Sunday, December 22, 2013

Equipment list--shopping for the necessary

I happen to have a family member that used to be a passionate climber and hiker, and even crossed the Alps in their whole length on his own (~6 months). Consulting him and searching the web resulted in the following need-list.

  • Clothing
    • quick-drying underwear (~7 pairs of socks--nothing is worse than uncomfortable feet!)
    • thermal underwear (long sleeves and pants)
    • T-shirt to wear
    • pair of trousers
    • set of dry clothes (shirt, underwear, socks) packed waterproof (welded in?)
    • set of clothes for the cities
    • long sleeved shirt
    • warm hoodie 
    • warm winter-jacket
    • waterproof coat (windbreaker) & trousers (gore-tex if affordable)
    • pair of waterproof, sturdy trekking boots
    • pair of light, easy-to-walk-in shoes
    • pair of waterproof gloves
    • warm beanie
    • scarf
    • sunglasses
  • Camping eq
    • sleeping bag
    • sleeping mat (as light as possible)
    • something usable as pillow
    • microfibre (fast-drying) towel (usable as pillow?
    • weatherproof tent
    • camping (gas) stove
    • hand-washing agent
    • elastic laundry line
    • large trekking backpack
    • waterproof cover for backpack
  • Tools
    • instep-crampons
    • knifes
    • fire
    • torch + batteries
    • trekking poles
    • waterproofing wax for the shoes
    • 3L water bladder
    • pressure altimeter & compass
    • mobile phone & Japanese sim-card& charger
    • camera + 1 lens & batteries & charger
  • Medical eq
    • stretching bandage (to fix joints if injured)
    • disinfectant
    • plasters (of decent size)
    • painkillers
    • some kind of legal stimulant (maybe caffeine pills?) for emergency situations
    • thermal blanket (those silver & golden things)
    • tape to prevent blisters
    • "compeed" blister plasters
  • Misc
    • Japanese phrase-booklet
A few details:

Our tent: my buddy is bringing along an absolute weatherproof tent, the "Ortik Jet Stream 2". That will do, even in the snowy mountains.

Vegan sleeping bags: I still have a down-sleeping bag from long ago, but my buddy doesn't. He hasn't decided on a sleeping bag yet, but when he does I will post the model and his experiences with it in low temperatures.

Instep crampons: are a kind of crampon that has only four (to six) spikes in the middle of the foot. They're not suited for ice-climbing, but give good hold on icy, muddy, slippery ground.

Vegan trekking boots: are not easy to find--you can't have any leather after all. After reading a handful of reviews I was convinced that Veggie Trekker Mk 4 by vegetarian-shoes from the UK will do the trick though (they ship around the globe, even to where I live). Let's cross our fingers, they certainly were expensive enough.

Waterproofing wax: some online research let us to believe this would be a good choice. I hope it proves to be so!

Trekking Backpacks: I happen to have a backpack that is older than me but still somewhat alive. I'll test it these days and decide whether I can do with this one, or it will break my back and I am forced to get a new one.


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