Cycling UK Forum

Sweep wrote:

ossie wrote:

rualexander wrote:Well, you don't need a mallet that's for sure, so spend the £6 on something else.
In 35 years of cycle camping I've never used a mallet for anything.
There's always a rock or lump of concrete lying around somewhere.

My plastic mallet saves me looking around for rocks and also has a handy bit for pulling the peg out... worth its weight, which is minimal.

Yes. Was doing some tarp practice in the woods the other day.
Lots of knarled wood and general mulch.
No rocks.
No concrete strangely enough.
And why ruin my nice pegs!

And wood is very often damp. Far better to use meths or gas (edit - from later post)

When wet collect firewood from the woods perimeter or a clearing. Shave wet wood as it’s only surface wet. Staking out isn’t as critical in the woods where wind isn’t a factor. Shape a few wood stakes. Meths can run out (evaporate). A good wood stove (double chamber) nests a Trangia burner. Mallet is for Boy Scouts.

Cheap foam mat. Cheap sleeping bag. Cheap bivvy. Cheap tarp. Cheap wood burner. Cheap steel mug. Cheap spork. What do I win?

nsew wrote:Cheap foam mat. Cheap sleeping bag. Cheap bivvy. Cheap tarp. Cheap wood burner. Cheap steel mug. Cheap spork. What do I win?

cheep cheep!

nsew wrote:When wet collect firewood from the woods perimeter or a clearing. Shave wet wood as it’s only surface wet. Staking out isn’t as critical in the woods where wind isn’t a factor. Shape a few wood stakes. Meths can run out (evaporate). A good wood stove (double chamber) nests a Trangia burner. Mallet is for Boy Scouts.

Its a cycling forum buddy. I'd rather get my lightweight mallet out on a rock hard French campsite after 80 miles in the heat before collecting my firewood and shaping a few woodstakes

ossie wrote:...... I'd rather get my lightweight mallet out on a rock hard French campsite......

Is a lightweight mallet going to achieve much on a rock hard French campsite?
Can't be that lightweight if it's able to drive pegs into rock hard earth surely?

ossie wrote:

nsew wrote:When wet collect firewood from the woods perimeter or a clearing. Shave wet wood as it’s only surface wet. Staking out isn’t as critical in the woods where wind isn’t a factor. Shape a few wood stakes. Meths can run out (evaporate). A good wood stove (double chamber) nests a Trangia burner. Mallet is for Boy Scouts.

Its a cycling forum buddy. I'd rather get my lightweight mallet out on a rock hard French campsite after 80 miles in the heat before collecting my firewood and shaping a few woodstakes

And settling down to knit a tent out of grass after wrestling a tiger to the ground.

Wine box liners have provided all our camping pillows for years .... yes ! ..empty ones !!

Sweep wrote:And settling down to knit a tent out of grass after wrestling a tiger to the ground.

Grass? You were lucky to have grass. Etc. ; - )

Jonathan

rualexander wrote:

ossie wrote:...... I'd rather get my lightweight mallet out on a rock hard French campsite......

Is a lightweight mallet going to achieve much on a rock hard French campsite?
Can't be that lightweight if it's able to drive pegs into rock hard earth surely?

Have to say i was sceptical when i first saw one but i've been convinced, its not the weight that drives the peg but the percussion. A rubber head mallet might feel like a proper tool but a lot of the impact is soaked up by the material, wheras the nylon of the lightweight job doesn't deform and transfers pretty much all your effort into driving the peg.

My original Pegisu shows no signs of damage/wear after @ 5 seasons of use on all sorts of camp surfaces unlike any rubber mallet i've owned.

Always remember the definition of a University Bursar: someone who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.

What about towels -- and wash stuff. Got that sorted yet? I find those micro fibre towels a bit useless and prefer to take small standard cotton towels.

To be fair I don't camp light -- I'd rather carry about 4 times your weight limit maybe a lot more but I'm away for two weeks usually, make one or two base camps and explore the area so my camping gear isn't compatible with this challenge.

I've got it down well to being very comfortable. Couldn't tolerate working my nuts off just to survive -- I want to enjoy my surroundings / event I've come to experience. Don't see the point of camping in the woods wondering when an old mad farmer will shoot me in my coffin tent.

As for budget I probably could get my stuff under your limit. I normally take my vango tent but I could make the budget by taking my lidi's Crivit 4 man ( read two man really ) tent -- £35 with a 3000mm hydrostatic flysheet and great bath tub ground sheet. I've proved it in a 45MPH rainstorm last year. Dry as snuff.

Cowsham wrote:I find those micro fibre towels a bit useless...

Me too. I'd be interested in what others use.

Jonathan

Oh and the lidi tent is very easy to pitch since both inner and outer are together and the poles run around the outside. -- also has great air space between both. -- packed that way from new but you can separate if needed. It even has a decent porch area with it's own ground sheet that ties to the bath tub bedroom one. Pockets, lantern hanger, smooth operating zips -- but best of all how do they make it and sell it for £35 retail?

i haven't forgotten this - i've just been collecting more stuff, i'll do a full run down in a couple of days but i've added an SI mat, stove, crockery, pan(s) and even a first aid kit!

I haven’t read through all of the thread but no doubt Trangia Stoves and Cook-sets have been mentioned somewhere. Trangia stuff is, I think, good but can also be quite pricey. If you want to cook with Meths (it can work well but doesn’t suit everybody) then other ‘storm cookers’ are available for a fraction of the price of a Trangia; durability and quality might not match Trangia but for limited use that might not be an issue.