Gear Suited for Wet, Cold Weather Hiking

Greg,

Don't be put off by Chris' description of Scottish weather, just check the next time I'll be in Scotland (Oct '09) and the weather'll be fine. Thus far I have spent some 30-odd days in the Scottish hills, divided over three holidays and it has only been raining on about four or five of these days. Do however expect the ground in Scotland to be wet in any season under any weather condition. As Chris will be able to verify last time I visited Scotland the weather was uncannily well (TGO'08).

Secondly, I would like to second the use of the original Buff, which is a piece of gear largely overlooked (IMHO) on the other side of the big pond. For a few years now I never hike without two of them and find them unbelievably useful and multi-functional. In any weather I wear one on my head; in warm weather pirate-style which helps pull moisture from my head, dissipate this over a large area to evaporate and thus helps to cool my head and also protects against UV-light; in very warm weather I even wet my Buff frequently to help the cooling effect; in cold weather I wear my Buff beanie-style and find this is all I need to keep my head warm (I usually do not hike much colder than -5/20). The second Buff is used to pad my gossamer shoulder strap; as covering of my lower face and neck, essentially making a balaclava in combination with the first Buff (worn as beanie); this two Buff system also works well up to about freezing under my hood-less top-bag sleeping bag (Nunatak Ghost) to keep my head warm(-ish).

Furthermore I have used my Buffs to wash and towel off with; altho I haven't, I recon they'd make excellent pre-filters for water; woman (or men) can wear them in various ways to arrange their long hair; as scarf in deserts to keep the dust out and I could even see myself use them as emergency bandages.

Eins

EDIT: check out my avatar pic <<==, taken in Scotland just outside Breamar during this years edition of said TGO, looks pretty darn nice the weather doesn't it? And it most certainly was!

nm

For those as clueless as me as to what a Buff is:

http://www.buffwear.com/

In bear country I find an umbrella to be invaluable for cooking under (not to mention they're nice for nature's call in the middle of the night, keeping sun off, etc…).

The only thing I do differently to Chris is typically kiwi. We tend to just wear shorts and knee-high gaitors, and when it gets really cold we put long johns on UNDER our shorts. It's an odd look for sure. We also tend to wear longer rain jackets, thus our legs are mostly protected from shoes to knees, and from head to mid thigh, allowing us to ditch the rain pants.

Einstein, I'm a big Buff fan from this side of the pond. Mine never gets left behind. The multi-use rivals that of a bandana. In addition to the many uses you mention, it also works well as an eye shade on those clear full-moon nights.

Chris
Very informative, thank you very much.
We know that you like your Akto, but can we please have some comments about the Lightwave T0 Ultra ?
How come it isn't more popular ?
I somehow visualise it to be in-between the Laser Competition and the Akto as far as "storm-proofness" (?)
Your picture is the first one I have seen from the inside of it…
Franco

Not owning one, I would to give my € 0.02 on LightWave. I find it interesting that they stick to the idea of inner-tent pitch first. In most situation I like to pitch outer first, so inner stays dry. However, a sales rep of LW gave me some good argument about why they still apply inner first. He said that with inner first you get a much tauter pitch of the inner tent, secondly the inner tents of LW are DWR treated and since pitching doesn't take more than a few moments it's really not a problem if the inner tent gets a few drop of rain on it. Also with the inner first system you can peel of the fly the next (dry) morning and let the inner dry out while doing morning chores.

Still I personally prefer outer pitch first (in rare cases when I do take a tent), but LW does make excelent designs on their tents.

Eins

Franco, I had the T0 Ultra on test for a few months and used it on some really stormy weather. It performed well for a tent of that weight. I agree with what Richard says but I'd add that being a tunnel tent it's best to pitch it with the rear into the wind in storms.

Lightwave are a small fairly new company which is why I think their tents (and packs) aren't better known. They are building up a good reputation in Britain.

Thank you Richard, Eins and Chris. I had forgotten about the inner pitch first, maybe not a big deal but I had in mind something like NZ ( after all Carol at LW is a Kiwi) or Tasmanian weather, so it is a consideration, but mostly to me it looks like a very good alternative (the Trek price wise and the Ultra in weight) to the ubiquitous Akto and Terra Novas.
I liked the idea of increasing the vestibule space by lifting a corner of the inner, although it looks OK without doing this. For some reason I thought that its predecessor ( ZR0 Cylq) was more popular in spite of the seemingly improved condensation management of the T0.

Back to the main article, keeping warm ( sane ?) after a few days of continuous rain is a challenge, so thanks again for some very doable solutions.
Franco

That's quite a negative non-contributing reply don't you think Rog? Mistrusting a sales rep, just because he's a sales rep. Yes indeed, he does have an economic interest in finding arguments that help in selling his product, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is a 'complete con-man'. I do understand rog that as an Australian man you descend from a bunch of criminals we over here in Europe could find no better use for than to dump them down-under and maybe that means that in Ausie you cannot trust anyone, but over here in civilized Europe sales reps aren't con-men and i have spoken to many knowledgeable ones.*

I usually think your articles and comment are very insightful but I see no reason why you should bash this sales rep so much. I have sold many tents when I used to work in a store and yes, I have had many customers who did not like the droop in the inner tent fabric of inner-pitch first designs. Maybe you forgot that there are people out there not constantly fixated on pure functionality of the product, but buy a tent because they like how it looks and will use it in good weather on a (say) biking tour through France in summer and sleeping on campsites. They might indeed appreciate the tauter inner tent fabric in an inner-pitch first as well as being able t pitch without the fly on warm nights. There are still many tent models that pitch inner-first (Vaude, Eureka!), is it a BPL viewpoint that these are all inferior?

You're a much older and hence much more experienced camper than i am rog, maybe you can still remember that 15 (?) years ago there were only inner-pitch first designs available? Am I to understand that in that time you were unable to quickly pitch your tent when there was 13mm of rain in 10 mins and consequently always had miserable wet camping experiences due to you lack of skill? You disappoint me.

Eins

*I do not have any problems with people from down under or from anywhere else, nor do I have problems with people of any race, believe or sexual preference, I do however have a problem with remarks like Roger’s, which to me seem to have no contribution to this discussion other than to express Roger’s apparent complete contempt of any sales rep.

>You're a much older and hence much more experienced camper than i am rog, maybe you can still remember that 15 (?) years ago there were only inner-pitch first designs available? Am I to understand that in that time you were unable to quickly pitch your tent when there was 13mm of rain in 10 mins and consequently always had miserable wet camping experiences due to you lack of skill?

Yikes. You got the first part right (older and more experienced)…MacPac NZ has been making tents for 'real'weather for many decades. You could pitch the outer first is you wanted to, and they had no problems with the inner drooping in your face either. I agree with Roger's sentiment, but also recognise that some people will buy gear just for aesthetic purposes. It free choice. You can believe a sales rep, or you can believe someone older and more experienced who is not trying to sell you anything…sounds like for most people it wouldn't make a big difference if you are fine weather only hikers.

Hi Eins

Yes, we are proud of our convict ancestors. With no training and few tools and under harsh conditions, they were shipped half-way around the world to live or die, and they survived. That they had been convicted for stealing a loaf of bread to feed their families – well, that shows what social conditions back in the UK were like then.

Yep, there is still a mind-set in Australia which values independence and a healthy suspicion of 'authority', and which requires people to prove themselves directly.

Yes, we can be a bit plain-spoken at times. If that offends, my apologies.

(OK, end of preachy!)

> Roger’s apparent complete contempt of any sales rep
I don't mistrust a sales rep automatically, but I don't trust him at first meeting either; I reserve my judgement until he has spoken. Basically, he has to earn my trust. Some do. But if he comes up with what I know to be a load of old cobblers, then I down-rate him.
Mind you, it is not only sales reps which get judged like that here, and not just by me.

Why was I so harsh in this case? Because I think the rep's comments were potentially dangerous for novices.

> Maybe you forgot that there are people out there not constantly fixated on pure
> functionality of the product, but buy a tent because they like how it looks and will use it
> in good weather
OK, you are right here. I am not one for the fashionistas. For me functionality of my gear is paramount. Other people may have different requirements, and that's OK.

> appreciate … being able to pitch without the fly on warm nights
Around Sydney, where I live, a 'warm night' can be followed by a bit of wind and a hailstorm in a matter of half an hour. Very different conditions from what you may be used to? Different climes, different needs.

> is it a BPL viewpoint that these are all inferior
I speak for myself, not for BPL, on such matters. Only Ryan, Steph, Don and Karen can speak for BPL.
But since BPL is dedicated to UL backcountry walking, I suggest that functionality probably IS the most important thing for most readers. I may be wrong.

> maybe you can still remember that 15 (?) years ago there were only inner-pitch first designs available?
Your basic premiss is wrong, at least in Oz/NZ. I started bushwalking when I was 14. I am now 63. I have never bought a tent which required the inner to be pitched first. Few are even sold like that here. As Allison wrote, here in Oz/NZ serious tents are always pitched outer-first, because of the weather.

Are tents which pitch inner-first inferior in my mind? Absolutely.

Yes, I have pitched my tent in storms, but since they have all been outer-first tents, no worries. In fact, one time I ended up with the bathtub groundsheet literally floating on about 1/2" of water. I had to improvise a table to cook dinner!

Cheers