Free Gift

I got to reading some 'professional' hiking blogs recently and there is a lot of reference to TGO magazine, Trail magazine and Outdoor Obsessive Nerd Weekly (coming soon to a stationers near you!), and I thought I'd go have a look at what they have to offer.

I currently subscribe to a well known photography magazine and just recently I seem to have lost the will to read them and have several copies still in their plastic wrappers. Given that it is clearly time for a change I thought I'd cancel my existing subscription and replace it with something 'outdoorsy' - so its win win really.

I bought a copy of Trail on Sunday and July's issue was timed perfectly as they ran an article on the merits of going lightweight. Clearly this is the work of the Gods, destiny calling if you will, and so I went and looked at a subscription. As an incentive to buy (so now I'm skeptical about whether or not the publication is any good?) they are giving away a Multimat Superlight Compact 25 self inflating mattress, which claims to be the lightest self inflating mat in the world! This wasn't the reason I eventually bought a subscription but given that my Robens Lite mattress developed a leak since returning from the Hay on Wye trip, it was clearly another sign from the Gods (and who the hell am I to argue with those guys).

I wouldn't of ever considered buying a short (122cm) length mat to save weight as I expect a good level of comfort on my trips. Given that this is free I will give it a try and if we don't get on as sleeping partners then I've not lost any money and my pack will be 350g lighter for that one trip! I'll let you all know how I get on with that once I get chance to use it.

I had a update on my Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 today. It has reached the UK and cleared Customs so Parcel Force should be delivering it over the next 48 hours! My giddy aunt, I'm excited about this little purchase and secretly I think Paul is too. Annoyingly I won't get to test the tent or the sleeping mat until I return from our holidays. I'm not grumbling about the holiday (for Charlotte's benefit) its just its an exciting, new piece of lightweight equipment! Paul and I are hoping to get away for the weekend of July 25th but that is an age away. Actually, thinking on my feet here, Charl and I are returning from our Italian retreat through the south of France and we will be camping each night as we work our way north back to Calais.......you can see where this is going! "Oh Charl, I seem to have packed the new, smaller but really really light tent instead of our spacious, luxurious six berth, damn it"! Charl, if that happened by some silly error on my part, just so I know, how angry might you be on a scale of 1 - 10?!!

Blinded by the light.......weight

Those who have been reading thus far will have noticed that I've had an epiphany on the benefits of lightweight hiking and wild camping. I may have started with the gentle musings of a man on a budget wild camping mission, but there comes a time in a man's life when he must give way to destiny.....or just plain old sensibility.

Since my first wild camping trip in Buttermere earlier this year I've read so much about the various ways people tackle their lightweight issues and about the equipment they use. Despite my new found appreciation of the lightweight movement, I still have this issue with the expense of it all and so I'll be attempting to shed the lbs whilst not spending too much of them!

I've long since known that my 3 heaviest items of equipment are my backpack, my sleeping bag and my tent and quite rightly this is where cost per gram of weight saved is highest. I've wanted a lighter tent than my heavy (but quite frankly bomb-proof) Coleman phact x2 but it wasn't just the money hindering my acquisition of a featherweight shelter. I hike with a friend and we have become accustomed to the space, comfort and stability provided by lead lined Coleman - to go lightweight on a budget means a sacrifice of at least one of these. Paul and I decided after the Hay on Wye trip that a new tent was in order to save weight and that we'd go 50:50 on the cost of a new one. This has widened our options a little but out of principal we decided that we'd try and keep the budget as low as possible and see what we could come up with.

Its a difficult area - lightweight tents. Those who have gone through the process already will no doubt know that choosing a lightweight tent is not an easy process and inevitably ends in a real struggle between very few contenders. A lot of people in the UK trust the new classics, like the Terra Nova Laser (all derivatives) and the Hilleburg Atko for good reason but I wanted something different. I need a true two person shelter that is quick to pitch and has the stability to withstand the variable weather conditions in the UK. The two person thing is the real sticking point since the price shoots up as soon as you cross the threshold from a 1 person lightweight enclosure to a reasonable two person lightweight design. The Terra Nova Solar 2.2 would be my ideal hiking home but principal of the budget dictates that this is not a contender. I should mention before going any further that I'm having to make further sacrifices on the features in order to get the space and performance to match the price. I've considered everything from the Hunka bivvy from Alpkit with a tarp, to a full on Tarptent from Henry Shires. Thinking 3-4 season use I wasn't convinced the Tarptent would be up to weather challenges in the UK (besides the reduced space due to the single skin condensation issues) and the Hunka is a different idea altogether! I was then looking at the Terra Nova Laser but this is a real squeeze for two men.

I came across Big Agnes when reading one of the outdoor forums but initially had dismissed it as it was very expensive to buy in the UK and there wasn't much UK experience with them. I managed to read the review and watch a few videos from Hike-Lite about the Seedhouse SL 2 and this renewed my interest. The design should be stable and the guying points have been improved in the latest design to ensure good performance in the wind. There seems to be enough room for two sleeping mats side by side so we should both squeeze in easily. What remains to be seen is the how the tent stands up to sustained rain intervals since the flysheet has a hydrostatic head of just 1200mm. I'm not sure if this will ever be a problem but this is one of the sacrifices required for a tent weighing a mere 1350g! This would be significant for me and Paul as it would reduce our pack weights by 1300g each - not to mention the reduced size of the the packed tent. Its been difficult to get any reviews from owners in the UK but the consensus is that the Seedhouse is well constructed, designed and has proven itself so far.

So, the tent is a viable option but the price in the UK is around 275 quids, bad times! I had a bit of a search and I managed to find an outdoors supplier in the States who would ship to UK for a gob-smacking price (due to the $ exchange rate). The result is that in a week or so a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 shall be arriving on my doorstep for the princely sum of around £80 inc of UK import Duty (Paul picking up the other £80 of course). A true bargain!

Tent down, pack and sleeping bag to sort but I'm well on the road to a lightweight expedition.

I'll post some pics and my initial thoughts once it arrives and I have chance to erect it. I'm might kiss that courier when he finally delivers it!