Summer pack

What's in yours? Apart from that old pie

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Dan G
19/04/2002 at 12:45
Well with all this talk about doing the 3,000ers, which you need to travel light for, I wonder what people carry with them when they walk in fine weather in summer?

Me? I go totally overboard:

Lightweight waterproofs (in case it rains)
Windproof fleece (in case it's windy)
Microfleece (in case it's chilly)
Gloves (in case my hands get cold)
Hat (useful for temp reg, and if my head gets cold)
Two litres in hoser (in case I get thirsty)
Lots of food (in case I get hungry)
Survival bag (goes everywhere, in case of emergency)
Headtorch (in case I decide to watch sunset)

Total weight - 8kg! (measured)

And if it looks like rain heavy waterproofs (weigh about 750g more)

Hmmmm. Play spot the difference with my winter list and you won't find many!

In fact unless I'm carrying axe & crampons my winter bag is usually lighter as I carry less water!

But I like to 'be prepared' cos I like to be flexible, don't want to get cold, and always carry emergency equipment.
Orange Alex Ford
19/04/2002 at 13:11
Mine is pretty much all year round.

I do tend to ditch the waterproof trousers if the weather forecast is good, and the sky looks clear.

Also I don't bother with a windproof fleece ('cos I ain't got one) and probably, depending upon where I'm off to don't bother with the big heavy fleece, just doing with a Polartech 100, and a windproof Sprayway microlight top.

Also if it is "high summer" then I'll not bother with gloves. I am starting to cut back on the amount of gear that I take out and just end up carrying about all day.
Jon Doran
19/04/2002 at 13:18
Waterproof trousers? No way.

Food, water, nav, a microfleece and either a windproof or lightweight waterproof shell depending on how the weather looks and a minimal first aid kit plus whistle. That's it. Why carry all that rubbish when you're never going to use it?

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com 

Si
19/04/2002 at 13:19
Summer, assuming that the forecast isn't for heavy or prolonged rain...

L/W Waterproof Jacket
2-3 Litres of water (depending on route length)
Lunch & Snacks
Map, Compass
Extra layer (fleece jacket or pull on)
Suncream
Baseball cap (no hair, don't like sunburnt head!)
Sunglasses
1st Aid Kit (blister plasters etc)
Survival Bag
Camera and ultrapod
Mobile phone (in rucksack, turned off)
Petzel Tikka (weighs naff all, so why not?)
If its a bit chilly then I'll take a warm hat and a pair of gloves.
Oh yeah, money for a pint / meal afterwards.

Can't tell you what it weighs, but its less than 8 kilos for sure!

Obviously if the weathers worse, I'll carry more stuff (w/proof ot's, another layer etc) but thats the basics I tend to take most places when I'm in the hills.

Si(C)
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 13:32
It's not rubbish Jon!

It's just occured to me that I've never been walking in high summer, usually I'm at home working in a shop (unless I've been fired). In real summer I guess I would take less.

So the stuff I take is for weather like we've had for the last three weeks, where (espesh after sunset) I've been wearing all the clothing and using the torch.

And it's often bloody cold 700m up om some shaded mountain side which hasn't seen the sun since last August.

My gloves and LW O/Ts (ME Drilites) weigh about the same as a can of coke, so I'd rather not get wet legs and feet and cold hands and carry that.

Plus my sac weighs (LA Alpine Crossbow) 1.9kg empty, which makes a big difference. Should really get a smaller summer one, but it all costs money
Dave Evans 1
19/04/2002 at 13:36
Lightweight w/proofs
Spare socks(my feet sweat like a rapist on death row!)
Map + compass
Fist aid
Whistle
Food
Water
Mobile phone(emergency only)

Jobs a good un.
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 13:36
Yeah it's not rubbish cos I DO use it

so there
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 13:40
1st Aid kit, strobe, whistle, survival bag, main and spare compasses, and map go everywhere regardless, so I don't count them as kit.

Though actually it's rare for me to use a map as I know the area too well, and I often navigate in poor vis without a compass
Jon Doran
19/04/2002 at 13:40
Ha. I wuz just ribbing you. I generally carry a little more than I said, but it depends on where I am. In the Peak I'm happy with very little, in Scotland I'd carry a little more, like, erm, a hat and a survival bag.

OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com 

Si
19/04/2002 at 14:40
Yeah, thats the other thing, where in the country are you walking? How familiar are you with terrain, likely weather etc.

At the end of the day, I'd rather someone carried a bit of extra weight and was safe. However too much extra stuff could lead to trouble as well.

Damn, this fence is painful to sit on!

Si(C)
joan collins
19/04/2002 at 15:15
Room for two on that fence, Si? Yes, it all depends on the circumstances. At various times I've taken most of the things other people have mentioned, though not all at once, and trekking poles, socks and umbrella too. As a bare minimum, I'd take 300ml of water, a muesli bar, waterproof jacket, bandanna, binliner, knife and drugs (nurofen, imodium, antihistamine, iodine). I rarely bother with a thick fleece or waterproof trousers.

When we did a 5 day hutting route in Austria last summer, the airport weighed my pack in at just under 6kg, though I was wearing most of my clothes at that point.

A recent thread covered this from a slightly different angle: http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=2&UTN=806&SP=588450434115466703436&V=1
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 16:25
Oh yeah, forgot the trekking poles. They go everywhere too. Unless I forget them.
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 17:05
Just read that thread cheers Joan. Interesting.

I'm a bit soft and tend to trade extra weight for extra clothes for comfyness.

My thinking often runs like this: my microfleece only weighs 200g or whatever so it might as well go in, and if immobilized (I frequently walk alone) I know that I'll get very cold, very quick, without plenty of insulation. Lightweight WPs make a handy extra layer (and of course are useful if it rains!).

In fact I did get totalled once and needed every last scrap to keep me warm once I could no longer move.

I must confess that I think the 'must cut some of the bristles off my toothbrush' mentality is daft! I always carry my 1st aid packs as their weight is negligible. Probably less than 100g. I'd rather be able to cover a cut or put on a tubigrip or whatever.

If you're stuck at night or in poor visibility a strobe makes you FAR more findable, hence it never leaves my sac top pocket (where I keep all my emergency gear ('cept survival bag) so I can get to it quickly and easily).

PS To make thinks clickable just put:

a href="URL">click this or whatever
but with a < and a > at either end of that line to 'close the tags'
Dan G
19/04/2002 at 17:07
Knew that would happen.

OK Try Two:

a href="http://..." click this /a

but with greater than and lesser than signs either side of 'a href="..."' and '/a' so they enclose the 'tags'
joan collins
19/04/2002 at 18:16
joan collins
19/04/2002 at 18:18
Hmm, that's not exactly what I expected, but it'll do. Ta!
Orange Alex Ford
19/04/2002 at 20:41
I like the site Joan! Is it all your work?

Sorry to go off topic!
Lloyd Bower
19/04/2002 at 22:58
My kit list for a summer's day walk is pretty much the same as those already mentioned.

Absolute max of 35ltr sack, and carry:-
2ltr hydration sack or 1 litre sigg bottle
L\w waterproof jacket
Windproof jacket
Thin pair of gloves
Sunglasses, suncream (both rarely used!)
A buff (ridiculously xpensive piece of cloth)
Camera
Map, compass, whistle
Survival bag
Spare layer (extra base layer or thin fleece)
Petzl tikka (always leave it in)
Phone (also switched off)
Food (& plenty of spare food)
Matches, loo paper
Trekking poles
Ben Hedley
20/04/2002 at 15:09
summer.....as little as poss

CamelBak-3ltr
wind-shell ( or lightweigh waterproof if rain looks likely)
Thin fleece
food
suncream
buff
map
phone

thats about it
Dan G
20/04/2002 at 18:01
Putting this thread up and reading the replies has made me think, and I reckon it's time I got myself sorted out:

First off, I guess my big Alpine Crossbow, is, well, too big. Gaynors have Contour Events for £30 so might try and get one of those, or find something similar round here.

I think I'll also try to control my paranoia and carry a space blanket instead of a polyethene survival bag if the weather forecast is settled. Though it's worth baring in mind that mobile phone coverage is extremely variable in mountains and if you get stuck somewhere without coverage you could be there for a long time.

That said, having read MRT reports, I've never come across that situation arising. First time for everything though, and this is me...

And I might actually check the weather forecast once in a while, and leave the WPs behind if I can.

Might also leave microfleece. But my Windstopper goes everywhere, I wear it more than anything else.

Been dragging a Pretzl Mega around, but after a proper play with my Tikka in the Lakes I now realise the daftness of that (the Mega weighs 450g!).

Could save a good 3kg, maybe more
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