My Forum

Sounds like you have a sound plan- I wish I had the time off to join you.

LJ normally I wouldn't mind but could you do us a favour and take off the pictures, or maybe have just the one, in your signature please, just makes your posts a tad long which makes trying to reply harder as I can't read both your message and what I am typing. Cheers. 

Further to my comment about food, I think it would be helpful to actually list a typical day in food terms for me. Im not very lightweight with my food selection but I dont mind carrying the extra weight for a bit of culinary delight.

Breakfast: Porridge with hot chocolate in the porridge and raisins. Cold drink of water and a Hot drink of some sort (Im a bit hydration geek)

Snacks: Flapjacks, normally the prepackaged bars. Dried fruit. Salted Peanuts. 2 chocolate bars. Maltloaf. Penaut Butter Sachets (yeah I eat it straight- it has 200 calories per sachet so what's not to like). Link: ttp://www.singleportions.co.uk/peanut-butter---single-portion-sachets-765-p.asp) Or oatcakes with jam, primula or penaut butter.

Lunch. I generally don't like to crack out the stove for a lunch break, so I literally carry a few more snacks. I try to get somethign savoury and starchy in, hula-hoops are current favourites. Make up an isotonic powder drink for the afternoon. 1l of water.

Dinner. If I'm feeling flush I dont think you can beat specially made dehydrated meals for lightweight and high calories. If Im skint (which I normally am) it a large quanity of pasta, chorizo and a sachet of tomato sauce. Pudding: a chocolate bar, or tinned fruit (Im a sucker for tinned strawberries) Jelly cubes are also pretty awesome as a calorie booster. 1l of water.

Before bed: It is really important to eat something/drink something hot straight before bed as it massively increases your ability to stay warm overnight. This is the time for your soups, maybe with a bit of leftover pasta thrown in. 

If you've got the cash there is no shame in pubbing it, Pub food is nutritionally literally perfect for long days hiking. Not to mention a cold beer (or 2 or 3 or 4)  

Your list seems to be quite detailed and I'm worried by the lack of food on there. Its all too easy to underestimate the benefits of snacks and the like. I would pack at least 3000 cals for a normal day if not more.

I have a skyehigh, and I have a quite a wide chest, about 44" but if Im honest if I were much larger im not sure it would be ideal. For the mat, the best mats are definately thermarest, they are simply more reliable than others. Im half tempted to say not too worry too much about getting an ultralight sleeping bag, Im a fairly big chap and my philosophy is why spend X00 on ultralightweight kit to save a few hundred grams when I am already carrying more than a few kgs in extra weight. Plus you seem to suggest extended trips so comfort is also an important factor, the advantage of saving 3-400g on a sleeping bag is lost if you wake up still fatigued from the previous day.
I would be tempted to go and buy a fairly cheap, but from a reputable brand, 2/3 synthetic bag that is comfortable and if it gets cold bang on a warm layer or 2. My choice would be a down jacket/primaloft jacket, imho well worth splashing a bit of cash as getting cold is a bit of a deal breaker for me.

If your deadset on ultralight down then you might be able to work a quilt system out, either a deadicated backpacking quilt, or try just opening out a down sleeping bag. The americans are the kings of quilts so have a google.

Poundland inflatable pillow worked for me, lasted a good 25 nights in a row on a recent expedition, and it took a bit of a battering.