Cycling UK Forum

mercalia wrote:

Vorpal wrote:

mercalia wrote:hammock. These can be got quite cheaply if so called parachute silk and great for lounging around a campsite ( as long as there are some trees. )

Yes. I got one last year. Mine closes & has bug net at the openings. I was planning to use it with my rain fly when camping in the woods. I figured that would give me camping opportunities in Norway when I couldn't find a good place to pitch a tent. I was planning on trialling it last year, but my tour was cut short by a mechanical after two nights, both above the tree line.

not sure I would recommend sleeping over night unless you have an under blanket for the hammock. I tried without last SUMMER at tanners hatch just a few miles out of south London( I use for testing things) ( so was very warm day ) and my back was cold, esp where the back touches the hammock, there was no wind either, that would have made things worse, wicking out any perspiration and cooling you further. not a very comfortable night, I ended up going into my tent. Even wearing my thermal jacket made no difference as my back just compressed the material. I have tried putting one of those cheap dense foam mats INSIDE, between me and the hammock but it just wont stay in place. So heed my comment. A hammock is though nice for lounging in during the day when it is really warm, and they dont take up much space.

My plan was to use my self-inflating mattress which is supposed to insulate, even when not inflated. I haven't tested it, though.

Surely you'd need really nice weather for a hammock -- it's Baltic here at the minuit (3 degree c outside and yesterday had a biting cold wind ) The places I camp your not guaranteed good weather. Also the wind would rip the trees down ( if you could find any ) never mind the hammock.

Last year at the end of May we pitched our tents in 30MPH wind rising to 40MPH later in the night. The next couple of days was heavy sideways rain.

Before the trip a friend who hadn't been with us before had bought a silly cheap tent so I loaned him one of my tents cos his would have been ripped apart or flooded.

The weather cleared up after that and we had a fairly good week with only one rainy day in the middle.

mercalia wrote: I tried without last SUMMER at tanners hatch just a few miles out of south London( I use for testing things)

Snap! The bivvy bag I got for £15 in the York Rally saddlebag sale, also being tested at Tanners (it proved to still be waterproof):

Cowsham wrote:Surely you'd need really nice weather for a hammock -- it's Baltic here at the minuit (3 degree c outside and yesterday had a biting cold wind ) The places I camp your not guaranteed good weather. Also the wind would rip the trees down ( if you could find any ) never mind the hammock.

Last year at the end of May we pitched our tents in 30MPH wind rising to 40MPH later in the night. The next couple of days was heavy sideways rain.

I live in Norway, and sometimes have problems finding places to wild camp because of steep hills & thick forests.

TBH, if a storm comes up, I'm probably safer hung in hammock in a sheltered spot with nothing but trees around than I would be in a tent in a flat spot; the only flat spots not built upon on my touring route were flood plains or parks with no camping signs up.

Vorpal wrote:

mercalia wrote:

Vorpal wrote:Yes. I got one last year. Mine closes & has bug net at the openings. I was planning to use it with my rain fly when camping in the woods. I figured that would give me camping opportunities in Norway when I couldn't find a good place to pitch a tent. I was planning on trialling it last year, but my tour was cut short by a mechanical after two nights, both above the tree line.

not sure I would recommend sleeping over night unless you have an under blanket for the hammock. I tried without last SUMMER at tanners hatch just a few miles out of south London( I use for testing things) ( so was very warm day ) and my back was cold, esp where the back touches the hammock, there was no wind either, that would have made things worse, wicking out any perspiration and cooling you further. not a very comfortable night, I ended up going into my tent. Even wearing my thermal jacket made no difference as my back just compressed the material. I have tried putting one of those cheap dense foam mats INSIDE, between me and the hammock but it just wont stay in place. So heed my comment. A hammock is though nice for lounging in during the day when it is really warm, and they dont take up much space.

My plan was to use my self-inflating mattress which is supposed to insulate, even when not inflated. I haven't tested it, though.

trouble I found when trying my dense foam mat, it just moved around wouldnt stay in place. hence the suggestion made you need a dual skin one so your body dont shift it. so you should test your soln before you make a serious trip

mercalia wrote:trouble I found when trying my dense foam mat, it just moved around wouldnt stay in place. hence the suggestion made you need a dual skin one so your body dont shift it. so you should test your soln before you make a serious trip

The route I was going to do last summer should be okay for testing. It's on a relatively touristy route, so in a pinch I can probably revert to a paid campground or hotel, or even take the bus/train home (which is what I did last summer).

When I take the hammock to sleep on rather than the tent I always take a 3x3 tarp with me too in case it rains. But the tarp can be setup in several different ways. Even made into a tarp tent very easily. I have a 4 sectioned pole 120cm long made of old tent poles (30cm folded) a endcap small mushroom shape. A bottle top used as a foot. Hammock can be used as ground sheet with mat on top/ inside
There are several good tutorials on YouTube. Even on using bike wheels to make a low shelter. The dd tutorials are a good watch. I have the jungle hammock with mozzy net. Not cheap but quality. Not as light as my tent but very versatile a camp anywhere solution.

Cable ties -- you can't go wrong bringing a few cable ties and of course a pair of side cutters to cut them again.

Cowsham wrote:Cable ties -- you can't go wrong bringing a few cable ties and of course a pair of side cutters to cut them again.

You can now get re-usable cable ties, the ones I have are wider than the normal ones, but secure and seem to have a long life. My front panniers are secured by a combination of old Karrimor clips and re-usable cable ties.
May mean you can leave the cuttters at home, I have found a pretty decent set of cutters are necessary for getting through ties.

For cutting food I used to use an IKEA flexible plastic chopping board that was trimmed down to the size of an Ortlieb back-roller pannier pocket. It's only a few mms thick, weighs virtually nothing and stows away nicely in the pocket. I stopped doing this after buying a Trangia as the multi-disc works even better, but this is good with a regular stove setup.

Instead of bringing a big microfibre towel I can get by with two tiny (flannel-sized) towels instead. I use one to get me 95% dry, wringing out as necessary, and the other for the final 5%. This means less space taken up in your bag by towels, but more importantly no problems trying to dry a large towel which can be tricky in damp/wet conditions.

bohrsatom wrote:For cutting food I used to use an IKEA flexible plastic chopping board that was trimmed down to the size of an Ortlieb back-roller pannier pocket. It's only a few mms thick, weighs virtually nothing and stows away nicely in the pocket. I stopped doing this after buying a Trangia as the multi-disc works even better, but this is good with a regular stove setup.

Instead of bringing a big microfibre towel I can get by with two tiny (flannel-sized) towels instead. I use one to get me 95% dry, wringing out as necessary, and the other for the final 5%. This means less space taken up in your bag by towels, but more importantly no problems trying to dry a large towel which can be tricky in damp/wet conditions.

I carry a large towel which allows me to change into swimming trunks without shocking the locals. WRT chopping food I carry a sharp knife, I've got a Buck knife with a quality blade that can be removed from the handle, which is plastic which also means it's light. Don't use any form of chopping board, takes some care and skill. I've never cut myself preparing food.

whoof wrote:

bohrsatom wrote:For cutting food I used to use an IKEA flexible plastic chopping board that was trimmed down to the size of an Ortlieb back-roller pannier pocket. It's only a few mms thick, weighs virtually nothing and stows away nicely in the pocket. I stopped doing this after buying a Trangia as the multi-disc works even better, but this is good with a regular stove setup.

Instead of bringing a big microfibre towel I can get by with two tiny (flannel-sized) towels instead. I use one to get me 95% dry, wringing out as necessary, and the other for the final 5%. This means less space taken up in your bag by towels, but more importantly no problems trying to dry a large towel which can be tricky in damp/wet conditions.

I carry a large towel which allows me to change into swimming trunks without shocking the locals. WRT chopping food I carry a sharp knife, I've got a Buck knife with a quality blade that can be removed from the handle, which is plastic which also means it's light. Don't use any form of chopping board, takes some care and skill. I've never cut myself preparing food.

What's the UK rules on knives,?
Is it blade length and fixed/ foldable?
I want to move up from my Swiss army penknife but need to stay legal.

"Selling, buying and carrying knives"
https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Jonathan

matt2matt2002 wrote:

whoof wrote:

bohrsatom wrote:For cutting food I used to use an IKEA flexible plastic chopping board that was trimmed down to the size of an Ortlieb back-roller pannier pocket. It's only a few mms thick, weighs virtually nothing and stows away nicely in the pocket. I stopped doing this after buying a Trangia as the multi-disc works even better, but this is good with a regular stove setup.

Instead of bringing a big microfibre towel I can get by with two tiny (flannel-sized) towels instead. I use one to get me 95% dry, wringing out as necessary, and the other for the final 5%. This means less space taken up in your bag by towels, but more importantly no problems trying to dry a large towel which can be tricky in damp/wet conditions.

I carry a large towel which allows me to change into swimming trunks without shocking the locals. WRT chopping food I carry a sharp knife, I've got a Buck knife with a quality blade that can be removed from the handle, which is plastic which also means it's light. Don't use any form of chopping board, takes some care and skill. I've never cut myself preparing food.

What's the UK rules on knives,?
Is it blade length and fixed/ foldable?
I want to move up from my Swiss army penknife but need to stay legal.

The link in the post above contains the legal situation.
Many knives are illegal to carry on public 'without good reason'. These include lock knives, Stanley knives, sheath knives and most kitchen knives.
The link above gives some examples of good reason but it's not exhaustive. Fishing and camping can be good reason. For instance you would need to be either actually fishing or on the way or on the way home. You couldn't argue that you keep it in your bag as you are fishing at the weekend.
Once I remove the blade from the plastic cover and put it in the knife it's a lock knife and therefore illegal. I have never been stopped by the police and searched in my life and don't think it at all likely whilst cycle touring. As I said most kitchen knives, which some cycle tourist carry are also illegal and are the most commonly used knife in assults. I have heard of cycle tourists who have had their small Swiss Army knife confiscated when boarding cross channel ferries.

Jdsk wrote:"Selling, buying and carrying knives"
https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Jonathan

Many thanks. I hadn't found that in my search before asking the question.