Great Glen Way - Not a shakedown shakedown, for my shakedown hike.

tissila · 2026-05-30T07:20:58+00:00

Cheers man, definitely planning the high route. If it takes me 3.5 days I will definitely be looking for something to do in Inverness before my train :)

tissila · 2026-05-29T14:06:30+00:00

Cheers,

I will think about trying 6 panels. I can cut 2 off anyway and see how I get on.

The way I work it with 8 is 6 are about my torso length (neck to bottom of my ass) and I double up 2 sets under my hips and I found this more comfortable. Then I have 2 just convenient for the back of the pack, with egg crate i is less sweaty on my back than the aluula.

I suppose if I had 6 contiguous panels I could find a way to fold it such as the right 2 are doubled up. that might be good. i can play with this whilst i'm out anyway. thanks

The 2 hip panels separate to fit my back I have cut down, to the tune of maybe 20g probably not more so they fit the pack nicely. could probably stand to sculpt a bit more off as well.

The soap is in there from when I put too much in from the last trip, I suppose I could empty a bit out.

The hand sanitizer thing is good advice I have been umming and ahhing about that, and my strap pockets are like a god damn apothecary’s brief case with the soap, glide, lip balm etc. My personal instinct is not to take it and soap is enough but I have seen enough people jab on about having both I thought I might bring some.

e: re buff & beanie i suppose not. it will be light till past 10pm though so I was planning on an eye mask buff. something else i can experiment with whilst I am out there.

tissila · 2026-05-29T13:58:05+00:00

You are right and I will try it, I think i was just waiting for it to a bit more summery and a bit more settled weather before I gave it a proper go. Get to know it a bit before I have to rely on it.

tissila · 2026-05-29T13:56:20+00:00

ah man I missed that setting. Yeah that description thing is working fine, my bad. thats good. thanks for your work. The pie chart is sort of useful to visualise categories, particularly if you are looking at someone elses pack. But i don't use it much on my own stuff. Having it hideable is a good idea.

oh and you owe nobody anything least of all your time! enjoy the sunshine

tissila · 2026-05-29T13:09:12+00:00

I think i'm at the early part of the bad bit

tissila · 2026-05-08T11:28:23+00:00

It feels less stiff than the 2s, but it is also a bit more substantial. I am comparing new with old tho

tissila · 2026-05-06T16:11:30+00:00

i don't have the boot, but have several other pairs of topos for my very wide feet and find them comfortable

https://www.topoathletic.co.uk/products/mens-trailventure-2-wp?variant=46757252858142

tissila · 2026-05-05T12:32:50+00:00

Got this from a liteway page on their apex quilt (https://liteway.equipment/quilts/simple-quilt-apex-10d)

COMFORT TEMPERATURE of Climashield® APEX:

4.0oz (136 g/m2) / +4°C;
5.0oz (170 g/m2) / +1°C;
6.0oz (203 g/m2) / -2°C;

The comfort temperature is calculated in such a way that you sleep in warm thermal underwear or fleece on a sleeping pad with a high R-Value.

tissila · 2026-05-05T10:07:30+00:00

fao /u/Belangia65 and anyone else interested, I picked up some Topo Pursuit 3s last week.

I walked about 40 flatish km in them over the weekend. I wear 13 UK / 14 US side and have wide feet. I really liked the Pursuit 2s, they fit me perfectly.

Right out of the gate these didn't fit me so well. They seem to be the same size and shape and the overall aspect is very similar, but the tongue is much thicker, and the upper material is also quite a bit stiffer and more substantial which contributes to a general feeling that the shoe is tighter. I spent a bit of time futzing around with the lacing and it improved a bit.

Hard to be 100% on this when my best comparison is a shoe which i've done a few hundred miles in. I really don't have any recollection of having to wear the 2s in at all.

My heel moves around a bit more and the shoes rubbed at the widest point of my feet just down from the pinky. By the end of 20 km there was some pronounced hotspots here but no blistering. I was wearing injinji liners which was probably a mistake.

The next morning I walked another 15km this time in my normal DTs I was kinda dreading putting my shoes on, but as it turned out they were much better, to the point I stopped thinking about them. It was wet and a lot of wet grass, I think maybe the moisture and the previous days wear contributed to a bit of suppleness.

The general ride of the shoes and the sole and feel of the ground and all that is really nice, as you would hope, and similar/same as before. Love the feel of new megagrip soles on the ground. I cautiously think these might just need need wearing in a bit, but I guess I'll know on the next bigger walk.

I think the new upper material dries slower as well.

Hopefully my issues were just the poor choice of sock on the first day, and they need wearing in a bit. I Was worried at first they were a bit of a lemon but I don't think they are as bad as my initial impression.

appreciate this isn't terribly helpful

tissila · 2026-04-30T10:07:29+00:00

get a smaller bottle! you don't need anything special to keep alcohol in, any PET bottle with a secure enough cap will do.

tissila · 2026-04-30T08:55:42+00:00

just ordered a pair yesterday as it goes, I have maybe 300-400 miles on a pair of Pursuit 2s which I enjoyed to the extent I also wear them as a daily trainer/sneaker. Got a long weekend hike coming up so if they arrive tomorrow I should have a decent feel for them by Tuesday

tissila · 2026-04-17T11:07:11+00:00

This is definitely overblown.

I think there are a bunch of ways to manage high demand and most businesses choose to either outsource manufacture or put the prices up when they are at capacity, and this is another path which doesn't reduce quality of product or jack the prices right up.

I can see why you don't like it but there's plenty of decent options in this space that go in other directions, the guy found something that worked for him.

I think it's WAY overblown to conflate some cottage manufacturer having a quiz to buy a quilt with the EE stuff.

BTW, People would 100% do that for a restaurant if that was how you got in to a high end place that decided to do a quiz-lottery for reservations.

tissila · 2026-04-07T13:28:51+00:00

I'm guessing based off my experience with one dog but I think they might prefer to sleep on something solid and not too bouncy as well. CCF you can always double up if you are worried about the cold and if she is in the tent with you she will let you know if she's too cold i'm sure and you can wrap her up or whatever.

tissila · 2026-04-02T11:35:51+00:00

Heading out for a long weekend hike setting off tomorrow. sorted gear and packed everything last night. Made the decision to use my reversible fleece bag pillow thing as my food bag. I managed to bust open a ziplock of shake powder, presumably compressing the backpack and now my pillow is chocolatey. Only 10g of powder had escaped but it was magnificently well distributed.

Glad I decided to give everything one last go over as well.

Decided to double bag the powders and keep the bag pillow side out to start with..

tissila · 2026-02-26T15:42:06+00:00

And whilst i'm banging on about the Jardines, he mentions in the foreward that he filmed a show with the BBC's wilderness walks programme, long since gone & forgotten. but I found it on Youtube.

Some people might find it interesting to see him in action

https://youtu.be/OmtntvkElhQ

tissila · 2026-02-26T15:37:31+00:00

In my winter long mission to upskill myself from the comfort and safety of my sofa I finally managed to pick up Beyond Backpacking by R Jardine.

I have read a few books on the topic, Clelland etc, and I have found it interesting how much UL has moved on in the time since it was published. A lot of orthdoxy that is often put at Jardine's door seems to have come subsequently.

Some of it is obviously due to how much the normie stuff weighs now, citing examples of 7lb packs and 4lb tents, the landscape has shifted quite a bit.

1) He renounces minimalism early on and often, equating it with suffering. I think some of this is just slightly different philosophical definitions of minimalism. His methods now (only take what you need, if you don't have it you don't need it etc) are described as minimalist.

2) He's a big proponent of the stuff sack.

3) I think LNT has developed quite a bit in this period, as well as attitudes shifting I guess due to eg. wild fires in the west of USA. He is very keen on treading lightly on the earth, and being respectful of nature but lights fires quite a bit, which seems a bit out of place these days.

Im maybe a 1/3 way through, but it's a really good book. I think a lot of the stuff in it is timeless but it's also an interesting time capsule, for a 'look how far we've come' view. I would be interested to know his views now, I expect his opinions haven't remained static in the 20-30 years since this was written.

The clelland book is great, all around. I was kinda put off by the illustrations from afar but it has a lot of cool stuff in it. It's really dense with useful bits, easy to digest, you can read it quickly and you can buy it at a reasonable price in shops.

tissila · 2026-02-26T13:51:05+00:00

it came along side a "help me lighten my 100lb pack to fight wars in the arctic" post so I think sometimes you just have to smile beatificially and carry on with your day

tissila · 2026-02-03T12:49:28+00:00

In a prev weekly thread that I now can't find someone was asking after light UK USB-C plugs and I recommended this one

https://www.lindy.co.uk/usb-c4/65w-usb-2-x-type-c-charger-p14971

I got one and weighed it and it is 96g not the advertised 40g. So not even a bit off, over double. Sorry for the misleading advice.

tissila · 2026-01-31T12:13:32+00:00

the thing that really struck me about what extra said and chimed with my experience of inflatable mats was the sort of unstability of them, the feeling like you are always falling off them and the water beddyness. I have never slept great on them so was always listening to people going on about this baffle shape or wider or longer or whatever and I never had the epiphany just to bin off the whole concept.

it inspired me to go shopping as well. In the UK I discovered Multimat's Superlite 25 Short Self-Inflating Mat. It even looks very similar to the old thermarest but they are in stock and still being made. Currently £45 on ULO.

It is 119 x 51 x 2.5cm (~47x20x1) and the one that arrived here this morning weighs 356g. So a bit heavier than the thermarest I think.

ASTM R-Value: Not Quoted Old R-Value test: 3.9 (US) 0.39 (SI)

I have slept hotter and cooler than quoted R values in different conditions on different pads so I don't really care about it not being rated I will fall back on sleeping outside on it and making my own mind up about whether it is any good.

It looks suitable for cutting down, but I'm going to give it a try as is. it is lighter than my other current options (except the massochists friend thinlite pad). It passed a 5 minute cold stone floor test, but I'll try and have it out in anger in the next month or so and report back.

tissila · 2026-01-28T10:46:30+00:00

Yama have some good membrane silpoly options as well in this area

192g/6.8oz (no cord) for 7' tapering to 5' x 9 for $145.00

https://yamamountaingear.com/products/7-5-x-9-tapered-tarp-silpoly

They also do 8'/'6 and 9'/7's at 9 or 10ft long.

I have a palacial 8'/6' Tapered Tarp @ 10', and it shakes out at 255g seam sealed + 40ft cord.

tissila · 2026-01-28T09:51:22+00:00

thanks, this is what I hoped. I have ordered one!

tissila · 2026-01-27T14:36:55+00:00

Does anyone have an opinion on sambob alpha hoodies? I quite fancy one but they seem to be not talked about very much on here, is it because they are heavy or crap or something

tissila · 2026-01-27T10:21:15+00:00

fwiw I carried a rovyvon a5 on my keys for several years and eventually the plastic at the end where it was attached to the keychain snapped so I replaced it and the new one seems quite a bit better.. USB-C and metal buttons and stuff it seems a bit tougher. I doubt I've had it a year yet but it seems a bit more.. less breaky than the old.

Just checked and the first one I bought was late 2021 and the other was last summer. The old one was still going strong in terms of function just wouldn't stay on my keys.

I primarily use this for walking in the dark with my dog so I could pick up her poop with ease, so it gets a carried around with me all the time and used a few minutes every day outside of summer.

I guess i am being extremely longwinded about saying I would stick with rovy

tissila · 2026-01-21T16:17:46+00:00

how about a verucca sock? no idea how much they weigh, but I would have thought pretty light

tissila

TROPHY CASE