Kit and caboodle

Or.... Time for a little gear talk

My overnighter on Roslagsleden was a chance to test my new lightweight solo set up. So how did it go?

The tarp - a Hilleberg tarp 5. Seems pretty good. No hard weather and it was tricky finding ways to guy it on a thinly covered rock, but it was easy to get a good shape and well sized for one.

One thing I've got to think about though is attaching the poles. With no basket my pole goes right through the ring at the tie out - and the poles are fixed length. With the adjustment at the top its hard to just clove hitch it to the pole. I might need to do that in any case and have a running hitch at the bottom instead...

Interestingly the tarp got a lot of condensation. The ground was wet and the air was still and the tarp gathered condensation both above and below. In the morning there was too little breeze to dry so it went in the bag wet.

Packing up is easy. I like the built in stuff sack. Always there and quick and easy to use for marginal extra weight. I even have room for my pegs tucked down the inside.

The bag - my Western Mountaineering Astralite, and it's a quilt not a bag. A first for me with a quilt. It sat well, no drafts, and snug with the collar round my shoulders. It's rated to below zero so more than warm enough.

The pad system gets some criticism online and I made some mods beforehand that seemed to work well. I took the lacing out of the top position which gave a much looser lacing and let it drape wider than at the top. Then I changed the top pad strap to be connected only on one side. This did what I wanted. The quilt is attached to the pad, but I can open one side to get in and out or regulate the temperature.

One thing on the watch list is the damp. In the morning the bag was damp at the end and under the foot box. The quilt has no water resistant finish and the down is untreated so it's important it stays dry (not such an issue maybe for just one night). The damp could be condensation against the cold ground, or maybe the foot off strayed off the groundsheet. I'm looking at getting a bivy which should help the latter, but I may need to look at a thin pad for under the foot end.

The pad. I've just upgraded from an old Thermarest to a new Xlite Neoair (short). I thought about the ultralite model but opted for one that should work down below zero (R3.2). We'll see if I need it. Its about the same size as the old one, but tapered and thicker. It works well with the quilt straps and is comfyish... Well blown up it's too hard for my liking. I let air out a few times before I was happy. Then I found I was often on the edge of it - which makes it softer with less weight on. But when it's softer it's a bit like a water bed. Press it in one spot and it lifts somewhere else. Bottom line is that I'll need to get used to it.

I used it under the quilt with the lacing on top, and once or twice that let the tail slide off to one side. I'm thinking to try it in the bag instead to see if that make a better package.

#hilleberg #tarp #thermarest #gear #westernmountaineering #astralite

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