them out this weekend if I can persuade the wife to let me!

Looking at tarps its a fight off between the Alpkit rig and the integral siltarp, anyone use a siltarp? Its lighter than the alpkit rig so getting pulled towards it, but not seen either in the flesh.

Don't think your special Willard, Izzy writes me love letters too. 😉