Barry Howard: Going Lightweight

LIGHTWEIGHT BACKPACKING, CAMPING, & THE ORGANISATION....

Lightweight camping and backpacking has become a bit of a fad of late; at least in the media it's been held up to be good and right and new - but some have been practicing this art for years, decades. In fact some would maintain that when it all started 'lightweight' was the  (only) way to go. I can be accused of 'taking everything but the kitchen sink' when I backpack (not true by the way!) but I can also be uber-lightweight. So just for the record I've got information here about my kit, carried on regular lightweight (what I call) 'raids'......here goes:

This is basic kit I use in summer conditions in all but high mountain environments.....TOP LEFT: lightweight aluminium mug underneath a Thermarest sleeping mat. TOP RIGHT: RAB Ridge Raider (pre production model) bivvi tent. LEFT in black bag: Trangia stove -> Vango Ultralight Pro 100 2 season sleeping bag -> scrim scarf -> 3 x 0.75 litre Camelback water bottles. LOWER LEFT: thermal fleece peaked hat with ear flaps -> Bridgedale 'Trekker' spare socks -> torch -> William Rodgers knife circa 1965 (best of my collection) -> Swiss Army Knife (including a saw) -> shemagh. RIGHT: single Leki 'Sherpa' trekking pole; tissues; camera; binoculars. BOTTOM LEFT: bungees and spare pegs -> Wayfarer meal[s] with Spork -> small tarp......all resting on a Fjallraven Övik (Eco-Shell) jacket (lightweight at 660 gms). Out of shot is the meths container for the Trangia......and all of this fits into....

........a Millican Fraser 32 litre sac (in 'Moss') made from paraffin saturated canvas. I am beasting this sac to death at the moment - trying to find fault with it, but it seems 'bomb proof'. It's certainly not your traditional sac; it's a bit quirky but that's only because I've used so many conventional sacs in my 50 years of walking and climbing that this has come out of the blue to challenge convention.

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