Friday 24 April 2015

TGO Challenge 2015 Gear

 
Not on my gear list - but the Tipsy Laird at Kingussie features on my route plan


Well it's a bit disappointing.  Are this year's TGO Challengers being less anal than in previous years? Either I have missed them or there has been a remarkable absence of gear lists being published on the Internet Thingy Me Bob.

Well I can still stick my head up my backside and put a spreadsheet together so here is my offering.  I have just about finalised what I am taking, but there are one or two possible changes that I will decide upon at the very last moment when the likely weather may be slightly clearer.  The middle column headed "additional weight" shows the impact these changes would make on my base weight.

I will almost certainly go with a pack and shelter that I have used on the Challenge in previous years, both of which have performed brilliantly, although they do add additional weight.  The Scarp 1 is a superb shelter; the ULA Catalyst is an extremely comfortable carry and has bags of room so packing up each morning is that much easier, especially when it's peeing down.

It will be my third Challenge and I seem to have managed to reduce my base weight by 1 kg per year.




TGOC 2015 Kit list







Item
Pack
(grams)
Additional Weight
(grams)
Worn/Non-Pack
(grams)












Pack



ULA Catalyst + Lowe Alpine Pack Cover
1530


Z Packs Arc Blast

-940

Z Packs CF Pack Liner
54










Shelter and Sleeping



Scarp 1
1455


Z Packs Duplex

-770

Tent pegs
250


Tent J Cloth
12


Sleeping Bag Z Packs 20 Degree
660


Silk Sleeping Bag Liner

116

Sleep Socks - Down Socks
60


Rab Meco Long Johns
148


Rohan Ultralite trousers instead of above

68

Exped Pillow
76


Neo Air X lite (large)
448


Tyvek small footprint
100










Cook set:
410


MSR Micro rocket, windshield, canister stand



Evernew 0.9 litre pot



Evernew 0.4 litre mug



Long spoon (Titanium)



Lighter and Petzl Sparker



Classic Swiss Army Knife



Water Purifying Tabs



J Cloth







Water Kit in cf stuff sack:
181


Water Container Platypus 2 litre



Water Container Platypus 1 litre



Sawyer Water Filter + medium pouch











Health and Hygiene







First Aid Kit:-
290


First Aid Kit Dry Bag



Elasticated knee bandage



Tick remover



Safety Pins



Scissors



Sudacreme



Plasters and compeed



Wound Dressings



Micropore tape



Paracetamol



Ibuprofen



Imodium



Hay fever tablets



Gehwol Foot Cream



Lanacane Anti-Chafing Gel







Sunscreen (add if good forecast!)
0










Wash Kit in Exped Dry Bag:-
358


Zip Lock Bag



Toothbrush and Paste



Comb



Dr Bronner's



Deodorant



Towel - Lightload Mini *3



Contact lenses



Toilet Roll



Hand Sanitizer



Lighter



Ear plugs



Tissues



Reading glasses in case
107










Navigation



Silva Compass
40


Ortilieb map case + Map


80
Ortilieb A4 Case + Map printouts + 2 maps
340


Galaxy 3 Smartphone / GPS


156
Spare Batteries for phone
78


Phone Case


60
Phone Charger
45










Repair kit in cf bag:-
63


Dyneema Cord



Duck Tape



Batteries *3 (watch and headtorch)



Neoair Puncture Kit



Shock Cord



Tenacious Tape / cf tape











Accessories:-



Multimat foam sit mat
42


Whistle
15


Headtorch - Petzl e lite
30


Midge head net
50


P Bottle
62


Notebook and pen


52
Watch - Suunto Core


64
Camera - Lumix DMC TZ60 + case and spare battery


400
Wallet
100


Rail tickets
10






Pacer Poles - Alloy


650




Clothes







Trail Shoes Inov8 Terroc 330s


820
Gaiters - Integral design e-vent


68
Pants Helly Hansen Boxers (2 pairs)
88

88




X Socks Exped (2 pairs)
62

62
Trousers - Montane Terra


357
Hi Tec Zuuc Shoes 450

Rohan Merino Shirt


286
Paramo Katmai Shirt
250


Hagloffs thin zip up fleece


365
Montane Prism Gillet


284
Berghaus Fleece Beenie


42
Buff
38


Windshirt - Montane Litespeed


204
Liner socks - Rohan
25


PhD Minimus Down Jacket + Hood
478


ME Gloves


60
Silk Liner Gloves - Lowe   Alpine
30


Waterproof Overmitts


41
Z Packs Challenger Jacket
180


Berghaus Paclite Jacket

350

Berghaus Paclite Overtrousers
250






















Total Base Carried
8865
-1176

Total Worn


4139








Food, Drink and Fuel







Gas
380






Food for two and a half days
1500






Dehydrated main meals *2



Soups*2



Tea bags*12



Drink choc*2



Condensed milk - tube



Instant porridge*2



Cereal bars*7



Chocolate*lots



Primula and wraps







Plastic Food Bags



Hip Flask + contents
400


0.5 litre water bottle
520






Total Food and Water
2800






Total Pack Weight
11665

4139


16 comments:

  1. Not posting one myself as it is more or less identical to last years. But yours is lovely and thank you for sharing ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice to hear from you Louise. I suggest you ditch your Paramo, though, as it will be too warm this year - the sun is arranged for every day. Have a great crossing. I hope to bump into you on the journey across.

      Delete
  2. I'm impressed that you've weighed your rail tickets ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, Robin, I guessed the weight of rail tickets and wallet. Everything else was weighed, though. And come to think of it, half those rail tickets will be dumped at Strathcarron before I start walking. Another 5 grams saved :-)

      Delete
  3. Ahem ! Sun every day ? I see that your ploy is to loose personal poundage along the way by sweating off weight, wearing a fleece, gillet, windshirt, beanie and two pairs of gloves in this glorious sunshine. Take care my friend, athetic individuals such as ourselves can't afford to loose that carefully balanced muscle tone.

    25 April 2015 at 08:36

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi John
      I realise there is some contradiction between my weather prediction and my gear choices. Perhaps the head is ruling the heart here. If it is hot then I'm stuffed. I sleep in the silk liner gloves. I tell people it's because I get cold extremeties but actually I'm just a bit kinky and love the feel of silk on skin. The next best substitute is smearing a layer of Primula over myself..... ;-)

      Delete
  4. Looks a good weight David. I think I carried more weight than that for my first wild camp one nighter! You have missed 2 vital items though. Sunglasses & wide brimmed hat ;-)
    Hope it's a great crossing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right Steve. I need to add the wide brimmed hat for all the sun. I had my sunglasses stolen the other day whilst on a training walk. There's a story behind that...

      Delete
  5. Mugged by noisy youffs in the Arrans ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah, it was some spivy cyclist by the tow path of the Llangollen canal. I'll tell you about the cocky bar steward one day.

      Delete
  6. Sounds intriguing. We await the 'shades-gate' blog post with interest. You can have that title for free 😉

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Steve. It may be a best seller. I will then buy some Ray Bans.

      Delete
  7. Love a good gear list :-)

    Hoping the Duplex makes the cut though

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It didn't, Matt, but I may be out with it this week in Wales somewhere.

      Delete
  8. How come that you choose the ULA Catalyst instead of your Arc Blast?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jon

      Given the weather forecast for wet and windy I decided to take my trusted and well tested Scarp 1 as my shelter rather than the Z Packs Duplex which I haven't used as much in poor weather. The bulkier Scarp 1 fits much better in the Catalyst than it does in the Arc Blast, hence the choice. In fact the Catalyst is a superb all round pack and very comfortable to carry despite the weight compared to the Blast. Having said this the Blast is also great. It's just horses for courses.

      Delete