My Walking Gear

Back to Route Book

Footwear (boots and socks) seems to me to be the most important and fundamental item of gear.  I have always had agony when I get new boots, apart from my winter boots (see below).  However, many years ago I got a pair of Scarpa boots which after some attention from a specialist cobbler and a small heel lift became not simply wearable, but comfortable!  When I brought them one pair of loop-knit ski socks was just right, but as they have aged they have also stretched and now I wear two thin or one thick pair of socks.  I take great care choosing socks to make sure they don't have any nasty seams inside the toe.  Also, I make sure they fit correctly.  Socks which are too large can lead to wrinkles which can cause as much distress as badly fitting boots, and socks which are too small can pinch.  I think the best socks now are the ones which include some Lycra, which helps with getting a good fit.

I have also almost always worn gaiters.  When I started walking gaiters had zips up the back of ones leg and tied under the boot.  I had a pair in this style in blue cotton duck pair, and they lasted me for many years.  However, I found a pair of breathable Yeti-style gaiters reduced in a climbing shop and since the Scarpa boots had the right soles to fit them I duly paid my money.  I was delighted with them - farewell to mud in boots and so on.  I found that they were also proof against a brief stream crossing.  Eventually that pair reached the end of their life, having been re-randed once.  By that time my Scarpa boots had been resoled with an Attak pattern sole, so I got a breathable pair of Attak gaiters which are great.

The only time in nearly 15 years I've been without gaiters on the boots was when I went to the Pyranees and also Nepal, because it was just too hot.  The gaiters live on the boot unless I get them very wet, or I think it's time for the annual ritual of cleaning and reproofing them.  This style of gaiter isn't cheap, but I reckon they are worth the price for the protection they give the boot.  I think I would otherwise have have to buy a new pair by now, with all the pain that would entail.

Waterproofs have to be the next item on the list.  Now that breathable materials have well and truly arrived they can also do sterling duty as windproofs, without my ending up in a pool of sweat.  I used to use Berghaus jackets, but then I put on weight and found they no longer fitted.  Then I had a Marks & Spencers ladies cagoule which fitted really well (super hood design, body & sleeves the correct length, hips wide enough) and has excellent design details.  However in time the shell started to wet badly, which mad a cagoule which wasn't very breathable in the first place even less breathabtle.  I have recently replaced it with a Karrimor Goretex cagoule, from the bargain rail at West Coast Leisure in Fort William.  This is a basic garment but is light, doesn't have seams in the wrong places and has an outer layer which should shed water well for some years to come.  Since it's a mans garment it also has lovely long sleeves which I will be able to hide my hands in should I get caught out in heavy rain.

Mostly I don't wear overtrousers as I find them constricting and would rather be somewhere else if it's wet enough to need them.  However, I do own a pair which have full-length zips in the legs.  This means I can change into and out of them without taking off my boots (and crampons if I'm wearing them), and it's also possible to unzip them a little at the top to increase ventilation as the zips are double-ended.  Their other design detail is reinforced patches at the ankles in a slightly vain attempt to resist crampon tears.  They still get holes there but they don't spread.

Layers have been in fashion on the hills for years.  Back in the 70's middle layers were wool jumpers and cotton shirts and tee-shirts.  However the jumpers were usually heavy (and smelly as they were often oiled wool), and the cotton got wet and stayed wet which meant you (or I) got cold).  These days my middle layers are all synthetic.  I have a number of fleece tops and also various synthetic layers to put under them.  None of these have full-length zips, but the tops all have some sort of neck opening which can be zipped or poppered up.  Most of them also have pockets, and I like the cuffs to be finished with that tiny elastic oversewing which dries so quickly - wet cuffs are one short route to misery!  I've added a short toggle to the zip pulls to make them easy to operate when wearing mitts, though I had to shorten one toggle after it hit me rather too near my eye.  The one I like best has a Pertex outer/inner (it's reversible but I always wear it with the Pertex on the outside).  This is windproof and will withstand a surprising amount of rain.  If it gets wet it dries very quickly.

The garments I wear under the fleece vary with the season, but I have a variety of thin polo- and crew-neck long-sleeved tops, mostly made by Patagonia.  They get smelly after a days wear but are comfortable, warm and again dry rapidly.  If it's very cold and windy I put a cagoule over a fleece over a roll-neck top over a crew-neck top over a vest!

Legwear used to be moleskin breeches - they weighed a ton when wet and took a week to dry.  Then I discovered Ron Hill Tracksters and Troll Rock Bottoms which are a bit warmer.  These are really hard-wearing garments and the Rock Bottoms have a double layer of fabric over the bottom, thighs and knees.  There are also now a heavier version of Tracksters which have pockets!  I also like this kind of legwear as it's very stretchy which is necessary when scrambling.  For very cold weather I have a thin pair of fleece trousers, and also a pair of fleece salopettes (North Face I think) which have a 'comfort zip' round the buttocks - most useful!  I can always add longjohns underneath for a real brass monkeys days.

This varies greatly according to the season and weather.  However I always have a silk motorcycle balaclava hidden in my pack, along with a thin pair of gloves.  If it looks sunny there will be a sunhat in there, whatever the season, and if it may be cold a fleece hat of some kind.  I used to wear wool hats but found they tended to fall over my eyes when they got wet.  Recently I've discovered thin hats with a double layer of material over the ears and the back of the neck.&nsbp; I like these as I have had problems in the past with frost nip on my ears which these eradicate.

Apart from the thin gloves, I have used (at different times) Dachstein mitts and gloves which are great if it's dry or freezing but horrid when wet, ski gloves (easy to get really good ones in the sales due to fashions changing) and various thicker fleece gloves.  To some extent it's depended on what I'm doing.  For walking and skiing mitts are fine, but for climbing they make handling rope and gear rather awkward.

The very first rucksack I used must have been a 50's vintage job.  It was borrowed from a boyfriend who probably got it from an aged relative.  It leaked like a sieve, was heavy and worst of all was incredibly uncomfortable.

The first one I brought was a fairly large Karrimor external frame sack.  I usually put far too much in it - and it carried weight well until the day I was scrambling over the Wasdale Screes and found it trying to take over!  However, it was streets (or mountains!) ahead of the borrowed one.  It also did sterling duty visiting the launderette and shopping in Leeds market - I could get all the food for two for a week for two into it.  I think it still lurks in the attic though some of the stitching is past it's best.

Next was one of the early modern-style internal frame sacks, again a Karrimor!  This was comfortable and capacious, and had more in the way of outside pockets than anything I'd had previously.  I think the only reason I stopped using it was that I started using small sacks for day trips and then I stopped using Youth Hostels.

I followed that up with a 45l Lady Berghaus, a Hot Ice 30 and a 20l daysack from Blacks, which was bright pink when it was new!  So far as I can remember these were all brought reduced price.  The Berghaus is for winter (when there seems to be a lot to carry), when I've had to carry ropes and the odd night camping out, though it's too small for serious backpacking.  It has a divider part way up, which I use to reduce it's volume when I'm not putting much into it.  I find this makes it easier to pack and carry.

Mostly, though I now use a Karrimor Sillouette 25l pack.  It is not too large, has good straps and plenty of pockets including one inside with a zip which is a safe place for car keys and the like.  It is also possible to attach an ice-axe or walking poles to the outside.

Unless I'm walking somewhere I know well in the valleys I always take the OS map, and a compass and watch.  In fact I often take the map anyway purely for interest.  If I'm following a route from a guide book I mark it on the map in pencil beforehand.  Occasionally I've been organised enough to photocopy the pages from the guidebook, and once I copied the maps so I could take one photocopy instead of 3 OS maps.  Of course, it's no use having the map and compass without being able to use them.  I think the essence of navigation is to never get lost (or temporarily uncertain of ones position) in the first place!  The next point is to not press on blindly if doubts start creeping in.  The third and perhaps most important is to check the weather forecast first - anywhere can be confusing in thick mist.

I went on the Summer MLTB course one winter (!) and certainly the navigation we did there was eye opening.  When I was first walking I nearly always had the map in my hand and I often stopped to compare what I was seeing with the map, which has helped me to be able to visualise the terrain from the map.  There are plenty of good books on the subject (Langmuir springs to mind) and the other necessity is practise.

There is a small collection of stuff which always goes with me, beyond the items mentioned above.

Firstly I usually take a compact digital camera with a zoom lens.  Even if the weather looks horrid to start with the most surprising things can happen, and usually will if the camera is at home.  I also usually carry a small pair of rubberised binoculars - in particular they are very helpful in looking at wildlife.

A first aid kit has been good insurance against injury in the hills, though following skinning my hand I revised the contents and added some large melonin wound dressings, which are relatively non-stick.  I also include small scissors, some forceps, a scalpel blade, aspirin, blister protection, anti-histamine tablets and midge repellent.  The whole thing lives in a small Lowe zip-bag which was sold as a toiletry and wash bag.

Since I wear contact lenses for anything beyond gentle wanders I always take their case and a pair of specs, and also good sunglasses.  I look for end-of-season bargains in ski shops - it's important to make sure that sunglasses provide complete UV protection.

Other essentials (to me) are sun cream, a bright orange streamer which can mark a casualty and a pen knife.  My water bottle was sold as a milk flask.  It holds a pint and has a very wide mouth which allows me to add snow to the contents, which is a great way of extending the supply and keeping it cool.  However one should remember what Frank Zappa had to say about yellow snow!

I've never been one for large meals on the hills.  I prefer to have a good breakfast and just pack a moist sandwich (tune mayonnaise with garlic and chilli is a favourite) with some nuts and dried fruit.  I find anything sweet leaves me feeling thirsty.  However, there have been a couple of days where something more than a little dried fruit would have been most welcome.  One warning about the fruit is don't put too many figs in - they have a most moving effect.

When I went to the Alps and saw walkers with ski poles I thought they were soft, mad or both.  Now I'm a confirmed walking-pole person!  I brought a pair of 3-part Leki poles which pack down to a size which fits in or on most rucksacks.  I find them fantastic, though I use them more uphill than down.  Their best use is in crossing streams, where the extra 'foot' and the ability to test the depth is exceedingly useful.

All this sounds a lot but it fits in the 20l sack with room for a small snack (I've never been one for eating much on the hills), and waterproofs.

What I mean by 'winter' in this context is winter conditions, that is to say snow and ice underfoot.  Of course this means it will be cold, so I eat a large breakfast and put lots of warm layers on.  It also means I leave the Scarpa boots behind and wear a pair of Asolo Supersoft plastic double boots.  These are fantastically warm and also waterproof!  However, the reason for wearing them is that they will take a pair of Charlet Moser semi-stepin crampons I brought back from the Alps.  I had used an ordinary pair of crampons before and found getting them properly attached to the boot difficult.  In fact putting them on and taking them off was such a pain that I tended to not wear them when I should, and vice versa.  Changing to the new crampons was great - they were secure on my boots and easy to put on and take off.  Now if I put crampons in the pack I also take an ice axe.  This was another bargain.  Blacks in Sheffield were selling a Stubai Sierra Extrem half price, which is a high-quality technical axe of what is now an old-fashioned design.  It was this which saved me when I fell down the descent route on Buchaille Etive Mor one May, and I reckon bargains don't come any better.

Now there's no point in carrying this gear if you don't know how and when to use it, so if you are getting into the winter scene a few ice axe braking sessions are well worth while.  Personally I would suggest paying to attend one run by a properly qualified instructor.  If you decide to 'do-it-yourself' take great care to select somewhere with a safe runout, and check for any avalanche danger as suitable slopes often seem to be the concave bottom of a convex slope.

My gear for climbing is really just a development of what's above.  The clothing is whatever is necessary for the conditions (bearing in mind that climbers can spend a lot of time standing around), plus a harness and helmet.  For summer climbing the Scarpas usually get changed to a pair of rock boots, and in winter the single ice-axe gets accompanied by an ice hammer.  I've used a variety of belay devices starting with a figure-eight, which is easy but large and heavy.  Now I have a tuber which is great and also doesn't overheat abseiling.  Shortly after I brought it I went on a long climb above the Mer de Glace, and the way down was to abseil - all 7 pitches!  However, when we had a frozen rope I found the easiest way to deal with it was an old-fashioned body belay.  Thankfully nobody fell!

Back to Route Book