Bushwalk Australia

HI everyone

I just wanted to find out the consensus on what people think on which equipment ranks higher than the next in order of importance. this will help people who has a budget but will want to purchase all the necessary equipment to start without needing to accumulate them overtime before starting. ie. If sleeping mat ranks at the bottom, then I may allocate enough funds to purchase a denali mat and not a thermarest as i would want to spend the bulk of my funds on a more important piece of equipment.

Here is the list by all means not an exhaustive one. It is just the main equipment that i can think of. Feel free to add to it. I will assume that clothing (layering) will be must haves.

1. Backpack
2. Tent
3. Stove
4. Food utensils (ie mug, plate, cutlery)
5. Sleeping bag
6. Sleeping mat
7. Boots
8. Gaiters
9. Rain jacket (ie if not important, then may purchase a poncho instead of a goretex jacket)
10. Overpants
11. Hiking poles

Thank you
Eric

Some equipment is still fairly expensive even if you go cheap. But they say you get what you pay for. So do you get the (for example) backpack that will do you for now, or do you spring the coin for a more expensive and durable one?
Hard call, and same decisions need to be made for all your gear - where is the happy medium between price, need, comfort, weight, reliability, necessity, functionality, ..........

A great subject for a topic.
A good starting point would be to complete what gear you think you will need as a minimum and I might suggest to start with what you need for a day walk - at least then you have something to do while researching / shopping / saving for items like tent and sleeping bag, both big ticket items.

Have a look at this topic and see what you think you might like to add to your list. There's some good info there.

I think footware is the most important of all. I know there are some who can get about bare foot but I don't know how they do it. Without something on my feet I am virtually immobile and hobble around like a drunk. I can get by without everything else on that list but not my shoes.

K.

kanangra wrote:. I can get by without everything else on that list but not my shoes.

K.

Including Backpack tent and sleeping bag?? interesting.

kanangra obviously doesn't live in Tasmania - in Kakadu shoes are probably the only critical thing (although you might get a little sunburnt!)

Hehe yup my thoughts exactly Rachel. Tent and Sleeping bag are definately most important in Tassie!!

If you look at this from the perspective of what Tim Mcartney-Snape calls 'the hierarchy of survival' in order of importance:

oxygen
stable body temperature
water
rest
food

Then your equipment order of importance becomes fairly obvious. Oxygen will not be an issue in 99.9% of bushwalking situations, unless you are trapped in a cave or your pack is dragging you to the river bottom, but by looking at the others you can see what you really need. Clothing/tent, then a good water bottle, nice mattress, and last of all a few muesli bars!

It's interesting that rest is in there, logical I suppose but not one we tend to place highly in importance when thinking about our equipment. I would also have thought that food wood influence body temperature to a certain extent - if you don't have enough food, it's easier to get cold.

Yeah, but it doesn't have to be hot food. A block of chocolate will do wonders for you in the worst weather.
The stove and eating utensils would be well down on my list.
Shelter, sleeping bag, water container (if you're going somewhere away from a reliable supply), food, footwear. The rest is extraneous. Nice, but not necessary.

I am arriving at the conclusion as well that I will need to save enough to purchase proper tent and sleeping bags for my family and the rest will make do with the remaining funds, then upgrade each item to a higher quality/level when funds permit.

Can i ask how cold can it get down at Tassie during autumn/spring if i want to do the OT as an example. I am looking hard for sleepings bags atm but will spend the first couple of years maybe just camping during autumn and spring here in Melb, before venturing out to tassie as I havent been there before. So will like to purchase an appropriately rated bag but dont want to purchase a too warm bag that i cant use it here in melb.

Thanks

ILUVSWTAS wrote:

kanangra wrote:. I can get by without everything else on that list but not my shoes.

K.

Including Backpack tent and sleeping bag?? interesting.

For a daywalk there's nothing more important than good boots
If you are talkin' overnighters ok, I would wear crocs and put tent & sleeping bag 1 & 2!

P.S. 302 Mark well done - hope they carried in champagne for you.

It can - and often does - snow at any time of the year in the Tassie highlands. That makes picking the right sleeping bag a bit tricky.
Remember, a bag can be unzipped and used as a quilt in warmer weather, and sometimes one can sleep with just the liner. And a light set of thermals ups the rating of a bag a fair bit. Even more so a down vest or jacket.

I'm still waiting for someone to invent the perfect bag - temperature controlled from -30 to 40, and weighing a max of 500g.

stepbystep wrote:
P.S. 302 Mark well done - hope they carried in champagne for you.

Thanks Dan!
No champagne, but there was scotch and others

Number one for me would be good footwear (full leather Boots are my choice) however to each their own, shelter would be number two followed by wet weather gear,followed by a sleeping bag (with a water resistant shell for preference) -5 as you can always wear extra clothes then sleeping mat at least a closed shell foam mat full length ( my choice is Thermarest Prolite 4 ) and last but not least a set of dry thermals.
As previously mentioned you dont really need cooking or eating gear other than a spoon/spork and or an ultralight 500 ml heat/cold safe screw top container as there are plenty of alternatives out there (would miss my morning cup of Earl Grey ) but would manage.
Everything else is a matter of choice and I do carry much more including first aid kit and poo disposal shovel, wipes and needs which should be up there cannot glamorize that sort of important stuff though it would a hard trip with no TP eh!!

corvus wrote: though it would a hard trip with no TP eh!!

I totally concur!

had a number 2 call of nature once in the middle of the rain. As i took it out, the toliet paper got soaked 100%, and became useless in the rain.
not a pretty sight.

Clue to keep the TP dry dont take the roll carry a few pocket packs of tissues ,my choice is Kleenex to go 9 tissues per pack which can be torn in half and used with safety
You can carry several of these packs spread around your gear and at 23gm a much safer solution as opposed to the average roll of TP being 100gm and vulnerable
first day on a wet weekend or worse
corvus

I remember many years ago when i was in the army cadets, we were issued with a few sheets of waxed TP to use on our survival training. Have to say that it poured heavily during our training but our TP stayed dry. Have no idea where to get them but it could do the trick if you dont want wet TP and i think cos of the wax, it could almost be claimed that it is reuseable

cherish wrote:I remember many years ago when i was in the army cadets, we were issued with a few sheets of waxed TP to use on our survival training. Have to say that it poured heavily during our training but our TP stayed dry. Have no idea where to get them but it could do the trick if you dont want wet TP and i think cos of the wax, it could almost be claimed that it is reuseable

Having used this stuff as well I can vouch for its potential for reuse. Especially for wrapping sandwiches. The major drawback is the tendency for it to spread things around rather clean them off

another option after having established an order of importance is to hire certain equipment. tents and packs for example can be hired and one can then either save up money and buy a complete set of (quality) equipment over time or just continue to hire pieces of equipment that may not get used very often anyway. for example if you do one extended overnighter by yourself, while the rest of the time you go camping and hiking with the family/ friends you might neither want to buy a one-person tent nor carry the family tent with you.

Prices can be quite reasonable. I recently paid for a one planet pack $30 per week.

cheers petra

Hi Petra

you definitely have good suggestions. May just explore your alternatives as well.

Cheers
Eric

You forgot the Vodka, Corvus..

I am a gear freak with a high tolerance for price but low for tolerance for gear failure. But that does not mean with sensible shopping that you need to spend a fortune. For me sensible footwear for you and the conditions is a must and that should be the first on list. Then a moderate priced day pack is a good idea to hold stuff. The next item is rain gear. Gore-tex Proshell is great stuff but massively expensive so maybe try other products such as Repel or NGX brought on sale to get going. If the love affair with walking continues then I would look long and hard at a top quality pack for multi-day walks as crummy pack that implodes or kills you is just not fun. This gives you the ability to buy cheaper and get solid, if somewhat heavy tents and sleeping bags. Though my pack is 90 litres with modern equipment a 75 litre pack is probably now the standard if not even smaller and should cover anything from a overnight walk to a ten day walk. The old logic that buy once is the cheapest approach is sound but as I found that there is a step learning curve in getting stuff that works for you so beg and borrow is a good idea to find out what size tent best suits you, etc.

Best to listen and read a lot, especially by people that you know are "real" and not afraid to praise or condemn a product or brand. Also hunt out people that walk the way you do and have similar idea on what they want from gear. Nowadays a lot of great gear gets dumped as people aim for lighter stuff so as heavy as say a Trangi is it is still a great system for longevity and reliability. It would be interesting to see with new walkers how much gear is brought and replaced before it has achieved a sensible life and whether more money spent on the initial purchase would have been better.

Most people start on day walks and work up to overnight walks to huts so makes sense to delay purchases until a person figures what suits them. I have a collection of windproof Polar Fleece tops that were my stock in trade gear but now I have abandoned them for woollen undergarments protected by a nylon shirt with a down jacket acting as camp wear and a pillow at night.

Gaiters is something that gets missed and canvas type ones are not much dearer than nylon ones but are much more comfortable so rank before or just after rain wear.

Cheers Brett

In my experience, moderate price range gear is quite adequate (look out for the end of season sales) but steer clear of anything that looks flimsy as a gear failure could be a disaster.

My order for multi-day Tasmanian or other alpine walking is:

1) footwear that is reasonably comfortable and won't break apart -as blisters and sore feet are not fun
2) a windproof, breathable rain jacket (you don't need to pay the earth for one)- as hypothermia is no fun
3) a good quality backpack - as a sore back is not fun (I've used the same Macpac Cascade backpack for almost 20 years, albeit with the occassional repair due to wear and tear)
4) a warm down sleeping bag that you can also unzip and use as a quilt - as shivering at night or sweating at night is no fun
5) some form of sleeping mat (as sleeping on hard or uneven ground is not fun)
6) a tent that doesn't leak (as rain or dew leaking into your tent and wetting your gear is no fun)
7) a reliable fuel stove

Hi All,

My list is related to the Tim McCartney-Snape heirarchy of needs posted up earlier. It really depends where you're going, but.

First aid kit, emergency whistle, signalling mirror
Water - puritabs and/or filter
Warmth/protection from elements
- tent, sleeping mat (as heat goes quickly to the ground from your body.)
- rain gear, at least a very decent jacket.
- night-time warmth - sleeping bag, warm clothes, no sleeping bag for mid-summer walks in NSW
- emergency blanket
- sturdy shoes -the type depends on what's ahead.
Energy
- Nutritious food, a must - have seen a few give up/completely run out of puff from not eating properly.
- rest
- Reasonable Pack - comfortable and balanced to save energy. (saw a group carrying a six man tent through a coastal walk once
three different people had a hold of the tent, and they only had 15km to go to the campsite.)

Cheers,

eddie

After working out what we are doing and the budget, we went shopping. Since I will be initially going car camping with my family to get them used to the whole idea, I decided to purchase items that i could use both for camping and hiking. Here are we bought.

1. Marmot Pinnacle (M&F) & Trestle 15 plus S2S Silk liner.
2. Thermarest Prolite Plus Women x3 (The mens version is too long for me).
3. Kovea Moonwalker
4. Blackwolf Mojave SG4
5. Rainwear (whatever waterproof jackets we already have)

I will be hiring backpack and 2man tent when the need arises.

Thanks everyone for your postings.

Cheers
Eric

Hmmm.....order of importance.
1camera.
2.tripod
3. lenses
4.filters
5. then other stuff like food,tent, sleeping bag yadda yadda.

For overnight walks, its essential that you have some way of staying warm and dry through the night. That means a reasonable tent and sleeping bag plus a high density foam mat. That sort of sleeping mat isn;t overly comfortable, but is much cheaper than a thermarest and does keep out some of the cold. If you've got a warm and dry tent to resort to, you can cope a little better with being a bit cold and wet through the day - just be sure your spare clothes can stay dry and change into them once you're in camp.

Boots are also pretty important - if you can't walk, its hard to get out of trouble. I had a pair of cheap boots fall apart on me on the Picton range once, so I now carry a tube of araldite and other repair stuff. That's a good piece of insurance if you choose cheap gear, and not just for boots. A needle and thread weighs less than 10g, yet could be really important for sewing up a torn tent.

Stoves can be pretty cheap - look for a gas type that you screw into a cannister of gas. I have a Kovea that I think was only $40 or so, and its almost as good as my name brand one.

Wello

cherish wrote:I will be hiring backpack and 2man tent when the need arises.

Hi Eric,

I use Holiak in Melbourne for my gear (I buy second hand for school resources through their NSW outlet) - very reasonably priced for sales of 2nd hand equipment and a joy to deal with. You might want to consider buying ex-hire gear, Mont, One Planet, or Outgear. All high quality when new, the ex-hire stuff is still in reasonable nick.

http://www.holiak.com.au After checking the forum rules, I think that this passes muster - a google search found the following link also that gives other Melbourne hire companies.

Code: Select all

1.Before buying expensive new camping equipment like tents, sleeping bags etc. please remember some items can be shared, borrowed, or hired. Some hire places: AUSCAMP Kew East 9853 3771, SNOWGUM Hawthorn 9819 4100 Mitcham 9873 5061, HOLIOAK HIRE Burwood 9888 8930.

Source: [url]http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bv.com.au%2Ffile%2Ffile%2FGVBR%2F2009%2FSchools%2Fschools%2520starter%2520kit%2520GVBR09.doc&ei=r-sVTMqzMcjIcaHV2LUM&usg=AFQjCNH-ornoFceQOxSMZAf5IIx6FiVvcQ[/url]

Cheers,

eddie