Like many others, I am a sucker for gear. Over the decades I have frequently been intrigued by items of clothing, cook sets, gadgetry etc that may make my hikes easier, more interesting, more efficient, lighter, blah blah blah…
Some items have been good, some excellent, some not quite right for me, in truth, very few have been truly awful. I do research, I make impulse buys, just like most others I suspect. Below are some retrospective musings (always lessons to be learnt), various gear reviews, current set-up and systems plus a little forward thinking. These links get added to on a frequent basis.
My Gear Lists: Lighterpack lists for just some of my walks in recent years, these include both starting and finishing lists for my 2018 2000+ mile walk across the UK
- The Big Three: this is more of a retrospective, how my shelter, sleeping and pack systems have and continue to evolve. Links below are recent used shelters and ancillaries.
- Shelter: a look at some of the tents used by Three Points of the Compass in previous years, there aren’t that many.
- Z-Packs Duplex
- Some tweaks to my Z-Packs Duplex
- MLD Duomid
- MLD Solomid XL inner
- Nigor Wiki-up 3- with Hex Peak V4 single person inner
- Pegs
- Pegs- a selection for the Z-Packs Duplex
- Delta Ground Anchor pegs- the best pegs for windier conditions and sandier, looser ground.
- Sleeping:
- Pack:
- Gossamer Gear Mariposa
- Gossamer Gear G4-20
- Gossamer Gear Sit Pads and other lighter sitpads
- Gossamer Gear Bottle Rocket- what fits
- Shelter: a look at some of the tents used by Three Points of the Compass in previous years, there aren’t that many.
- Cameras on trail: Recording a walk is one of our great future joys; looking back at the visual account. Three Points of the Compass is an indifferent photographer who has enjoyed a range of cameras in the past. A personal account of some good and some very, very poor pieces of equipment.
- Camera or phone mini tripods
- Clothing:
- Arm warmers
- Gloves and Mitts
- Head gear
- Insulated jackets
- Insulated trousers
- Electronics
- Nitecore 21700 Intelligent Battery System
- Power Adapters- a look at three UK options, each with USB-C (2021)
- Powerbanks- a look at four lightweight options from Nitecore (2021)
- Quad Lock protective case and tripod adapter for the Samsung Galaxy S20+ phone
- Smaller power banks, plugs and leads (2020)
- Solar Panels
- Every Day Carry, or EDC
- An Every Day Carry– how much can YOU fit into a Vanquest EDC Slim Maximizer? This is what I carry. Not for backpacking though!
- An Urban Every Day Carry– a more practical twist on the concept of the ‘Altoids Survival Tin’, this is a collection of gear suited to the commuter and urban traveller.
- The Spyderco Bug- is this the perfect EDC knife?
- The Zebra F-701– is this the perfect EDC pen?
- Footwear:
- Hydration:
- Hygiene on trail: ‘Embrace the funk’ or make some sort of effort at a periodic clean up? Your choice, this is what I do.
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- Nail Clippers
- Teeth- Lightweight options, plus a look at Bamboo Brushes. There really is no need to cut off the handle!
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- Kitchen:
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- Alcohol/Meths burners/stoves-
- Evernew Titanium alcohol stove, model EBY254- review
- Trangia Spirit Burner B25
- Toaks Titanium Siphon burner, model STV-01- review
- Make-Your-Own alcohol/meths burner
- Make-Your-Own alcohol/meths burner/stove while on trail
- Dual and Multi-fuel stoves-
- Aspen-4, a cleaner burning option for multi-fuel stoves
- Edelrid Hexon, multi-fuel stove- review
- Vargo Titanium Triad, multi-fuel stove, model T305- review
- Gas stoves-
- Alpkit Kraku, canister top gas stove
- BRS 3000-T, canister top gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-116 canister top gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-116T Heat Core canister top gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-117T Blade remote canister gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-117H Blade 2 remote canister gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-118 Volcano, remote canister gas stove- review
- Fire Maple FMS-300T Wasp, canister top gas stove- review
- Kovea Spider KB-1109– remote canister gas stove- review
- MSR Pocket Rocket 2, canister top gas stove- review
- MSR Windburner, canister top gas stove
- Olicamp Ion canister top gas stove
- Robens Fire Midge canister top gas stove
- Soto Windmaster, canister top gas stove- review
- Adapters for gas canister lindal valves
- Adapter from butane cartridge bayonet connector to lindal valves
- G-Works Gas Saver Plus– for transferring gas between lindal valve canisters
- O-rings on gas stoves
- Weighing gas canisters, before and after use
- Lighting stoves and burners-
- GSI sipper mug
- The perfect spoon
- Alcohol/Meths burners/stoves-
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- Knives on trail: decide exactly what you want from a small knife or multi-tool and have a glance at this list, there may be exactly what you are after.
- Light: another look back at how Three Points of the Compass has handled the hours of darkness
- Lightening the headband on the Nitecore NU25
- Nitecore ML21 magnetic lantern for attaching to Nitecore 21700 series HPi batteries
- The perfect USB LED light
- RovyVon Aurora A5x Red, probably the best handheld, keychain light there is for backpackers
- Monoculars- Three Points of the Compass feels that a small optic can be extremely useful on trail, despite an inevitable weight penalty.
- Music: Three Points of the Compass has been hiking enough years that the pack used to include tape, CD or MiniDisc players. Then MP3 turned up and changed everything. Dip in to this backwards glance, sigh and be thankful.
- Navigation:
- Harvey maps
- ‘The right tools for the job‘- map, compass, map case, pacer beads
- Making a set of Pacer Beads
- Ordnance Survey (paper) maps
- Slope Cards
- Writing on maps
- Small Stuff: Beside the Big Three, clothing and kitchen etc. there are always the small items that sneak their way into a pack, this is how Three Points of the Compass defines and cope with them.
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- Tick removers
- Tin Openers
- Pouches on trail:
- Mirrors
- Day Bag
- Ditty Bag (and 2020 updated version)
- First Aid– my (2020) FAK carried on trail
- A lightweight art kit
- Recording the trail- journals (plus my journal preference) and my 2021 journal choices. Plus lightweight pens and another look at even lighter pen options
- Making an expedition sewing kit– probably overkill for a lightweight hike, but gives a closer look at exactly what sewing materials are best for backpacking. But a great kit for round-the-world motorcyclists…
- Watch– my needs are simple, this is what I use
- How to use the Sun Clock on the Silva Ranger SL compass
- Whistles– includes sound files
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- Trekking poles:
- Waterproofs:
- What gear wears out on a long hike?– experience from a five-month hike
The manufacturers are very good at what they do, that is, convincing us that we need to buy the latest, greatest incarnation. I am very aware that a decent product can come out, simple in design and perfectly functional. Then, rather than refining it, or leaving it as it is, all sorts of extra buckles, straps, pockets, bi-functional panels, go-faster stripes et al get added in response to both customer feedback and the marketing teams. The result being that the simple little item of gear I once had, that was perfectly good at what it did, quite rightly eventually wears out and I have to go on the search for the nearest equivalent because what I had and was happy with, is no longer available. Footwear is a prime example. I spend far too many hours every year looking for what fits my feet and works, simply because what I had been using for the past few hundred miles has been replaced by what the marketing team think I now want.
Certainly I am getting better at it; refining my gear choice and buying less. I think more before I buy. As many are doing, I look to replace good with better, light with lighter, only very infrequently is it shiny being replaced by shinier!
Three Points of the Compass 
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