The list I never keep my kitlists. I bin them and re-write on every exercise or activity. This betters my fluency on selecting the kit I will need, and kit will vary with different activities anyhow(and I'm REALLY untidy, and lose the kitlist anyway!) So, here's a general example of a kitlist, I will write out off the top of my head right now- Let's imagine a past scenario; I'm going to sennybridge for five days, will be sleeping outside, cooking myself. I will firstly categorise my kit, and under each sub-heading, write the relevant kit needed. I will tick them once they're in the rucksack, strictly not before hand. Kitlist- Eating/cooking Food- here, I tend to jot down the dietary requirements: I'll require 4 breakfasts (not five, as I'll be arriving on the first day brekfasted), 5 Lunches, and 4 teas (will not need tea on 5th day, as we will be leaving before teatime). I can now construct a separate food list, and rummage through ratpacks and take out what I need, rather than carry five boxes and use half the contents. Equipment- KFS, stove (probably hexi), sufficient fuel & spares, Mess tin, cleaning kit. Matches/lighter (can be found in ratpacks). Sleeping Sleeping bag (and liner). Poncho & equipment and groundsheet. Rollmat. Tip; For warm feet, stick fresh socks in armpits for a few minutes when in the sleeping bag, then stick them on. Can be slightly awkward to manage, but is well worth it. Clothing Spare- Waterproofs. 2x spare t-shirt (green), 1x S95 DPM shirt, 1x DPM trouser, 1x DPM smock. 5x Underwear, spare thick socks. Wearing- (I do not intend to go to sennybridge bollock-naked!). Boots & socks. DPM Trouser, t-shirt (green), S95, DPM Smock, scrim scarf, beret. Trouser twists. Tip; wearing socks, thin layer on bottom, thick on top. Hygiene & Maintanance Basic personal cleaning kit- soap, shaving blade (no foam; use water), baby wipes, under-arm care (such as roll-on anti-perspirant). Polish/boot kit. Sewing kit. First aid kit. Blister kit (unfortunately, blisters are a fact of life when out on any activity with boots). Towel. Tip; Keep it basic (I once witnessed a cadet with two aftershaves, deodorant and hair gel on an expedition. A big no-no). When facilities are unavailable, a good wash with baby wipes will do the trick. Change underwear daily. You can also purchase from outdoor shops, gel-like tubes for washing, which won't require water or drying off (I've never used them myself, so feel free to leave comments if you have used them). Misc. kit Water system (platapus) and spare water (2L). Camcream. Pocket knife. Torch (and spare batteries). Knife. Spare trouser twists. Spare boots/footwear. Binbags and plastic bags. Notebook/pen. (I often find myself adding bits onto the miscellaneous list as I pack along). Tip; Stick misc. kit in webbing, or side and top pockets for easy access. Carrying You may imagine the total weight of everything in the above list is quite considerable when thrown into the depths of a bergen. I once spoke to an RAF regiment corporal, and when out on foot, with all the neccesseties as well as rifle, ammunition, radio, etc, he carries a total ammount in excess of 100 pounds. I once tried on the kit the regiment uses, and needed support to stand up (I can claim that I was 14 at the time and had'nt got used to carrying such weight, but still, this does not reduce the weight in general terms; 100 pounds is still 100 pounds!). They can run for miles with the kit; bloody amazing. By practicing and going out regularly, one will, however, get used to carrying such weight. We once had a cadet who completed his Duke of Edinburgh expedition carrying his kit in two farmfoods polythene bags! We will not be doing this, of course. Believe it or not, but the same cadet joined the RAF regiment not too long ago, but lasted only a few months. More to the point. Today, we will be using a bergen or a rucksack for the general kit, and anything that will need to be accessed easily can be tucked away in a rigging/webbing system (such as water, pen & paper, waterproofs, f-aid kit). A personal choice is a 'South African British DPM assault vest' webbing system. All though not issued, it can be purchased for around 30 pounds. In fact, I only paid 25 for mine from 'qm stores'- http://www.qmstores.co.uk/item-South-African-Assault-Vest-SAAVXX.html. When in camp, the bergen and the rest of the kit will be dumped, and the webbing can easily carry all the necessities of the day. Packing It is utterly important to pack the bergen, or rucksack, in an orderly fashon, rather than just throw everything in, close the bag, and set off to mordor, or wherever you're off to (and no, I am not a Lord of The Rings fan!). To stress this importance, let's imagine an example of a typical going-out-for-a-walk scenario- You're on your way to an RV, or campsight, or wherever your excellent navigation skills will take you, let's say aprox 16 miles away. Half way, in an open field, it starts to piss it down with rain. With no shelter in sight, you pull your rucksack off in a panic, to find out that everything's on top of each other, in no order, and the waterproof gear's in there somewhere, but not sure where. You pull all the kit out, and lay it on the wet grass, rummage through everything, and finally find the waterproof clothing. By the time you re-pack the gear, everything's drenched, including sleeping bag, spare clothes, etc. You'll be soaking wet yourself, so you might as well not wear the waterproofs anyway! When finally at the RV, lets' presume it's still raining, the same process will be repeated when searching for, for example, a tent or stove. You then need to continue with the exercise with wet kit, which may last a few days. What a complete mess!! Sleeping in a wet sleeping bag is in fact more dangerous than sleeping without, as moisture will suck out the warmth from your body five times faster. In the scenario above, hyperthermia would very possibly set in, and all though it may sound over the top, can easily kill someone in a matter of hours, if not minutes. It is therefore vitally important to pack the kit orderly. Personally, I go through my kit, before packing, and think when will i use it in that day, for example, I'm walking all day, when I reach the campsite, I'll need some food and shelter. I will therefore be packing the tent, food and cooking utilities close to the top. After a meal, I'll need to get out of my wet kit once I stop moving (either way, if it rains or not, the clothing will probably be drenched in sweat), so it makes sense to pack my spare clothing under the cooking stuff. I will then be cleaning my cooking equipment, and touch up on personal hygiene, so the next 'food on the menu' will be cleaning kit. I will finally need to get my head down and get some sleep, so I'll retreive my sleeping bag, but before unravelling it, by this point, the tent/shelter will have kit allover the shop, so I'll throw everything I won't need for the night in the bergen (here, the order won't be vitally important, as I'll need to re-pack in the morning). The tent should therefore be relatively tidy, So there's plenty of room to unroll the bag, and cower in the sack for the night. Note; Misc. kit can be stored in pockets on the side/top. Certainly a mouthful, but certainly well worth it. I've seen cadets drop out of exercises or activities due to lack of preparion. I even find myself packing daysacks, such as when going to the beach, I automatically pack the bag in an 'order of the day' fashion, without thinking. Waterproofing One other important point is to waterproof the rucksack. Yes, you can purchase 'waterproof' rucksacks. No, they don't work. Personally, I have a large 'stuff sack' which can be purchased from most surplus military equipment stores. The stuffsack is closed by rolling the top, bang close the clips on the top. It will then be watertight. Fluids, such as emergency water and my platapus hydration system (a water bladder with a long tube) will go on the outside of the stuff sack; if anything leaks, the kit will remain dry, and if they do leak, a wet patch will appear on the bergen as a warning. Waterproofs will also be on the outside, as they can easily be accessed, and they will not be needed to be kept out of the rain! You should by now have an idea of how to pack your equipment. The above 'guide' is not only for military enthusiasts such as myself, but for anyone of the general public who should decide to go out and conquer Everest (or more realistically, go on a camping trip with family/friends). Enjoy! |
