Bought any camping gear today?

[clarion]

*click* *snappety* we're likely to need two and I hear TimO has some genius pillow which you're going to RTFI for me?

The pillow I use is the Ajungilak one (as mentioned on Woolly's website), but there was an entire thread about this a while back.

We have the Ajungilaks.  'Pute' they are called.  Obviously they don't sell many in France  Very good, if a tad wide.  Pack really small, and don't have the drawbacks of previous inflatable pillows.  Very good design all round, in fact, though I tend to use a Thermarest stuffsack with my clothes in it.  Smooth & cool one side, fleecy & warm the other.

[Polar Bear]

We've got Ajungilak pillows but we bought along an Exped pillow to test at the NTRWCW.   Mlle PB prefers it to an Ajungilak and it packs smaller too.

[TimO]

I noticed that Alpkit suggest using one of their larger Padded Cell bags, inside out, as a Pillow, which seems like a reasonable suggestion.  At £7 it's also fairly cheap.

[Feline]

My alpkit order has arrived 

The Numo mattress is very lovely and tiny.
I now have a selection of drysacks, one of which I am going to use to stash some extra clothing in for my 300 on Saturday. Looking at the weather forecast it might be needed too!
The head torch looks good, I will wait until dark to try it out properly.

The waterproof zippy pouch things for keeping valuables together in look great. I am planning to use one for phone, money, brevet card and keys in the side pocket of my Barley. They have a neck strap so it will be easy to grab it out of there to go into controls and things. It is big enough that when it has the stuff in it cannot possibly fall out of the pocket either, I sometimes worry about this happening since the barley's pockets don't zip and the lid isn't a very tight fit, although I have never actually lost anything from in there even on bumpy descents.

[Manotea]

I used my new thermorest inflatable pillow last weekend. Not cheap but 'works'. Infinately better than the Trekmate pillow which is cheap and doesn't.

[Polar Bear]

I've bought one of those kits to hold two Expeds together.

[jane]

I have just received a Java Press in the post. Some of you know that I  travel very light but proper coffee is something I am prepared to pack a little extra for.It's a very neat little package and as the mug part packs inside, it's not that much extra weight and space above a bag of instant. I also got a set of folding titanium cutlery that was on special offer with Alpkit. The spork I will send to my daughter.

[rogerzilla]

Yes, although not cycle camping stuff.

- Campingaz 907 butane cylinder (very cheap from Go Outdoors)
- Gas regulator
- 10l jerrycan for water
- 12V air pump for the mattress
- Gert rechargeable fluorescent light

This was Mrs Z's birthday present 

Mine is to be a camping table and two chairs.

[TimO]

I bought various odds and sods from Alpkit, mostly some accessory cord, various bags, and some cutlery.

I also bought a 10L jerrycan (albeit a plastic one) from Millets, although that's for the office, to limit how many journeys we have to make to the drinking water tap for water to fill the kettle!

[Dan_K]

Got one of these trangia knock-offs from ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PHOENIX-camping-Alcohol-stove-Spirit-set-x1-/120713426376?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D120640162128%252B120640162128%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D9000975984662289643#ht_2185wt_874

Offered £9 inc delivery (which they accepted). Like the look of the folding stand that keeps the burner off the ground. Simmer ring seems to be a good design too.

[rogerzilla]

On the subject of stoves, I finally managed to get a 1 litre kettle boiling in 5 minutes with the Coleman stove    Claimed time is 4min 36sec but I suspect they started with US room temperature water of 24 deg C, not around 18 deg C like mine.

Unfortunately to achieve this time I had to do it in the garage - a breeze can easily extend the time to 9 or 10 minutes, even with a windshield.

[Feline]

On the subject of stoves, I finally managed to get a 1 litre kettle boiling in 5 minutes with the Coleman stove    Claimed time is 4min 36sec but I suspect they started with US room temperature water of 24 deg C, not around 18 deg C like mine.

Unfortunately to achieve this time I had to do it in the garage - a breeze can easily extend the time to 9 or 10 minutes, even with a windshield.

That's OK, it gives the rest of us chance to catch up with you at the top of Smalldean Lane 

[rogerzilla]

The titanium stove* isn't all that bad really, once I realised the flame could be turned up to Saturn V level.


*about £12 from eBay, HiGear Blaze.

[Feline]

The titanium stove* isn't all that bad really, once I realised the flame could be turned up to Saturn V level.


*about £12 from eBay, HiGear Blaze.

I will soon have my mitts on a titanium Jetboil, sadly not at quite such a competetive price. I might have to bring it on the next FNRttS and see if it lives up to it's rapid boil claims!

[peliroja]

Can anyone recommend a nice light camping mug which makes sipping tea a pleasure rather than a mouthful of plasticky-yuckiness?  Preferably, we'd like two which can stack, one inside the other.

[Wowbagger]

I've sold a tent today, will take delivery of another tomorrow and have bought the footprint for the latter from Taunton Leisure, with the 10% voucher I received for buying the tent in the first place. We've also bought Mrs. Wow a Vango Venom 300 sleeping bag and silk liner, for our forthcoming tour of Denmark.

Peli, we use well-made plastic mugs which clip together, from long-since dead Thermos flasks. We tried stainless steel, but they are useless for tea because they conduct the heat so well that they burn your lip, and the tea gets cold too quickly.

[rogerzilla]

I have an enamelled metal mug from Halfrauds.  It works well enough.

On the subject of titanium cookware, you should be aware that boiling times are longer than with aluminium because its thermal conductivity is not as good (actually, it's woeful; about 1/10 that of aluminium, although Ti pots can be thinner gauge which claws back some of the difference).  This obviously means more fuel is wasted.  When it comes to lightweight camp cookware it's hard to beat a cheap aluminium set unless you believe the Alzheimer's scare stories (and think that using alu camping pots for a handful of days a year would make any difference if the stories were true).  Stainless steel is right out for cycle camping because of the weight.

[TimO]

The implication of what Roger has said, is that Ti would make for better mugs, since it would be a better insulator than Aluminium.

I seem to recall that I've seen totally metal mugs which have a Thermos type insulating body, but I can't Google for anything like that, only impractically large mugs, not really designed for the lightweight camper.

[Feline]

The Jetboil is designed to be uber tiny and lightweight and you drink your tea/eat your food out of the actual container it heats. It looks to be suitable for one person really, which suits me since there's one of me. " jet-boil stoves "

If I was after a mug I would want this one Snow Peak Titanium Single Mug 450ml from Taunton Leisure Ltd
but they don't look like they would be stackable.

[peliroja]

Thanks all.

We currently use a Jetboil and a couple of metal cups with plastic rims which taste  And the tea cools down too quickly.

[TimO]

If I was after a mug I would want this one Snow Peak Titanium Single Mug 450ml from Taunton Leisure Ltd
but they don't look like they would be stackable.

Snowpeak also do Double-Walled mugs, which supposedly don't get hot and burn your hands, and which presumably also keep the tea warmer longer (if the outside isn't hot, it won't loose heat as fast via radiation and conduction).

They don't look stackable, and whilst theoretically Ti shouldn't taste, the reviews suggest that whatever alloy they're using does leave some taste.

[andrew_s]

Can anyone recommend a nice light camping mug which makes sipping tea a pleasure rather than a mouthful of plasticky-yuckiness?   Preferably, we'd like two which can stack, one inside the other.

I suggest these Lexan cups

Lexan is OK, taste wise.
To stack, you need a tapering mug without a full loop handle. The normal mugs are bigger, but won't stack.

[mark]

Can anyone recommend a nice light camping mug which makes sipping tea a pleasure rather than a mouthful of plasticky-yuckiness?  Preferably, we'd like two which can stack, one inside the other.

This one won't stack, but it should insulate the tea better than a single wall mug:
Ti Double 220 Mug FH - cups & mugs - tableware

I've got one and I'm quite happy with it.

[Feline]

My Laser Photon 1 tent has arrived *happy dance*
It came in an infeasibly small packet that the delivery driver nearly managed to put through my letter box 

[Wowbagger]

My Nallo 3GT has arrived but I've got to go for a blood test and then do some work* so I won't be able to pay with it or a while.






*play games with children