Walking across England from the North Sea to the Irish Sea along Hadrian's Wall

[melensdad]

I've got a couple threads started in the GREAT OUTDOORS section about specific gear, plus posts in the BREAKROOM section on this topic, figured it would be best to consolidate everything into 1 thread. The thread will be an on-going blog of equipment, which will be tested, and replaced, altered, as necessary PRIOR to the trip, the equipment that makes the grade will go on the trip.

THE JOURNEY:
Our path will follow Hadrian's Wall. Its a wall that was built along the historic border between England & Scotland by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (approximately 2000 years ago) to keep the uncivilized Scots out of Roman/English territory. While ruins now, there are historic sites with partially restored Roman forts, battlements, and towns along the way.

LINK TO UK'S National Trails website for Hadrian's Wall => Home - Hadrian's Wall Path - National Trails

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a walking trip. Its 88 miles from Wallsend on the east side of England (North Sea side) to the west end of Hadrian's Wall at an inlet to the Irish Sea. We are thinking a target date of sometime in June 2014.

Roughly 8 days of walking. But nights are spent at B&B's, Manor homes, hotels, etc. As walkers we will take a moderate size day-pack with water, snacks, rain gear, etc. We are NOT tent camping so there is no need for us to carry tents, sleeping bags. Breakfast is provided at each stop. Lunch and dinner is something we will find, buy, potentially cook, along the route. I'm hoping that pubs will be found along the route!

I say the trip is roughly 8 days because there may be a 1 day side trip to another Roman area ruin that is off the actual wall route. Possibly a side trip to the city of YORK, which is a good deal off the path.

FWIW, my wife and I are both in our 50's. I walked a modest portion of the Appalachian Trail about 30 years ago, did some wilderness and winter survival camping in my younger years. My wife was never a backpacker, but was a competitive swimmer. While both of us have a little extra weight, we are reasonably fit adults who have become too sedentary as we have aged. So off we go on this journey, we've got the better part of a year to train (we walk 3 mile walks about 4 days a week and are bumping that up to 4 miles).



BACKPACK:
I have looked at a few, but decided to stick with a brand that has proven itself to surpass my expectations in the past. Picked up a Lowe Alpine AirZone Centro 35 backpack. Its about 2000 cubic inches, which should be enough for what I need for this trip since I won't be packing much more than dry socks, rain gear, first aid, camera gear, batteries, passports, snacks & water with me. Got a good deal on it because its last season's model, but it still has the advanced air venting suspension along the back that the new version features.

In addition to the internal frame system with air venting, its got the hydration system pocket (using up to a 2 liter bladder) and a rain cover. All of which are features I was looking for.

LINK => Lowe Alpine AirZone Centro 35 Reviews - Trailspace.com


RAIN GEAR:
The lovely Mrs Bob bought some rain gear for herself. She was at the Goodwill store and there was a bright yellow rubber rainsuit (bib overalls + Jacket) for $4.00. It was on sale, half price, from $8.00. It won't breathe at all, she'll probably sweat inside it, but if there is a heavy rain its better than getting totally soaked. Me, I'll stick with my breathable rain gear that I bought a few years ago at Gander Mountain. Its in great shape, and will be much more comfortable should I need it. But it may be too much to pack on this trip and may be one of the things that is weeded out before the trip.

I am very concerned that my rain gear will be TOO BULKY and TOO HEAVY to carry. That is something that will be determined as we begin testing equipment.


==================


Did a 4 mile practice walk. The hill coming back up to our driveway was a killer.

Other than that it was a pretty easy walk . . . except for the encounter with the German Shepard Dog.

Lady who lives right at the end of our route was outside with her two GSDs. On our way past her home one of the dogs comes running about 50 yards into the soybean field, before he decided we were not a threat. We continued to our turn around point and could see the dog turn back and go up to the lady. We turned and began our homeward journey and the lady and 2 dogs were going away from us, and were about 75 yards off the road between her home and garage. The one dog turned and started toward us again, running hard. This is a big German Shepard Dog! Lady shouts a couple times, dog doesn't even slow. Dog hits the edge of the road and I point my finger at the dog, shout NO. Dog STOPS. In the mean time the lovely Mrs_Bob is tugging at me and screaming. Lady is screaming more for the dog. I stare at the dog, finger still pointed at his nose, he comes into the road (this is only a 2 lane country road) and I shout NO! again never breaking eye contact. Lady is now screaming, dog is not happy and sees I am not backing down. Dog backs down and runs back to lady.

When dog is back to her she shouts over and apologizes. Lovely Mrs_Bob accepts apology. I almost said, but did not say, "that dog will be shot next time. . . " but I left the words in my mind instead of letting them pass my lips.

Perhaps a walking stick/staff would be in order for this trip? I could have my brother-in-law buy one for me over there, and then pick it up from him upon our arrival.

Today we are getting ready to head out for another 4 mile walk, but taking a different route to avoid the dog!

 

[Andyccw]

This sounds like an awesome trip idea!
Will you be practicing pooping outside with the Mrs.?
From the site:
"It is illegal to dig a hole on a Scheduled Ancient Monument and practically the entire Trail outside of urban Newcastle and Carlisle lies within the Scheduled Monument area.
What we can advise to do, is to take human waste away in a plastic bag or nappy sack (as people would do with dog mess). There is a book called "How to S*** in the Woods" which gives guidance on how to eliminate human wastes in a natural area without a toilet. Extract: 'Solid waste products can contaminate ground water, streams and lakes and spread disease. Find a private location in the woods that is at least 20 feet off a trail and at least 200 feet (70 to 75 paces) from a stream, pond or other water to avoid contamination. Urinate into absorbent soil that will soak it up rather than have it run off. Scoop the poop. We require pet owners to do it, should we expect less from ourselves? Bring along a sturdy ziplock bag*. Use the bag to pack out your own waste. Nothing comes out of you that wasn't in you to begin with - you are in no danger from your own germs, but you can cause illness in others.'
* nappy sacks and plastic bags are also suitable."

 

[The Bubba Effect]

If I were in your shoes I would try to get your wife to take a hike in that rain gear before leaving on your trip (maybe same 4 mile hike as your shakedown, but in the rain). Those old vinyl suits can be truly miserable if you have to walk any distance while wearing them. I'm sure she's a big girl and can make her own choices, but I would not want to be walking day after day with a woman who hates her rain gear.

 

[melensdad]

RAIN GEAR is a huge concern of mine. Not just for her, but also for me.

My rain gear is fairly expensive, has lots of features, is comfortable, but is also heavy and not designed for hiking. Her rain gear was almost free, but would be totally MISERABLE to wear should we need it. There is some great equipment out there that is packable and works, but it comes at a high price. GoLite Rain Jacket => GoLite Men's Malpais Rain Jacket Not sure I want to drop that kind of cash (times 2) for rain jackets, and then double it because we need pants too! Hopefully there is a reasonable compromise that can be found that is light enough, compact enough, DRY enough and somewhat less pricy. Our experiences in the UK with rain are generally positive, having spent some summers there with the family. No downpours, but generally frequent lighter rains.



Today's walk, 4.1 miles of hills. Elapsed time 1:17. So we are keeping up our 20 minutes per mile average that we established in our previous 3 mile walks. This is the pace we want to maintain in training, even if mileage goes up. That is a faster pace than we will need in the UK, but we will be walking much farther each day, so for these training walks we need to keep up our pace to compensate for the shorter distances we are walking. OH, and 5 minutes of that time was spent talking to the lady wtih the big Germans Shepard Dog, she drove out and apologized again, assured us the dog would not bite (I do NOT believe her) but accepted her apology and then diverted our walk anyway!



FANNY PACK . . . oh and the lovely Mrs_Bob has agreed to a fanny pack. Siezing upon the opportunity before she changed her mind, I ordered a fanny pack with a single water bottle holder and modest size pocket. I was trying to decide between a dual water bottle pack and a single and opted for the single simply because the pocket on the single packs are somewhat larger. Figure I can carry 1 of her water bottles, she can carry the other. As she empties one, she can slip it in my pack and I can carry her empty. The larger pocket means she will be able to carry her rain gear? Snacks? Our medical kits? SOMETHING!

I had been looking at these long before today and I did struggle on the choice, but had previously considered several. In the end it came down to a GoLite dual water bottle fanny pack or a Lowe Alpine single bottle. Opted for the Lowe Alpine Lightflite Hydro LINK => http://www.lowealpine.com/packs/lightflite-hydro Most fanny packs don't have much venting along your back, the Lowe Alpine units have a mesh back wtih an internal offset that allows for some airflow to keep a bit cooler.

 

[melensdad]

This sounds like an awesome trip idea!
Will you be practicing pooping outside with the Mrs.?
From the site:
"It is illegal to dig a hole on a Scheduled Ancient Monument and practically the entire Trail outside of urban Newcastle and Carlisle lies within the Scheduled Monument area.
What we can advise to do, is to take human waste away in a plastic bag or nappy sack (as people would do with dog mess). There is a book called "How to S*** in the Woods" . . .

ALMOST had to duck into a cornfield today!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

If you can convince your bride to wear more than a fanny pack - the better. Camera gear? If you use a DSLR, you may want another lens. If you go that route, you may want to have a mono-pod as a walking stick. They make some pretty nice "hiking camera bags" that you can load tons of stuff inside. If you're just going to use a "little" camera - then it doesn't really matter.

Don't neglect a breathable sun/rain hat, too. The hoods on rain jackets only do so much...

Smart wool socks will probably be your best investment, should you not already have them.

Also - your elapsed time is all well and good if all you're doing is wanting to get from A to B. Stop & smell the proverbial roses while there. Talk to locals, take lots of photos (they don't weigh anything!). All in all, don't be too concerned with your average rate. Just as long as you get to your destination before dark it really doesn't matter how fast you're going. Granted, I know that the farther the walk the less time to dawdle...but you're on vacation! It's time to dawdle a little!

 

[melensdad]

If you can convince your bride to wear more than a fanny pack - the better. Camera gear? If you use a DSLR, you may want another lens. If you go that route, you may want to have a mono-pod as a walking stick. They make some pretty nice "hiking camera bags" that you can load tons of stuff inside. If you're just going to use a "little" camera - then it doesn't really matter.

I have a 4-Thirds format Mirrorless SLR with interchangeable lenses, figure that is going in my pack. One of the reasons I wanted my wife AT LEAST carry some sort of pack.

Don't neglect a breathable sun/rain hat, too. The hoods on rain jackets only do so much...

Got a Gore-Tex hat that has been with me kayaking in the Keys, canoeing with alligators, traveled around France and the UK with me, and sits on my head when I'm out on the field with my tractor.

Smart wool socks will probably be your best investment, should you not already have them.

Not my favorite brand, I'm more of a Bridgeport, Point6 and Thorlo technical lite hiking sock kind of a guy, but Smartwool is good too.

Also - your elapsed time is all well and good if all you're doing is wanting to get from A to B. Stop & smell the proverbial roses while there. Talk to locals, take lots of photos (they don't weigh anything!). All in all, don't be too concerned with your average rate. Just as long as you get to your destination before dark it really doesn't matter how fast you're going. Granted, I know that the farther the walk the less time to dawdle...but you're on vacation! It's time to dawdle a little!

Absolutely. The reason we are doing 20 minute miles is to keep up our heart rate. We don't have the time to walk 12 miles a day for practice so we are doing 4-ish miles per day at a fast pase.

When we do the walk, we expect to walk about 3 miles, take a break, see a sight, etc. Then walk another 3 mile, take lunch break, visit a town, etc. Then another 3 and then a final 3. Obviously subject to the actual locations, some stretches may be 2 miles, others 5 apart, but its likely that we will have a lot to see. We've crossed Hadrian's wall a half dozen, or more times, visited 1 of the Roman forts, driven part of the wall, but this is a whole new adventure that we are looking forward to.

 

[melensdad]

A bit more of the gear:

WARNING STROBE:
NATHAN clip-on amber strobe for walking along roads past dark. Hopefull we won't need it at all, but its in the pack. If we are still walking at dusk then it will be clipped to the back of the pack, just in case. These are inexpensive safety devices, NATHAN makes safety gear for road workers, road runners/joggers, etc. The LED lights are incredibly bright and are programable with either a flashing pattern or can be left ON. If it is unneeded not too much of a burden, size is about 3/4" thick, 2.5" tall, and 3/4" wide (easily fits in the palm of your hand). StrobeLight | Nathan Sports





WATER BLADDER (fits inside a sleeve inside the backpack & WATER BOTTLES:
Camelbak Omega 70oz bladder. Amazon.com: Camelbak 70 oz/2.0L MG Omega Reservoir 90271: Sports & Outdoors Most of the trekking grade day packs and back packs have a special sleeve that runs vertically behind your spine (but separated by an air channel) to hold water bladders. The bladder is simply more convenient than carrying a water bottle, it also holds the weight of the water closer to your body, and along its centerline, to provide better balance and less strain on your body during a long walk. Several brands exist. I chose this particular bladder because of its claim that is more durable, also because replacement parts are pretty easily found at most any outdoor store since the Camelbak brand has become the most common choice.






KNIFE:
I found an old Swiss Army knife that will go on the trip. Its inexpensive so if it is confiscated it won't be a loss of anything valuable. Pretty basic but it covers the needs. Got the all important CORKSCREW for picnic wine bottles, a basic blade for cutting salami, can opener and a bottle opener. Oh and those silly little tweezers and a toothpick too. Should serve my needs. Wish it had a philips head screwdriver, but it doesn't and that is not a deal breaker.

England's knife laws are VERY STRICT. No lockblades! No assisted opening blades! No blades 3" long! A pen knife can get you in serious trouble IF you don't have a good reason to have it with you. Serious as in arrested. Fortunately they allow small knives IF you carry them in your backpack. So I will NOT carry this in my pocket, it will be in the pack so that I am in compliance with the laws. If it is in your pocket you have to prove you need to have the knife but if it is in your back pack then it is presumed that the knife is for camping use.

This is NOT the knife I would choose to take with me on this trip, but it is a knife that won't get me arrested and will allow me to open a bottle of wine, cut some salami and cheese for lunch, and generally work for me on the trip.

 

[Dirty Steve]

I will second the camera fanny pack. We have one that will carry two DSLR's, two lenses and a small video camera. It has storage pouches on the outside and rides very comfortably beneath a day pack. It is also surprisingly comfortable worn backwards (in front). It sounds overly large to get that much gear in it, but it is not. It is well thought out and compartmentalized nicely. We have used it on hiking trips in Colorando's RMNP, Sedona / Grand Canyon and all over Tennessee and Kentucky. It WILL be going with us to Southern Utah next spring.

Monopods,...meh. We actually carry a small telescoping tripod. It attaches easily to my day pack with MOLLE straps and is very light. It is hand to use for self portraits. Nothing like a bunch of hiking photos with awesome scenery and only 1 of you in the picture.

Rain gear that is light and breathable is essential. I like Mountain Hardware, Marmot and the REI brand. Hunting type rain wear is great for generally sedentary hunting but doesn't cut it for hiking distance. PVC rain wear just blows. It's ok for fishing, but that's it. Do not try to use it. She will hate it. Good rain wear is worth it.

Try to get in some longer distance at least a few times a month. I am 46 and walk 3.5 miles 4 days a week and run 3.5 miles 3 days a week. I do longer distance at least a few times a month on the weekend. Your body gets accustomed to the same distance and builds muscle memory. It knows when your average distance is over. Going further, especially daily results in the body saying "Whoa dude, we should have been done by now". You do not want this enjoyable vacation trip to turn into a death march just to finish it. If you are doing longer distance daily, even if taking more time, your body will tell you "this ain't right".

Dirty Steve

 

[melensdad]

Steve, with 2 of you now telling me a camera pack is essential I will have to give that more thought. I'd prefer not to carry another thing, but I'll look into it.

Camera tripod - I have 2 of those mini-tripods that work really well, and you are correct, I tend to be in very few photos! I'm a good looking guy, people deserve to see my face in more photos.

As for the distances, one thing that we try to do is alter the route. We live in a hilly area and changing the route tends to change things. We also take off a couple days a week (we go to Fencing on Monday & Wednesday and usually don't walk those days). We also tend to mix in the occasional 3 mile walk. Ultimately we plan to move up from our 3 or 4 mile walks up to 4 or 5 mile walks. We also want to keep the pace at/below 20 min per mile to keep our heart rates up.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Head to Best Buy (Heck, or even Walmart) and look for the back-pack style camera bags. You don't have to spend a lot of money on one.

But DO get the one with the cushiest shoulder straps you can find. And a strap-keeper to keep them from spreading out too far.

I wouldn't take all my lenses with me. I'd keep the widest angle lens on the camera (best for landscape shots) and a mid-range zoom in reserve. Heck, I'd only take a telephoto zoom if I were planning on doing nature watching and wanted to capture it.
A ~20mm to 70mm should be all that's necessary. Set the camera to take the highest resolution photos it can, you can always crop them down later to give the appearance of zoom.

Not taking extra lenses can/will free up a TON of space in even the smallest camera backpacks.

So, even a small camera pack + a big fanny pack will give you a TON of "extra" space outside that of your own backpack.

 

[melensdad]

Backpack Details

While I will consider a camera belt pack as an option, I've got to say that my back pack is NON-NEGOTIABLE.

I'm hoping my camera gear, which again is the compact 4-Thirds format system, will go in this pack! http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcgx1/

I've been using Lowe Alpine gear for years, its among the best of the best out there and, while generally pricy, it has proven its value by keeping me warm, being durable, shedding water, carrying gear, etc over many years.

After some soul searching and looking at alternatives, I've returned to Lowe Alpine for this trip as I needed a new, small pack that was full featured, yet very light and still was a "real" pack. Here is my new pack, it has features not found in unstructured packs to make it more comfortable to wear, more useable, and able to carry loads better too. This is a Lowe Alpine Centro 35. Its got just over 2000 ci of space, a water bladder pocket, adjustable torso length for the suspension, air channel vent system, internal frame, built in rain cover, etc etc etc.

Now I know some 'ultra light' hikers will debate the water bladder and suggest you can save a few ounces by cutting those out and using water bottles, but I'm not an ultra light junkie. I don't disparage them, its just not what I do, more power to the guys who can hike 30+ miles a day across Alaska and cook with a cat-food-tin stove. But at 50+ years of age, its more extreme than I choose to go.

So here is my pack . . . REAR VIEW:


FRAME SIDE VIEW: Note the suspension system to keep your back from sweating by keeping the pack off your back and creating an air channel between the pack and your body. I can argue that this GREATLY increases your comfort while hiking. (Yes, on a very heavy pack this does move the weight off your spine and moves the load farther back, but for light to modest weight loads --like this pack accommodates-- that is NOT an issue). Not sure if you can tell, but the waist straps have rigid supports on the outside of the padding, similar to an exoskeleton to properly disperse weight around you.


DETAIL VIEW of TORSO ADJUSTMENT: As we all have different length torso, this pack adjusts not just the length of the shoulder straps but optimizes the position of the straps to the back to the pack to keep the load in the proper location on your back, relative to your hips. This allows your hips to properly carry the load and disperse the weight of the pack. Your hips should carry most of the weight, NOT your shoulders! Shoulders are connected to the reasonably weak SPINE, while your hips are part of the pelvis and femur/leg portion of your skeletal structure that is contains the strongest/heaviest bones in your body. If your backpack relies on shoulder-straps, is not fitted to your torso, and has no waist straps, it is not a very well designed pack.


INTEGRATED RAIN COVER: Another feature that some of the ultra-light backpackers omit but that I wanted is an integrated rain cover. Its attached at the very bottom of the pack and pops out and covers the pack during rain.



RAIN COVER over pack:



Now I'm not saying this pack is perfect. No pack is PERFECT. For me a pack with rainproof zippers is silly because the pack material is not rainproof. This pack has just that type of zipper. I'm not even a big fan of zippers as those are typically the first thing to fail on a pack anyway. But such is life. Then there are the mesh side pockets. I'm not hiking through the 'wilderness' so mesh material is fine, but if you plan to walk through woods/forests/scrub/trees then avoid mesh side pockets, they tend to snag branches and collect debris. For walking primarily through fields and open areas, as this trip will entail, mesh works just fine.

For the ultra-light hikers, take a look at GoLite gear, they make some excellent packs too. I ruled them out for a couple reasons, as well as why I ruled out other brands. But there are devotees to GoLite who sing their praises because of their ultra light designs. As I said, I'm not an ultra-lite guy, but I throw it out there for anyone serious about weighing out their gear.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Inverse 200 AW Camera bags, backpacks and rolling cases

This is the camera fanny pack we use. I highly recommend it.

Dirty Steve

 

[melensdad]

Nice bag. My current LowePro camera bag is just a shoulder bag, that waist bag is nice. Very nice. But way to big for my needs. Even the smaller 100AW is too big for my camera.

I plan to take 2 lenses, 1 camera body, 1 camera battery charger. My camera body is a Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 and is very compact for a switchable lens camera. Consequently a much smaller bag would be required, assuming I can't fit it into the pack . . . and that is my first choice. I'm considering figuring out some way to attach the camera to the waist strap of the backpack as an alternate option before I add a second bag.

Camera => DMC-GX1 | PRODUCTS | LUMIX | Digital Camera | Panasonic Global

The two lenses that I will carry are:
28-84mm Digital Interchangeable Lenses | PRODUCTS | LUMIX | Digital Camera | Panasonic Global
and
90-350mm Digital Interchangeable Lenses | PRODUCTS | LUMIX | Digital Camera | Panasonic Global

 

[Noble Sniper]

I look forward to hearing about your trip when completed........... sounds very interesting and fun

 

[melensdad]

I look forward to hearing about your trip when completed........... sounds very interesting and fun

Well I hope you don't mind the posts with equipement and preparation prior to the actual walk.

In the 1970's I took a winter survival/camping course, we used frameless 'rucksacks' and thought we had it good because we didn't have carry things in our arms.

About 1980 2 of my friends and I walked a portion of the Appelatian Trail. By that time I had a "modern" Kelty aluminum frame backpack. The other guys had the old rucksacks. After only a few miles they were dying and I was floating along. I didn't realize how bad they had it until we switched packs on the way back and it didn't take long before I was miserable.

My goals, when I walk, are to 1) enjoy myself and 2) take what I need, in that order. If you burden yourself down with what you take, its hard to enjoy yourself. On the other hand, if you are smart with your gear, lighten it up in reasonable fashion, then you can enjoy yourself AND have what you need.

My wife is beginning to think I've become obsessed. In fact I have no desire to cut my toothbrush in half, peel labels off bottles or ration my toilet paper in an effort to save weight. But I will use this as an opportunity to buy some new gear that is APPROPRIATE to the trek. Further I have 88 miles of walking culminating at the destination along the shore of the Irish Sea, but before I walk that 88 miles I've got ~500 miles of walking to test this gear, adjust and alter it, discard it, and it seems to me the JOURNEY is really a total of 588 miles and much of that is discovery. When I see water the journey is over. What is going to be more fun . . . going on the journey or seeing the seashore?

 

[melensdad]

DISAPPOINTED IN PRE-MADE MEDICAL KITS

The pre-made medical kits are pretty much a joke.

I picked up a compact medical kit that was described as being good for hiking, it specifically says its good for 1 or 2 people for multiple days.

While it has bandaids and moleskin, it is lacking in quite a few areas. 4 doses of Ibuprophen. 4 doses of anti-diarrheal. SERIOUSLY?

The pack itself is pretty nice, its well organized, it lays out nicely, each compartment is visible and they are labeled for quick identification. The pack's construction is heavy enough to impart a reasonable quality feel that should last for many trips before wearing or tearing, it has a hook to hang it, and it closes with a toggle that secures well.

Hikers tend to eat Ibuprophen (or Tylenol, or Aleve) like M&Ms. Seriously, for a multi-day hike, figure 2 doses of Aleve per person per day as the minimum. With Ibuprophen or Tylenol, figure 4 doses per person per day. If this pack was good for 2 people for 4 days, then there should be 16 doses of Iburprohen in the pack.

And probably the most feared ailment on the trail is diarrhea, not blisters. Diarrhea leads to dehydration and it will stop a hike quicker than just about anything else. 4 doses of anti-diarrehea medicine may help 1 person through 1 bout, but this is a multi-person/multi-day kit. What happens if both hikers get sick?

As for wound care the kit is actually pretty good. Lots of modest size pieces of moleskin, plenty of bandaids, even a small roll of tape. The kit claiims to have 2 disposable thermometers but I only found 1 of them. It has tweezers and scissors and safety pins. Where it does come up VERY SHORT (again) is with doses of triple anti-biotic cream. 2 doses. Hikers often get blisters, so the pack has 11 pieces of moleskin but just 2 doses of triple anti-biotic. WTF? It does come with about a dozen alcohol swabs for cleaning wounds, I thought that was pretty good.

So this pack has essentials in terms of treatments, but I think it presumes that a 7-11 or Village Pantry Store will be just up around the next bend in the trail and that you will be able to restock it at your convenience. Its probably a great kit for your glovebox, but it needs to be altered and enhanced if you plan to trek out into the woods for a long weekend or cross England from East to West.

On the good side is that the kit has a very nice, heavy medical booklet included. By removing that booklet and throwing it away before you start your journey, you actually create quite a bit of space in the pack to add the stuff you need to complete the kit! I will also say that the medical book is a pretty good book, anyone not familiar with first aid should READ THE BOOK before discarding it to save weight and create space.

Honestly I could not find a better compact kit. It contains too much of some items, not enough of others, but its small and will serve as a base from which to build and alter.

But that said, all of the kits I found tend to be somewhat of a joke and therefore all of them need to be customized to suit your trip, even if they claim to be well suited to your trip.

I'm not sure if you'd be better off buying just the empty shell and filling it yourself, but if you are planning a trek far afield then consider these kits a "starting point" and not a "complete" kit.

And while these kits tend to focus on TREATMENT, how about we focus for a moment on PREVENTION? Rather than pack around a bunch of wound care for blisters, this little thing will eliminate the need for the wound care and prevent you from getting the blister in the first place. Of course broken in shoes and proper socks go a long way to prevent blisters too.

 

[Noble Sniper]

No Sir that's part of it as well and very informitive.

 

[melensdad]

Gotten some inquiries about walking/hiking shoes . . .

I've gotten some inquiries about what type of footwear is the best.

FIRST OFF, let me just state that I am NOT an expert on hiking, but I do try lots of different shoes. Still, I'm NOT any sort of an expert.

That said I have several different walking and trail shoes in the closet now. I've got a pair of Merrell "Mix Master" Trail Running shoes which are wonderfully light shoes, wonderfully comfortable to wear on soft ground, but being in the 'ultra-light' category of shoes they tend to beat up my feet when taking long walks on asphalt. For asphalt I like to have a thicker midsole to absorb the constant pounding of the asphalt. I've had very good luck with Lowa, but currently have none. Ditto Asolo. I have an older pair of Merrell "World Walkers" which are a brogue style walking shoe, this is my second pair of those and they have taken me around the United Kingdom (twice), through France and through Spain, plus spent many months on my feet here in the US. Its a heavy looking casual walking shoe that is great for walking around cities, look good with casual slacks, etc. For most of my walking on asphalt lately I've been wearing a pair of Keen light hiking low tops. Not sure which model this pair is but they are great for walking on asphalt, they have enough flex and enough midsole shock absorbing qualities to stay comfortable for long walks. This pair has about 3 months of use, its likely I'll wear them out before this trip.

The lovely Mrs_Bob has been wearing a pair of "rocking sole" Sketchers for walking on the asphalt roads around our land. She also picked up a pair of Keen hi-top hiking shoes at Cabela's about two weeks ago. So far so good for her. I'm not a fan of the "purple wine" color of the shoe but she has some ankle issues and says that these give great support.

Generally speaking I favor LIGHTWEIGHT shoes. The problem with lightweight shoes is that they often have soles that are too soft for many surfaces. So its a balancing act to get the lightest shoe for me which still has a padded enough midsole to absorb the shocks of the harder surfaces like concrete and asphalt. When walking through grass, in the woods, on trails, etc then it becomes much less of an issue and a shoe built lighter like trail runners will work very well for me.

Somewhere, probably floating around the interwebs, there is a study about how 1 pound of weight on your feet equals something like 8 pounds of weight carried on your back. So if you want to walk a lot, and do so with regularity, then a light shoe will save your energy, that leaves you with more energy later in the day and allows you to either walk longer or to have more energy for evening activities if your walks are moderate length. On the opposite side of that, if you train in a heavier shoe, or with leg weights you can build up some endurance for longer walk where you would wear a lighter shoe.

I don't believe their is a "BEST" shoe, but there are shoes that are BETTER for some things and other shoes that are BETTER for other situations and that everyone has a different foot so its a good thing that there are hundreds of quality choices.

 

[Sylvain]

I walking stick is a good idea.You could also used it against loose dogs if you had to since anything else like pepper spray would be illegal in the UK (classified as a firearm).
You might want to practice walking with it though if you are not used to it.

Thread tagged as it sounds like a great project/journey.