Walking Forum
Main Boards => Gear => Topic started by: Ronin83 on 12:06:06, 13/01/19
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So, bit of a weird one.
Does anyone have gear they've found to be good for hiking, but which wasn't necessarily made for it.
To start off....
I have some kalenji(decathlon) cheapo semi trail runners which were brilliant for rambling this summer just gone. It was so dry and hot for so long and I couldn't possibly have worn much more without my feet being on fire. Rambling in summer, I go for trainers any day over boots.
Another is a rugby world cup 2015 fleece. I got it free and brand new from someone who worked for the world cup. ItsImade by musto which is apparently quite a good sailing clothes company. It's really nice and soft, feels good quality, just doesn't look the coolest.
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Tesco thermal socks - 3 pack.
Ron Hill Tracksters. Great for keeping out the ticks in summer, and for under the fibre pile salopettes in winter conditions.
Robinsons 1 litre plastic squash bottles for carrying water. They fit nicely in my daysack side pockets.
A plastic spoon for wild camping. Tough, nice and light, and I have a bag full from somewhere.
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+1 for the Ron Hill Tracksters.
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The first thing I thought of was plastic bags.....
Helly Hansen baselayers from Screwfix of all places, as suggested by someone on here a year or so ago. Only £15 each and half the weight of my previous thermals, they have proved to be quite adequate.
Disposable cigarette lighters for stove lighting.
The tiny tubes of airline toothpaste my wife brings home from her travels.
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The tiny tubes of airline toothpaste my wife brings home from her travels.
My dentist gives them away free, their great.
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So does mine, but for a gramme counter the airline ones are less than half that size.
They're given out on overnight flights, for single use, but if used sparingly they're enough for 3 or 4 morning brushings on a multiple-day hike.
Edit: Just checked with the OH, she says when you board there is a folded blanket on your seat with a plastic bag or a pouch on top of it, and this contains the aforesaid toothpaste, a two-piece travel toothbrush, eyeshades, earplugs and flight socks. So, there are some useful things there!
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Yes, we have a bag full of past sell by date mini tubes of toothpaste that were for giving out to primary school children.
And I have a two part clip together toothbrush in mini plastic case from a hotel in Hanoi that I visited on a business trip 22 years ago - just the thing for wild camping.
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Before I got properly back into walking I had no boots so in the winter I would wear my surfing socks with training shoes in wet or snowy conditions. Used to work really well and keep my feet warm dry and comfy, but the trainer's didn't last to long due to being soaked through all the time.
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Before I got properly back into walking I had no boots so in the winter I would wear my surfing socks with training shoes in wet or snowy conditions. Used to work really well and keep my feet warm dry and comfy, but the trainer's didn't last to long due to being soaked through all the time.
What are surfing socks? Aren't they made of wetsuit material?
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Army leather Jerkin.
Sleeveless, leather front, 'mesh / ventilated' back.
I bought 30 of these at an auction and SWMBO sold them on ebay at £10 a time.
I thought I'd keep a couple back for myself.
I walk 'very warm' and even at temperatures of 5 or 6 Degrees C I walk in a T-Shirt with a very thin Jumper but just recently with the very, very strong winds we have been having I have found that my chest is getting chilled, but I do not want a thicker jumper or coat as I'd be far too hot.
Tried the Leather Jerkin "EXCELLENT" results.
The mesh back is allowing ventilation between my back and pack.
The armless 'arm-holes give good pit-ventilation and,
The leather front is superbly wind-proof.
(https://i.postimg.cc/nCTp00Wy/Jerkin-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/nCTp00Wy)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9D7VCC0h/Jerkin-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9D7VCC0h)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9rPKp0Dz/jerkin-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9rPKp0Dz)
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What are surfing socks? Aren't they made of wetsuit material?
Yup.
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Also, a decent tough plastic whistle salvaged from an unserviceable lifejacket.
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I use a 6` x 6`blue polypropylene tarpaulin, which can be folded up and is very low weight, for placing my small foam mat on & also placing my bag on etc when having a rest stop.I initially bought them for use around the garden and for work. For a long time I used just a black bin liner with the foam mat to sit on.
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Ronhill tracksuit bottoms - the kind your PE teacher always used to wear. I bough mine about a size too small as they were about 40% the price and have used them during cold weather for about the last three years in place of the made-for-it hiking tights that I got for Christmas. The tracky bottoms are about the same weight, are warmer and seem to dry better when wet but were a fraction of the cost - They fit perfect under a pair of hiking trousers!!
Roy
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Ronhill tracksuit bottoms - the kind your PE teacher always used to wear. I bough mine about a size too small as they were about 40% the price and have used them during cold weather for about the last three years in place of the made-for-it hiking tights that I got for Christmas. The tracky bottoms are about the same weight, are warmer and seem to dry better when wet but were a fraction of the cost - They fit perfect under a pair of hiking trousers!!
Roy
Visions of Max Wall come to mind :) (Do an image search if his name isn't familiar to you.)
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My really cheepo off-road trainers. With a pair of Happyfeet inserts in them they make great hiking shoes.
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Need to add my £3.49 Pvc gardening gloves to this thread. First tested in anger on the Ben. Now, despite having bought and ditched a number of pairs of ski gloves, my glove of choice worn over my £1 wool inners on the coldest of winter days. Tough warm and 100% water proof all day long.
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Tesco thermal socks - 3 pack.
Just bought another 3 pack for £7.
40% polyester, 33% wool, 21% acrylic.
Good for the money.
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Need to add my £3.49 Pvc gardening gloves to this thread. First tested in anger on the Ben. Now, despite having bought and ditched a number of pairs of ski gloves, my glove of choice worn over my £1 wool inners on the coldest of winter days. Tough warm and 100% water proof all day long.
Where did u get these?
A tad cheaper than sealskins then
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A generous dram of almost any single malt. Restorative, delicious and helps stave off 'visions of Max Wall'.
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Marigold gloves every time :D
Jon.
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Visions of Max Wall come to mind :) (Do an image search if his name isn't familiar to you.)
Thankfully under more appropriate trousers most of the time, altho they were used as an alternative to grubby overtrousers in a couple of youth hostels for the last few days O0
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Following a thunderstorm, with torrential rain in the Alps, I found another use for a spare heavy sweater tucked in the bottom of my rucksack. All other clothes were completely soaked an we were bivvying in a ruined high alpine barn. The roof was collapsed so there were plenty of wood roofing tiles to get a fire going to dry out our gear. I pulled on the spare sweater as an emergency pair of trousers, though the neck was leaving the family jewels a bit exposed to the rough seating. A spare lace came in handy to close up the gap.
Some weeks later, when my mother discovered some extra washing, she could not make out why I should thread the neck of a coarse weave sweater with bootlace using a blanket stitch.
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Marigold gloves every time :D
Jon.
A friend of mine used to use Marigolds for potholing.
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Where did u get these?
A tad cheaper than sealskins then
These are similar, though the current pair are Blue. :)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GV8XESK/ref=asc_df_B00GV8XESK58053977/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B00GV8XESK&linkCode=df0&hvadid=214554455892&hvpos=1o7&hvnetw=g&hvrand=594882241334984516&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045305&hvtargid=pla-555738407882&th=1&psc=1
I simply buy them from the local garden center.
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Blue heavy duty rubble sack that I use for a sit-mat; larger than the foam folded ones but not so good when the ground is very cold.
Dave