Rucksack for a few days unicycle ride.

[kb1jki]

this seems pretty slick…

Clark Products - DutchWare

no mattress pad or tent steaks, you may not even need a sleeping bag, depending on season.

[skilewis74]

• 1 on ultra light

If you wear 661 4x4 & 2x4’s, or other soft armor, you can use them for a sleeping pad.

If you have a waterproof or synthetic sleaping bag, you can do w/o a tent.

Wrap up some of your clothes and and suplies then stuff them in a shirt for a pillow.

[Tak]

@kb1jki

http://www.junglehammock.com/

no mattress pad or tent steaks, you may not even need a sleeping bag, depending on season.

We have a couple of Hennessy Hammocks - they’re really nice. Mine only took me a couple of minutes to set up from the second time I did it.
I suspect that Shug may know something about these crazy hammock things…

[Alan_Hogan]

Great Glen Way

@stingingkneeben

hey man im going scotland in a few weeks to do the fort wllian to inverness leg of the great glen way and im taking a 30l rucksack , this beast also has back renforcments so it does not rest on your back its really good.
im also taking a saddle bag to fill with treats ( energy bars mint cake and the like ) ill attach a kit list to give you a idea of whats in there bud

Did you do this? I live at the Inverness end and was planning doing it in July

[stingingkneeben]

@Alan Hogan

Did you do this? I live at the Inverness end and was planning doing it in July

hey man no way i was planningof doiung it july too !!! when were you planning i might be good to meet up half way or somthing ?

[redwelly]

Anyone suggesting hammocks or bivvys have obviously missed or don’t realise the significance of it being for summer in Scotland.

Midges are no joke. You want a tent to zip up into!! It can be under 2kg without too much cost.

There are lots of discussions of unsupported unicycle touring on these forums - have a search around or start here: Unicycle rack, & unsupported touring. It is fine to wear a bag, but also every kilo must be well worth bringing. A bag larger than 30L will only encourage you to bring more! If you can fix any weight under your seat onto the unicycle that helps too - water is heavy, so put that on the handlebar or under the seat etc. where possible.

Have fun - living on one wheel is fantastic.

Sam

[Juni]

@imrisk

I am just starting on the unicycle, but I have done a LOT of hiking including week-long and two week-long trips.

Best advice:

1. read up on ultralight hiking. There are tons of sites out there. Summertime, you should be able to carry less than 15-20 pounds of gear - less if you eat out. (You get to leave out the food and cook gear) Figure out what you will do in the rain. Wait it out or continue.

2. do a couple shake down over night trips before the longer trip. They will teach you a great deal about what works for you.

Risk

The shakedown trips ae a good idea, thanks for that.

I was hoping to buy food on a day to day basis but still cook when i get to camp.

And obviously as i’m on a unicycle ultralite is the name of the game.

Thanks for your advice mate

[Juni]

@hans

For a comfortable ride just bring this

and rain gear.

I don’t have a bank account yet but i reckon i’m gonna have to sort one out soon.

And yes, rain gear is a MUST!

[Juni]

@kb1jki

http://www.junglehammock.com/

no mattress pad or tent steaks, you may not even need a sleeping bag, depending on season.

I did look at getting the hennessy, very nearly bought one too.

The only thing that stopped me getting one was the idea of it raining and wanting to make food and a cuppa.

In a tent i’d be able to do this indoors…

[Juni]

@skilewis74

• 1 on ultra light

If you wear 661 4x4 & 2x4’s, or other soft armor, you can use them for a sleeping pad.

If you have a waterproof or synthetic sleaping bag, you can do w/o a tent.

Wrap up some of your clothes and and suplies then stuff them in a shirt for a pillow.

As i’ve said earlier i want a tent as i feel a bit more secure indoors…

Clothes will definately do for a pillow but i think i may have to have an ultralite self inflating mat.
I’d probably just go for a small sized one though cause i’m not too fussed about my legs being on the floor…

[Juni]

@redwelly

Anyone suggesting hammocks or bivvys have obviously missed or don’t realise the significance of it being for summer in Scotland.

Midges are no joke. You want a tent to zip up into!! It can be under 2kg without too much cost.

There are lots of discussions of unsupported unicycle touring on these forums - have a search around or start here: Unicycle rack, & unsupported touring. It is fine to wear a bag, but also every kilo must be well worth bringing. A bag larger than 30L will only encourage you to bring more! If you can fix any weight under your seat onto the unicycle that helps too - water is heavy, so put that on the handlebar or under the seat etc. where possible.

Have fun - living on one wheel is fantastic.

Sam

Hi sam.

If you check out hennessy hammocks properly you’ll see the have a fly net built into them…Midge proof

Thanks for the link, i’ll be having a good read of that…

For water i was looking at a filtration canteen for the most part and just collecting water as and when i need it.
Obviously i can buy water from shops along the way as it’s needed.

Are bladders not good then?

[redwelly]

@Juni

Hi sam.

If you check out hennessy hammocks properly you’ll see the have a fly net built into them…Midge proof

Sorry - didn’t realise that! Still, not the same as a tent. You can’t do much cooking/faffing* while strung up in a hammock inside a fly net.

@Juni

For water i was looking at a filtration canteen for the most part and just collecting water as and when i need it.
Obviously i can buy water from shops along the way as it’s needed.

Are bladders not good then?

Collecting water from streams etc. is all good - but you still need to carry some with you. Bladders are fine, and have good large capacity, but using a few bike bottles means you can keep some good weight off your butt. You may want a bladder as well, to maintain enough capacity. Wherever you get your water from you’ll want to carry a couple of litres with you.

Sam

*Faffing is a vital part of any cycle touring experience - fixing things, packing, re-packing, journalling, cooking, bodging new parts together, reading, tending wounds etc. If you’re not faffing then you’re probably racing!

[redwelly]

@Juni

Clothes will definately do for a pillow but i think i may have to have an ultralite self inflating mat.
I’d probably just go for a small sized one though cause i’m not too fussed about my legs being on the floor…

I’d advise using a normal foam mat. The lightest inflating ones (like this Thermarest) are ~300g, and pricey. A bit of foam mat, cut down as far as you feel you need (they come wider and longer than needed) will be about 100g and cost under a tenner.

Thermarests probably are warmer, and comfier, but not massively. Anyway, they’re for girls (and old people)

Sam

[Juni]

@redwelly

Sorry - didn’t realise that! Still, not the same as a tent. You can’t do much cooking/faffing* while strung up in a hammock inside a fly net.

Collecting water from streams etc. is all good - but you still need to carry some with you. Bladders are fine, and have good large capacity, but using a few bike bottles means you can keep some good weight off your butt. You may want a bladder as well, to maintain enough capacity. Wherever you get your water from you’ll want to carry a couple of litres with you.

Sam

*Faffing is a vital part of any cycle touring experience - fixing things, packing, re-packing, journalling, cooking, bodging new parts together, reading, tending wounds etc. If you’re not faffing then you’re probably racing!

Faffing…Exactly what i was thinking when i decided against the hammock…

I’m thinking a bladder may be the most efficient way of carrying water for riding then…

Oh and sorry to everyone that i’ve annoyed for my little postathon…I shall use multiquotes from now on

@redwelly

I’d advise using a normal foam mat. The lightest inflating ones (like this Thermarest) are ~300g, and pricey. A bit of foam mat, cut down as far as you feel you need (they come wider and longer than needed) will be about 100g and cost under a tenner.

Thermarests probably are warmer, and comfier, but not massively. Anyway, they’re for girls (and old people)

Sam

Yeah you’re probably right…And i don’t wanna be thought of as a girl, no matter how long my hair is!

There…My first multiquote for all those forum etiquette mad peeps out there

[Alan_Hogan]

Ggw

@stingingkneeben

hey man no way i was planningof doiung it july too !!! when were you planning i might be good to meet up half way or somthing ?

Its best to do the GGW from west to east so you have the wind on your back

I am planning the weekend of the 9th July … Going to be using My KH29 with schlumpf if I can get the hang of it

Going to carry everything with me to camp on the way

Would love to meet , I live in kirkhill near Inverness. The GGW is only about a mile from my house as it goes over Blackfold

BTW at that time of year you can be eaten alive by midges… the BEST deterant is "Avon Skin So Soft

[Alan_Hogan]

65l pack

Forgot to add

I recently came down Ben Wyvis with a 65L pack… there was 60mph winds at the top and it was still manageble

enjoy the vid

Unicycling down Ben Wyvis Scotland

[stingingkneeben]

oh man if i can get down for the 9th i will
yeah thats what im doing too camping along the way its cinda a dry run fotr bigger things
so you reckon its best done inverness to fort william ?
to be honest the only thing slowing me down is the price of a train ticket
how long were you planning on taking ?

[Alan_Hogan]

@stingingkneeben

oh man if i can get down for the 9th i will
yeah thats what im doing too camping along the way its cinda a dry run fotr bigger things
so you reckon its best done inverness to fort william ?
to be honest the only thing slowing me down is the price of a train ticket
how long were you planning on taking ?

Definately start in Ft William and finish in Inverness!! I am allowing 3-4 days… the section to the southwest of Loch Ness gets quite high and I would imagine there will be a fair bit of walking there. My mate did it by mountain bike last year and did it in 2 days

[stingingkneeben]

that was my original plan i got a bit confused with the compass there so your starting from ft william ? and imk taling a week out but it will only take me 4 days tops ( could do it in one if you were a beast but i want to chill and do some exploring ) have you done it before ?

[imrisk]

@Juni

I did look at getting the hennessy, very nearly bought one too.

The only thing that stopped me getting one was the idea of it raining and wanting to make food and a cuppa.

In a tent I’d be able to do this indoors…

I have a Hennessy and a couple other camping hammocks. For learning about camping in hammocks, see Ed Speer’s hammock book. Hammocks work very well for ultralight hiking. The tarp that covers the Hennessy or other camping hammock makes for a great place to cook while sitting on the ground. The Hennessy is good for midges. It is completely enclosed in bug netting. I would not recommend trying to sleep without padding under and a cover over unless the night time temperature will remain above 80F all night. The Clark hammock is not a favorite of most long distance hikers as it is a little heavier than it needs to be.

Risk