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  1. supersullivan

    Polyester or nylon?

    A merino long sleeved layer has the benefit of being considerably warmer than a poly/pro long sleeved layer, can be worn for about 3 consecutive days before odour becomes an issue and can usefully serve as an extra warm layer in a cold dormitory. The drawbacks would be that it takes considerably...
  2. supersullivan

    Do I really need a compass?

    Susan, short and sweet: no need for a compass unless you're planning on taking detours off the marked route. Buen camino Seamus
  3. supersullivan

    Equipment Questions

    Leave the insect repellant and wool cap at home. You have separate mention of food and snacks plus cutlery. If you are intending to cook a meal most nights I suppose you can justify the weight but if you are really trying to trim your weight and not operating of a very small budget then you can...
  4. supersullivan

    To headlamp, or not to headlamp?

    As a regular hillwalker, I always carry a headlamp, winter or summer, only used it about 5 times on 50 odds days on the camino, usually when a pesky 5 am repacker made further sleep impossible and I ended up walking before daylight. A lot would depend in your own case as to when sunrise would be...
  5. supersullivan

    Good cheap gloves for wet conditions?

    For the camino, I carry a pair of merino wool liner gloves which I normally wear inside heavy mittens when hill walking in winter in Ireland, they're very light, very compact, quick to dry and excellent for prolonged walking in cool, wet conditions, my current pair cost about €15 this winter.
  6. supersullivan

    Merino Wool socks VS Coolmax socks

    Diogo I use both combined when hill walking in Ireland in wintertime. The coolmax socks I use are a thin liner sock worn inside my 'Bridgedale' wool-mix hiking socks. On my 1st camino I continued using the combination but found my concerns re tender feet were not realised so on my 3 longer...
  7. supersullivan

    Should I buy these socks?

    Les, my own socks of choice are Bridgedale mid weight trekkers, so far 1, 400 kms on 3 caminos and about 2,500 kms other hiking and not a blister experienced. BUT everyone's feet are different and what is ideal for me might be a nightmare for you. Suggest you get 1 pair and do long walks in them...
  8. supersullivan

    Newbie Packing List

    I'd reduce the socks/underwear to 3 sets of each, pick up a small knife in Spain if you need it for picnicing on stages rather than risk hassle at the airport. My preference is for a liner bag rather than a sleeping bag - if you're finding the albergues cool you can always wear the next day's...
  9. supersullivan

    What DO men put in their backpacks?

    I carry nothing but essentials in my 600 litre backpack.
  10. supersullivan

    Crazy question regarding clothes washing

    I brought 3 tech hiking base layers, 3 hiking shorts, 3 pairs hiking socks, 2 pairs liner socks and 3 underpants. I washed hiking shorts, base layer, liner socks and underpants daily, the hiking socks I washed every 2 days as they took longer to dry. I started my shower fully dressed and then...
  11. supersullivan

    Pics of packs

    Wayfarer, Offa's Dyke is fairly demanding, about 8,500 metres of climbing in about 175 miles, hardest thing to get used to was the number of villages you'd pass through that no longer had a village shop or pub, meant carrying about 13 kilos backpack weight with extra water/food plus the normal...
  12. supersullivan

    Pics of packs

    My backpack for the last 5 years, Lowe Alpine 45+10 capacity: 6 Western Way Marathons, 2 West Highland Ways, 1 Offa's Dyke Path, 2 Art O'Neill's, 1 Maamturk Challenge and 3 Caminos. Hoping I'll get a few years more out of it yet. This shot was taken at the seafront in Prestatyn, Wales when I...
  13. supersullivan

    panicking today!!!

    Hi Bumblebee, do think you should try to drop a couple of kilos of weight from your pack unless you've been carrying a similar weight in your pack on your training walks/hikes, you're in all likelihood substantially increasing your chances of blisters and sore shoulders/neck. Chill about the...
  14. supersullivan

    Cloth Badge on Backpack

    Another benefit of sewing rather than glueing is that when you eventually replace your backpack, a couple of minutes with a stitch picker will see any treasured badges available to put on a new backpack which is probably not an option if they're glued on.
  15. supersullivan

    Cloth Badge on Backpack

    Wayfarer, I'm already following Usain Bolt's training schedule just in case I see that personalised badge approaching. :rolleyes:
  16. supersullivan

    Cloth Badge on Backpack

    I get my badges sewn on but when I get my pack home, rub a candle on the inside of the pack where the stitches are to get a waterproof seal.
  17. supersullivan

    Are Brasher boots readily available to buy in Spanish shops?

    Nell, if you are happy with your current boots as you seem to be and they do the job you need them to do and they are still readily available then I would hesitate to change, feet are so individual and there is so much variation in things like the width of the toe box, flex of the sole...
  18. supersullivan

    Are Brasher boots readily available to buy in Spanish shops?

    Nell, I use Brasher Hillmaster, Lowa Munro's or similar for my Irish hillwalking but spent a lot of time looking for a lighter alternative for my 'long' camino in 2013, I ended up buying Meindl Meran's, my Brasher's weigh in at 2.050 kgs for a pair of size 11's while the Meindl weigh in at 1.650...
  19. supersullivan

    beard or razor?

    I went with the number 2 blade haircut the day before I departed and a no razor, no shampoo policy for my backpack, pretty it ain't but what little hair I had left was dry a minute after stepping out of the shower. ;-)
  20. supersullivan

    Preferred Boots or Shoes in the UK???

    I usually use a full weight hiking boot for my hill walking in Ireland but my most recent purchase, Lowa 'Munros' weighed in at 2.06 kgs for a pair of size 11's so I went with Meindl Meran GTX's for my recent St Jean-Finisterre-Muxia camino, 985 kms with not a foot problem in sight, the Meran's...

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