Author Topic: Buying first hillwalking gear  (Read 5761 times)

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #15 on: 07:48:35, 05/11/20 »
Very interesting Blog that we should all read before heading off to the Hills


https://testedtodestruction.blogspot.com/2020/02/go-outside-sit-down-wait.html?m=1


Though provoking article.


I was once stuck on a concrete plinth on Ve Skerries, a rocky reef just a few feet above sea level off the west coast of Shetland, for a few hours in a snowstorm. Now we were wearing immersion suits, but I was mighty glad that I was wearing a fibre pile 'wooly bear' suit underneath, and that I had bought a Bothy Bag. My colleague, who was wearing jeans under his survival suit, initially 'pooh poohed' the Bothy Bag, but he soon changed his mind when things got nasty. The Bothy Bag really worked well, two people soon generate a nice warm fug, the only part of me that started to get cold after a couple of hours was my feet.


Luckily the helicopter appeared during a brief lull just as it was starting to get dark - but it had to be abandoned in a field on the west side of Shetland the snow got so bad - 9 inches fell that night.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

watershed

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 449
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #16 on: 09:01:46, 05/11/20 »

Though provoking article.


I was once stuck on a concrete plinth on Ve Skerries, a rocky reef just a few feet above sea level off the west coast of Shetland, for a few hours in a snowstorm. Now we were wearing immersion suits, but I was mighty glad that I was wearing a fibre pile 'wooly bear' suit underneath, and that I had bought a Bothy Bag. My colleague, who was wearing jeans under his survival suit, initially 'pooh poohed' the Bothy Bag, but he soon changed his mind when things got nasty. The Bothy Bag really worked well, two people soon generate a nice warm fug, the only part of me that started to get cold after a couple of hours was my feet.


Luckily the helicopter appeared during a brief lull just as it was starting to get dark - but it had to be abandoned in a field on the west side of Shetland the snow got so bad - 9 inches fell that night.




Wow, not the place to linger!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ben_Doran

Sorry to Hijack the thread but
Edit to add new news report for Richard.

https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2020/11/05/remote-lighthouse-could-become-listed-building/

« Last Edit: 10:41:56, 05/11/20 by watershed »

ninthace

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11821
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #17 on: 09:23:37, 05/11/20 »
Mrs N got some Peter Storm overtrousers from the Gelert shop years ago.  The lasted ages.
Solvitur Ambulando

richardh1905

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12710
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #18 on: 18:50:17, 05/11/20 »
Edit to add new news report for Richard.


https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2020/11/05/remote-lighthouse-could-become-listed-building/


We were there to change the RACON unit (the white pointy thing right at the top of the lighthouse). Climbing the iced up ladder was interesting!


/thread drift
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

wbmkk

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 120
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #19 on: 19:10:02, 15/11/20 »
I went there to buy a pair of their £12.99 hiking trousers (I love em!) but they only had one colour, the colour I already have.


Do you mean these https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-mh100-mountain-hiking-trousers/_/R-p-192392


There are several other pairs available I see from Decathlon, up to £55 ... maybe these actually walk for you


[/size]Thanks for all the feedback and tips.


That Tech Tee from Peter Storm looks good value ..have you tested it out yet[/size]
« Last Edit: 19:34:15, 15/11/20 by wbmkk »

Birdman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 624
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #20 on: 12:00:14, 16/11/20 »
Very interesting Blog that we should all read before heading off to the Hills


https://testedtodestruction.blogspot.com/2020/02/go-outside-sit-down-wait.html?m=1


Interesting. I have recently read a few stories of experienced long distance hikers who got lost or stuck in snow in remote areas in the USA. They lived on for days or even weeks but eventually died. They left diaries, so we know what they attempted to survive the situation. However, articles like this make you realise that you could be even more at risk on day hikes in less remote areas, simply because you didn't bring gear to survive more than a few hours in the elements. On bigger adventures you would likely carry a tent, sleeping bag, warm clothes, food, stove  etc but not on day hikes where you just break your ankle and cannot go on.


I once fell while day-hiking/ scrambling in the Cuillins during bad weather and hurt my head. It didn't knock me out and I managed to walk back to my car and drove to the hospital for stitches. Happy end. But if it HAD knocked me out it could have ended real bad. I would definitely have been there overnight, possibly dying of hypothermia (weather was cold and rainy). Even the next day or later I may not have been found because of fog and even though it is a popular area, I'm not sure if I could even be seen from the standard hiking routes. Nobody even knew I was there. This was really a bit of a wake-up call for me, though I still regularly set out on my own without telling anybody. I do carry a PLB now, but that isn't much use if you knock yourself out and as the article describes, even best case you'll still need to survive many hours in perhaps very bad conditions. 
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

gunwharfman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10255
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #21 on: 13:08:23, 16/11/20 »
Yes, the Decathlon £12.99 hiking trousers are the tops for me, these days I tend to wear them all the time. For me so comfortable and they fit me like a glove. I want to buy another pair but I'm just hoping for a colour change.

I was listening to Radio 4 on the way home from my daily run today and they were talking about milkmen and how they have bounced back with increased customers and sales and how many people now want glass bottles again. One of the milkmen interviewed, from Guilford, explained that he found an old man in the first lockdown who had fallen outside and had been there for 17 hours, it can happen when you least expect it. He was lucky that he fell in a warm period.

ninthace

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11821
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #22 on: 18:18:07, 16/11/20 »
Yes, the Decathlon £12.99 hiking trousers are the tops for me, these days I tend to wear them all the time. For me so comfortable and they fit me like a glove.
  You're a pentaped??!!
Solvitur Ambulando

Birdman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 624
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #23 on: 19:50:33, 16/11/20 »
For normal walking, the only critical component is well fitting footwear (can even be cheap if it works for you, but if not, this is where you should spend your money). Everything else is really not so critical and can usually be purchased at low prices. Decathlon often has very decent stuff at low prices. I have been using their merino baselayers for years (bought at £15). And Regatta was already mentioned. I have a bunch of midlayers that I wear almost daily and were bought at £10-£15 at the time (some years back, but they are still good).
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

gunwharfman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10255
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #24 on: 20:06:40, 16/11/20 »
I decided (for something to do) to go through all of my hiking gear today. I was so surprised as to how well equipped I am. I seem to have most things twice over, how did I do that?

Birdman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 624
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #25 on: 20:09:57, 16/11/20 »
Old age? Grin
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

Sevenup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 383

windyrigg

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 540
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #27 on: 08:37:41, 17/11/20 »
I've done a lot of walking abroad in remote places; back in the UK I'm very surprised how few walkers carry something as simple as a cigarette lighter as a survival aid. In most of the rest of the world it would be the top of the list item (or storm matches). There seems to be something here in the UK walking community that lighting a fire is wrong and not done (in some situations that would be totally correct). Unfortunately there seems to be a carry over into survival situations which I consider totally incorrect. Apart from no longer having to worry about the effects of the cold, a fire is great for moral and puts you into a place where you are better able to think and assess the situation. I've repeatedly  seen walking kit lists (sometimes from folk who should know better) with all sorts of stuff included - but not a fire lighter. I would suggest a survival situation is just that, all other bets are off and the least of your worries should be a ring of burnt grass.

Birdman

  • Veteran Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 624
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #28 on: 09:03:16, 17/11/20 »
I've done a lot of walking abroad in remote places; back in the UK I'm very surprised how few walkers carry something as simple as a cigarette lighter as a survival aid. In most of the rest of the world it would be the top of the list item (or storm matches). There seems to be something here in the UK walking community that lighting a fire is wrong and not done (in some situations that would be totally correct). Unfortunately there seems to be a carry over into survival situations which I consider totally incorrect. Apart from no longer having to worry about the effects of the cold, a fire is great for moral and puts you into a place where you are better able to think and assess the situation. I've repeatedly  seen walking kit lists (sometimes from folk who should know better) with all sorts of stuff included - but not a fire lighter. I would suggest a survival situation is just that, all other bets are off and the least of your worries should be a ring of burnt grass.


While I agree in general, I think that the remote places in the UK where survival could be an issue (exposed Scottish hills etc), there usually isn't all that much to burn.
My travel and walking reports: https://www.hikingbirdman.com/

Sevenup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 383
Re: Buying first hillwalking gear
« Reply #29 on: 09:08:55, 17/11/20 »

While I agree in general, I think that the remote places in the UK where survival could be an issue (exposed Scottish hills etc), there usually isn't all that much to burn.


I think you might find real concerns in Scotland about the effects of fires in the environment. This summer has seen a significant number of events where people have set fires that have lead to severe damage to the peaty under soil that covers much of Scotland’s potential wild camping ‘hotspots’. Lighting fires isn’t something that folk should be doing lightly anywhere in Scotland.

 

Terms of Use     Privacy Policy