Gear and Products
Stuff that we like to use. Ian, 18 April
Although we're only half way through the first of
twelve months I can make some preliminary notes on the stuff that we've found
useful so far. Items under the category of
gear -
boots, rucsac, bivvy bag, sleeping bags - can only be seriously assessed after
we've done the GR20; although so far I'm loving my Scarpa boots and Berghaus C70
Pro rucsac (brought to my attention by Moira, whose colleagues devised some of
the materials).
Also, there are several items that I like to have around generally - my Tag watch, Leatherman wave tool, Reef shoes, Oakley sunglasses - but which are not especially more useful to me here than they were before I left, so they don't really count on this list.
So here are some items, in haphazard order, that I really have liked to have here:
1) The Lifeventure rucsac transporter bag that I put my rucsac in when I'm checking luggage. It looks flimsy but swallows my ruscac like an anaconda eating a goat, and then looks like a regular bag, quite grunge-cool. It shortens the odds that a baggage handle will abuse the rucsac's many straps. When not in use it folds in on itself into a tidy pack.
2) My spotty blank page Notebook from Waitrose. I use it for jotting down notes, setting exercises for the girls, or anything else. It has no set format (or even lines) so I can use it for anything. Versatile!
3) Lifeventure all-purpose cleaner. You can use it for showering, cleaning clothes or washing the veg; it's great. (I actually prefer Bliss Soapy Sap for washing myself but I've taken to getting the same fragrance by running my hands over wild sage out of the car window.
4) My Powerbook. This may come in the category of Things That Are Useful Anyway, but it has special utility on our travels: I use it for organising and backing up photo's (which are doubly backed up onto my IPod), occasional internet access, writing blogs, charging IPods and Gameboys, and I anticipate that when we have more time and reliable electricity we'll use it for watching DVD's, too. (We have packed a couple of seasons of each of Buffy and West Wing.)
5) My black light Patagonia polartec top; I think it's in the R2 range. I'm wearing it now, and Zoe uses it as a nightshirt when I let her. My other Patagonia stuff is generally good, too.
6) Rohan DC Essential trousers. When you need to wade into a stream of mud, or when it gets hot and I don't want to be searching for extra clothes, it's useful to be able to rip the legs off. And when we were in a tent with no pillow they rolled up to sub for one.
7) Mozzi spray seems much better these days than when Paula and I used it in Aus a few years ago.
8) Petzl head torches - Paula and I each have one and they're indispensable. Many thanks to Steve and Gill who bought them for us.
9) Walky-talkies. These haven't really come into their own yet because we've spent most of our time camping, where you can hear perfectly clearly from tent to tent with no electronic aid. However, when we were in Windhoek we had a first experience of their usefulness, as the girls were in a room down the hall from us and used them to keep in touch and feel safe.
10) JanSport bags - we got each of the girls one from Paragon, near Union Square. They are nominally rucsacs but their wheels are more useful. The girls also make heavy use of the detachable day packs. Because of the (main) bags' convenient size we have been dividing our goods so that things that we need fast access to are in these rather than Paula's or my bigger bag/sac.
So that's my list. Next, I could say something about girls' stuff. There are three items to call out straight away:
G1) IPod shuffles. These not only entertain Zoe and Heidi on long plane and car journeys but have the invaluable advantage of inducing a tranquil mood - in contrast to...
G2) Gameboys (GBA). These also occupy the girls for hours on end, and give us a break from the frequent chorus of "Are we nearly there yet?". According to New Scientist they also apparently improve coordination with no observed decrease in any educational metric. However, while the Shuffles have a calming effect the GBA's tend to make the girls irascible: about 90% of the arguments in the back seat relate to Gameboy disputes.
G3) Olympus Verve cameras. In England I think that these are sold under the name mini mju. The girls find them easy to handle and they take fine photos. The girls also like using the movie clip function; here's one Zoe did in Botswana showing the bizarre gait of a chameleon - the juddering is the animal, not the photography:
Summarising this, my top brands for this trip are (with best at the top):
1) Lifeventure. This is a product brand from the superb Taunton Leisure Centre. We bought most of our gear from their Exeter branch, where they had all the stuff we explicitly wanted (the exact Berghaus rucsac and RAB Quantum 600 sleeping bag) and a load of stuff we hadn't thought of, plus knowledgeable and helpful staff and sensible prices.
2) Patagonia. Virtually all my upper body stuff is Patagonia and it's excellent. Not the most fashionable maybe, but provides a complete range (up to heavy waterproof) and weighs nothing at all. Got virtually all of it from the Soho branch in Manhattan, who also have good staff. Paula's large wheely bag, which we also like, is a Patagonia bag, too.
3) Apple. For my Powerbook, the girls' Shuffles and my Photo IPod, all of which are perfectly designed and (same point) just great to use.
4) Olympus. For the girls' Verves, Paula's camera and my 765 Zoom, also recommended by Steve. Despite having some very quirky user characteristics, this has delivered some pretty good safari photo's; key feature is a 10X optical zoom, and it doesn't need its own trailer. (For everyday use I also have a small Minolta, which fits more easily into my pocket. My camcorder experience will make it in another blog.)
Ian
Also, there are several items that I like to have around generally - my Tag watch, Leatherman wave tool, Reef shoes, Oakley sunglasses - but which are not especially more useful to me here than they were before I left, so they don't really count on this list.
So here are some items, in haphazard order, that I really have liked to have here:
1) The Lifeventure rucsac transporter bag that I put my rucsac in when I'm checking luggage. It looks flimsy but swallows my ruscac like an anaconda eating a goat, and then looks like a regular bag, quite grunge-cool. It shortens the odds that a baggage handle will abuse the rucsac's many straps. When not in use it folds in on itself into a tidy pack.
2) My spotty blank page Notebook from Waitrose. I use it for jotting down notes, setting exercises for the girls, or anything else. It has no set format (or even lines) so I can use it for anything. Versatile!
3) Lifeventure all-purpose cleaner. You can use it for showering, cleaning clothes or washing the veg; it's great. (I actually prefer Bliss Soapy Sap for washing myself but I've taken to getting the same fragrance by running my hands over wild sage out of the car window.
4) My Powerbook. This may come in the category of Things That Are Useful Anyway, but it has special utility on our travels: I use it for organising and backing up photo's (which are doubly backed up onto my IPod), occasional internet access, writing blogs, charging IPods and Gameboys, and I anticipate that when we have more time and reliable electricity we'll use it for watching DVD's, too. (We have packed a couple of seasons of each of Buffy and West Wing.)
5) My black light Patagonia polartec top; I think it's in the R2 range. I'm wearing it now, and Zoe uses it as a nightshirt when I let her. My other Patagonia stuff is generally good, too.
6) Rohan DC Essential trousers. When you need to wade into a stream of mud, or when it gets hot and I don't want to be searching for extra clothes, it's useful to be able to rip the legs off. And when we were in a tent with no pillow they rolled up to sub for one.
7) Mozzi spray seems much better these days than when Paula and I used it in Aus a few years ago.
8) Petzl head torches - Paula and I each have one and they're indispensable. Many thanks to Steve and Gill who bought them for us.
9) Walky-talkies. These haven't really come into their own yet because we've spent most of our time camping, where you can hear perfectly clearly from tent to tent with no electronic aid. However, when we were in Windhoek we had a first experience of their usefulness, as the girls were in a room down the hall from us and used them to keep in touch and feel safe.
10) JanSport bags - we got each of the girls one from Paragon, near Union Square. They are nominally rucsacs but their wheels are more useful. The girls also make heavy use of the detachable day packs. Because of the (main) bags' convenient size we have been dividing our goods so that things that we need fast access to are in these rather than Paula's or my bigger bag/sac.
So that's my list. Next, I could say something about girls' stuff. There are three items to call out straight away:
G1) IPod shuffles. These not only entertain Zoe and Heidi on long plane and car journeys but have the invaluable advantage of inducing a tranquil mood - in contrast to...
G2) Gameboys (GBA). These also occupy the girls for hours on end, and give us a break from the frequent chorus of "Are we nearly there yet?". According to New Scientist they also apparently improve coordination with no observed decrease in any educational metric. However, while the Shuffles have a calming effect the GBA's tend to make the girls irascible: about 90% of the arguments in the back seat relate to Gameboy disputes.
G3) Olympus Verve cameras. In England I think that these are sold under the name mini mju. The girls find them easy to handle and they take fine photos. The girls also like using the movie clip function; here's one Zoe did in Botswana showing the bizarre gait of a chameleon - the juddering is the animal, not the photography:
Summarising this, my top brands for this trip are (with best at the top):
1) Lifeventure. This is a product brand from the superb Taunton Leisure Centre. We bought most of our gear from their Exeter branch, where they had all the stuff we explicitly wanted (the exact Berghaus rucsac and RAB Quantum 600 sleeping bag) and a load of stuff we hadn't thought of, plus knowledgeable and helpful staff and sensible prices.
2) Patagonia. Virtually all my upper body stuff is Patagonia and it's excellent. Not the most fashionable maybe, but provides a complete range (up to heavy waterproof) and weighs nothing at all. Got virtually all of it from the Soho branch in Manhattan, who also have good staff. Paula's large wheely bag, which we also like, is a Patagonia bag, too.
3) Apple. For my Powerbook, the girls' Shuffles and my Photo IPod, all of which are perfectly designed and (same point) just great to use.
4) Olympus. For the girls' Verves, Paula's camera and my 765 Zoom, also recommended by Steve. Despite having some very quirky user characteristics, this has delivered some pretty good safari photo's; key feature is a 10X optical zoom, and it doesn't need its own trailer. (For everyday use I also have a small Minolta, which fits more easily into my pocket. My camcorder experience will make it in another blog.)
Ian
Posted: Tue - April 19, 2005 at 12:46 AM
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Published On: Feb 08, 2006 06:20 PM
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Published On: Feb 08, 2006 06:20 PM