A Few of my favourite things

TENTS

Favourite all round Tent
- Durston X-Mid 1

This is the tent that i have spent the most nights in by a long shot. I just love it’s flexibility, it’s low weight and the incredibly fast pitch. With the solid inner, this is a very capable 3.5 season tent for milder weather.

I’ve used it for multi-day trips, bikepacking & kayak camping. The ability to pitch the outer on it’s own means it can be carried as a day shelter too.

Favourite 4 Season Tent - Nortent Varde 1

I’m no fan of storm camping, but if I’m going to be out in bad weather this is the shelter I’m taking. It’s really heavy but it’s solidly built and the 4 poles and multiple guy lines make it rock solid in wind. Vestibule is huge and has two different doors in case the wind changes direction. Downside, it’s really heavy, did I mention that?

Water Filters

I Regularly use water filters when I’m out hiking, running and camping. Here are the two filters that I use the most. After once catching norovirus while camping, I always look for one that can also remove viruses.

Grayl Ultrapress

This filter is capable of filtering 500ml of water in about 10 seconds. Just remove the outer sleeve, scoop up water from a river, insert the inner filter and press down. It removes bacteria, heavy metals, chemicals, viruses and more. You can drink straight from the top and it even fits in some bike bottle holders. The downside is that it’s expensive and bulky.

Pureclear Explore 500ml Filter Bottle

This is one of few soft flask filters on the market that can also remove viruses and tannins from the water. Most soft flask filters use a fibre filter that works great in upland areas were the risk of viruses in the water is lower. But they still leave the brown colour and that peaty taste. This filter removes it all. The downside is that it’s about 3-4x as slow as a fibre filter so not ideal if you’re in a hurry.