Gear Review – 5 Days Backpacking the Isle of Wight Coast Path

GEAR & EQUIPMENT

ISLE OF WIGHT

TREK

Gear Review – 5 Days Backpacking the Isle of Wight Coast Path

Saturday 02 September 2017

Last month, Susan and I hiked the 65 Mile long Isle of Wight Coast Path over five days and four nights. We camped on three of the nights and stayed in a hotel for one after an equipment failure. We carried everything we needed with us and only purchased food along the trail.

In this post, I am going to briefly summarise what worked and what didn’t and provide some feedback on what we thought about our gear and equipment.

Shelter: MSR Elixir 2 Person Tent (2015 Model)

I bought this tent in 2015 and paid around £160 for it which included the additional footprint. It is a little heavy at 2.5kg but it has loads of liveable space and the two of us can sit up in the tent at the same time with plenty of headroom above us.

We also love that it has two doors, one on each side, so you don’t have to disturb your sleeping buddy when you need to ‘nip outside’ in the middle of the night.

It also has two large vestibules which are perfect for stowing your rucksack and gear and also give you room to cook if you need to.

On this trip, we didn’t have too much trouble with the weather and the Elixir only had to deal with rain showers and blustery winds so I didn’t have to use the extra pegs or guy cords that I packed just in case. The tent didn’t leak and is well vented so we didn’t have any issues with condensation either.

Sleeping Bag: Alpine Designs Down Sleeping Bag

We both use down sleeping bags that we purchased from a shop in Thamel, Kathmandu called Shonas. Susan uses a three season bag (1.4kg) and I use a two season bag (1.2kg) and they cost around £50 each. We are both happy with them so far.

Sleeping Mat: Exped SynMat 9 UL Sleeping Mat

We also both use the Exped SynMat 9 UL Sleeping Mat. At 640g they weigh a little more than some of the alternatives but they are so much warmer and more comfortable.

Unfortunately, my Exped SynMat had a problem on the third night. The seal along the side of one of the chambers became unglued and, as a result, morphed into one big chamber and even though I was carrying the repair kit, that only works for punctures. This resulted in a terrible nights sleep and ultimately, our decision to spend the last night in a hotel. Luckily for us, this was an option!

Cook System: Primus ETA Power Stove

This is a great stove and it’s 1.8 litre pot is perfect when cooking a meal for two. But at 1.1kg (including cozy bag) it is just too heavy for backpacking and takes up too much space in the rucksack and we could have easily managed with a smaller stove just fine.

Rucksacks: Osprey Atmos AG 50 / Osprey Talon 33

I volunteered to carry most of the gear on this trip because I wanted to test out my new Osprey Atmos AG 50 before going off on a month-long trek in the Himalaya. So far, I had only been able to try it out on one multi-day trek and I had experienced a few issues with comfort and noise.

Lets start with the noise. It squeaks. It squeaks a lot and the squeak was right by my left ear and occurred with every single step I took. It drove me crazy and no matter what I did or how I adjusted the strap, I could not make the squeak stop.

I have used this rucksack now with both medium and heavy loads and I have been having problems with comfort regardless. Although it was easy to adjust and there were plenty of ways to adjust it, I found it uncomfortable and even painful after prolonged use. I would either have bruised shoulders or sore hips at the end of the day.

I have the large size pack and I think this is the wrong size for me wear the Atmos is concerned. I was measured by the staff at Cotswold Outdoors and they recommended the large but, to me, it just doesn’t seem to sit right on my back so I am going to send it back and get a medium size replacement. One that does not squeak!

Susan used her Osprey Talon 33. It is her favourite pack and is well used. It is a great lightweight rucksack especially if you don’t want to carry too much or heavier loads. Susan most definitely does not want to do either.

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