An article for Octagon Technology
I have written an article for the Octagon Technology’s blog talking about iPhones, which was published on the blog this morning – iPhone hints and tips.
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Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack
The Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack has, since last summer, become my walking day pack of choice.
It packs away into a keyring size package making it excellent as an extra bag for backpacking, holidays and travelling. I started using it as my day pack to simply save weight.
In use Scotland August 2013
The 20l capacity provides enough space to carry my:
- Waterproofs
- Pot, stove and mug
- Lunch and water
- Extra warm clothes
- First Aid Kit
- Emergency equipment
- Sit mat (back padding)
In use Scotland January 2014
The only time this is not my “go to” day pack is when I need to carry a walking pole. For short walks I can slide my lightweight pole in between the small of my back and the pack, letting it ride on the bottom of the straps. For more technical longer walks with a pole I use another bag.
Comfort
With such a light backpack there are some issues with the comfort – but these are not so great to stop me using it.
- Because the bag has no structure I have to pack the it carefully so the items stay in place and so nothing sticks into my back.
- To help with the above problems I have cut a section from an old sleeping mat so that when it is fitted into the back of the day pack it helps with giving some shape to the bag and pads my back a little.
- The shoulder straps are unpadded so from time to time whilst walking I have to flatten them out and reposition them on my shoulders to support the weight.
Mods
I have added a couple of small caribieners to the ends of the very thin shoulder straps. This has stopped the straps being pulled back into the buckles, which happened a lot when walking with the pack with even a moderate load in it. Once the strap was back in the buckle it was then very awkward to adjust the shoulder straps for comfort and there was also a risk of the strap being pulled right out if the buckle.
I have also added a caribiener to the double zip for security.
Inside you can see an 8l dry sack – this is essential as the pack does leak in heavy weather
Wear and tear
The Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack is made from rip stop Siliconized Cordura® and the pack itself is very well made, making it extremely tough and strong. However I use the bag (particularly in the winter) well packed and this has led to some abrasion damage. When well packed the material is tight, with no give in it and when it had dragged against rough rocks it has been damaged. At the moment none of the damage is serious but I expect it to happen regularly and to eventually ruin the bag.
The shoulder straps now have permanent heavy creases in them through use.
A bag for work
A few weeks back I used this pack for an overnight business trip. It easily held the clothes, wash kit, paperwork, iPad, charger, cables, small toolkit and portable hard drive I needed for the job. I added to that a bottle of water and a snack or two for the journey.
With the mat slipped in the back it was comfortable to carry and easy to store on the train as well as being smart enough to turn up with at a client’s office.
Conclusion – Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack
For me the Sea to Summit Travel Day Pack is a great day pack and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light, strong day pack. But remember it is a simple no fuss design, no extra pockets or straps and if you use a hydration bladder the crinkling tube has to come out through the zipper. Because of it’s packed away size and weight it is especially useful to carry as an extra bag when travelling – if needed I add it to my backpacking equipment to be used as a shopping bag.
The minus points have to be mentioned:
- The bag has no structure – if I carry my iPad in it I have to take extra care not to damage it due to bad packing.
- if the bag is packed full and tight it is susceptible to abrasion damage.
- There are no external fittings for a walking pole.
If (when) I ruin this bag I will buy another.
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Walking Today – Warton Crag
Rather than drive anywhere today I walked out to Warton Crag from the Pine Lake complex.
I traveled light today, carrying some water and a small first aid/emergency kit in my walking vest – the rest of my kit went into my coat pockets. For lunch I took some breakfast biscuits, some cold chicken from last night’s dinner and my small brew kit. I only carried my titanium mug with lid and a couple of solid fuel tablets and made a small fire place out of some stones to heat the water for my tea.
I also carried a small heavy duty plastic sheet to sit on and my hat and gloves.
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Walking today – Craigellachie National Nature Reserve Aviemore
With the weather forecast for the day being reasonably good, I decided not to waste any time driving but set off to Craigellachie National Nature Reserve – with a plan to go up onto the ridge and walk along the top.
The weather was great and relatively warm (for January in the Cairngorms), I did not need my gloves, hat or jumper nor did I need to zip my coat up until I got out into the wind on the exposed ridge and summits. One thing I did have on though was the new Helly Hansen Lifa Dry base layer Diana bought me – and it was excellent, it kept me warm, was comfortable to wear and did not absorb any sweat when I was warm so when I did need the insulation on the top, it worked.
Have you ever wondered who puts the rock steps in the footpaths? Well I met two of them today.
Rather than get my stove out to make a coffee, I took hot water in a thermal mug, for the first stop. I had a number Octagon Technology emails and texts to deal with – if there is one problem with the titanium mug I normally use is that on a longer break, like this one, the drink would get cold too quickly. But not when using a thermal mug. I had packed it for this trip having recently read a blog of a backpacker who used one to keep water hot for his late night hot chocolate. He boiled the water when he made his evening meal so it meant he could pack his stove and pots away for the night and still have a hot drink later. I bought my thermal mug a number of years ago but it has had little use but I am going to try it out on this trip and if it works out I may pack it for subsequent trips.
Lunch
Lunch was soup and crackers. I really like the “Squeeze and Stir” tomato soup but I have found it difficult to stir in and dissolve all the paste when I have been making it for lunch when walking and backpacking. I tend to use cup-a-soups which are really easy to make on the trail. But today I had a thermal mug. I put the paste in the mug and half filled it with boiling water. Then making sure the lid was on firmly I vigorously shook it. After about a minute I topped the mug up with more boiling water and I had perfect tomato soup – and once I was finished no messy mug to clean up, I just put the lid back on and packed it away.
click on the above image for a larger version
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For the BlogPad Pro Team
I have been in email contact with the team at BlogPadPro who have been very helpful in dealing with some issues I had with my sites. The support they have provide has been first class. I emailed them late in our business day, and they responded quickly and continued to respond all evening until they got to the final answer, which was a theme issue.
This is a test post to check all is working.
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Walking
Having set the alarm early enough today to go out and photograph a sunrise, it was overcast.
I found a good place to stop for breakfast by the River Witham.
Pop Tarts
When looking online to see what other people do for backpacking gear and food, I see many US backpackers eating “Pop Tarts” for breakfast – when I was in Tesco on Friday they had them for sale in their “American section”, so I ought I would try them out.
First thing to get over was the price – £3.50 for eight Pop Tarts. They are invidually packed in twos which makes them ideal for portion control. On the packaging it says they should be cooked in a toaster or microwave, I am sure none of the lightweight backpacker I have seen using them, carries either of these items so I assumed they could be eaten cold – however I ate one at home yesterday to check.
Pop Tarts are a soft pastry with a soft sweet filling.
I had the other this morning with some tea and it was fine, more filling than the breakfast biscuits I have been recently using when backpacking. They are however very sweet and probably not nutritionally great, but I am not planning to eat them continuously – some dried or fresh fruit would help with this. Another issue for some people is that ithey may contain genetically engineered soya.
The packaging makes this a good backpacking food for me, two pastries in a a sealed plastic wrapper, but because Pop Tarts are soft I will have to take care not to crush them in my backpack. Even though they are relatively expensive compared to breakfast biscuits I think I will be using them for variety in my menus.
Pendennis Point Falmouth
The weather was great today – we had breakfast outside, got a good days walking in on Pendennis Point, Falmouth, had a cream tea in Tresillian, sitting in their garden and ended up cooking and eating our evening meal outside. The downside to all this sunshine is that there is not a cloud in the sky as the sun is going so it looks like it will be a cold night.
click on the above image for a larger version
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