camping

Gear talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path- post-hike gear review

Three Points of the Compass has just returned from backpacking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Two September weeks in Wales threw at me varied weather conditions- from strong wind and horizontal rain, to hot sunny days and cold nights. This is a post-hike look at the lightweight backpacking gear I carried.

ditty bag

Gear talk: repairing a punctured Thermarest NeoAir sleeping pad

A quick look at the repair of a punctured Thermarest inflatable sleeping pad using the Instant Field Repair Kit

Electronics

Gear talk: RovyVon Aurora A5 USB-C ‘glow-in-the-dark’ Keychain Flashlight

Following a couple of upgrades, the third generation of RovyVon Aurora A5 glow-in-the-dark (GITD) keychain flashlight is now (probably) the best ‘keychain’ hand-held light available to backpackers. It has now replaced my Nitecore NU25 headlamp on trail

Cooking

Gear talk: Vesuv titanium windshield

A new purchase- a simple titanium windshield sized to fit my favourite Evernew pan. It may be expensive, but improved efficiency is something always to be sought.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Settle to The Street, Ravenstonedale

My final days on the Pennine Bridleway. The walking steadily improved but the rain continued to laugh at the concept of summer. However, I had Kirkby Stephen in my sights, and nothing was going to stop me

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Settle Loop

The 205 mile long Pennine Bridleway has two included loops. The first is the 47 mile Mary Towneley Loop that I completed on my way up from Middleton Top. The second is the ten mile Settle Loop. My plan was to traipse round it in a few hours and call the remainder a day off in Settle. But first I had the aftermath of a night of torrential rain to contend with.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Mary Towneley Loop to Settle

My Pennine Bridleway continued. I had walked the 72 miles from Middleton Top in Derbyshire to the Mary Towneley Loop. Having walked all of that 47 mile loop, I was now continuing to trail's end in Cumbria. But before then, I had to get to Settle for yet another optional loop.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Middleton Top to the Mary Towneley Loop

The Pennine Bridleway doesn't get a lot of attention from backpackers. Cyclists will tackle much of it over a couple of days, horse-riders will go out for a day's hack along parts of it, however few people walk the complete path. Three Points of the Compass ventured out in the summer of 2022 to walk the 205 mile National Trail from south to north.

Gear

Gear talk: peg selection

Three Points of the Compass has tried various combination sets of pegs (OK, stakes to our friends across the pond) with my various tents over the years. I suspect many of us have. There is no one-size-fits-all peg, though some come damn close to being perfect. Some ground or soil types or weather conditions such as wind or snow lend themselves better to more specialised pegs.

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer X and Pioneer Farmer

The Pioneer X and Farmer each provide one additional tool over their two-layer cousins. That extra tool, either scissors or saw, may be enough to tempt you

Gear

Gear talk: a replacement of the Zpacks Duplex vestibule double-hook apparatus

Backpacking the Southern Upland Way recently, I reached out one evening to close and tighten the vestibule doors- twang! One of the hooks had broken. I tied it shut for the remainder of that hike and simply used the other side of the shelter. Back home, I found thirty seconds to replace it with one of those sent to me by Zpacks

knife

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer and Pioneer Electrician

The Alox Pioneer knives from Victorinox are good looking with well made robust tools. These two-layer options from the 'medium-pocket knives' range differ from each other only slightly and either may provide exactly the tool set required.

Trail talk

Trail talk: Southern Upland Way: Part three- Moffat to Cockburnspath

I was past the half-way point of the Southern Upland Way and had the east coast of Scotland (almost) in my sights. The bigger climbs were now behind me and the paths became easier underfoot. While there was rain ahead, I cared not as I was just about recovered from illness and enjoying the trail immensely.

Trail talk

Three Points of the Compass

Lightweight backpacking, gear chat, knife chat, map measures and anything outdoorsy

camping

Gear talk: the Pembrokeshire Coast Path- post-hike gear review

Gear talk: repairing a punctured Thermarest NeoAir sleeping pad

Gear talk: RovyVon Aurora A5 USB-C ‘glow-in-the-dark’ Keychain Flashlight

Gear talk: Vesuv titanium windshield

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Settle to The Street, Ravenstonedale

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Settle Loop

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. The Mary Towneley Loop to Settle

Trail talk: Pennine Bridleway. Middleton Top to the Mary Towneley Loop

Gear talk: peg selection

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer X and Pioneer Farmer

Gear talk: a replacement of the Zpacks Duplex vestibule double-hook apparatus

Knife chat: Victorinox Pioneer and Pioneer Electrician

Trail talk: Southern Upland Way: Part three- Moffat to Cockburnspath

Trail talk: Southern Upland Way: Part two- the Glenkens to Moffat

Trail talk: Southern Upland Way: Part one- Portpatrick to the Glenkens

Knife chat: Victorinox Swiss Army 1 and Swiss Army 2