p>Rest of the stuff. I carried all the gear in the OMM Villain pack. This isn’t really big enough for this sort of trip. The sleeping bag is a bit on the bulky side, and the down mat takes up the remaining space. An Alpkit Filo jacket also took up space but I couldn’t have done without it. As usual, Paramo Aspira jacket and trews were worn and performed well except for the poppers on the side of the trousers continually opening. For a £150 pair of trousers I expect perfection and will be looking to modifying the poppers with an actual old fashioned button. A fleece and yak wool hat from Nepal and sealskin waterproof gloves were enough to keep the cold away. Your hands tend to get cold using poles, and the Leki Ultralight poles have given me months of loyal service but are starting to look pretty tatty as the pole length markers are all but worn off. Meindl Burma boots do the job well for this sort of walk and as it was dry didn’t freeze solid overnight like last time. Merino wool warm socks with some thinnish outer walking socks kept my feet warm enough. I don’t think trail shoes would have been wise, the ground being frozen solid meant I twisted my ankles many times during the trip and clambering over icy boulders I could stabilise myself by jamming a foot between rocks often up to my ankles.

Nothing but a decent head torch will suffice for me, and the Petzl Myo3 is a good balance of weight and performance. It’s good enough for night walking, so it’s a vital piece of hill kit for winter day walks where ending the walk in the dark is often the norm. It also takes AA batteries, which any gear I take must also take. That means I can take my camera batteries if need be and use them in my head torch or GPS. In winter I carry a set of Lithium batteries as well as they don’t get affected by the cold.

A Nokia N95 was useful as an MP3 player, radio and for a bit of web browsing. On my last wild camp I managed to post on the blog with it. Soon I’ll be getting an Asus EEE 901 which may be my luxury item on summer wild camps (review soon). I always use my Garmin GPSmap 76c to log the walk and it also gives a much quicker idea if we’re off path or not. If they don’t match up, then the map is straight out. The Fuji Finepix S9600 is bulky but I wouldn’t go on a trip like this without being able to take a decent photographic record.

What I didn’t use. Paramo mountain top – great fleece that’s also a base layer so counted as spare fleece and layer. First aid kit with whistle– few odds and sods only. Spare batteries weren’t used, but essential. Sunglasses were taken, but the sun wasn’t quite strong enough. I also had sealskin mittens and Paramo long johns that I just didn’t need, but I was glad that they were.

What I didn’t take, but wished I had? I could have done with a Complan for breakfast. I’d not been able to get to a shop to buy this over the busy holiday period and suffered a bit on the second day. One of these would have made a nice pudding in the evening as the meal left me craving something sweet but not chocolate. A windproof would have been my top of choice on the warmer second day if I’d been able to fit it in my pack! Definitely a better set of headphones for my Nokia and a decent portable radio as the N95 has an atrociously poor battery life. I can’t replace it with an MP3 player as I’m yet to see a decent one that takes AA batteries and they all require wall sockets to charge and proclaim is as a useful feature. Other than that, I was happy that the gear did the job well and that there was minimal dead wood. The rucksack needs to be larger for a longer trip in similar conditions though. Weight wise you could drop this down a kilo or so with a lighter bag, but for a significant price. The OMM Villain isn’t the lightest pack either, but it’s comfortable and I’d stick to this rather than go completely minimal. I think if I’d have cut weight down with most of the other gear then I’d have lost comfort at best or at worst I’d have had the wrong gear for the conditions at hand and suffered badly.

A rough estimate is that the pack weight was somewhere in the region of 8 kilos without counting the camera (non-essential) or the poles (as they’re’worn’). Of course, the rest of the worn gear adds a lot of weight as does the food – but on the net pack weights are usually stated without consumables (gas, water, food) or items worn (inc boots). The full weight of my gear would have been much higher, and this’Skin out’ weight included my waterproofs. In seeking lower weights I cannot see how any lighter gear would have performed as good as the Paramo, which at this time of year really does count as a lightweight choice. Aspira Trousers (850g) and the Jacket (840g) count as an insulation and a waterproof layer for the entire body, worn just with decent baselayers are enough for walking in this weather, you know you’ll be dry and warm. I might have got away with lighter clothing but had the weather changed I might not (definitely on the Saturday, normal walking trews and a windproof would have been OK). So it depends how much risks you like to take! You might go up Snowdon in January with t-shirts and flip flops and survive, it doesn’t mean it was a wise course of action.

I previously owned the OMM MOuntain mover, the Giant Jaffa. I spent a few months umming and aahhing to buy it, with the only negative point being the colour. I bought it, and i was quite pleased. It did the job, but it was cavernous. Far too big for the kind of trips i was doing. I also started to hate the lid closure system. Basically no more than thin string with a toggle the size and thickness of a 5p piece.

I didn’t have to look too far for a replacement. My mate’s offered me a fair price for the Mountain Mover (obviously not deterred by orange) and i’m now the proud owner of the pack below.

First Impressions.

First worry i had was the pack’s capacity. Packed it last night with tent, sleeping bag and most of the bulky items and there’s a load of free space. All i’m going to need to fit in there is a fleece and food, with a bit of spare space to pack my camera and windproof if i dont need t wear it. There are even some nifty side pockets where you can access the inside of the pack, though i’m not sure how useful they will be?

The lid pocket on the pack is better shaped too than the Mountain Mover, as are the side mesh pockets. They are made of a softer mesh that has a bit more give in it, but the full length mesh pockets are absent in this model and i think i’ll miss them. There’s a handy zipped pocket on the compression system too, ideal for maps or a bit of chocolate. Not to forget the pockets in the waist band too, for items you need to hand during the day. Chocolate tends to melt when kept in them though and they aren’t big enough for an OS map but a Harvey’s will squeeze in. Hopefully my GPS will fit into one too.

Weightwise, the pack isn’t exceptionally lightweight. According to the OMM website, the pack weighs 1160g. If i remove the backpadding like i used to on the Mountain Mover, then i’m sure the weight will be similar. I’m not reducing my overall packweight, but i am hopefully getting a pack more suitable to my needs.

Another place i think the pack scores well is on the straps. I found the previous straps far too minimal and caused discomfort under my armpits. These are far more substantial and as far i can tell, very comfortable. You can also adjust the straps much more than previous models, and i found the hipbelt was actually on my hips. Yes, probably down to the personal fit of the pack, but that’s all i can comment on. Theres some clips under the lid and a strap that you can use to fix ropes, or i can see being perfect for stowing my Paramos when not in use.

I will be trying the pack out the coming weekend all being well. If i don’t, then i’m not due out again till August due to my impending wedding. I can see how well it performs in the field, whether i use the gizmos on it and whether using it with the back padding in place will be more comfortable than using my sleeping mat as back padding. I’ll take some photos too.