Overland 15-20 April 24

  •   Category Weight
  • Pack
    0.97 kg
  • Shelter
    0.96 kg
  • Stakes
    0 kg
  • Sleep System
    1.27 kg
  • Worn Clothing
    2.09 kg
  • Additional Clothing
    3.33 kg
  • Water & Treatment
    0.26 kg
  • Cooking
    0.31 kg
  • Food
    4.69 kg
  • Small Items Bag
    0.51 kg
  • Miscellaneous
    0.45 kg
  • Poop Kit
    0.23 kg
  • Total 15.07
    kg
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 4.65 kg
  • Worn 1.99 kg
  • Base Weight 8.42 kg

Temperatures are starting to dip. starting to look at a high of 12 degrees during the day and low of 2 at night.

Packing extra warm layers.

  • yellow star = sharing

Post Trip Analysis

Gear performed exceptionally well. Pack Once again this is my favourite pack of all time. I don't know if I will ever purchase another pack that is not HMG. This pack was waterproof through days of rain, my pack liner was more to keep everything dry as I kept it in the tent or carried my items into the hut.

Shelter

I am blown away with the pyramid style shelter. It was so great to be able to set the fly and inner up separately when it is raining, and then to pack it up separately to keep the inner dry. Using a sil/poly shelter is such an upgrade from nylon. It did not sag in the wet, and it virtually shook dry in the morning. I do think that I am going to upgrade the guy lines to Lawson Reflective Ironwire. The cord that came with the PyraOmm does not reflect and I tripped a few times. The MSR Cyclone Stakes were overkill, but they're cool to use and would have been added security if the wind was crazy. The fish stakes saved me a couple times; 4 was plenty.

Sleep System

xlite is perfect. great balance of weight, warmth, and size. First time taking a quilt out on an extended journey. The quilt works well and was very comfortable. the weather got down to 0 degrees celsius and I was toasty warm, if I know that the weather will drop below 0, however, I will either bring the sleeping bag or wear fleece over my thermals. The baffles on the end of the quilt are missing some down and it let a bit of a draft in so I might have to get that fixed.

Clothing

Firstly, at the last moment (after checking the weather like a hawk), I changed from quick drying trail runners to my GoreTex Boots: this was a great idea; there was lots of mud and water, but not too deep to completely submerge the boot. I was able to keep my feet dry the complete trip. This is a big deal because it was very cold and I did not want wet feet on this trip as it could have made it dangerous. I will keep my trail runners to shorter trips, summer, and trails like the south coast track where I am wading through mud. The rest of my clothing is great. I get very cold, but with my clothing choices I was perfectly warm. Very heavy, but I needed the warmth and the rain protection. The One Planet Overpants are one of my favourite pieces of gear. I love the built in gaiters. Also, I know the camp shoes are heavy, but they're warm and very comfy. They also fit perfectly at the bottom of my pack.

Water Storage

works like a charm. In the future I will put my filter in the 500ml soft flask when hiking to keep on the move. I only carried 750ml on me max when hiking because water was so abundant.

Cook System and Food

I brought an extra fuel canister, but between two of us we didn't use a whole one up. Made all my food. Everything worked great. I did not get sick of the lunches, though I could have added extra couscous if I knew I was going to be very hungry. Turns out I don't really like the "scrambled eggs"; it was worth a try though. All the dinners worked well. Next time I will add two packets of the rice/pasta, although I am already learning how to dehydrate meat and make my own meals completely.

I could have left the foam mat at home. It caused more trouble than it helped. It was on the outside of my pack and was wet so I couldn't put it under the xlite, and if It was raining I was wearing rain pants so it did not matter where I sat. Instead I will put dots of silicone under the xlite to stop it sliding around.