Tag Archives: lightweight backpacking

Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat

Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat

Although I try to carry the lightest backpack possible, I do not skimp on comfort. I had been carrying a self inflating sleeping mat which weighed about 900g, but it filled a lot of space in my 50l pack. I do not want to carry my mat on the outside of my pack to save room or get a bigger pack which I will be tempted to fill and so it will be heavier. So I bought an Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat.

In the quest to save weight I came across the web site www.alpkit.com. I was going to buy a sleeping bag from them in the end I bought a sleeping mat – their lightest full sized mat.

I used the mat on my recent overnight trip to Woodhall Spa.

Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat

Alpkit Numo Sleeping Mat

The mat is exceptionally comfortable to sleep on, but it does not offer very good insulation from the ground compared with my previous mats – however it was a very cold night. Hopefully the light filling in the tubes will work better in less extreme weather.

This mat packs much smaller than my self inflating mat, saving space in my backpack and is half the weight. To save extra weight I do not take the stuff sack or the repair kit, I already have a patch kit in my “camping bits” pouch.

Alpkit Numo sleeping mat

comparison of sizes

The Alpkit Numo fits nicely in my small MSR Hubba tent, leaving enough room at the bottom to store my backpack and along the side for other gear. I was careful not to over inflate the mat, a little give in the tubes made it more comfortable.

One problem I had was that my inflatable pillow now rolls off this mat, so that will have to be addressed.

Backpacking to Woodhall Spa – Photographs

Here are some of the photographs from my weekend walk to Woodhall Spa.

Overnight Backpacking Trip to Woodhall Spa

Bardney

I have some new gear for this trip, a smaller (lighter) sleeping bag and sleeping mat which means my 50l Golite Jam backpack is now not full when I pack it for just an overnight walk. See my current overnight backpacking kit list here.

Bardney

Along the Viking Way

Along the Viking Way

some of my route was along the Viking Way

Woodhall Junction

Woodhall Spa Campsite

sunset at Woodhall Spa Campsite

Weather

The weather forecast was showing a freezing night – and it was.

Woodhall Spa Campsite

frost covered tent

The cold weather gave a great sunrise and it did not last long – it was getting warmer by the time I had my second coffee of the morning. The new down sleeping bag kept me warmer than the one I was using last year and the Alpkit mat is very comfortable.

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Backpacking to Woodhall Spa pt1

The weather looks spring like this weekend – so I have packed my bag and set off to camp at Woodhall Spa. It was not an early start so I got a lift to Bardney.

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the starting point in Bardney

It is a cool day and promises to freeze tonight but I am depending on my new down sleeping bag and winter long underwear to keep me warm enough.

Travel Tap – Micro Purification Water Filter Bottle


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Jeremy bought me this bottle for Christmas – the specs are here.

This is a really simple, lightweight, way to produce safe drinking water whilst I am backpacking or wild camping. No moving parts, batteries or pumps – drink straight from the bottle or use it to fill another water container or pot. When I wild camped in the Lakes last year I carried 3l or 3kg of water, my pack without the water weighed less than 9kgs – in the future I can top up along the way and save weight.

New Backpacking Tent – MSR Hubba

Just before coming away I bought a new tent – a lightweight, one person MSR Hubba. Because the tent can be erected without pegs, I had put it up in our living room and in a friend’s conservatory but today was the first chance to put it up outdoors and pegging it out.

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It came with six light alloy stakes but I have replaced these with eight titanium hooked pegs. It takes just six pegs to put the tent up, the extras are, a second peg for the door and one for a rear guy line. This guy was not supplied with the tent but I am going to add one for stability in windy conditions and also to use as a line for drying equipment on.

Here are the weights in grams – total is 1374g.

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This is much lighter than my previous backpacking tent (a Coleman Bedrock II) and it packs much smaller. This packed size was the most important reason for changing my tent as it now gives me more useable volume in my Golite Jam backpack, for food and equipment on multi-day trips.

Compared to the wedge shaped Coleman tent it has more useable space as the porch is larger, although the floor area in the inner tent is smaller. However with the arched shape I can comfortably sit up in the centre of the tent and safely use my MSR Pocket Rocket stove, on a 100g gas bottle, in the shelter of one on the doors – and if the wind changes direction (as it did a few weeks back when I was camping at Dunbar) I can use the other door.

The tent is simple to put up – but I was doing it in no wind – on a windy mountain it would be a bit more “flappy”!

I was going to sleep in it tonight but after getting the tent up there were a number of strong rumbles of thunder, so rather than have a wet tent to deal with in the morning, I packed it away and will use it overnight, later on this holiday.

There was a little light rain, not a storm, just enough to make things damp but it stopped after twenty minutes, so I could have used the new tent.

Overnight trip to the Old Man of Coniston

Next weekend I am planning a backpacking trip to the Lake Dustrict, with a couple of friends, to walk up the Old Man of Coniston with an overnight camp – depending on the weather. (Click on the map for a larger version).

Old Man of Conniston

The main reason for going away is to spend the weekend taking photographs – so we are taking a tripod with us and I am going to try my hand at some video on my iPhone. I have a bracket to mount my iPhone on a tripod.

iPhone on a tripod

This weekend I have been sorting the gear.

  • I will get to try out my second inflatable pillow!
  • I am going to take my MSR Pocket Rocket stove with a 100g cannister – I have not yet used it on an overnight trip
  • I am going to test using a Molle water bottle pouch to carry my lunch and brew kit – fixed to the hip belt or compression strap on the Golite Jam2

Molle Water Bottle Pouch

  • I am going to pack the titanium meths stove and 50ml of meths in the Molle pouch – for hot drinks whilst walking

Food for the trip

We are going to start walking after lunch on the Saturday

Saturday

  • On the trail dried mango slices and salted cashew nuts
  • Instant white coffee – I can make a brew whilst waiting for the light to change for that perfect photograph

Evening meal

  • Smoked Sausage
  • Tortilla x3
  • Onion Gravy
  • Instant custard and chocolate chip cake
  • Tea

Indian tea (with milk and brown sugar) wafer biscuits
Hot chocolate, wafer biscuits

Sunday

Tea and biscuits  whilst still in my sleeping bag

Breakfast

  • Cereal bars
  • Breakfast biscuits
  • Crackers and jam
  • Apple flakes
  • Tea

On the trail dried mango slices and salted cashew nuts

Extras

  • Boiled sweets, apple flapjack bar
  • 2x instant peach teas (use hot or cold)
  • 15ml of dried milk 2x sugar packets 2x pepper packets 1x salt packet 1x tomato ketchup sachet
  • 1 oz Southern Comfort
  • Tissues

Emergency Food – Glucose tablets

Water

  • 1l in my CamelBak for the walk – this should be enough for both days as we are not walking far
  • 1.3l for evening meal
  • 0.7l for breakfast
  • 0.9l for extra cups of tea and cleaning

I am going to store some water in the car so I can drink before setting out and on my return.

 

Let’s hope the weather is good enough!

Annotated Kit Photograph

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1 Aluminium foil wind shield – wraps in close around the stove for really windy weather
2 Stove board/stand – it protects the grass and makes a stable base for the stove.
3 Half aluminium wind shield – I bought a wind shield, cut it in half and removed a panel to make it fit better around this stove and mug
4 Vargo Triad XE Alcohol / Fuel Tab Titanium Stove with a copper mug support
5 MSR Titanium mug – mug and cooking pot
6 Aluminium lid for the mug
7 & 8 Small Beaker with lid – second mug when the titanium mug is being used as a pot. The lid makes it a useful storage jar and it is just big enough to rehydrate a 65g pack of noodles in.
9 Small Brew Kit
10 Army style tin opener
11 25ml bottle of dried milk
12 Refillable gas lighter – it has a stronger flame than a disposable lighter
13 2x fuel tablets – emergency fuel
14 Methylated spirits- in a clearly marked bottle – packed in a ziplock bag to protect the other equipment from leaks.
15 Washing up and Hygiene
- Alcohol hand cleaner – hygiene is essential when camp cooking
- 20ml Multi-purpose bio-degradable soap – for washing up, cleaning clothes or person. I decant some into a shampoo bottle that I got from a hotel
- 1/4 Pot sponge
- Hi absorbent cloth – for drying up
- Kitchen cloth
16 Plastic Cutting board – this is made from a plastic wall tile cut in half – 5cms x 12cms. Some kind of chopping board is often overlooked, having something to cut on saves other bits of kit, lids or plates getting damaged. I have several of these tiles in my camp box when one gets too badly scratched up I will replace it.
17 Victorinox Camper SAK – cooking knife, tin and bottle opener as well as an all round camp tool.
18 Paper towels in a small ziplock bag
19 Small LMF spork – this is a double ended utensil with a real fork at one end and a real spoon at the other. A true spork is not very good at getting the last drops of gravy out of a bowl or for hooking up a forkful of noodles.
20 Camp folding spoon and knife
21 Three section spice pot/shaker
22 GSI pot lifter
23 LMF ferro rod and striker
24 Spare gas lighter
25 1oz Single Malt Whisky
26 Stuff sack that holds most of this equipment
27 1l roll up water bottle with sports top for easy pouring
28 Selection of small pots and bottles to carry, dried milk, peanut butter etc
29 Coffee maker/tea strainer
30 Air tight canister for fresh coffee
31 600ml bowl with a clip on lid – this is large enough for the meals I make, but it also serves as a container for transporting more fragile food whilst walking.
32 1m square lightweight tarp – for putting on the ground and making a clean cooking area

Not shown in the photograph

  • Tea bags and sugar packets in the brew kit
  • 58 Pattern British Army water bottle
  • Plastic food bags with wire ties used both for food storage and for packing rubbish out