On a recent “ wobble “ to the top of Japan. I was well aware of the load I was stuffing into the cheap Chinese panniers.
A well respected person in the bush-craft community, a certain Dave Canterbury, coined the phrase “The five Cs”. This is a wonderful way of remembering NOT to pack it. In other words; you don’t need it! These “ five Cs” are; Candle ( lighting) Container, Cordage, Combustion, Cover.
Bearing this in mind, I screwed up.
I went through all of the gear, time and time again, thinking about do I really need to take it? In the end, I honestly thought all I took would be essential.
At the end of my travels I sent back 5kg of gear, leaving enough to survive a night !
The gear I took was as follows: “ a woobie poncho liner” , a rope hammock, My rope kit, a canvas poncho ( plash planka, a article on this will appear later as this is a great bit of kit), a ground sheet.
Cooking: a US canteen kit, ( stove, cup and Stanley canteen ), a US mess kit ( frying pan and plate), a fire kit ( lighter, ferro rod, flint and steel ), a small plastic table, a tomahawk for cutting small wood, a Swiss army knife, a leather-man tool, a head torch, gloves x 2 ( one for hot things the other for repairs on bicycle ), a titanium wood stove.
A tablet for communication and google maps, a kobo book reader,batteries for tablet and camera, a extension cord (allows the charging of multiple electronic items ) and a travel solar panel.
A hygiene kit ( electric shaver, tooth brushes lysterine, contact lenses , soap).
Clothing; ( shorts and thin long pants , 2 pairs of socks, 2 tee shirts and a thin jacket. ).
Sleeping; A thick poncho liner that doubles as a sleeping bag and hammock under sheet. An inflatable sleeping mat. An Outdoor research bivi bag.
A pair of binoculars, a tool kit for the bicycle. A compass, a watch, a plastic shower bag.
Rice , flour, soy beans, coffee, cocoa, coffee creamer.
As you can see, and it can be argued that all of the above was necessary.
However, after sending back 5kg. I ended up with only: A bivi bag , the thick poncho liner, the hygiene kit, the book reader, a broken tablet, the compass, the clothes, the torch, the canteen kit , the knives, the tool kit, the canvas poncho, the ground sheet, and the camera.
I could have left a few things at home. The tablet, the shower, the binoculars and have replaced them with a goose down hammock under blanket which doubles as a sleeping bag and blanket as it did get cold in Hokkaido.
When looking at what to bring, one must really think deeply about what and why one needs to pack it. I used all of the equipment but a lot of it wasn't used much and not really necessary.
The argument could be applied were they necessary on a comfort level? This question causes, in my humble opinion, people to pack “too much stuff”.
If one looks at the photograph of the motorcyclists I met. Pretty much to a man jack of them was overloaded, with too much stuff! Some severely so !
You don’t need it. Leave it at home!.
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