3/ Comparing notes on Kit. Archived 04/02/10

This is an archived gear banter page. There’s good stuff down below you know.

500 thoughts on “3/ Comparing notes on Kit. Archived 04/02/10”

  1. You’ve both hit the relevant points there.

    What’s annoying me just now is that the mat is now the biggest thing in my pack if I’m using an insulated one.

    Two Neoairs? Hmm, my nose would be on the ceiling. More thinking.

  2. Hello all. I’m in need of some new waterproof overtrousers and whilst i normally shy away from North Face stuff i came accross their ‘Venture Pant’ which appears to be too good to be true. Cheap, light and with good features. It is made out of their Hyvent material. Does anyone have any experience with these? I am ready to be let down if all is not as it seems!

  3. I don’t know the pants, but as far as I know TNF’s Hyvent is a derivative of Entrant DT, which means it’s a good fabric.
    I wear shell pants so rarely these days that I’d go for light and cheap as long as the fit is good, especially with leg-left. No bare calves when stepping up thanks!

  7. Oh crap; do I trade in my old style Downmat 9 for a new Downmat 7? Anyone any idea how much difference there’ll be in warmth?

  8. If you look on the Exped website they have a table of interesting details.

    See if this comes out okay!…

    Rvalue degrees weight
    Downmat 7s 5.9 -24 630g
    9 8 -38 980g

    (course the weight is the new integral pump)

    Depends if the weight saving and shortyness is worth yet another mat? I haven’t got a winter capable mat so it didn’t need much thinking about.

    Think it’s going to chop up this url…

  11. I’ve just asked essentially the same question on OM. I suspect, given my notorious inability to stay warm, I’m better off with both a full-length mat, and the 9, and it’s only a 120g saving between the old style pump-sack and the new style integral pump. Possibly not worth forking out over £100 for.

  12. Sounds fair. 75squids for the 7short was just too good to miss. Don’t think I’m going to be camping in horrendously cold conditions to make the 9 better money vs warmth.

  13. I stick a karrimat underneath if I’m camping in horrendously cold conditions – I think it’ll come snowholing with me in Feb.

  14. It should only be a couple of degrees below zero in a decent snowhole…. warmer than it’s likely to be inside a tent in the same place! :))

  15. DMS, it’s down to softshell pants having better water repellancy and wind resistance.
    It’s been so wet recently that I’ve had shell pants on three times I think, so I still need them, I can just get away with not wearing them more.

  16. Oh bugger, I feel left out.

    What’s the pack size of these Downmats (real, not website), will I be upset with one?

  17. I wouldn’t be upset. The 7 3/4 length’s stuffsac is 25cm long by 13cm diameter. As a guide I’ve just tested and it’s a nice size for a very lightly compressed PHD Minim Ultra pullover.

    Even the full length versions are pretty compact really, certainly comparable with what self-inflaters achieve.

    I thought you had a Synmat anyway?

  18. Aye, but it’s really big looking after using the Neoair for months.
    I’ll take it out next time and report back.
    It occurs to me that the big tubular-style mays might allow just a little bit of fill-loft under your body inbetween the tubes. I wonder?

  19. On tubular mats, and this isn’t intended as in any way technically accurate, but Downmats seem like ‘box-wall’ whereas the POE Thermo models are like ‘stitch-through’ construction. The Downmats offer a pretty flat surface. The POEs create little channels but our experience is that they just act as conduits for cold :(

  20. Aye I can see that effect as well, the NeoAir’s flatness is maybe an advantage then?

    I’m away to dig out the Synmat and see how small and I can pack it. And to remind myself if it’s stitch-through style or not…

  22. Aye! LaSportiva do a nice kit for it.

    The trouble is the rigidity of the DIY versions. Studded soles often have the spikes set in flexible cups or sleeves so they don’t tear out when you get onto grippy rock, and it stops the sole splitting after repeated flexing too.
    But, the chances are you’ll be fine for as long as the conditions last so it’s a bloody good idead I think :o)

  24. Interestingly that Neoair looks the same size rolled up as my regular one after he shortens it?!

    Liking the looks of those Hillsounds, some bits are better than kKhtoolas, some worse.
    I shall away and email them!

  25. Sorry, not a gear post…

    Is anyone else affected – I often find that this page won’t load to the latest comments for me? It seems to hang after a comment by Daz from back in April 08 and never carry on to load the latest stuff. This is one of the rare instances when it has.

    It might just be me :(
    But if it isn’t, would there be any merit in archiving the earlier material to another page and slimming this one down a bit for ongoing discussion – a kind of ‘lightweight’ approach’? ;O)

  26. It’s fine for me, but page is way too bloody long now, so it’s no wonder there are glitches.

    I’m in two minds whether to archive this or wait until the new formatting is ready and deal with it then. I dunno, there is a lot of good stuff up there that folk have posted that I have to keep accessible.

    I’ll sort it somehow and soon!

  27. Fair enough – it’s your blog :)

    And the stuff definitely wants to remain accessible.

  28. I really should have planned this whole place better truth be told.
    I didn’t expect to have this much stuff, it’s like the attic you dare not go into in case you knock over a box :o)

  29. Adi, talked to Hillsound (via the joy of email and the very handy time difference) and Kris who runs the company is going to send over some samples for test. So hopefully we’ll get to see them soon-ish.
    Thanks for the heads-up!

  30. Thats great Ptc, will be good to see the outcome. I can’t remember how I stumbled across them to be honest, it’s an age thing …

  32. I have been looking at the Patagonia Nano Puff. Does anyone have any experience with one? How does it compare to the Barrier, Generator etc?

  33. I was looking at Patagonia kit last week. I liked the look of some of it.
    But it’s mostly an unknown for me.

  36. I recently got a Patagonia down sweater vest thingy.

    It seems wll made and warm enough for the weight, although I don’t think it is as ‘puffy’ as a PhD Minum so we’ll have to wait and see (or wait and shiver).

  37. I really like most of the Patagonia kit I’ve used – their field shorts are fantastic for summer walking – but while their baselayers are nice and long, I find their insulation stuff to be a bit short for me in back length. I think the vests seem to be worse for this than the jackets, but if it fits you, the nano puff looks nice. The fabric on my Patagonia down vest (an older model than the sweater vest, with big baffles, rather than the mini ones) has stood up quite well to a bit of abrasion and exposure to damp, but I think it is more robust than that used for the nano or down sweater.

    Some of the reviews on Patagonia’s website (the US one) can be quite helpful.

  38. I bought an R1 fleece last year and it was so good I invested in the hoody. Best fleece type midlayers out there imo. Much better at wicking than standard fleece and very light for the warmth you get out of them. The tech details on the hoody – offset zip, hood and thumbloops make it just perfect for this time of year.

  39. Good noises about Patagonia then. The only current kit I’ve got from them are my Backcountry Guide Pants which are great.
    Their UK trade showroom is next to TNF and Haglofs in Staveley, I should have chapped the door!

    Also, there’s a huge new shop in Ambleside called The Epicentre that jammed full of Patagonia kit.

  40. I got a bargain Patagonia Micropuff jacket back in October – but still this season’s version using 100g Primaloft rather than the previous Climaguard version (MoS has a couple of those). All very good, neat and wel designed – not really sure what to say about them, certainly haven’t found anything to fault yet.

  41. Well, we shall now see what they say, or if they do what one particular UK brand does: completely ignore every single query I’ve ever sent to them over the last two and a half years, even when I was sending emails to particlular people in the company, not just a department, looking for product details for my column…

  42. There are some good deals on Patagonia at the moment at The Mountain Factor too, though maybe starting to run out of some sizes.

  45. Evening all, not long found this site, short time listener first time caller.

    Would like to hear from people who use the Terra Nova Laser tents. I’m looking for a one man tent at about that magic kilo weight or under and the laser had my eye. It’s listed on Terra Nova’s website though as a 3 season tent. I saw you had it out recently PTC, would you recommend it for the odd winter camp? Can it take the beating of a Scottish winter?

  46. Actually, would like to hear from anyone using the Helium Superlite 100 also, would especially like to hear how it fares in wild weather. Can it take a battering?

  47. Hi Wull

    I’ve used the Lasercomnp and now the Laser Photon Elite in winter and the design does have it’s limits in the worst of weather. Often though it’ll come down to how much fltsheet rattling you are happy to put up with!
    Interesting about the Helium Superlite 100, I’ve got that and two other F10 tents coming in for test, so I’ll have some comparisons soon.

  48. I’ll keep an eye out for that and maybe hold out on purchasing my solo tent till I hear how the Helium handles bad weather.

  50. …and that’s 500 posts.
    This is archived now, and I’ll set up something new for banter.
    Bless you all for making this the longest page on here!

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