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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

Pwoppa walking gear


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For 90% of walkers, you really don't need to be spending a lot of money in the UK.

My cousin is well into wild walking, bivouacing and he spends a fortune - mainly on lightweight gear so.he can pack a lot of kit with very little weight. Fair enough, if you want to spend 200 quid because its only a few gramms of weight. But for trail, hills even stuff like coast to coast or three peaks, it shouldn't be breaking the bank.

Unless you want to of course.

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3 minutes ago, Not in Crawley said:

There's a lot of guff on this thread.

You get the same on running sites about gear.

Actually on most hobby sites, remember loads of the same stuff with guitar gear.

Always from blokes funnily enough.

I'll take my guff over yours, H

How many miles did you walk last year?

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I've sacked off fully water proofs if I'm moving as I  just get dead hot and sweat like feck.

Got a water repellent wind proof that I generally just wear with a t shirt. If it's property Baltic I'll wear a micro fleece under. If it hammers it down I'll get wet but stay warm and it dries out really quick. 

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4 hours ago, MickyD said:

Tog24 at Middlebrook give 10% on production of valid season ticket.

Is that true or some sort WW running joke that's gone over my head?? 

I've bought a fair bit from there over the years as I like their stuff for walking clobber, but never knew this if it is true FFS!

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9 minutes ago, Escobarp said:

Do you not wear this sort of clobber and footwear for work in winter etc given nature of your job? 

Yes and no.

Bought a coat (2 layer gore tex or similar iirc) when I started. Paid £60 for it; didn't want to spend too much as it would be getting covered in shit regularly. Turned out not to have as good a construction quality as walking coat, but does what I need it to.

Have had steel toe caps before, but tend to move away from them as they can be colder. I actually bought a pair of karrimor boots from Ashley's place (spit) for working in- they're not what they used to be now, as he bought the brand as you'll know, and they're now cheaper and of lower quality than they used to be. However, again they have done the job and I have been surprised at their value.

Don't need absolutely top stuff to be honest: if the weather is that bad, its better to fuck off some jobs as it can end up causing damage and problems for later.

Unlike the team I once saw mowing some daft cunt's grass in snow in February. 

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2 minutes ago, boogs said:

Is that true or some sort WW running joke that's gone over my head?? 

I've bought a fair bit from there over the years as I like their stuff for walking clobber, but never knew this if it is true FFS!

Fucking hell I thought you had caught bad aids and popped off 

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11 minutes ago, DaisyHWanderer said:

Great minds!

Some typical household detergents are too strong and can strip the hydrophobic treatments. Hence the tech wash type stuff.

Ifs worth spending a reasonable amount if you're going to use it a lot, and want it to last.

When the Halifax became public, I got around 400 quid from the shares. That was last century, I used the money to buy us both a goretex at £200 each.

We both still have them and they work fine. Mine is a bit small now though, so I bought another bigger one.

The construction quality is tremendous. 

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5 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

I've sacked off fully water proofs if I'm moving as I  just get dead hot and sweat like feck.

Got a water repellent wind proof that I generally just wear with a t shirt. If it's property Baltic I'll wear a micro fleece under. If it hammers it down I'll get wet but stay warm and it dries out really quick. 

Good idea, same really. If it really belts ill have a lightweight waterproof to put on, but generally OK with two or three lighter layers

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13 minutes ago, DaisyHWanderer said:

Got an arcteryx goretex waterproof. It was expensive but it holds its own against any rain. Had it a year, no signs of wear, it will last forever. 

 

Need to look after waterproofs/goretex, wash them with tech wash and then with a rewaterproofer. Once the pores start to clog with sweat and dirt it starts to be less waterproof and needs to be re-done.

I got a few bits, its expensive but its quality, and you can get discounts if you look around, have a Beta SL goretex a Cerium down jacket and a lighter inner down jacket. 

Managed to get good discounts at Sports Pursuit on two of them. Keeps me warm as toast and dry as a nuns chuff.

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2 minutes ago, Bigtoe said:

I got a few bits, its expensive but its quality, and you can get discounts if you look around, have a Beta SL goretex a Cerium down jacket and a lighter inner down jacket. 

Managed to get good discounts at Sports Pursuit on two of them. Keeps me warm as toast and dry as a nuns chuff.

What are these down jobs like when doing a decent walk?

They look like they could melt you- don't get too hot?

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1 minute ago, Mr Grey said:

Tip:

Don't buy North Face, its fucking shit, when completing the Yorkshire 3 peaks a couple of years ago... again 😃, a fella with us had NF on, only light rain, but he was drenched to the skin.

Decathlon have plenty of decent stuff, check the waterproof rate, generally 1 to 5, 5 being top, always invest in 4 or 5.

Get leather boots and buy decent padded walking socks, they dont have to be thick, ones that grip to your feet to stop blistering. Always pack a spare pair.

I always wear lightweight shorts, easy dry, pack a pair of waterproof pants in the rucksack in case its torrential rain.

You don't have to fork out on the posh expensive gear, even some of that is shite and just for fashion, you gotta be practical, Gonzo had it right earlier.

Dont forget your cereal bars, bananas, Chocolate and jaffa cakes, its all energy food, and a small flask of coffee, and at least 2ltr of water.

We've had some base layer stuff from Decathlon- perfectly decent; I couldn't justify some of the prices of other stuff in walking shops, whether they're superior or not.

Footwear though, meh.

Had plenty of foot problems and experienced poor boots both cheap and expensive, so always keen to get them properly sorted.

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2 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

What are these down jobs like when doing a decent walk?

They look like they could melt you- don't get too hot?

I think it depends on temps, I wore the down jacket with a baselayer and light fleece, i did 10 miles round winter hill during the snow, felt fine, but probably too warm at other times

This is what I'd normally wear

Base layer, then this

https://www.trekitt.co.uk/clothing/jackets/arcteryx-mens-atom-sl-hoody-black__39051?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=26439-BLA-L&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyqGdh-GZ7gIVCr_tCh1Dwgd_EAQYBCABEgKLevD_BwE

And a gtx jacket

Lots of breathability and the waterproof has zips under the arms to help air circulation

  

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6 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

Footwear is vital, I bought some Hi-tech walking boots 4 years ago, 70 dabs, that are fantastic, I've got arthritis of the trotters, so need something with a hard solid soul. You've just gotta get the right gear for you, at the end of the day its walking gear, it needs to be practical and long lasting.

I have a Quesho decathlon coat, 5 rating, again 80 dabs, best coat I've had, and I had a Jack Wolfskin prior to that and it wasn't as good. Also used to use a Ron Hill running jacket, because it was light and waterproof, had that for 20+ years, its lost its waterproofability now though 😃 

 

Reproof it!

I too quite like hi tech footwear. Find it a bit wider than some others and usually comfortable. 

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23 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

Tip:

Don't buy North Face, its fucking shit, when completing the Yorkshire 3 peaks a couple of years ago... again 😃, a fella with us had NF on, only light rain, but he was drenched to the skin.

Decathlon have plenty of decent stuff, check the waterproof rate, generally 1 to 5, 5 being top, always invest in 4 or 5.

Get leather boots and buy decent padded walking socks, they dont have to be thick, ones that grip to your feet to stop blistering. Always pack a spare pair.

I always wear lightweight shorts, easy dry, pack a pair of waterproof pants in the rucksack in case its torrential rain.

You don't have to fork out on the posh expensive gear, even some of that is shite and just for fashion, you gotta be practical, Gonzo had it right earlier.

Dont forget your cereal bars, bananas, Chocolate and jaffa cakes, its all energy food, and a small flask of coffee, and at least 2ltr of water.

NF actual waterproofs are decent, as I said 12 years and not a problem with it.

With materials now, I think you don't have to go leather if you don't want to. You'll.pay more.for a.4 season boot, but leather certainly isn't essential anymore.

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11 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

Footwear is vital, I bought some Hi-tech walking boots 4 years ago, 70 dabs, that are fantastic, I've got arthritis of the trotters, so need something with a hard solid soul. You've just gotta get the right gear for you, at the end of the day its walking gear, it needs to be practical and long lasting.

I have a Quesho decathlon coat, 5 rating, again 80 dabs, best coat I've had, and I had a Jack Wolfskin prior to that and it wasn't as good. Also used to use a Ron Hill running jacket, because it was light and waterproof, had that for 20+ years, its lost its waterproofability now though 😃 

 

I've used Ron Hill jackets for running and walking (lots of gear is interchangable) love the one I have at the moment.

You are right re the decathlon tops, for under 100 you are getting good stuff.

Much more accessible than when you only had specialist walking shops years ago.

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Much prefer leather for walks where the terrain is wet.

Had the lighter half and half type stuff that is waterproof, but found that walking through long, wet grass, the waterproofing treatments wear off.

Discussed it once in a boot shop, and the lady agreed that leather, when looked after will retain its waterproof nature longer.

Prefer to use traditional wax type treatments too, rather than the water based reactive stuff that you wipe on.

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2 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

Here's a man who knows his walking boots ⬆️👌

Used to work for a company (first proper job) that made a number of leather treatments amongst other things.

Leatherbrite was excellent, and also fun to 'play' with before it had fully cooled. :)

 

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