Kit n caboodle Part 1

 Having the right kit makes all the difference to an adventure.

Sometimes it will save your life

Sometimes it makes things easier

Sometimes it adds comfort

Bad kit can turn a nice little jaunt into a miserable outing and a challenge into a dangerous situation... no exaggeration. 

So I thought I would do a quick blog about some of the kit that I took with me this time, having made some upgrades and spent a lot of money. 

Back when I thought I was going to Iceland (that was plan b) I knew I needed better kit or in some cases, new kit having worn out the old kit.

The first part of this blog will deal with the items that I wear. 

To start with, I needed a new pair of shoes... 

Easier said than done. The trekking/hiking shoe/boot market is massive with so many different brands, all claiming that their shoes re the best around. Given that I would be cycling, I needed a lightweight shoe or boot that would be tough enough for hike a bike, which I was sure there was going to be plenty.

I have had a lot of trouble with boots, given that I seem to be prone to blisters. In the past I have had fairly cheap hiking boots which led to blisters every time, so I switched to hiking shoes. The first pair of Merrells that I bought, I wore on the Tour Divide and they were in fact excellent, surviving awful. conditions and a lot of punishment bit developed a squeak which was hugely annoying. So I bought another pair which I took to Ecuador, which destroyed them... totally. In addition this 2nd pair of Merrells had seen me slip a lot especially on wet terrain to the point where I did not trust the grip at all, which is never good, especially when you are hauling your bike up and over mountains. So I decided to go back to boots with undeniably better soles and therefore better traction on all terrain.

The question was which boot. It needed to be light, have good grip on wet ground yetbe more like a shoe in terms of fit to avoid the blistering problems I had with other boots. It was like a minefield in terms of research. I read review after review. Given that I also thought I was going to Iceland, an element of waterproofing and warmth would also be ideal. 

After much umming and awing, I settled on the Salomon X ultra 3 mid gtx boot. 

Although I didn't go to Iceland in the end, I did find a few tough days in the mountains of Italy to test them out and was very pleased with the result. 

They are so light, weighing just  450g that it didn't feel like I was wearing a boot at all. The flexibility enabled me to cycle with them with no problem and they were very comfy right out of the box, no breaking in required. I did a fair few tough miles of hike a bike and didn't have to worry about my feet at all. No blisters or even sore spots despite some clambering over rocky terrain. They have yet to be proven in an extended hike but from this tester, I feel that blisters will never be a problem again for me. Sometimes you just have to find the right boot for your feet and for me, this was it.

I tested out the waterproofing by fording a couple of streams and was pleasantly surprised thay they were indeed waterproof. They were also extremely warm, too warm for the 30 degree C heat in Italy at times but as someone who gets cold feet very easily, it was nice wrapping up in my sleeping bag at night with warm feet to start with. It will be interesting how they do in a colder climate. 

The traction was superb, even over wet rocks. Having been a bit nervous due to the previous aforementioned Merrell shoes, all nervousness about foot placement melted away and I could stride with confidence... I say stride... at some points it was closer to crawling! 

At just over £90, they were the most expensive. footwear I have ever bought and I have to say that in this case it was definately worth spending more money.  Whether they will stand up to the test of time and more testing adventures has yet to be proven but given the initial results I am petty confident that they will.

Merino baselayer top

A staple of mine that I will absolutely include in my kit every time. I have personally tested the theory that no matter how much you sweat wearing this, it does not smell... ever. In fact I wore one for 24 days straight whilst cycling across USA and it was as fresh as the day I started. In Italy I wore it on some very hot days and it wickes away the sweat very well. On the colder nights it kept me nice and warm... even on the day when there was a massive thunderstorm and lots of my kit was very wet.

Helmet

A must have when cycling for obvious reasons and when I approached Rob from AW Cycles for his recommendation for a new helmet, out of the several that he got me to try, the Smith helmet, the Forefront 2 MIPS was the one that fitted best. It was extremely lightweight and in the hot Italian days I barely felt it on my head due to the venting on the helmet. I also have a weirdly small head so finding a decent fitting helmet is usually impossible. This helmet felt snug and secure. The design of this helmet protects your head in a way no other helmet does. The Koroyd layer is a honeycomb like structure which is designed to protect your skull and withstand massive impact forces. I saw a layer of this stuff which had been attacked by a hammer with so dmaage to the inside at all. The MIPS system pretects the head from rotational forces on impact adding an extra safety aspect.

There is a adjustable visor which goes a long way to protect from glaring sunshine.  Above all this is the most comfortable helmet  I have ever worn and when every other part of your body aches, it's nice not to have to think about your headgear.

Socks

Whereas normally I go for Merino wool socks, I thought I would try out some waterproof socks (bearing Iceland was my plan B initially). I looked around and decided that sealskins were waaay too pricey so bought a pair of Otter ones instead. Italy was very hot and my feet sweated massively in these. That said, I was grateful for these when the rains came down as my feet stayed dry and warm. I need to test them in proper wet conditions to give these a proper review but feel they would do very well. They do smell though, unlike merino wool, and at the end of the week and a bit, they could have probably walked off. on their own!

Part B will look at cooking and sleeping kit.