Walking gear

I thought I’d add a few notes about the gear I use when carrying out long-distance walks. I’m not a gear “geek”, but I have tried a few things over the years and they have served me pretty well.

Living in New Zealand, I currently use a lot of their “#Kathmandu” stuff, which I am happy with. I use this, not because it’s the best or anything, it’s mainly because there is a local shop here in Whakatane, where I live, so it’s handy. It serves me well and I haven’t had any problem with any of it. The price tends to be expensive, but then most other competitor brands really are too.

My tent and some gear. © Duncan Smith

Backpack - I bought my first pack to walk the Pennine Way in the UK in 1981, I still use it today! It is Berghaus Laser 70 L. It seems very heavy now compared with modern day packs, but it has served me well. Maybe I will invest in a new one some day for camping walks. With the gear available today you can get away with walking some huge walks, like the Appalachian Trail in the USA, with just a 50 l pack, containing everything you need, including food. Incredible?

For day walking or shorter walks where I’m not camping, like the South Downs Way or West Highland Way, I have a nice Kathmandu Litehaul 38 L pack. I find this ample for that sort of walking. I used this on a 7-week trip around Europe in summer a few years ago, and it did me well. There is no need to lug huge packs around in summer when you don’t really need to. Some people carry an extraordinary amount of stuff on their backs, and sometimes an extra pack on their fronts too. For luck I guess! AmazingTrousers - I like poly-cotton trousers ones that have detachable legs as they also give me a pair of shorts too. I have two pairs of Kathmandu ones and they are very light indeed for packing away. I hate walking in long trousers, as I’m convinced that I can feel a slight drag when walking in them, especially over long distances. What I also like is that they dry out REALLY quickly if they get wet, a huge bonus. I NEVER, EVER walk in jeans, nor should you EVER!!! If they get wet, they can stay wet for ages, as cotton dries VERY slowly. So, they are dangerous when walking in cold and icy conditions and could increase the risk of getting hyperthermia!

Tent - My first tent was a “Vango - Hurricane”. It was a superb two-man tent and very quick and easy to erect. A double-hooped affair. It was quite heavy but never let me down. It lasted me about 15 years before the plastic sort of coating inside began to peel away and it began to leak.

In 2016 I bought my next tent, a “Vango - Tempest Pro 20” to walk the 295 km Coast to Coast walk in England with my two sons. It worked fine, with plenty of room for two. Last year I took it on a solo walk of the 1010 km South West Coastal Path in England, but sadly it failed me. I found that to get the two aluminium pole hoops into their respective sleeves in the tent, I had to apply quite a bit of pressure to bend them into shape to fit these sleeves. So much so, that one snapped after a few a days. Luckily I was able to repair it with the supplied metal tube sleeve that came with it. However, a few days later it snapped in three more places and was irreparable and I had to buy a new tent. The shop I bought it from only had one two-man tent for sale, the “Vango Blade”. It is a bit smaller than the “Tempest” and had just one hoop. This I found was much easier to put up and I didn’t have to strain the pole so much to bend it into its sleeve.

Sleeping bag - I have a really good Kathmandu Pathfinder V2, 3-season down sleeping bag, which I am very happy with. It has “Drifill” filling which repels moisture, ideal for a down bag as the down will maintain it’s loft and still keeps you warm. It has a 5 degree C “Comfort” range, and 0 degrees “Transition” range. As I do most of my walking in spring to early autumn, it does me fine. It packs down to nothing and weighs just 240 grams.

Shoes - I prefer trecking shoes, rather than traditional walking boots. Even on long walks, I find them more comfortable and sufficient for my needs. However, sometimes on very rocky paths, such as you’ll find in the English Lake District, your feet can get a hammering after a few days and you can almost feel every stone through the soles. This is especially so if carrying a heavy pack. I am going to invest in a sturdier pair of boots for walks such as those, with a more rigid sole, that would be kinder on the feet.

South West Coastal Path. Resting up. © Duncan Smith

Personally I find that boots and shoes nowadays seem to have embraced the use of “Gortex” or some other “breathable” fabrics in them. I’m not convinced to buy a pair of these. I prefer to let my feet “breath” when I’m walking. Blisters LOVE hot, sweaty feet, and pop up very quickly in these conditions. I currently use “Merrell Moab 2 Ventilator” trecking shoes, which breath. They don’t have these linings. I contend, that if water does get into these flash Gortex-lined boots, it takes a long time for it to dry out. I don’t believe they can dry out fast enough to get rid of the water, or the sweat overly from hot feet. It’s almost like walking in gumboots. I noticed this with a Gortex raincoat jacket I had once, that sometimes I was very wet inside, as the sweat it created when walking couldn’t be wick away quick enough. My shirt was always wet.

My first walking boots were a pair of lightweight Zamberlan leather boots which I had for years. I wore them straight out of the box to do the 430 km Pennine Way in England and they were brilliant. They had very soft, supple leather and they lasted me for 20 years. The soles were a bit “soft“ though, Vibram, which was, again, not nice for the stony parts of the tracks I walked either.

Jacket - I have a lovely, cosy Kathmandu 700 Down jacket. It doesn’t have a waterproof outer skin, which I would have preferred, but it is a nice jacket all the same.

Raincoat - Another from Kathmandu, a lightweight jacket with NGX 2.5 breathable fabric. It’s windproof and waterproof, which is essential in the hills, especially being windproof. Wind can drop already cold temperatures by many degrees further, and dangerously fast.

Stove - I love my Trangia Stove. I have had two now over the last 30 years of walking. They are lightweight and have a good set of 2 saucepans, kettle and a frying pan that fit together neatly for packing away. It runs on Meths. It suits my needs.

As a tip, I water down my meths with a little water, about 10%, it still woks and seems not to leave such smokey deposits on the bottom of my pots so much.