Bushwalk Australia

Hey all,

Long time reader first time poster!

I am currently in the planning phase of a thru hike with my girlfriend and 1 year old daughter. We will be attempting the Cape to Cape track in Western Australia in November.

My focus is on our sleep system and shelter at the moment and have narrowed down our options but am looking for opinions for and against these options.

All my listed prices, weights and dimensions will be in metric. Sorry!

Mat:
Use two singles?
Klymit Insulated Static V Lite – 556gms, 13x20cm packed, $170
Eped Synmat HL M – 365gm, 9x19cm packed, $240
S2S UL Insulated – 480gm, 10x23cm packed, $180

Or use a double mat?
Exped Synmat HL Duo Med – 822gm, 14x20cm packed, $400
This is very appealing. The weight is less than double most single mats and the packed size is barely any larger. One mat for us to share means no chance of mats slipping apart and reduced cold spots. Also more enjoyable for our daughter to hang out on.

Tent:
Nigor Guam 2 – 1707gm, 12x40cm packed, $650
Wilderness Equipment Space 2 – 1970gm, 12x44cm packed, $620

I am aware of Tarptent options but need advice on which models excel in what areas.

Please throw some alternatives in the ring.

Quilt:
We like using one sleeping bag opened up as a quilt. Recently my girlfriend removed the hood and zippers from one of our older bags and we have been using this. We saved weight and pack size but are looking for UL options and are just overwhelmed.

<b>Pack:
</b>We will be adding a larger volume pack to our stable for the trip.
I have been set on a Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60L. The large side pocket is ideal for our tent and this is a feature I am really feeling. There are also many great reviews of this pack.

Can anyone recommend alternatives in the same weight/volume/price range?

Child carrier:
The Wilderness Equipment carrier is by far at the top of our list. WE are a local brand and this pack seems to have had all the problems with other packs ironed out. I can relate to everything the talk about in the description and really am into this pack.

But again I am looking for alternatives.



Cheers everyone,
Cameron

Hi Cameron. Welcome aboard!

First thought, with one of you carrying a child carrier will you be able to fit he majority of your gear for the three of you into one 60L pack? This is on the small side for a walk of this length even for one person IMO, though I do appreciative you'll save a lot of space using predominantly UL gear.

A double mat might be annoying for two people if one is heavier than the other and the mat is inflatable?

Quilts are amazing but the range can be baffling. Undercling Mike on these forums and Tier Gear in Tassie are two well respected local quilt makers.

Neither of those tents appeal to me as they are both single entrance and I like to open up both sides for ventilation or at least for proper access to the second vestibule. Have you considered a One Planet Goondie or Mont Moondance?

Id go for the double mat, you'll get more general use out of it.

Something to look into might be a gear trailer. I've met other folks who have walked with little kids that found them very effective.

Speaking of somebody who tried to bushwalk with a partner and baby " Good Luck" so I'd look at that gear trailer seriously. otherwise 2 single mats and a coupler kit plus Roger Caffins system of an UL queen sized over quilt plus 2 UL sleeping bags
When I did this I found even my big 85l Alpine pack was too small and wound up with a WE Alpine Expedition with all 4 add-on pockets totaling 120 litres and the most we could do was about 8 to 12 klicks of easy walking. 2 walks was enough to keep us to car camping and day walks for the next 10 years.
Go for it but it is hard work

120L is insane! What were you carrying to fill that up?

I should add that we regularly do overnighters and day walks normally around the 30km mark. This is using the gear we have now but we are looking for extensive upgrades as majority is not in our desired weight range.

We also don't use a stove.

No hot food or drinks for a week would be very tough. Keep in mind you'll be carrying around 7x your usual overnight food quantity and this can take up quite a bit more space than you might think.

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Gear for 2 adults and a 9MO
No room in the old PaddyMade child carrier for much gear so guess who had to carry it all. And 40 years ago LW had a whole different meaning.
65GSM ripstop WAS UL then, No Thermarests etc
I still use that pack [ well actually the third in a line of them] and I need at least 100l for a winter trip in safety and comfort. 120l insane?? Go talk to somebody in the current military if you need to ask about insane load-out
120l is nothng if the weight is reasonable, don't confuse capacity with mass, some things are bulky but light

Only concern for me with a double mat is it you get a puncture then you all suffer and also would be annoying as every time one of you move the other person will know about it. If you had two singles you wouldn't have to worry about disturbing the other person moving and if something went wrong with one you could always share one mate sideways or only one person has to make do without a mat. I have two exped mats and have been happy with them although I do like the look of the new S2S mats.

Quilts are def worth looking at. As others have said Undercling mike looks to make some great quilts, not sure if he does a double though. Enlightened Equipment make a double quilt that looks pretty good http://enlightenedequipment.com/accomplice/

I'm with strider on the tents. I wouldn't consider anything that wasn't dual side entry as its a pain in the bum climbing over other people and gear to get in and out of the tent. As far as T/Tents go they have heaps of options depending on if you want to use walking poles or not to pitch the tent and also depends on if you want a 2 person or 3 person model. I've got a Scarp 2 and Double rainbow and both have pro's and con's depending on the weather and type of trip etc although I'm not farmiliar with the area you're walking or type of weather you'd be likely to see.

Moondog55 wrote:I still use that pack [ well actually the third in a line of them] and I need at least 100l for a winter trip in safety and comfort. 120l insane?? Go talk to somebody in the current military if you need to ask about insane load-out
120l is nothng if the weight is reasonable, don't confuse capacity with mass, some things are bulky but light

I am in the process of going towards a 120l pack for snow camping. As a big lad all my gear is big as well so I need a big pack to put it in.


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I cannot help much with the overall gear selection the OP has put out there. However I did notice there was a Sea 2 Summit sleeping mat and I rate mine very highly. I own two of them they are that good.


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"I am aware of Tarptent options but need advice on which models excel in what areas".
Both of the tents you mention are "freestanding" so if that is a requirement we at Tarptent , don't have a direct competitor.
(there will be one later on but I think better for 2 than 2+)
As you would know you still need to stake down those tents so most of the time there is not much difference in practical terms.

You could look at the Scarp 2 as it is a largish 2 person ,2 wall ,2 doors / vestibules tent.
Sets up fly and inner together so that you don't get the inside wet if it is raining when setting up or taking down and has a drip protected floor. (the fly extends past the floor line)
The floor at 218cm is fully usable so you should be able to put the baby at the head or foot of the tent on a separate small mat or, because the floating floor does expand to 150cm or so, you could have the baby between you two.


About 1700g , that is the weight of one of the Nigor versions, the other (less expensive if still sold ) is about 2kg ( not a big difference...)
We use 30d silnylon , needs to be seam sealed (or $35 for TT to do it) but it is more substantial than some of the very thin fabrics available now.

If by any chance you use trekking poles and setting up tents is sort of intuitive to you*, look at the StratoSpire 2. Similar space inside but much larger vestibules large enough for later on to add the SideCar , a separate inner that will take a child up to 12 or so.

Takes 3 mats inside the floor 9just) as it is so somewhat similar to the Scarp floor space at about 1.3 kg.
https://www.tarptent.com/stratospire2.html
* comments on that vary from "I could not get it right" to "very fast and easy set up" , I do it in about 2 minutes.

Something to bear in mind here based on my own past experience.
A 2+ person tent does not equate to 2 plus a bored toddler. If my own kids are anything to go on then 4+ tent is about the minimum for real comfort. Something to think about is getting the biggest tent you can inside a specific weight target

Wondering why you haven't considered the Synmat UL7? 459g.
I'm hoping to get this up on Massdrop and get a group discount. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/exped-synmat-ul-7


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I have a Tarptent Rainshadow 2 I may be convinced to part with. Bought for the same reasons.

We got the Taptent Hogback (4 person) and Double Rainbow (2 person). My partner prefers the extra space so we usually take the Hogback even when we go away without the kids. He carries it so who am I to complain?

For UL we have a cuben tarp ☺

Strider wrote:Hi Cameron. Welcome aboard!

First thought, with one of you carrying a child carrier will you be able to fit he majority of your gear for the three of you into one 60L pack? This is on the small side for a walk of this length even for one person IMO, though I do appreciative you'll save a lot of space using predominantly UL gear.

A double mat might be annoying for two people if one is heavier than the other and the mat is inflatable?

Quilts are amazing but the range can be baffling. Undercling Mike on these forums and Tier Gear in Tassie are two well respected local quilt makers.

Neither of those tents appeal to me as they are both single entrance and I like to open up both sides for ventilation or at least for proper access to the second vestibule. Have you considered a One Planet Goondie or Mont Moondance?

Hi Strider,

Both of the tents listed are double entrance. The Nigor Guam is a particularly spacious and well credentialed tent. The Wilderness Equipment Space 2 has noteworthy features and competes very well (if not better) with other highly regarded 2 person lightweight tents. Both are worthy of closer inspection.

playnew50days wrote:

Strider wrote:Hi Cameron. Welcome aboard!

First thought, with one of you carrying a child carrier will you be able to fit he majority of your gear for the three of you into one 60L pack? This is on the small side for a walk of this length even for one person IMO, though I do appreciative you'll save a lot of space using predominantly UL gear.

A double mat might be annoying for two people if one is heavier than the other and the mat is inflatable?

Quilts are amazing but the range can be baffling. Undercling Mike on these forums and Tier Gear in Tassie are two well respected local quilt makers.

Neither of those tents appeal to me as they are both single entrance and I like to open up both sides for ventilation or at least for proper access to the second vestibule. Have you considered a One Planet Goondie or Mont Moondance?

Hi Strider,

Both of the tents listed are double entrance. The Nigor Guam is a particularly spacious and well credentialed tent. The Wilderness Equipment Space 2 has noteworthy features and competes very well (if not better) with other highly regarded 2 person lightweight tents. Both are worthy of closer inspection.

Thanks for clarifying Bill. I had checked the manufacturer websites prior to commenting, though this was not clear to me at the time.

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