“Kit, glorious kit! Tents, stoves and a GoPro, while we’re in the mood….”
I’ll be living out of bags for the next few months in the Andes, and those bags are just like Mary Poppin’s handbag… I ain’t got no lampshade in there, nor a spoonful of sugar – but there is a decent amount of gubbins jammed into every orifice.
So below are the bits and pieces that I have decided would be best for the job. A few items of kit have been kindly donated by Ellis Brigham, Crewroom, Osprey and Oxford Bike Works, but I believe in the quality of every single item down there, and I would have chosen to buy them anyway.
Bike
- An Oxford Bike Works Expedition , called Bernard
- Click here for the full bike spec
Luggage
- Front: Alpkit Kanga + Airlok Dual 20L + 2 x Stem cell
- Back: Ortlieb Bikepacker Plus
- Daypack: Osprey Ultralight stuff pack
Sleeping
- Thermarest NeoAir xtherme sleeping mat (4 season)
- Marmot Never Summer sleeping bag, provided by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports
- Hilleberg Nallo 2 tentHilleberg Nallo 2 tent – provided by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports
Cooking
- 1 bog standard soup cup with a lid (acts as a cup and bowl)
- 1 x spork (everybody loves a spork)
- 1 x fold away stainless steel knife
- Alpkit MytiStax 3 piece Titanium pan set
- 1 x MSR Whisperlite international stove
Electrical bits
- Apple Macbook Lite 12 inch (Lightweight and can be charged from dynamo / solar)
- GoPro Hero Session
- Kindle Paperwhite
- Panasonic Lumix 12.1 MP compact camera with 14mm lens
- iPhone 6
- Garmin Extrex 30 (with Topo Andes micro sim maps)
- DeLorme InReach Explorer SE (for safety and tracking)
- Suunto Core watch (to track altitude)
- Using ‘Terra Map’ app for additional navigation £7.99 (I get lost.. a lot!)
Charging devices
Clothing (Crewroom)
- No fuss leggings
- No Fuss Crop
- Core Top
- Backdraft tee
- Hyggle Gilet
- The Money Bra
- The South-East Fleece
- The drizzle top (longleeve)
- Shackleton Down Jacket
Shoes
Hydration
- 2 x Water-to-go bottles
- Water purification tablets
Other essentials
- The Pants of Perspective!
- Spindrfit collection ‘free as a bird’ necklace