tgo magazine live letters archive

Same here - we take solo kit but travel as a group. We could share but as we travel in from different corners of the country it's not practical on those occasions. That and we all have our own reasons bringing the kit that we use if you understand that point.

As for cost I dread to think how much over the years I've spent on camping and climbing gear.

Baz, the books I mentioned in TGO were Robin Adshead's Backpacking in Britain, Derrick Booth's The Backpacker's Handbook and Peter Lumley's Teach Yourself Backpacking. Robin Adshead also wrote The Spur Book of Backpacking. All four books are long out of print. (I pinched The Backpacker's Handbook for my book). You might find copies at abebooks.com.

Chris, I read all of these and others back in the late seventies so you'll forgive the fact that I had trouble recalling the titles, even though I've a copy of Derrick Booth's book! Thanks for the pointer and the web address.

Baz, I can only remember the titles because I still have copies on my bookshelves!

Unfair advantage! I was re-reading Derrick Booth's book on the train this morning for the umpteenth time and despite the age (I've a second edition from 1979) there are many nuggets of knowledge that still apply today.

Think it's time to revisit those past reads.

BTW I borrowed other books including ones written by Showell Styles they were of an earlier decade - canvas tents and the alike.

I have Showell Styles "Backpacking in Alps and Pyrenees", which was first run as a series in Climber and Rambler magazine in the 70s. Although nylon tents and internal framed packs were available in the 70s he still used cotton tents and a canvas A framed rucksack. Sometime in the early 80s he wrote a piece for TGO called something like "70 plus, 20 below", which described that as he was now over 70 he had cut his backpacking load to under 20lbs.

For these type of books the classic in my opinion is Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker, first published in the late 60s. All the first three editions are good, the fourth is okay but written with another author so the distinct tone is somewhat lost.

One of Showell's I remember had the classic Welsh 3000's in it, that must have been Backpacking in (North) Wales, I guess if there had been a series of books.

BTW I've ordered Backpacking in Britain and the Spur one from the Amazon used book sellers area - cant wait.

Showell Styles' name crops up in the most unlikely places. Just after the end of World War II he wrote a rock-climbing guidebook to Malta! Nothing extreme, of course, just lots of diffs and v.diffs on limestone with nailed boots and a good length of hemp rope!

Showell Styles was a full time writer. He wrote detective stories under the name Glyn Carr - none of which I've read - apparently mountains feature in them. He died in 2005 aged 96. In the 70s he wrote a backpacking handbook just called "Backpacking" that I remember was quite good. In the 70s and early 80s he was one of the most prominent outdoor writers, appearing regularly in Climber & Rambler and the early editions of TGO. It was his book on the Alps & Pyrenees that inspired me to visit the latter range.

By the way, does anyone know how to change the name of this thread, or even it can be done? There might be others interested in these books who wouldn't glance at a thread called "light cookware"!

I'd suggest starting a thread about books...

But you know what would happen...

Everyone would talk about lightweight cooksets!

Interesting thread! Good old Mr Styles!
My first backpacking trip when I was 15 in 1977 was the Pennine Way with a schoolmate but that was before I knew I was 'backpacking'!

Showell Style's book Backpacking in Wales made me realize as a youngster that this was something I could really get into & his route from Penmaenmawr to the Gower was the basis of my first solo trip in 1979 having spent my first few wage packets on 'proper' gear. His Alps & Pyrenees book sowed the seeds of a love for the Pyrenees & his Backpacking how-to book is a classic I still enjoy reading today. I was pleased as punch to find a copy in a second hand bookshop a few years back as the one from my youth was a library book.

All the other titles mentioned & many other 'how-to's' also share a space on my bookshelves.

I avoid gas stoves where-ever possible & use an old pre-shaker MSR GK for snow-melting scenarios. For weekends the Trangia 27 rocks - it can be stripped down to save weight & I've lost count of the times I've seen it outperform anything else on a stormy hillside lunch break. Breakfast & tea I'm never in much of a hurry! My weekend weight is sub 20lbs so I don't feel like I'm suffering to carry it.

Just for the hell of it I'm using an Optimus 88 at the moment (a bit of a 'what's that' test for the oldies) - nice & compact with it's own windshield, pans, excellent mini-grip & great fuel economy on panel-wipe! (clues galore). It may not be as light as a Crux or micro-whatever gas stove, but it has soul & I'll gladly carry the extra ounces for the buzz of using it.

Looking forward to reading the TGO - those anti-gravity burners with the cone windshield have already caught my eye - be good to read a UK perspective on it.

Coming Back to lightweight cooking gear M*****s do a Eurohike copy of a Trangia, which includes stand, spirit burner, windshield, kettle, 2 different sized pans, 1 frypan which doubles as lid for large pan, and a lid for the smaller pan (lids also make good plates). All for £20!

And it will take a Trangia gas conversion too.

Showell Styles was a lovely man - modest, retiring and a gentleman of the old school. I had the privilege of staying with him in the seventies at his home in Porthmadog. We once spent a hard day together in the Rhinogs and I was amazed at his fitness, He was twenty-five years older than me but I could not keep up with him and would find him waiting at the summit puffing contentedly on his pipe.

He was a prolific author of more than 120 titles published under his own name as well as the detective stories, which Chris has mentioned, written under the pseudonym of Glyn Carr. He wrote historical novels, numerous books on walking, backpacking and mountaineering, a biography of Mallory, footpath guides and children's books.

Showell served with distinction in the Royal Navy during WW2. They don't make them like him any more!

Crikey! what did I start? I agree with Chris we should start a new thread and, yes, Paddy knows this forum way to well!

Baz: If interested in beginning a new thread, you should begin because if Chris, Paddy or I do, we may be accused of self-promotion!

Yep - start a book thread - and I'll restrict myself to talking about stoves!

Guys what can I say? Books arrived from Amazon so as soon as I get a moment.

SQ thanks for the tip on the Eurohike cook sets. I have been looking for something which will fit a Primus Gravity stove in the bottom and two C100 gas canisters aswell as pot grab and cutlrey. The 18cm pot and frying pan lid to go with it that comes in the Eurohike cookset without the burner for £15 works like a dream and even with the stove, canisters and accesories in, the lid still fits on and its all neat and lightweight. Perfect for two people backpacking.

It was mentioned earlier in the thread about titanium being overrated - I've certainly got a msr titanium spoon that weighs more than my old steel but thats probaly more down to the size -

however I noticed on the Winwood site they are listing the Anti-gravity .85L pot - non-stick aluminium at 105g including the lid whereas the same site has the MSR .85L titanium pot at 127g including lid.

capacity is everything! I've a one litre primus litech kettle that weighed 216g with lid. I've removed the bail handle that saved 35g and if I replace the lid with a double layer of foil the weight drops to 145g. More capacity than most titanium pots for not much more grams. It's worth noting that some of the weight variances are probably due to the fact that titanium products are made from alloys and these, um, vary. My snow peak bowl has less titanium than my snow peak mug (dont know why that should be.)

What I do like about titanium is that I can boil a brew in my mug and still use the handle without fear of burning my fingers. Nor for that matter my lips. With Aluminium or steel it's a different matter.