My kit list.

[chris grace]

This is a list of kit I was using last year,since then it's changed quite a bit.Some stuff is heavier and some lighter now.The total weight is now less than 6KG

My kit list.
I've just finished sorting my kit,it's now lighter than it's ever been.What I've tried to do is get it as light as possible without losing comfort and without compromising on strength and durability.Another main concern was cost,I don't see the sense in saving a few hundred grammes if it's going to cost a fortune.
Her's what I consider the absolut minimum kit that I would need to carry for an extended trip not including food ,water or fuel which I'll go into later.

Pack golite JAM2 879
Groundsheet half an IPK 270
Kip mat karrimor ultralite 600
Sleeping bag Blacks Technicals (-18) 1150
Bivibag Highlander Hawk 770
Tarp and fittings DD tarp Titanium pegs
Para cord ridge line and lightweight guys 960
1L water bottle nalgene 180
1L water bottle Source 28
Cook kit
MSR titan kettle
Lifeventure cup
Vargo Decagon stove
Tibetian spork
Total weight 250
First Aid Kit 146
Repair Kit 108
Bog paper 24
Had wash antibacterial 200
Towel 100
Sponge 8
Water purifying kit 7
Torch+batteries 61
Headlight petzl e+lite 45
space blanket +waterproof poncho 100
Waterproof jacket 350
Water proof trousers 90

Total (if my addition is correct) 6327 grammes
6.3 kilogrammes
13.9 lbs

This is an easy weight to carry all day but does consist of the minimum I would consider for an extended trip.
If I was out for more than a weekend then I would add:

Complete change of clothes (wear one ,wash and dry the other) 1000g

This would take the base weight of the full pack to 16lbs
Still an easy load to carry.

Now lets look at food ,water and fuel.

I will be taking for each day:
1 dehydrated main meal 150
2 oat so simple and 10g of sultanas 70
2 high energy fruit and nut bars 60
1 bar of chocolate 40
6 instant coffee sachet (nescafe 3 in 1 ) 30

total weight of food per day 350grammes

It's not the most imaginative of menus ,but it tastes good and is nutritious.
Each day I will need a minimumof 2 litres of water,preferably 3 each litre weighs 1 kilogramme so 3 is 3 kilogrammes or roughly 6 lbs.
I wouldn't be able to carry 6 lbs of water per day for a week ,I'd resupply as neccesary hoping to only carry 1 litre and use water where I found it.Most trips would be planned around the ability to be near water.

So now my pack has had added to it per day:


350g of food and 1000g of water,
Which brings my pack weight to 7677g
7.6 Kg
16.9 lbs

Fuel.

I have measured my fuel use to include 1 main meal,1 breakfast and 6 cups of coffee per day and with the stove I use can safely get by on 500ml of meths for 1 week,this weighs 500g 0r 1lb

To travel for a week carrying everything I need to be warm,well fed and comfortable all I need to carry is



17.9lbs call it 18lbs

This is an easy weight to carry and still allows for extras I would be happy carrying 25-30 lbs on a long hike so There is plenty of room for extra weight.
Now the big question ........Does it all fit into my pack?

Yes it does and there is still room for a lot more,I haven't even used the outside pocket yet or used the straps on the outside.Everything is packed inside.

If you can see a way to save more weight without spending a fortune tell me.
I will be replacing the nalgene bottle with another source bottle or two that will save over 100g ant little extra cost.
Just checked and believe it or not,The calorie count for my menu is.......2240Kcal

coffee 6x 73Kcal = 438
main meal = 629
fruit and nut bars x 2 = 460
chocolate bar (mars) = 449
sultanas (10g) = 42
The recommended calorie intake for a man is 2550Kcal per day,if I add a pack of noodles to the menu the weight is increased by 100g and the calorie count is raised by 524Kcal.
This will give me 2764 Kcal per day,allowing for errors in addition and maybe not having a chocolate bar every day and slight variations this is close enough.

All this adding is starting to give ma a headache.

[GwersyllaCnau]

OMG I've agreed to camp with a professional. Makes my kit seem old clunky and heavy. Your whole pack weighs just a tad more than just my camera kit! No way am I leaving my camera behind!

[chris grace]

I'm not a proffessional mate,Just too lazy to carry too much.Idleness is a great incentive to find lightweight kit.

[GwersyllaCnau]

Being skint is the reason for my kit, though my camera gear cost me £6000. I don't use it all when in the field, unless I take a fully equipped studio with me LOL. Looking forward to meeting you and getting some tips and ideas.

[Martin]

Looks like a really nice set up there Chris. From a personal perspective, I'd want to be carrying more food (3000Kcal+) and water (at least 3l in the summer), especially if off the beaten track. On a 20 mile walk in the summer, I would need to consume something like 4 litres of water just to replenish what I lose in perpsiration.

Oh, and are you sure your waterproof trousers only weigh 90 grammes? My fairly basic Berghaus Deluge waterproof trousers weigh 390 grammes and I thought they were quite light.

Martin

[chris grace]

With the food I have plenty around my waist to keep me going,as I get into longer walks I'll stock up on higher calorie foods.So far all my walks have been in Wales where there is plenty of water to resupply and purify.
The trousers are made by highlander and are just the very basic shell with no frills.I only wear them if it really pours down.
I'm still learning what I can and can't get away with without compromise.

[Martin]

lol. We had one of our group with 9Kg in his pack and about 9Kg on his belt. :p

Martin

[chris grace]

My first pack when fully loaded came out at over 45Kg,I suffered with that and it's one of the reasons I tried to go as light as I could.

[Martin]

I'm totally with you on that. I used to carry a pack that made me feel like I was floating when I took it off. These days, my whole ethos is getting the pack weight down to the bare minimum whilst still retaining a fair degree of comfort which is why I don't go for cut down foam pads and the like. I'm sure we'll be doing a lightweight Dartmoor trip again this year; it will be good to see just how light I can get.

Martin

[Adam Savage]

45kg? thats about double my heavy old pack, plus a few kg LOL. I don't feel so bad about having a 17kg pack for my Dartmoor solo now.
Slowly replacing heavy kit with lighter kit, have my overnight kit, down to around 8kg inc food. Need to lighten it a little more to let me swap my foil folding mat (100g) for a thermarest (600) to be that bit more comfy when Im sleeping on the ground. One of the reasons I prefer to hang, being so much more comfortable.

[Nature Unleashed]

When I was training for the forces I used to tab 15 miles with anything from 15kg to 30 kg on my back, that was a killer and my pack seems really light now, I havent weighed it yet as I am still waiting on a few pieces of kit I have ordered to arrive. I know it will be quite heav though, probably hovering around the 20kg mark max, I am sure I will manage for now, I would love to have a 6kg pack though, that would be awesome for those long treks

GwersyllaCnau what kind of gear do you have haha, what camera is it you have? The images on your site look pretty awesome, I think my Fuji S6500 has had its days now, black spot appears on the photos (not in videos though) so I think I will save for a Canon 550D, unless you know of a better camera for a similar price :D

[GwersyllaCnau]

GwersyllaCnau what kind of gear do you have haha, what camera is it you have? The images on your site look pretty awesome, I think my Fuji S6500 has had its days now, black spot appears on the photos (not in videos though) so I think I will save for a Canon 550D, unless you know of a better camera for a similar price :D

Webtex 85litre bergen (wouldn't recomment it)
Vango Tornado 200
Swedish army mess kit
Vango sleeping bag can't remember off hand which one
Berghaus Cornice jacket
cheap leggings and gaiters.
Don't carry much else when on my own in terms of kit.

Camera kit:
Nikon D300
MB10 Battery pack
AF-S 17-55mm 2.8G ED Lens
SB 800 flash (I always carry 2)
VERY powerful torch
Coloured gels
Tripod
cable release
infrared filter
various ND filters.

The pics of my wild camp were not taken with this camera. They were taken with an Olympus Pen which I personally think is a great point and shoot camera for taking snaps, as long as you don't need flash.

I've always had Nikon kit, I used a couple of Canons whilst in Uni but wasn't keen on the menu sytem. And to be honest I don't really know what's available at the moment. I only look at kit when I need it and I've not looked at camera specs since buying the D300 which at the time was new on the market.

[GwersyllaCnau]

I think my Fuji S6500 has had its days now, black spot appears on the photos (not in videos though) :D

Maybe this could be dust on the sensor? Have you tried better the sensor cleaned? Not sure how the camera works with video so it may not be dust. I would have thought it would appear on pics AND vid.

[Adam Savage]

Maybe this could be dust on the sensor? Have you tried better the sensor cleaned? Not sure how the camera works with video so it may not be dust. I would have thought it would appear on pics AND vid.

Thats what I was thinking, if it was dust, it would always show up. And being a bridge camera with no removable lens, cleaning the sensor is a major job (pretty sure they don't have the ultrasonic vibration thinky on those)

[Nature Unleashed]

Maybe this could be dust on the sensor? Have you tried better the sensor cleaned? Not sure how the camera works with video so it may not be dust. I would have thought it would appear on pics AND vid.

I like the sounds of your kit mate, I would love to have a set up like that :)

As for my fuji, its only a bridge camera so I would have to strip the camera down to get to the sensor, and I dont fancy doing that just incase I totally mess it up lol. I was told by a friend that sensor damage from the sun can sometimes be fixed by leaving the camera in a dark place for a few days then it should clear the spot and work again, but so far no good. I think I will have to let a pro look at it and see if they can tell me what it is and if its fixable. But if it is sensor damage it would probably be cheaper for me to get a new camera lol.

Ohh well, the joys of being me lol

[Nature Unleashed]

Thats what I was thinking, if it was dust, it would always show up. And being a bridge camera with no removable lens, cleaning the sensor is a major job (pretty sure they don't have the ultrasonic vibration thinky on those)

I thought with it being a bridge camera dust wouldnt beable to get behind the lens or to the sensor? Or is that just me being an idiot?

[Adam Savage]

I thought with it being a bridge camera dust wouldnt beable to get behind the lens or to the sensor? Or is that just me being an idiot?

I think the idea is, dust shouldn't be able to get in there, but with the extending/retracting motion of the lens on the carrier, after a while tiny specs can creep in.

[Nature Unleashed]

I might get my air line on it and see if I can blast enough air down the side of the lens, if the spot moves happy days if not... lol

[kINGPIN]

For a summer camp;

Karrimor Sabre 45
Snugpak Jungle sleeping bag
Pacific outdoor sleep mat
Crusader cook system, maybe a pan for some campfire cooking
Source hydration bladder
Tenth wonder tarp
British army Bivi
FAK
Mora

[GwersyllaCnau]

i might get my air line on it and see if i can blast enough air down the side of the lens, if the spot moves happy days if not... Lol

noooo!!!!!

[GwersyllaCnau]

I like the sounds of your kit mate, I would love to have a set up like that :)


Thats my portable kit, at home I keep
Spare D300
55-200, f2.8VR
70-300mm macro lens
lens baby
4 bowens 500watt studio flash
various soft boxes, snoots etc.
backgrounds.

The results of planning to do wedding and portrait photography for a living then finding it hard not to strangle every bride I meet. I'll stick to my derelict buildings and dumped machinery, they don't continuously complain. LOL

[Nature Unleashed]

Thats my portable kit, at home I keep
Spare D300
55-200, f2.8VR
70-300mm macro lens
lens baby
4 bowens 500watt studio flash
various soft boxes, snoots etc.
backgrounds.

The results of planning to do wedding and portrait photography for a living then finding it hard not to strangle every bride I meet. I'll stick to my derelict buildings and dumped machinery, they don't continuously complain. LOL

LOL quality, my mate does baby photography and he cant help stare at some of the mums that show up until they open there mouth and start yappin hahaha.

[Adam Savage]

I might get my air line on it and see if I can blast enough air down the side of the lens, if the spot moves happy days if not... lol

that may result in many pieces of camera floating about inside a slightly larger piece of camera LOL

[Nature Unleashed]

that may result in many pieces of camera floating about inside a slightly larger piece of camera LOL

Niiiiice. At least the spot wont be there lol

[Adam Savage]

Thats my portable kit, at home I keep
Spare D300
55-200, f2.8VR
70-300mm macro lens
lens baby
4 bowens 500watt studio flash
various soft boxes, snoots etc.
backgrounds.

The results of planning to do wedding and portrait photography for a living then finding it hard not to strangle every bride I meet. I'll stick to my derelict buildings and dumped machinery, they don't continuously complain. LOL

Nice set up, I'm only a beginner so stuck with
Pentax k-x (in olive green of course lol)
2 x FG30 flash guns
1 x Braun 130 flash gun
70-300 macro
35-80 macro
2 x 70-210 macro
18-55 kit lens
Tamron 80-250
2x teleconverter (just because it fits inside my pocket)
2 x table tripod (for the flash guns on slave)
2 x optical slaves
Hama star 63 tripod
Benq travel tripod
Light panel (flourescent panel)
bounce umbrella
bounce card
defuser
3 x m42 adaptor
CPL filter
Hoya skylight filter

i find that covers pretty much all my modest needs for now

[Nature Unleashed]

Nice set up, I'm only a beginner so stuck with
Pentax k-x (in olive green of course lol)
2 x FG30 flash guns
1 x Braun 130 flash gun
70-300 macro
35-80 macro
2 x 70-210 macro
18-55 kit lens
Tamron 80-250
2x teleconverter (just because it fits inside my pocket)
2 x table tripod (for the flash guns on slave)
2 x optical slaves
Hama star 63 tripod
Benq travel tripod
Light panel (flourescent panel)
bounce umbrella
bounce card
defuser
3 x m42 adaptor
CPL filter
Hoya skylight filter

i find that covers pretty much all my modest needs for now

A beginner with alot of kit lol

[GwersyllaCnau]

A beginner with alot of kit lol

I agree.

Mostly i just use, the torch and gels. Hardly any of the photos on my site are lit by flash, just the torch.

[Adam Savage]

I do a lot of paranormal investigation, having the flash guns set up on the optical slaves and tripods, helps illuminate large areas on a wide angle. The longer lenses are for wildlife and nature. Don't really use the umbrella or bounce card much, unless a family member wants me to take a photo of the kids or something (very rarely).

http://s1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/

Thats a handful of shots I have so far. The ghosty ones are on a separate site

[Nature Unleashed]

Nice images there mate. I like the aurora image as your choice of background :)

As for paranormal investigating...heres a forum of my mates Supernatural Activity (http://supernaturalactivity.freeforums.org/index.php)

And this is the image I was on about to you guys

http://i55.tinypic.com/10zo8ir.jpg

[Adam Savage]

It doesn't look like failed pixels or a problem with the processor, like you say it looks like dust, or the coating has been scratched off the lens, or (if it's a bad job of coating) bubbled/pitted. It looks like the light is hitting it and being diffracted whatever it is.

[Nature Unleashed]

strange one isnt it, the lens still looks like new, I cant see any damage or dust on it, I have cleaned it numerous times and it doesnt budge so unless something has managed to get underneath the lens like you said...I might just strip it down anyway, it cant be to hard...

[Adam Savage]

famous last words LOL. It's weird that it doesn't show on videos though. Ohhhhhhh...videos use lower resolution than the stills, could be that the part of the sensor used for video, misses the mark. If you know what I mean.

[Nature Unleashed]

:I have just gone nuts with it and smashed it to pieces all over my bedroom floor :ashamed

Only joking, I blew like mad down the side of the sensor and now the dot is just visible on the screen but hasnt shown up in any of the images so far, I will wait for the sun to set to see if it shows up on the sun set images.

Cheers guys :D

[Adam Savage]

Sounds like you're on a winner there LOL

[Nature Unleashed]

Sounds like you're on a winner there LOL

Let's hope so I need my camera, I would feel naked without it

[Adam Savage]

I know what you mean there LOL

[Nature Unleashed]

its still showing up but only ever so slightly, but if the exposure is perfect the spots not there :D, sorry for completely changing the topic of the thread btw

[Adam Savage]

Well, it's all kit isn't it LOL

[Nature Unleashed]

LOL true, hopefully I will be out with it tomo getting images of old huts and dens etc lol.

Just checked the weather charts, it looks like I may have chose a good weekend to go camping, temps reaching 23°C this weekend up here, with plenty of CAPE and LI's for thunderstorms in the afternoon/evening. This could be a trip to remember lol

[Adam Savage]

getting a little technical with the CAPE and LI lol, I think you're right, should be a blinding weekend...literally..(don't stare at the sun) lol

[Nature Unleashed]

getting a little technical with the CAPE and LI lol, I think you're right, should be a blinding weekend...literally..(don't stare at the sun) lol

LOL lets hope the charts dont change to much. 23 is perfect for lazing around a river and lakes whilst walking through forrests :D

[paul standley]

Interesting kit list there Chris, I'm still playing with various kit combinations (hence my solo kit-fest trip the other weekend...!

I haven't got the balance right yet between need, comfort, weight and cost. I'm very much into budget and DIY kit as I think managing weight on a budget is more challenging but more worthwhile but I need some level of comfort as I'm not an SAS wannabe.

Not knocking anyone who can afford lightweight technical kit either, each to their own.

Guess we can compare kit when we meet up at Clyne Park next month, I'll hope to have a better idea of a "weekend kit set-up" by then.

I'm a tent man so that tends to add a few pounds as well, never tried a bivvi but don't like being confined too much and need room to 'stretch' etc..