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| Camping kit for a kayak expedition | | Print | |
| Written by Holger | |
| Sunday, 22 November 2009 | |
Gear we used on Fraser Island Our recent Fraser Island kayak fishing & camping adventure created a lot of interest and feedback, including many questions about what sort of gear and equipment we used. So I'll try to describe in a bit more detail what we used and why. In general we used mainly ultralight hiking / mountaineering type gear. It always pays to get the best gear you can afford. You simply get better quality / materials, which are less likely to fail, last longer, have a higher safety margin and are often lighter. And weight is a very important point to consider. I often hear 'ah, you are in a kayak, so weight doesn't matter so much right?'. Wrong! Every kayak has a weight limit, and if you use lightweight, hiking-type gear to save on room and weight, you have more room for supplies which means you can take a longer trip, and you might even be able to make room for a couple of luxuries. Sleeping: My first piece of advice is not to save money on the tent, sleeping bag or insulation mattress. If you can't sleep at night because you are cold, wet or uncomfortable, the next day is already compromised. If it accumulates over a couple of days you run a higher risk of becoming fatigued and making errors. The tent is your home & shelter. It will keep you dry, insect free and protected, and is essential for your well-being in bad weather. It is not the right time to discover, if the weather turns bad on you, that the tent is not up to the task. Free-standing, lightweight, mountaineering-style constructions in combination with a sil-nylon fly and crossing aluminium poles are the way to go. A good tent will also come with a repair sleeve to repair a pole in case one snaps. For beach camping, sand pegs are essential. Normal 'nail' type pegs won't do any good in sand. Weight-wise, it definitely pays to share a tent, but if you happen to have some loud snorers in your group, you might want to go with a 'every man for himself ´ approach, as we did. An insulation mattress is the next important item to consider. A good self-inflating mattress is the go. They are very comfortable, and stop your body from losing heat into the ground. Through their thickness and construction they also prevent you from feeling every little stone or stick, and helping to ensure that you get a good night's sleep. I personally prefer the ones I can fold in half (lengthwise) before rolling up, to make sure that they don't become too bulky. Thermarest has several models which allow you to do this. I have seldom had a puncture in 19 years of using self-inflating mattresses. But to be on the safe side it pays to carry a small repair kit with a patch or two. The next item to ensure good night's sleep is an appropriate sleeping bag. Take one which is rated for a couple of degrees colder temperatures than you expect to encounter. The choice between down or fibre filling is up to the individual; in general fibre is a tad bulkier and heavier, but insulates even when wet. Down bags are a bit smaller and lighter, and I personally prefer the sleeping climate in a down bag, but they lose all insulation properties when wet, so they need to be keep dry. For a pillow I simply use the sleeping bag's pack sack, fill it with a few pieces of clothing, and ready is my pillow deluxe!  Camp: If you are going to be camping on sand, there are a few things which make life easier. The ability to prepare, cook and eat your food out of the sand is invaluable, so take a fold-up table. A shade cloth on the ground is another good one. Unlike a normal tarp, sand falls straight through the cloth, so it provides a relatively sand free environment. A small piece in front of the tent helps to keep the tent sand free. A tarp can be used as a rain shelter, wind protection, to provide shade, or to collect water. Lightweight ones made out of rip stop nylon or sil nylon are suited best for the task of kayak camping. Small packing size, durability and the fact they are light-weight are the arguments that speak for these materials. On our recent trip to Fraser Island, each of us brought along a tarp, however we decided that 2 Shade-cloth groundsheet's and 2 tarps between the 4 of us would better suit our purposes. We each carried a head-torch ( a must have ), and between us had 2 Primus Supernova LED lanterns, which proved to be very handy for cooking and lighting the communal area. They are surprisingly bright and energy efficient; it was unnecessary to change the batteries during our week-long trip, and we used the lanterns on a daily basis.  Food & cooking: Food is very important on a trip. Good food keeps you going physically and keep your spirits up. We dehydrated all fruit & vegetables as well as minced meat prior to the trip. Dehydrating 'shrinks' 1000g of vegetables into a small bag which fits in your hand and weighs less that 200g. After rehydrating they look and taste the same as fresh foods. We complimented the vegies with rice, noodles, couscous and the fish we caught. In case we couldn't secure a fish, we had the dehydrated mince as back up. For every single day I pre-packed a 'snack- bag'. In that I had muesli bars, maccadamias, dried apple rings, crackers and biltong, all in small zip lock bags to keep the daily rations together, and to protect it from getting wet. That way I knew exactly how much food I had for every day, and all I had to do was to grab a bag and I was good to go for the day. I had one spare for one extra day in case something went wrong, or we were delayed. I only took a mug and a bowl to eat from, as well as a Spork ( a spoon which doubles as fork). The Leatherman I carry makes another knife unnecessary. Paul's 'plastic sheet' style cutting board proved to be very helpful. We used liquid fuel stoves, but a good mountaineering style gas stove will do the Job as well. We used a titanium pots ( mainly to boil water), non-stick pots ( to cook sauces), as well as a frying pan.  A few bulletpoints to conclude... - I had a sounder with me, but next time I would leave it at home and save the weight. - Pack an extra jumper. - Clear pack bags make finding things easier, otherwise colour code them with tape or the like for quick identification. - Smaller bags fit easier into the hatches. - Dress for submersion, not air temperature. - Bring plenty of sunscreen and mosquito repellent. - A small shovel or trowel is helpful for a 'number two'. - A 10m rope and two big sand pegs work well to secure the Kayak . - We also used this set-up to anchor our Kayaks on steep banks to avoid having to drag them up. Instead we let them swim until high tide, then pulled them up just a little, and they where safe and dry all night. {mos_fb_discuss:13}    |
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