outdoor gear

Late lunch, Birch Wood, Southrey

/ Business, Lincolnshire / , , , , , ,

Having spent most of the day at a successful meeting Dolly Char in Horncastle – I stopped on the way home to eat my sandwiches.

Camping coffee

This morning I had packed a small bottle of water and my backpacking cook set, in my work bag, just in case the sun came out. It did, so I pulled over at a spot I have used before, for lunch. (That day I posted the 1000th post to this blog.)

A short walk into the wood I found some convenient logs to set up on and made some fresh coffee.

Birch Wood, Southrey, Lincolnshire

Birch Wood, Southrey, Lincolnshire

Luckily the spot also had a good phone signal, as having been in a long meeting, I had to deal with a number of phone calls now I had stopped for lunch!

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Walking near Sudbrooke

/ Outdoor Gear, Walking / , , , , ,

I took the MX-5 out this morning and drove over to Sudbrooke. I had been looking at the OS map and there is an interesting network of paths around Sudbrooke.

Sudbrooke Park

Tea break - traditional canvas and leather rucksack
Tea break

I was using a mix of old and new gear today. On the way out I stopped off and bought some Karrimor walking shoes. The pack I was using was my brother-in-law Phil’s, a traditional canvas, leather and brass rucksack. It is a useful size for a day pack or overnight bag but if it not packed carefully, or packed too heavy it is uncomfortable to carry. The walking shoes on the other hand were very comfortable. I am planning to use them rather than my Berghaus boots, for lighter, good weather walking, such and this morning.

Karrimor Bodmin Low IV weathertite walking shoes
Karrimor Bodmin Low IV weathertite walking shoes

Sudbrooke Park

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Tea on the Southern Upland Way

/ Walking / , , , , , , , ,

It froze last night! There was frost on the grass and ice on the windows of the MX-5 when I got up. My sleeping gear kept me warm throughout the night but it was chilly whilst I was having my breakfast.

After sorting some things for Octagon, which included driving out to get a better internet connection, I set off from Lauder to walk some more of the Southern Upland Way.

I came across this picnic table at just about the time for a tea break – great view, tucked away out of the wind and a sun trap.

Tea on the Southern Upland Way
Lightweight titanium Alpkit brew kit – Kraku stove, MytiMug 400 and a Snapwire spoon.

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New cooking kit photo – new Alpkit gear

/ Backpacking, Camping, Outdoor Gear / , , , , , ,

I have added some new Alpkit gear to my lightweight backpacking and camping cook set.

backpacking cooking kit - new Alpkit gear - a titanium mug with a lid and a titanium folding spoon

I have a busy weekend of paperwork for Octagon.

Alpkit gear

However I am going camping in Scotland for Easter – so I took some time off to sort my backpacking cooking kit and make a new annotated photo for the website.

The main changes this year are the new bits of Alpkit kit – a titanium mug with a lid and a titanium folding spoon. This is a bit of kit that when added to the micro sized Alpkit Kraku stove makes a real minimalist cook set.

Alpkit is a great UK company, producing great gear at a reasonable price – we should support them.

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