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Equipment Review!

Writer's picture: Mark NarramoreMark Narramore

One for all of you walking nerds out there! I am spending a nice week with some of the family and so won’t have much walking to talk about but instead have the chance to write about the equipment I have used. Some pieces of gear have surpassed all my expectations whilst others have been bitterly disappointing. There are also a few bits that I just hadn’t thought of before the trip so I am hoping you will get the chance to learn from some of my mistakes before you head out on your own voyages.



For those of you who have started following these blogs later, it is worth noting that my adventures in France have been split into two parts and so I had a couple of different sets of requirements for what was needed. The first half was ‘through walking’ where I carried all of my camping gear on my back and would walk point-to-point arriving at a new diestination nearly every day - this called for minimalist and ultra light equipment as the weight really matters when you are carrying it for thousands of miles. When my hip gave up I was forced into camping in my roof-top tent which is on top of my van and doing circular walks each day. Still long distances (averaging around 20 miles a day) but a rather different experience and set of requirements for my equipment - here there was a bit more scope for luxuries such as warm food and a second pair of shoes (yup, I know how to live the high life!).


Bivy Bag


The first bit of gear I will review is my bivy bag; my home for many nights of this trip! I spent a lot of money to buy the Sierra Designs - Backcountry 3000 and it was money well spent. Extremely lightweight, very durable and providing a decent amount of wind protection, this bivy did exactly what was needed. With hindsight, maybe I could have gone for one of the ones that has a single pole to provide some space around my head but that will always add to the weight. I think there is room for improvement with the ventilation - if you want to keep the bugs off but also see the stars then the opening is tiny and I think this added to the condensation problem: no rain water got in but I did often wake up rather damp from condensation from within. I would give this a solid 4/5.


Apologies for my rather poor modelling skills!


Roof-top tent


When I switched from through-walking to camping I rolled out my trusty adventure van with the Union Jack Camping Penthouse Roof-top Tent. What more can I say than that several of the nights in this tent have been my best sleeps in many, many years! I love it. It takes about 1 minute to be completely ready for sleeping in, you can leave the bedding set up inside, it gives great views from the windows and you can control the temperature easily by opening or closing the windows. Almost perfect! The only slight criticism I have is that the mattress has some support bars underneath which, after a few uses, I started to feel through the mattress. This was easily remedied with some camping mats which I chopped up to fill the gaps in between the support bars to make it level. For me, this gets you some way towards the comfort of having a proper camper van at a tiny fraction of the price. 4.9/5



Rucksacks


The fact that I had to write the headline in plural should tell you that my first choice rucksack was not a very good one. Particularly with walking gear, I am a bit of a brand snob. I like to know I am getting high quality stuff and a brand that before this trip that I really trusted WAS Vango. Not any more! The Contour 60:70 rucksack that I bought was made from a terribly flimsy material that ripped in about 6 different places within a few weeks of use. Brush up against a bramble - rip! Put it on rocky ground - rip! And this gear is supposed to be designed for adventuring?


I contacted Vango about this as I was so shocked and all they could tell me to do was take it back to the store. When I told them about my trip and how I was on one of the adventures that their advertising told me I should go on, they just, once again, told me to take it back to the store. I can therefore only recommend Vango if your adventure is within a mile of the shop in which you bought the bag! This may seem a bit harsh but I also had a Vango sleeping bag which… ripped. And I bought an inflatable pillow where the valve broke after about three uses. Considering it is far from a budget brand I will definitely not be using Vango for a while!


My replacement rucksack however is one that I love, and the first of many items that I have bought from Decathlon during this trip. I went on this trip thinking that Decathlon was simply a budget store which sold cheap rubbish and I was a bit gutted to see that they are one of the main sports shops in France - they are everywhere! I genuinely couldn’t have been more wrong. As far as I can tell they have two main ‘house brands’, Quechua and Forclaz, Forclaz normally being the more expensive of the two. I bought the Forclaz MT900 Symbium 70l rucksack and it was everything I had hoped the Vango was going to be. It is incredibly tough, not too heavy and just feels like it is designed by someone who hikes a lot as it has all the pockets you want in all the places they are needed.



Later in the trip, when I had the van, I was in a position where I could take much smaller loads on my walks so I bought one of the Quechua 30l bags and had a similar experience. Very well made and designed, and this one was fairly cheap as well. I can’t tell you how shocked I am at finding these brands as I normally just stick with what I know but I will definitely be finding my closest Decathlon when I get back to England. There are also a few more Decathlon buys further down in this blog!


Shoes


Here we go. One of the biggest expenditures of a 5000km stroll around France is shoes! You go through quite a few of them. This is probably the piece of equipment that I thought about the most in the lead up to the trip as, if I got this wrong, the consequences could have been bad. Blisters could have meant days and days sat out instead of walking and I have to say I think I have done a fairly good job. I also had the big decision of what type of shoes to take. Hiking boots for the extra support? Trainers as they are light and comfortable? In the end I went for walking trainers. This turned out to be a good middle ground as they were comfortable without being too bulky. This was more important when through walking as the shoes that I wore were the only pair I had with me and so I had to wear them if I went shopping or into a nice restaurant for dinner. When it came to the mountains there were a couple of times, once when I was walking through deep snow and once walking through a river, where I was wishing I had chosen boots, but most of the time I have been pretty happy with my choice.


I started off with a pair of Merrell Moab 3’s which were one of the comfiest walking shoes I have ever owned. They have a Vibram grip which is incredibly reassuring on slippery ground and they are so much more waterproof than they look with all the mesh and suade type material on them. They are, however, rather pricey, especially as I would need four pairs of trainers to complete this trip! The soft grip on the bottom lasted around 600 miles which wasn’t terrible, but I was hoping for a little more. That and lack of availability meant that when it came to replacing them, I opted for another pair of Merrells. Score - 4/5


I bought a pair of Merrell Crosslanders, hoping they would be like the Moabs but they just weren’t. They were quite comfortable and the grip was good at first and they were half the price. The problem with them was apparent when, after only two hundred miles, I could feel all of the rocks that I was walking on through the soles of my shoes. And trust me, when you are averaging around 40,000 steps per day, you walk on a lot of stones! I made them last until mile 500 but probably should have replaced them sooner. On the plus side, they were cheap(er)! Score - 2/5


What to do next? Buy the expensive pair again? After the last pair I was wondering if at that rate I might need to buy six pairs of trainers to finish the journey. My stingy nature got the better of me and I managed to ignore my hiking brand snobbery during my now almost weekly trip into the nearby Decathlon. I tried on just about every shoe they had and ended up spending 65 euros which, when I had spent more than double that on the Moab 3’s, felt rather cheap. I found a Quechua pair that just seemed to suit my feet and appeared to have all of the technical aspects (good grip, medium waterproofing, breathable) that I was looking for. I took the chance, thinking that I would probably replace them but at least it wouldn’t be an expensive mistake. 700 miles later and absolutely loving the Quechua MH500’s I went in and bought a second pair which have also remained incredibly comfortable and have now done quite a few hundred miles themselves! They are so much more waterproof then I would have imagined, I haven’t had a single blister whilst wearing them, I have taken them up mountains, through snowfields, through bogs and rivers wearing them (they did get wet during that one, obviously) and they have lived up to the challenge. They are so good that I have a third pair safely stored in my van for when these ones give up. Genuinely my best equipment buy of the trip! Score - 5/5



There goes my pre-trip pipe dream of becoming sponsored by Merrell or Saucony… 😂🤦‍♂️


Waterproof coat


One pre-trip purchase that I am super pleased with is my Rab Arc Eco waterproof jacket. I had done a lot of research into the right coat, finding many possibilities for which one to buy. Then I walked into a shop, saw this one which I had not heard of, liked the look of it (it did also pass all of my spec tests) and bought it, ignoring most of the research I had done. It is a very comfortable coat, keeps out all but the worst rain, dries fairly quickly and, I think, looks quite nice. Not that there are many fashion police out in the most remote areas of France. This was my first Rab purchase and, when I need anything else, they will definitely be a brand that I consider.



Random other bits!


There are also a few other bits that I thought are worth mentioning. Firstly, my OEX waterproof bags. This was such a good idea of mine to buy several of these. Particularly when through walking, they not only kept everything dry but they also kept everything organised and saved me that dreaded task of delving in to an unorganised rucksack in search of that missing thing (somehow always the thing you are looking for!). I had one for tech, one for wash stuff, one for clothes and one for food. Absolute game changer for me and I will do this when hiking from now on. I also have an OEX jumper which I practically live in as it is so comfy!


Secondly, more Quechua things! I promise I am not on commission (yet? Decathlon, if you are reading this, please do sponsor me with free stuff 😂). I bought t-shirts, shorts, socks, water bottles, sleeping mats - and it was all good. Cheap, but good. I highly recommend.


Finally - Runderwear! I first came across this brand when I was doing huge amounts of running when training for ultramarathons. I discovered that chafing can be a real pain in the ass… and lots of research led me to the Runderwear brand. They are rather expensive for a pair of pants butt they last incredibly well and, most importantly, stop the chafing problem which really could cause you to crack during an expedition if you don’t do something to sort it.

Ps. Sorry for the cheeky jokes.



On that note, I think I will leave it there. If you have any questions about other bits of gear or just generally want to nerd-out talking about hiking gear then please do get in touch. I love talking about this stuff so will be a willing helper : )






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