Wild Camping • 3
WHY WILD CAMPING? • LEGALITIES • CHOOSING A CAMP SITE • LEAVING A SUPPLY CACHE • SAFETY • RUCKSACK • TENT • BIVVY BAG • SLEEPING BAG • SLEEPING MAT • CLOTHES • BOOTS • COOKING EQUIPMENT • WATER CONTAINERS • FOOD • NAVIGATION • LIGHTING • UTILITIES • FIRST AID • LUXURIES
Walking with a 65 litre Karrimor rucksack (and a dog
carrying nothing - must do something about that)RUCKSACK
For most people, a 65 litre rucksack seems to be the usual capacity for a backpacking rucksack, assuming the tent and / or the sleeping mat are strapped outside. I can sometimes get the tent inside if I separate the pegs and poles. I use a Karrimor Jaguar which uses their SA2000 back system. It looks like something out of Aliens with its plastic rib-like structure.
When backpacking with a large rucksack, it's sometimes worth carrying a small daysack or a bumbag for trips away from the tent.
TENT
For one person, a tent needn't weigh much more than 2kg. (Two people could carry a larger and heavier one by splitting, say, the flysheet from the inner tent). Though there are some tiny one man tents around, it's nice to have a bit of extra space in the form of a porch for cooking and extra storage. I use a Saunders Galaxy Plus which is uses hybrid design - it's like a ridge tent on poles at each end, but with a hoop in the middle.
If I'm camping with another person, I usually put the rucksacks in a spare survival bag which means they can stay outside the tent overnight leaving a lot more room inside.
Saunders Galaxy Plus at Devoke Water
BIVVY BAG
For a really lightweight trip bivvy bag is ideal. They range from simple waterproof / breathable sleeping bag covers up to hooped designs which are almost tents. Though they are waterproof, in bad weather you've still got to things like cooking and putting boots on, so the addition of a tarp helps. I'd only really recommend them for overnight trips, or longer summer trips when you can be sure of good weather. You'll still need a sleepmat and sleeping bag. It's useful to have one in winter even in the tent - it gives security against the tent falling down or flooding, and adds about 5 degrees to the bag's season rating.
SLEEPING BAG
There probably isn't a sleeping bag that's suitable for all year round use. The so-called 4-season bag will probably be too hot and needlessly bulky for summer use. One compromise is to have a 2-3 season bag and add a fleece liner if you want to camp in the winter. I have two bags. For most of the year it's a Snugpak Softy 6 which weighs about 1000g and packs down very small, (the Softy 3 weighs 750g and packs down incredibly tiny, though it's probably only suitable for summer use). In the winter I use an Ajungilak Nordic Super Twin synthetic.
SLEEPMAT
A good sleeping bag on its own will not protect you from losing heat to the ground. Some form of insulation is necessary. Many people use closed-cell foam sleeping mats, such as Karrimor's Karrimat. They're very light, cheap, but quite bulky. Most people strap them to the outside of their rucksack.
If you do a lot of backpacking it's well worth getting an inflatable mat such as a Therm-a-rest. They're slightly heavier then the closed-cell mats, but much more comfortable and warmer. They do take a little longer to pack away because you need to get all the air out to pack them very small. Another disadvantage is that they're liable to punctures. I've had a few punctures over the years, but they seem easy to fix, even in the field. A tube of Bostic and some rubber patches will do the trick. (I've tried Therm-a-rest's own patches but they don't seem to stay stuck on).
WHY WILD CAMPING? • LEGALITIES • CHOOSING A CAMP SITE • LEAVING A SUPPLY CACHE • SAFETY • RUCKSACK • TENT • BIVVY BAG • SLEEPING BAG • SLEEPING MAT • CLOTHES • BOOTS • COOKING EQUIPMENT • WATER CONTAINERS • FOOD • NAVIGATION • LIGHTING • UTILITIES • FIRST AID • LUXURIES
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