FROM September 5 to October 31, adventurer Caden Harbottle took on an epic hike from the UK mainland’s most northerly point – John O’Groats in Scotland – to his home in Thanet on the coast of Kent.
Mixing wild camping with established campsites and the occasional treat of a hostel or hotel, he carried all his requirements on his back for the 1,000-mile journey.
The expedition demanded some very careful planning in terms of gear, necessities and weight which is an aspect of the remarkable journey that he was happy to share with Everwild Outdoors.
“It was a fantastic adventure, and this island truly has some spectacular scenery,” said Caden.
“Below are some reviews of my main pieces of gear – I hope they can inform people who wish to do a similar trip.”
Tent
Durston X-Mid 1 Solid: This tent weighs about 800g and uses trekking poles to pitch. It was the perfect tent for a trip like this. While it isn’t a 4-season mountain tent, it did hold up well in 40mph gusts in an open field (Met office weather, I didn’t measure). It is very quick to pitch and is pitched fly first so is good for the rain. It has a small inner but large vestibules for gear storage. No complaints here.
Sleeping bag
Sea to Summit Spark III: This sleeping bag is one of the best purchases I have made. It weighs 665g and packs down tiny. It is ethically sourced down and has a comfort temp of -2. I had it at its limit some nights and I was never to cold to sleep. On hotter nights I could unzip down to the footbox and use it like a quilt. It has a water resistant coating that helps with bad condensation.
Sleep mat
Big Agnes Rapide SL: My trusty Rapide was a great choice. It is very comfortable and has a 4.2 R rating, meaning I was warm down into the minuses. It is also quite durable, I was never worried about it popping or tearing. It is also nice and quiet when moving.
Pillow
Alpkit Drift: I bought this in the Lake District a while ago when my other one broke. For £10 it did the job. It only started failing me on the last week. Can’t complain for the money.
Rucksack
Kakwa 55: One of the two most important things when long-distance walking. The Kakwa 55 was an excellent choice. My last bag was an Osprey Atmos AG 50, while it was good the bag itself weighed 2kg. The Kakwa weighs just under a Kilo while still having a good frame and hip-belt system. Most of the time it felt like I was wearing nothing at all. It had enough space for all my gear as well as a few days of food if need be. I did have an issue on day one where the frame dug into my back but this was due to how I was packing the bag, didn’t happen again.
Shoes
Merrel Agility Peak 5: Previously I have used Goretex shoes (I don’t like boots) and they get wet anyway, and once they are wet there’s no drying them. With these trail runners, yes I would get wet at the slightest damp grass, but if I stepped in a bog in the morning, by the evening they would be mostly dry. I expected I would need to buy a second pair half way through, I had been told trail runners aren’t durable, but here they are. I put them through hell and they are still wearable.
Waterproofs
Haglof L.I.M 2 Goretex. This raincoat weighs under 300g and never let any water through, only problem was it is quite sweaty due to no pit zips. My trousers were some cheap sports direct ones, they did the job. Although they did get ripped on a barb wire fence in Scotland so I had an ever increasing hole on my backside. I used mountain warehouse dry sacks inside the bag, one for sleep kit, one for electronics and misc.
Socks
Darn Tough: I wore them 90% of the walk and they are good as new, no sign of wear or damage. I had some Amazon waterproof socks as well that were simply terrible, they were waterproof for an hour or so of wet ground then would leak and not dry, was better to just wear my merinos, at least they were breathable.
Clothing
I wore lightweight hiking trousers for the first half, they were fine except they smelled after a while. After my week break with the Mrs I changed to jeans, they are more weather resistant and also odourless. I wore a Decathlon hiking shirt, no complaints there. I also had a mountain warehouse fleece and a decathlon synthetic puffy coat, I could have done with a warmer coat but I survived.
To see Caden’s full kit list and weights, visit https://lighterpack.com/r/v1bfxr
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