Paging the walkers / hikers

Donnie

Donnie

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OK, in a bid to get out more from a photographic point of view and get a little fitter I've decided to start exploring the world, ok, local countryside.

So, Im looking for a little advice re starting to get out and about hiking / walking.

Just to be clear, I was a scout in my younger days and can still read a proper compass and OS map, both of which I already have, also my local area is Bedfordshire, no mountains etc at all so my plans to explore via public footpaths, bridleways etc.

So my plan is to build up slowly distance wise but have the gear I need with me to be safe and comfortable.

Gear wise I need advice on a few bits, ie appropriate clothing and boots. OK, I have thermals, jeans and some camo waterproofs that are good enough in all but torrential downpours, Im planning on buying one of the lowe alpine airzone backpacks and was going to nip to go outdoors to try on some boots, likely hitecs as they seem to have a decent reputation.

I will also ensure i have a bivvi bag, whistle, torch, battery backup etc just in case but is there anything else im missing that someone else would add?
Oh and what's good for food these days to keep energy levels up, when i was scouting we basically took water and sandwiches :-)
 
lose the jeans for starters, get some nice walking trousers with stretch panels, good boots.
decent breathable jacket, walking uphill is warm work and dont panic about waterproof as a little cagool (bad spelling) in the rucky to throw over.
 
Try Mountain Warehouse for gear, I find it very good, found out that a pair of boots I bought and wore for work daily for nearly year
I should have taken back as they were still under guarantee.
Their waterproofs are good to and not too expensive, especially of you catch the sales
 
silly little things like gloves, a beenie, snood neck toob,
look at craghoppers troosers, they do nice lined ones for winter walking
 
Christ almighty what is the necessity to have a ton of gear to go for a walk, all I ever take is my camera and something to eat.
 
Plus 1 on the Craghoppers gear, Debenhams carry the range and sometimes have good deals on their stuff
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Christ almighty what is the necessity to have a ton of gear to go for a walk, all I ever take is my camera and something to eat.
Click to expand...

Christ almighty what is the necessity to take food along?

Oh, it's your personal choice? OK then.
 
LOL, yes its only bedfordshire but this isnt' about going for a stroll along the Ouse, I want to build up to some more challenging walks / hill climbs and a lot of those are not on smooth paths whether tar or muck, a lot will be loose tracks, several accross land that's right of way on fields etc with loose substrates.

One thing I remember from my scouting days was be prepared. I prefer to have waterproofs etc etc with me in a back pack should they be needed rather than find myself without them.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Christ almighty what is the necessity to have a ton of gear to go for a walk, all I ever take is my camera and something to eat.
Click to expand...

I think I saw you a few weeks ago........The Nude Rambler!

To be fair, he's not talking 'A walk' he wants to go hiking/walking, which may, or may not include some big hills eventually.
For this, the right gear is a must. It need not weigh a ton though!
 
I got my last set of walking shoes (walking boots but in trainer shape) from decathlon of all places. Just their £25 own brand I think. Survived a week in Norway and still going strong.
 
I walk every day through the winter - about 2 - 3,000 miles mainly off road in rural Norfolk.

My essentials other than the obvious are:

- A CHARGED mobile phone WITH CREDIT only used for emergencies. Nokia brick - definitely not a smartphone.
- Waterproof jacket in a 5 li waterproof stuff sack (jacket on = camera in). Never felt the need for waterproof trousers - legs are fine in walking trousers.
- Head torch and spare batteries (Alpkit do a good one for not a lot)
- Map on new routes.
- MP3 player with lots of comedy on it - helps a lot when it's miserable out.
 
zendog said:
I walk every day through the winter - about 2 - 3,000 miles mainly off road in rural Norfolk.

My essentials other than the obvious are:

- A CHARGED mobile phone WITH CREDIT only used for emergencies. Nokia brick - definitely not a smartphone.
- Waterproof jacket in a 5 li waterproof stuff sack (jacket on = camera in). Never felt the need for waterproof trousers - legs are fine in walking trousers.
- Head torch and spare batteries (Alpkit do a good one for not a lot)
- Map on new routes.
- MP3 player with lots of comedy on it - helps a lot when it's miserable out.
Click to expand...

Hmm, a Flatlander.
 
Steep said:
Plus 1 on the Craghoppers gear, Debenhams carry the range and sometimes have good deals on their stuff
Click to expand...

Yep they have some on sale currently. I'll have to google the different types though as there seems quite a range.
 
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Another plus for Craghoppers - I wear my Kiwi trousers virtually all the time. If it looks like rain I'll take a pair of cheap overtrousers with me, but I can't remember the last time I used them.

Have a look at the Trekwear site as they almost always have good deals on Craghoppers.

You mentioned Go Outdoors - they have a good range and do a discount card. Don't know if this is true but ages ago someone told me to buy boots in the afternoon because your feet swell during the day.

For food I take sandwiches and whatever biscuit things take my fancy. In the summer I only carry water to drink, usually about a litre but in the places I tend to walk there is always plenty of water. In the winter I'll take water and a small stainless steel flask of hot water and tea bags.

Dave
 
Haix army boots in brown, there are two models, both with goretex, medium and wide fittings.
I have both, paid 74 for a brand new pair, much better quality than anything on a high street i can assure you.
 
Don't go too far first time out in new boots. Having never had a single blister from any footwear. I did 13 miles in my most recent boots and my feet were in bits. 2 huge blisters on each foot.
I'd also say whatever the price a good pair of boots set you back, they're the one thing, more than any other that needs to be right.
 
Absolutely and thats exactly my plan, boots first with everything else to follow. It makes sense after all when I'm only doing a few miles at first, good opportunity to break them in and for those walks I can hold back on buying the backpack and use a simpler bag i already have and that means more budget for the boots. I figure that the better gear can be purchased as I improve the types and distances I want to cover.
 
Sounds a good plan to me. Also any training for hills needs to be done on the hills too I think, any amount of flat walking won't have you fully ready for some decent slopes. Simple things like tackling stairs instead of lifts during the week all help, a good 6-7 flights of stairs (2 at a time) give the legs a good turning over. Obviously depends if using office blocks, multi storey car parks etc though.
I use memory map on the phone too as a primary map but if off the beaten track, map & compass as a fail safe.
 
Look up the viewranger app which is very good. It doesn't seem to use loads of battery and will record your walk and let you download your walks and upload standard gpx files from the Web.
(Take a map and compass too though in case of phone failure)
If you have a mobile Internet signal it can use the open source mapping for free at 1:25000 or you can buy OS mapping in large or small chunks at 1:50k/1:25k (whole country at 1:25k is still expensive but sometimes they have 20%off sales)
The national parks UK 1:50 at £10 was a no brainer for me.
If you buy OS maps now they come with digital downloads of the same area but not sure if you can use it like a gps?

If you have a decathlon nearby they do some good base layers and fleeces for not a lot of cash and some good walking trousers too.
I have the craghoppers pro stretch trousers which are comfy and dry quickly and not expensive; I put a ski base layer under them for winter walks.

There's a site called walkingworld where people can upload walks to.
You can search using your postcode and it will list walks within say 50miles from you and then you can see a brief description of the walk.
If you join (£18 a year at the moment ) you can download as many walks as you like and most come with a printable map, some with waypoint photos so you know where to change paths and gps route downloads.
If you don't join there's an option to just buy individual walks but they're a couple of pounds each so they soon add up.
Edit: Membership gets you 15% off at cotswold outdoor too.
Apologies for the long post.
Have fun!!
 
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