Latest / Everyday Hiker / Overnight Hiking Gear Advice: Part 1

Transcript

Overnight Hiking Gear Advice: Part 1 · Everyday Hiker

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Are you looking for details of the most beautiful weekend hikes in South East Queensland and further afield?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well you're in the right place.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Everyday Hiker Podcast.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Beck and I'm your host.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Join me and my guest hikers as we share amazing locations, practical tips and guides for new hikers, as well as those with more experience looking for some inspiration.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: And please, if you like what you hear, follow me, share with your friends, rate my podcast, and send me your feedback.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone and welcome back today.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: I have a special guest with me.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's very exciting because I'm off site.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm at K2 Base Camp in the Valley and I'm with Bam DeSilva, who's one of the owners of the store.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: And we were just talking before, and he said the store has been here since 1989, so that is really something special in this day and age.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome Bam and thank you very much for having me.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks, uh thanks for coming in.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: No problem at all.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now, today I wanted to do an episode on overnight hiking gear because I see so many questions on Facebook.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: I am asked questions myself.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: What are when I'm starting an hour, everybody's looking for overnight hiking ideas for a start, which I'm also going to do an episode on, but I thought first let's start with the gear to make sure that you had all the right stuff to take out with you.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: So ma'am is very kindly going to run us through some of the basics.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: What's important?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we're not going to look at specific brands, we're going to look at what's important and what are the very um basics you need to go and spend a night out.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: And we're talking about bush camps here, aren't we?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're not we're we're not talking about all the facilities.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're talking about bush camps, otherwise it can just go to a big four um and take your four-wheel drive and your big tent.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, bush bush camping, um, somewhere only accessible by foot, um, ideally.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and the gear that you really need to take all yourself to to get to that to we might start with an overnight hike, so a basic for what you'd need just for one night.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: But I know a lot of people are just so keen on multi-day hikes and hitting those trails.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so we might talk about what the differences are, you know, when weight starts to really matter when you're walking for six days, 20 Ks a day versus walking in seven or eight Ks, having a nice, you know, uh hike overnight and then going back out the next day.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, at the end of the day, if you have you if you have a good setup, a setup that you're comfortable with for one night, nothing should change that much if you're doing six nights, other than your your food needs, your fuel changes, your fuel need changes, um, and and some of the clothing.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, what you need for one night, you're gonna need every night.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: You're basically just doing an overnight hike every every day for six days.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so as long as you have your basics and you have your system well understood and and sorted, um, you should be able to go from doing an overnight to doing a three-day to a six-day quite easily.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Then it becomes just counting calories and understanding what you actually need to carry.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we also said that we could speak for 30 minutes on backpacks alone.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: So this is gonna be a tough gig today to cover the basics, and we're gonna do a follow-up with some of the extras and some of the new funky stuff.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: But today we thought we would talk about firstly just backpack size, the minimum backpack size we need to carry this gear, and then we're gonna talk about the sleeping setup because that's the really important part, apart from food and water.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, um, we're gonna talk about the big three basics for sleeping.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: So your 10, your sleeping mat, and your sleeping bag.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, Bam, let's kick off with that backpack size.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: What's the minimum do you think that you need if you're going on an overnight hike?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: At a minimum, um, obviously we need to let's just assume we're looking at fair conditions, we're looking at a at a nice night where we're not looking at heavy, uh any heavy rain or a big change in in temperature.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um for you to be comfortable, you at least need to have around a 45 to 50 litre capacity pack.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you can definitely do it with less, you can definitely do it with a much bigger one.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but for you to be able to fit it in a smaller pack, you need to have a very thought-out, very lightweight system, uh, which you usually don't achieve any on your first attempt.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so around the 50 litre gives you plenty of plenty of space for all the gear for some of the mistakes you're definitely going to do in terms of uh what you're not gonna need to take, but you're gonna take it anyway.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's like any travel is a good thing.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and also budget, obviously, for the smaller you go, the more expensive it usually gets.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so the we like to say in store, the more you pay, the less you take.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's very much the same way when you uh overnight hiking.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, when you want to reduce your weight from your sleeping bag, your sleeping mat, uh, and to cut cut the bulk, it usually comes at a price.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um and therefore, for most people, a 50-liter capacity pack is gonna be able to do an overnight, but at the same time is gonna be able to do a three-day hut to hut quite easily.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it becomes a very relevant and a very uh versatile size pack to have.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you'll end up going back to it uh quite often.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I know from my own experience that carrying more than sort of 15 kilos starts to become cumbersome.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, as you said, the challenge is um you know, less weight's gonna be more expensive, fancier gear.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but 15 kilos, do you think that's about the mark that you you want to weigh in for?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: I know a lot of people we were talking before about my last podcast guest who said, Don't carry your fears.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody overpacks, and before you know it, they've got 20 kilos, and that's starting to get really heavy.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you should be able to do an overnight hike with a lot less than 20.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I would say even less than 15.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: One one big differential there would be um, do you have access to water at your campsite, for example?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: You could be saving yourself a considerable amount of weight if you don't need to carry water for the walk-in, the night, and the walk out.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, little things that you need to prepare and need to do your homework before you before you go.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you can easily cut down to 10 kilos um for uh for an overnight hike.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great point because in that weight, I'm thinking three to four litres of water.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how you get to 15 kilos pretty easily.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but anything you can do to um minimize the amount of water you have to carry.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's I think that's probably an extra for the next episode.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a really important point because that's one of your heaviest items, isn't it?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Just water.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, that water, there's no there's no way around how much water weighs.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, food you can you can do different tricks, you can use the lightest dehydrated food with the highest expansion that needs the least amount of water.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at the end of the day, uh water just weighs what water weighs, and there's nothing you can do to uh to avoid that.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, so yeah, 15 with considering three or four litres of water easily, uh, but you can cut down that more uh if if you have the right gear and do the right preparation.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing that you can have access to water, like Wes said in the rum jungle.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you do have streams, sometimes you don't.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: You need to prepare for the worst case, which is never let yourself in a position to not have water when you get to camp.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because if you then need to go and look for water, at least you're hydrated to go and look for it, not desperate for water when you get there.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, absolutely.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: You just simply can't substitute it, can you?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, water's water.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: All right, let's kick off with a tent then.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think it's one of the things that people agonize the most over.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I think one of the things with overnight hiking is that when people see the size of the tents to keep that weight down, they go, Oh my god, how do I fit in that with my pack?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, do you want to talk about tent size, what's important in a tent, those features, keeping your pack inside.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wes also spoke last week about bush rats and things like that.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So people want to be inside the tent.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So except for their food.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, uh, yeah, easily.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for most part, a one-man tent, even if you're thinking of a solo, uh, a solo trip, a one-man tent is very much an expert's um uh choice.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I would definitely recommend someone that's just getting into overnight hiking, always be looking at something more than a one-man.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh usually a two-man tent makes a perfect two-man, a one-man tent, and the three-man tent makes a perfect two-man tent.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you want a little bit of space.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: You want a little bit of space for your things, you want a bit of space to move inside the tent.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if if the weather is not good, you want to be able to do some cooking, uh, either on the vestibule or at least um at least be able to eat in the tent if you're stuck, maybe even playing cards inside the tent.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, definitely a counter take a bit more weight, but that weight translates into much more comfort uh when you're actually on the trail.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And what's the most important things like what's the basics you need in a tent?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm thinking here, um, you know, it gets contentious with ground sheets and flies, for example.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: So the actual, you know, shell of a tent won't weigh that much or pegs as well.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about those things.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, if I was um if I was recommending someone that is not overly experienced or again hasn't mastered their setup, um, because once you master your setup, whatever choices you make are your own choices, and you know how to face conditions with those setups.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that could be one of our uh one of our staff members loves hammocks and he will always sleep in a uh in a in a in a hammock.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't even know where to start to do that, other than waking up feeling like a banana.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um but he loves it.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it's one of those things for so for me, I think the essential is a a tent that is easy to to set up, so you're not getting to the trail and figuring out how am I gonna set this up.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um easier to set up, does have a rain fly, um, so you can you can keep your your tent uh a bit more protected because even if there's dew um overnight, you're gonna wake up to a wet uh to a wet fly.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um a strong floor usually is uh it's good.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: A ground sheet is important if the terrain is uh is rough.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's not essential, but we're thinking longevity of the um of the tent.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can easily replace a ground sheet, you can't replace the the floor of your tent.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you can only repair it over and over again if if need be.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So those little things we're just thinking of the future and safeguarding your your gear.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the more you safeguard it, the more that investment uh comes back to you, and the cheaper per night the tent the the tent becomes.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um I usually say a dome construction that you can easily set up that is fully freestanding or at least semi-free standing.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's um it's gonna be your best, easiest uh setup.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Minimum of six six pegs uh for your tent, one for each corner and one for each vegetable.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: If it's not windy, you obviously can get away with uh even with just four uh or or less.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but never never go too light on anything that looks like it's gonna be a a part of a system, an integral part of a system.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um at the end of the day, again, if you know your setup, you'll get there.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um but not not in your first make make the mistakes in the first first few times, yes.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Carry a little bit too much, learn from what you didn't use, why you didn't use it, and understand what changes you can make for for next time.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about longevity because a tent can be a minimum or quite a large investment, depending on how fancy you want to go.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: How many uses would you expect that the average tent's gonna have?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: So you can start to think about like a per night cost, if you like.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's even an Airbnb, you're gonna pay 20 bucks a night for your tent.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it really depends on the sort of terrain they they they they're facing.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you uh tend to hike um in inland a little bit more where the tent is going to be exposed to high UV for long periods of time, your tent will actually start to degrade a lot quicker, not because it's exposed to rain, but actually just the the UV from from the sun can actually uh perish the um perish the the polyurethane quite quickly.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it's something to uh take in consideration.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and the glues and the seams.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: The worst thing that you can do for for a tent in terms of durability, actually not using it enough.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's go for a hike, you spend money on, you know, let's say a$300-400 tent, and you take it out on a hike, you finish you in the next morning.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: You you pack it up, the the fly might be have a little bit of dew, might be a little bit wet, you pack it back in its bag, and there it stays for the next six months until the next time it comes out.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: You might get away with that once or twice.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, by the third time, you'll realize that the tape is all peeling out that the the the fly is sticky just because the the materials are breaking apart from exposure to uh to water.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: So maintenance and good care for your tent is number one to make it last uh longer.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that that ultimately caring for your gear, it's going to be the biggest thing you can do.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, yep.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: So hang it all out to dry, pack it away, yeah, absolutely.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's great advice.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got the basics of a tent, sleeping mat, the next one.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I was just saying before watching a video of somebody who had half one of the old foam mats, and that was their sleeping system for a long trek.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: I can't imagine anything worse.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what are you gonna have to give up here in terms of comfort, or you're gonna have to spend a bit of money, I'm assuming.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, you're definitely gonna have if you want, uh, if you want comfort, um the the good thing is as long as you can keep air inside a mat, you're gonna be more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's number one.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you can get away, particularly in in fair weather, say we we're hacking in Queensland in in the shoulder seas, and it's a it's a nice overnight temperatures and all dropping into single digits, you can easily get away with a non-insulated match from many of the brands that we have available in in Australia and be very comfortable or pack small, it'll weigh roughly around 200 grams, probably gonna catch cost you less than 200 or 200 or even 100, depends on where you go.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna get the job done.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna give you enough of a comfortable night's sleep for you to feel like you didn't sleep on the floor.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, at the end of the day, you can you can spend less.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um but also consider that your sleeping match is only one portion of your sleep system.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so taking into account that the sleeping match will combine with the sleeping bag in terms of what temperature range you can actually take those two.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have if you have the need for a uh a more insulative sleeping match, say for example a value, an R value of three, which is usually rated to around a zero degree uh mark, it means that you can get away with a lighter sleeping bag if you are doing something at around a 15 degree mark overnight.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you think of the two as a combination, you actually might get away with caring less because your sleeping bag can be lighter, and a sleeping bag is quite a big investment as well.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um, usually playing with the R value, which is the the insulation value of your sleeping mat, ends up cheaper than having to do the same thing with your sleeping bag.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's great because that is something that is a bit of a conjure with sleeping bags, isn't it?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get on to that next, but thinking about them as a partnership is really good because, like I said, that it not only cost but potentially weight is better.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: And we we do have that dilemma in Southeast Queensland where some of the sleeping bags are just too hot a lot of the time.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and and you know, and and yeah, so to I'll just end up glorify quilts at the bottom of the sleeping of the sleeping mat.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe you put your focus on the mat um rather than the bag, you know, on just the bag, yeah.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: The fair weather conditions.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: You need to look you need to look at both if you're buying both at the same time.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just look at one or invest all your time and research on the sleeping bag and then look at the sleeping bag, sleeping mat too late.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because you can spend$300 on a sleeping mat that is going to be a little bit more expensive, but that will mean that you can spend maybe$300 less on a sleeping bag, get more versatility out of it, and then instead of only being able to use it in one type of weather, it can actually extend its range of use to a few more situations.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: It might be that your sleeping bag with the the assistance of a sleeping liner can actually give you an extra two or three degrees, which means that you can take a Tazzi with a warmer sleeping mat as well.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, there's a bunch of combinations you can do um to extend the usability of such an expensive item.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to have four different sleeping bags at home, obviously.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they they're hard to um they're they're hard to pack and they're hard to uh to store.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: But sleeping match a little bit easier and a little bit more versatile.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, there's so much I think sleeping match is somewhere that the technology has grown so much over the last 15 years with so many different brands entering the uh the market with different ideas on how to execute the slipping mat as well, in terms of where to put the insulation, how to laminate the mat.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there's a lot to research.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of good stuff out there that you can spend a lot of time and good money and make a very solid investment.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so your sleeping mat is not an afterthought, it's not just what's the most comfortable one to the bottom.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say you should start with a sleeping mat and then make your way to the sleeping bag.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so um, one of the things with a sleeping mat is how to blow it up.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that's been contentious because a lot of people hate that sort of uh, you know, the pillow one where you have to squeeze the air into it.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um is there you know any development around that?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like what's the most efficient way of getting air into the sleeping mat?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um is there a difference?
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh you can find very small, uh, very small electric pumps.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so XPed makes uh the the mini pump, uh which I know for a fact that you can find uh the same pump in in other in other brands, um, or very very similar, just a little electric, uh electric pump that will just pump your match in roughly 30 seconds uh if it's a regular size match.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a game changer.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's it's noisy.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you can also use it to deflate the mat, which is even more important, is putting it back in that bag.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's that's a that's a good one.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I am a big fan of the inflatable inflatable bag, the what's the expect calls the schnozzle bag.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're the first ones to do the uh the the bag with the little hose uh to the flat valve.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I've I'm I'm a big fan.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: We do competitions here in store who can uh inflate a mat with just one one full one full bag.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think it's it's the main advantage of it.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well the main advantage of it is that it's not electric.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, so it's uh the pump is one more thing to take, one more thing that might not work.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um the schnozzle bag fits inside the uh fits inside the bag with a with a mat.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: So easy to store and hard to forget as well.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but yeah, ultimately, don't use your mouth.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh putting moisture into a mat, particularly if it has insulation, is just going to reduce its life.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, either a small electric pump or a uh what they call expert calls a schnozzle mat, but basically a mat with a little hose, a bag with a little hole.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's a reason to come in store to learn how to do it because there's definitely an art to it.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's definitely an art.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can definitely go on YouTube and see some good videos.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, if you come in, we'll show you some some good tricks on on how to do it.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's really, really fascinating on the sleeping mat.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: So uh might have to look at my own.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, sleeping bag.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the one that people really do put a lot of store into, yeah.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: And is their really expensive item.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so how do you get a sleeping bag that's gonna account for all conditions?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: You don't.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: You're never gonna be able to.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, there's only a comfortable range that a sleeping bag is gonna work in.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you do most of your hiking in that temperature range, fantastic.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: You're probably gonna be able to use it every time with slight variations in, like I said, in the match or even.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Using a um uh thermoreactor liner, for example, from Cita Summer that works quite well, just increases the temperature range of your slipping bag.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, ultimately, if you go to Tazi, if you go to New Zealand, if you hike in in Brisbane a fair bit, or around um Sunshine Coast or um Gold Coast Sinterland, you are gonna need different, you're gonna have different needs.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna need different bags.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, that's that's ultimately the uh the the caveat.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: So you just need to focus on where do you want to start, what do you want to achieve, where do you see yourself planning the in the future, um, and is that achievable with the same gear?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's ultimately the the balance that you need to try and hit.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if someone comes in and says, Hey, I'm gonna get into overnight hiking with the objective to go and do the overland track in summer.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's like okay, cool.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe let's not look at the lighter slipping bag that you'd be able to get into, maybe something in the five five degree range at plus five.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Let's look at something that can achieve a zero to minus five range.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it might be that it's a little bit too warm for when you use it in Queensland, it can always open it, use it as a quilt, uh, or you can have a much lighter sleeping match for that particular trip and take a warmer sleeping mat uh for that trip, and that gives you the right balance.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Are you also a warm sleeper?
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Are you a cold sleeper?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Will you be wearing thermals when you go to Tarzi?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can add more layers, you can always make not so warm warmer, but you can definitely not make a warm sleeping bag cooler.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, there's there's a balance, but there will not be a one bag solution.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or one back, a one-bag solution.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: There are some bags where you can flip inside out, and depending on which uh which side of the sleeping bag is facing out, we'll change the temperature range just because of the how the breathability of the fabric works.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: But those are usually synthetic, quite bulky sleeping bags, so more towards the car camping, car camping side or out of the car camping.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, that's ultimately you're gonna have to make a decision that suits you for the now, and then look at what what the future holds because your your priorities might change, what you actually end up doing might change it.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and if you're going on some of those long treks, you know, you might even be able to sort of you know hire some of the gear if it's a one-off and buy a bag that's more suited for your local conditions um to get more use out of it.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: So fabrics do matter.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: What's the current thought on what's the best material in a sleeping bag?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh very good question.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I assume you're referring to the insulation insulation on the inside of the slip sleeping bag, rather than the outer, absolutely.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um hands down, obviously, um there's there's the two main materials that we're going to be looking at are going to be synthetic and are going to be uh animal derivative derivatives, uh, such as down.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um and between between the two, there's very good benefits on why to choose a synthetic sleeping bag, but there are also great benefits to go for a non-synthetic uh sleeping bag either with duck down or goose down.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um ultimately if you think that you're gonna be somewhere where your sleeping bag might get wet, uh, go for a synthetic sleeping bag.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: That could be because you're doing the the Noosa, uh the Noosa River or you're doing a lot of kayaking um and you're sleeping close to water.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: Choose to to have a synthetic sleeping bag because it is it is gonna resist um uh uh water a lot better.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh down once it gets wet loses its ability to to insulate.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: So down uh uh yeah, down.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh synthetic fabrics don't do that.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, if it gets wet, it's better.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna be very rough on your gear, so if you're gonna sleep on on the side of the mountain um and just gonna bivac on on on granite, for example, a synthetic sleeping bag is gonna be a lot rougher, uh a lot, a lot stronger to um to survive that.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, particularly because if you tear the sleeping bag, you're not gonna have feathers flying uh flying everywhere.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, so that that type of situation, if you find that you're gonna sleep with a lot of compressed uh fabrics, or because you you don't have the space again, synthetics are gonna be better for ultimate weight to warmth ratio.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: You down is unbeatable, particularly goose down.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the higher the loft, um the uh the better.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and that obviously comes at very high cost, depending on on the quality of the down inside that sleeping bag.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, there's there's not been any development that has taken us away from from from that.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: I know that there's been some some companies attempting to create a synthetic fabric that plumes the same way uh a um uh down fabric does.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I remember trialing this close to 10 years ago at Mount Designs uh with uh some synthetic fabrics and they they just didn't work, unfortunately.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's a few attempts, uh but there's you always always need to mitigate uh movement on those fabrics and ends up too too expensive or too heavy.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: So um, unfortunately, as long as down is a byproduct of other industries as well, I guess it is a less of a concern.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I'm conscious at the time, and I knew this would happen that we, you know, we've we've got so much to talk about, we'll run out of it.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: But let's take those three items.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: I want to ask you about two things, and I know there's so many variables.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: Ideally, though, what would the combined weight of those three be in terms of accounting for the weight in your pack?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: What are we aiming for?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Five kilos, seven kilos, like what what what do you really want to do?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: If if you can if you can get everything at around the five kilo mark, you're doing very well.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um you're doing very well from a perspective of quality of the product that you um that you got, um, and also versatility, uh where you're and that's obviously making very rough assumptions on what you can get in that five kilo mark.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: At seven kilos, it's still not the end of the world.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: You probably had to go for something a little bit cheaper.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Again, you're not convinced that if you're going to be doing for a long time, times are tough.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, budgets uh but budgets uh change, but if you can get it within that, that's that's plausible.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the five to seven kilos is what you're really aiming for so that it doesn't start becoming a burden.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we could we could lower that to a close to the three kilo mark, yeah.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, it's it's gonna come at a cost, and also conscious that you are going into very lightweight product that not necessarily is going to last as long.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's just gonna be very, very light, very dedicated uh product.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, one thing that I would really encourage anyone that is going on their first overnight hike or is exploring those options is never arrive at a campsite not knowing how to use the product that you have in your backpack.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Always test the product at home, test how to inflate the match, uh, test how to deflate it, test how to set up the tent.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: What does the tent look like when you're setting it up?
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: What does it have symmetric sides?
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Do the poles have different different entry in entry points or hooking points?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Are there color coordinated tips in the in the poles?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Does the fly fit in a certain way but not the other?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because when it's windy, the worst thing that you can possibly be trying to do is figure out in which direction does my fly go in.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um also be mindful that the coating on the outside of a of a fly is different from the inside, so you don't want to put it inside out.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so all those little things you want to practice before you go.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and ideally you want to do with a friend or someone that has already been out in the past and it can kind of guide you through through those those things is yeah, never take gear that has been untested or not tried before.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because there might be yeah, because there might be an issue.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, every every mat from expert, for example, uh test and tried and left inflated for 24 hours before he even leaves the factory.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean that out of thousands, there's not one that might be yours.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um there has a puncture, the the the valve is not working.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's a bunch of reasons.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Then if here you find yourself sleeping on the ground um on a very uncomfortable sheet.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, it's the worst, worst outcome, isn't it?
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: So the other one I'm gonna tie you down to unfairly, I know, but let's throw a budget at this and say what's what's really the minimum you're gonna need to spend to set up.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: And we can all do it cheaper, getting versions of these secondhand or um, you know, maybe getting some sort of substitute products.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but realistically, what are you gonna need to invest to get a you know, and let's start at the budgeting because we know that that's some three kilo, disguise the limit at the end of the minute, we can go crazy.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: But what what what do you realistically need to invest in those three items to get a a quality, durable, and let's use Southeast Queensland.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: Let's so we're not packing for for you know Tassie or New Zealand.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, we're looking for a for for a tent um and probably for a two-man tent.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you're gonna be able to get something around the 400 to 500 um for a quality product that is not gonna let you down the first second time um that you're going to use it using known brands such as DAC uh for the polls, um, you can definitely get cheaper.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's there's no question, and I know there's there's brands out there in the market right now that are direct AliExpress uh imports that you can get for$200, they're okay.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if they get you out on the trail enjoying yourself, great.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'd say realistically, you're looking at a$500 mark for something suitable.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for the mats, like I mentioned on the lighter end of um things with no insulation, probably looking at around$100 to$100,$200, maybe$150, up to$300 for something with a um R value of three, um, up to even more.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: One thing to consider then is what size they are, but let's leave that for the next one.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and a sleeping bag, again, if you go from synthetic to um to down, and considering the bulk is going to be uh a big side of things, you you could surprisingly you can get good quality products for around the$300 mark,$250,$300 mark, um uh up to$600 uh quite easy.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Probably the$400 to$500 uh price point at the moment, uh, with a few releases of product from Cedar Summit, Xbed Mont, I think it's a very, very strong price point for very good quality product that didn't exist in the past.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: You either be paying um in that$300,$400 mark, or then you'd be paying$700.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's very good that that$400 to$500 price point is quite quite full.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I fully understand that me saying this as if it's a good, better, best, then it's kind of like, oh, it's great, we have more budget entry.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I understand$500 is quite expensive.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you need to think that it's your it's your sleep system when you're out in the bush and you're walking in, walking out.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: So having a good night's rest, being comfortable is a big part of what we like, uh what we like good quality gear, because it makes a difference, particularly if you're doing it more than one night in in a row.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: Having keeping your body in good condition is yeah, is to manage it, particularly when you're doing say those six-day hikes.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: And if you think about it, so I you know I'm doing the maths here and I'm thinking, okay, so we're talking a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's really realistically, if you want good quality, comfortable gear, what you need to budget for.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're on a six-night hike, so we're talking maybe two hundred dollars a night, well, it's hard to find even a cabin in the campground for that kind of money these days, isn't it?
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you're gonna get more use out of it than just the one trip.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, absolutely.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's the way to think about it.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, fam, some really great stuff today, thank you.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned some things, particularly about the sleeping mat.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, really great guidance.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think the most important thing is get people to come in store, have a look at what the different um ranges are there and what's gonna suit them and what's gonna suit their body type.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're like you said, you know, their hot sleepers, cold sleepers, um, and and and really invest in good quality stuff so that they go out and have a comfortable night's sleep.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate your time today.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna do a follow-up because we haven't even touched on cooking yet, have we?
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, we've must absolutely do a follow-up for everything else that we still need to sort of make and keep and um and um clothes waterproof and that sort of thing.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: So um stay tuned, guys.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be back for part two, but for today.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks very much, ma'am.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: Really appreciate it.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um I will put some of the links to your store and maybe even a couple of you know, um you know, some of the products that that might be worth looking at on that.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I appreciate um for you listening today to the podcast.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Please continue to support, share, like, um, like uh my podcast.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: And in the meantime, it is beautiful weather for hiking.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope everybody gets to get outside and enjoy it.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll see you next time.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.