As 2023 comes to an end, Three Points of the Compass takes a glance at a handful of items of gear that accompanied me on trail. One was a new purchase while another has rarely been outside any gear list I have compiled over the past decade. Another is pure luxury while a fourth was perfect for specific trail conditions this year. As to the remainder- possibly on its last legs with little hope of replacement.
Durston Gear X-Mid 2P Solid:
This was a new shelter for me in 2023. There had been a great deal of talk about Dan Durston’s design and I was as intrigued as others. Already having two excellent DCF tents (Duomid and Duplex) I couldn’t see what a DCF Durston tent, either one person or two person, had to offer me that was sufficient to justify the cost. So chose instead, a two skin shelter made primarily from silicone proofed polyester that I thought could offer me an alternative for colder, breezier conditions.
“The X-Mid 2 Solid is a variant of the award winning X-Mid 2 that is tilted more towards use in the shoulder season, cooler conditions, and wind-swept areas like Northern Europe, while remaining an excellent all around backpacking tent”
Durston
I found it strange returning to both a two-skin shelter and a material other than DCF after a few years hiatus and needed to reacquaint myself. I had intended on first using the Durston X-Mid 2 Solid in anger on the Skye Trail in May but was lacking fitness so took it on the less demanding Borders Abbeys Way instead. That five day jaunt around low level Scotland was enjoyable enough but a bit unsatisfying and I never blogged on the trail at all. It did give me an opportunity to familiarise myself with the tent’s strengths and foibles and I quickly realised that much of the hype was well-justified and had no hesitation on taking it with me to Sweden for the Fjallraven Classic in August. Though I took my Duomid to often windswept Iceland in July as I knew that would handle just about anything that was thrown at it and the Durston was still mostly untested by myself at that point.
Arctic Circle hiking was well within the Durston capabilities and the extra bug netting was much appreciated when mozzies and midges were swarming. As usual, I had chosen a two person tent for spaciousness over the one-person option, together with half ‘solid’ sides to the inner, and do not regret that choice, despite the weight hit (1011g for the X-Mid 2 Solid (advertised as 1035g) instead of 1005g for the X-Mid 2, which is a two person full mesh inner variant of the two-skin, or 825g for the one-person two-skin X-Mid 1 Solid.). If I ever decide to buy another of these shelters there are seven variants currently available and I fully expect more to be added. Though I have no burning need to add yet another tent to my quiver.
The Durston X-Mid 2 has an odd geometry that provide lots of internal space, lots of usable headroom (especially for the solo camper) and clear access to the doors on each side. The Solid variant also offers half mesh sides and a solid bottom that does a good job at both stopping cold breezes creeping under the fly but also allows for plenty of ventilation. That said, in common with any shelter, the tent has it’s faults. With the Durston this mostly stems from one of it’s strengths. It only requires four corner pegs to put up in it’s most basic form and a strict rectangle is required. Sometimes it can be difficult to attain this due to struggling to find a decent pegging point at one of the corners. I lengthened the corner guy points to make this more easily attainable (which can also lift that corner) and also added three removable extra guys to my gear for increased storm worthiness should I require them as it is a much more stable shelter when decently nailed down.
I have no intention of getting rid of my Duplex or Duomid as the three main tents I now have each have particular strengths that lend themself to particular trails and conditions. For some of those the Durston is now a favoured, nay, favourite choice.
Evernew Titanium 900ml pan:
Years ago when I was attempting to settle on my lightweight backpacking gear I read that long distance hiker Chris Townsend relied on an ancient 900ml titanium pan from Evernew and thought, if it is good enough for him, it is good enough for me, and bought one. One of the best decisions I ever made as the Evernew Ti 900ml pan, model ECA252, is almost a constant on any of my longer hikes and many a shorter one too. I may swap out to some other sort of pot or pan on occasion but always find myself returning to the old stalwart. The 900ml size might be a bit large for many but I find the extra capacity just right for both a large brew and water for food, while the wider bottom does a good job of catching more of the heat from either meths/alcohol or a gas stove head. It has the added bonus of being the exact right size for me to nest my GSI sipper mug inside in transit.
The wide base works well with a wide burner head on a gas stove, with less chance of burning food on to the bottom of the thin titanium. With a meths burner it works best with a tight fitting cone such as the Trail Designs Ti Tri or heavily influenced but lighter Vesuv cone.
The Japanese made titanium pan has clear 300ml and 600ml graduations and a pour spout. The lid fits well, nestling into a recess rather than being a tight press fit. Evernew do make periodic changes to this pan and model numbers change but as far as I can see it is just to the colour of the lettering on the lid. There is also a non-stick version available but I don’t want that. The pan itself weighs 80.4g and the lid a further 29.3g, 109.7g (110g) in total.
The plastic covering to the handles are a bit burnt around the bottom and I may have to replace the covering at some time but there is no need yet. The pan picked up a couple of extra dints via baggage handlers this year but still has years of life in it and I cannot see myself easily changing permanently from it in the foreseeable future. I have thought about changing the lid out to something lighter, and have occasionally browsed online for alternatives but am sticking with it for now.
mont-bell Cool Full-Zip Hoodie:
In common with many other backpackers, I have frequently been wearing hoodys/hoodies instead of my usual short sleeve merino polo shirt for the past couple of years. I often find a long sleeved lightweight top too warm in summer if it lacks any sort of a front opening. One particular hoody that I purchased early in 2023 but thought might be too warm for much of my UK hiking turned out to be perfect for the cooler and changeable conditions in both Sweden and Iceland this year. This was the Cool Full-Zip Hoodie from mont-bell. This long sleeve shirt is made of 100% polyester, with a full length front zip, hand pockets and thumb loops on the cuffs. There are a few less obvious features, such as flat seams, water repellent treatment, odour control, and it also blocks 90% of UV.
Conditions in both Iceland and Sweden were perfect for wearing this top. The thumb loops meant I could pull sleeves down over the wrist in cooler conditions while there was still enough ‘give’ that sleeves will push up the forearm if things warmed up and I needed to walk cooler. The full length front zip was especially appreciated for a wide range of ventilation options and for rapid cooling off.
I am usually not a great one for hoods on hiking shirts as I wear a Tilley most of the time for protection from the sun, but when there is a stiff cold breeze, the hood is occasionally pulled up over the noggin. Iceland, especially, is a windy place and the quick protection from this was handy even if the hood did remain draped behind my head for most of my miles. Once up, the hood is a loose fit around the face which suits me but may frustrate others. It has side pockets but I cannot recall ever using those. If they had zips, I might of. Finally, the plain black colour is very much to my preference, in contrast to the multi-coloured, go-faster, fabrics that so many manufacturers seem to insist upon using.
Compared to many other alternatives the mont-bell hoody is not a particularly light piece of gear, my size XL coming in at 242g but it is a durable and well made piece of apparel. I run warm while hiking and as said, this hoody is going to be too warm for me for much of the year but when the expected conditions are going to be cooler than usual summer UK trails and when I visit northern european climes again, I can see me reaching for this top as a first choice. mont-bell also do a half zip version of this top as well as a merino version with no zip. If they ever combine the two and make a merino top with a half zip, I’ll have one.
Pad-Pal v5.1:
This latest variant of the Pad-Pal sleeping pad inflator is probably going to remain a part of my sleep system on trail for the foreseeable future. I was very fortunate that the inventor and manufacturer of this little pump was kind enough to send me one, gratis, for testing. Beside performing faultlessly, the Pad-Pal v5.1 weighs less than 10g including the valve adapter and I see no reason to exclude it as it removes the (admittedly only slightly) onerous burden of blowing up a pad each night by lung power. Anything that removes a hassle from daily life is appreciated hence this having been a favourite piece of gear this year. It accompanied me on multi-day trips to Scotland, Iceland and Sweden this year and simply worked. v5.1 is the current production product and while it is an expensive purchase, most easily available in the US, it is a comparable cost to all of the alternative little electric pumps available but is a good deal smaller and a good deal quieter than those. Unlike those other inflators however, the Pad-Pal runs off my power bank, saving on the weight of yet another battery. By no means an essential, it is a more than acceptable luxury.
Rohan sleeping baselayers:
I use dedicated sleep clothes. This choice of favourite item from this year is why it is actually six items rather than five, as this particular selection is comprised of two pieces of clothing. These are the very light and very thin Rohan Ultra Silver T long sleeve top and Rohan Ultra Silver leggings. Rohan don’t seem to get a great deal of attention from the lightweighters these days and I don’t really know why as they were one of the great innovators in this field and still have a lot to offer.
While I will attempt to get myself cleaner after a days hike it will all depend on where I am. An official site might offer up a shower, if wildcamping then it is a tent-wash, with compressed towelette pucks, a splash of Dr. Bronners and possibly a skin scrub with my Swedish cloth. The best I am going to manage is face, hands, pits ‘n’ bits. I may feel much better for this and will definately sleep better, but I still don’t want body oils and gunk transferring to my quilt. A long sleeve top and long bottoms not only keep me isolated from the quilt, but also mean I can pad around in them for a pee in the small hours of the morning and they are warmer and stop any draughts on the skin. In addition to these two items of dedicated clothing, my sleep clothing is then completed by additional thin high merino content sleep socks in summer or thicker and far cosier possum down socks for the remainder of the year. I have more recently started occasionally swapping out both of these in favour of a pair of OMM Core socks made from synthetic Primaloft Active.
Both top and leggings came from Rohan’s Ultra baselayer range, are silver impregnated and feel similar to lightweight silk clothing. The theory behind the silver is that it keeps down the smell resulting from bacteria but both items of clothing get as whiffy as any other synthetic clothing after a few days. They may take longer to build up a smell than comparable items of clothing, I am not sure. When I purchased these it was only after extensive searching for the lightest and most durable clothing I could find. My top is made of 100% polyamide (probably nylon) though I note the 2014 catalogue specifies polyester. The bottoms are 100% polyester. Both are really light pieces of clothing and the XL top weighs just 85g and the XL bottoms 109g.
After quite a few nights on trail they can pong pretty bad and appreciate a cursory wash, drying quickly. If I could change one thing it would be to remove the fly from the leggings as while I am happy padding around a bothy wearing these, I could do without the obvious fly in that situation.
In addition to these synthetic pieces of clothing, I have used merino sleep layers in the past and will likely use them again. Merino, of course, has an excellent no-stink quality that most synthetics lack. However merino baselayers can be surprisingly heavy and the lightest gsm merino materials annoyingly lack durability. I have worn very light silk baselayers in the past which were good but have never found black, grey or ‘earth’ coloured silk layers and the usual lighter toned silk layers quickly look a bit grubby, hence my settling on light synthetic sleeping clothes and accepting the need to wash them more frequently.
I purchased these two items of clothing many years ago, possibly in 2015, and am not sure that Rohan even make these two items of clothing now and it may be that their Aether range is their current replacement for the earlier Rohan Ultra Silver range. I am not particularly bothered by that as despite having been slept in for getting on to a thousand nights and having endured washing in streams, sinks and washing machines many many times they are still in ‘fairly’ good condition with no holes, testament to good manufacture with a decent material and I hope that both will hopefully last me a few more years. Their longevity is partly due to them never being used for anything other than night wear, which keeps wear and abrasion down. Stitching is mostly still pretty good but the elastic waist on the leggings is starting to get a bit saggy, so may be trying to tell me something.
- Favourite gear: Katabatic Gear Elite and Flex quilts
- Gear talk: ‘zote foams
- Gear talk: the search for a pillow for a restless side-sleeper
So, that’s it for favourite items of gear from my gear lists of 2023. I could very easily have chosen another five items. It is simply that those above have either found their way in to my pack as decent additions or replacements to my ‘usual’ gear, or have continued to offer good service year on year and I see no need for replacement. I’ll repeat this little retrospective exercise in a years time but below is a link to the five items I chose last year.
Three Points of the Compass 
Meeting you at the camping site along Borders Abbeys Way was a delightful surprise! I vividly recall snapping a photo of your unique tent, marveling at its intriguing geometry.
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Ah, but you were on a far more demanding odyssey than I!
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