My 2013 packing list.

[Diogo92]

Hello everybody.

So, I’m doing my final preparations for my Camiño, starting it in Friday the 3rd of May, from Póvoa do Varzim (Portugal) to Santiago de Compostela.

I just ended to preparing my pack, and see how all the things would be accommodated into the backpack, and I finally managed to do my Equipment List. I’ve choose a 40L Quechua Forclaz 40 backpack.

So, here it is. All that I need for the 10 day walking to Santiago:

Clothes/Shoes
- 1x Raincoat Cover for my Backpack
- 1x Ultralight Sleeping Bag (weights 875g, and can handle until 0º)
- 1x Mini Pillow
- 1x Shemagh/Arab Scarf (to protect from the cold, but also from the heat, especially the back part of the neck)
- 1x Waterproof Windbreaker, furred in some parts, with a synthetic warm type of fabric
- 2x Pairs of modulating pant’s (it could work has shorts has well)
- 3x Pairs of Hicking socks
- 3x Pairs of Cottons socks, with no seams (to work has a first layer between the foot and the Hicking socks)
- 3x Pairs of boxers (underpants, whatever)
- 1x Tecfresh T-shirt
- 2x High-Tec t-shirts (one of them it’s to sleep, the other it’s to walk)
- 1x Polar Shield Fleece Sweatshirt (for night use, if I decide to take a walk outside the Albergue, and also after the bath)
- 1x Cap
- 1x Fiber Towel
- 1x Pair of swimming flip-flops (I’ve choose these, instead of sandals because they are lighter! I managed to save almost 600g with this change!)
- 1x Pair of Hicking boot’s, Quechua Forclaz 500 (they have already been used in some Trekking’s that I did).

Hygiene/Health products
- 1x Factor 50 sun cream lotion
- 1x Roll-on Deodorant
- 1x Toilet Paper Roll
- 2x Packages of Kleenex (those with 10 per package)
- 1x Toothbrush/1x toothpaste
- 1x Mini bar of blue and white soap (for washing clothes and for bath)
- 1x Package of Vaseline (for foot rub and also for lip protection, against the cold in the morning)
- 1x Package of Fucidine (it’s a cream that you can use to stop infections in wounds and in blisters)
- 1x Package of Fenistil (for bugs bites and also some skin burns)
- 1x Package of Betadine
- 1x Package of compresses
- 1x Adhesive Plaster
- 1x Package of Wet Wipes
- 1x Package of Sinutab II (for my sinusitis)
- 1x Package of Nasumet Spray (for my Alergies)
- 1x Package of Ibuprofen pills
- 1x Package of muscular cream
- 1x Package of balsamic cream for my feet

Other stuff
- 1x Notebook
- 1x Pencil/1x Pencil Sharpener
- 1x Book (I’ve choose “Walking”, by Henry David Thoreau, small and light)
- 1x Cell phone charger
- 1x Photographic Camera
- 1x Small Spec-Ops knife
- 1x Led Lantern
- 1x Lighter
- 10x maid pin's (one of them it's to punch the blister, and the other for the clothes in the hanger)
- 1x Camel Back Reservoir (I rather prefer this to a normal bottle of water. Since it has a hose that reaches to the liquid, you can suck it while you walk, and don’t need to stop to take your bottle from your backpack. And it’s also lighter).

For packing things, I choose some Vileda bags with zipper. They are very good for this situations, you just have to put what you need inside the bag, fold it like an envelope, then you press the air out from it, and then you zip it! This will spare you some space and also weight.

All of this combined weights approximately 8kg. I think it’s not bad for my first time.

What do you people think?

Best Regards
Diogo

 

[aoifewww]

Do you have waterproof over trousers

 

[Anniesantiago]

Looks good

When you say one package of all these aspirin, etc., are these travel sizes?

Also, I would not worry about rain pants unless you tend to get cold. Most guys I've seen just wear shorts in the rain.

 

[Diogo92]

aoifewww, I forgot to mention that those pants are high-tech, so they will dry very fast. I’ve done some walks with them with rain and they are excellent. And I can convert them in shorts. Search for Quechua Forclaz 500 Trousers Zipoff.

Anniesantiago, most of them are, other are some that are already used. So for instance, the package of Vaselin has already been used for other walks. I know that I will find pharmacies over the Camiño, so in case of they finish, I can buy those in any place. The ones that I don’t take it open are the medicines prescript by my doctor. I’ve bought them thinking of making a full treatment for the 10 days. You never know

Best regards
Diogo

 

[Kiwi-family]

My main question would be regarding the cotton socks. Would wicking socks be better as a liner so that you hopefully prevent blisters?

 

[Diogo92]

Kiwi-family, I've started to use the cotton socks has an advice from my grandmother who is a pilgrim for years.

She advised me to cover my feet with Vaseline or with a fat cream, and then put a thin cotton sock and then a hicking/wicking or a thick sock over the thin one. I've experiment it and they work with me.

The thing is that the cream and the thin sock, conjugated with the thick wicking sock, will prevent a big friction between the feet and the boot.

I use these ones http://www.decathlon.co.uk/forclaz-100- ... 05590.html plus the cotton socks.

Best regards
Diogo

 

[NicoZ]

- 1x Ultralight Sleeping Bag (weights 750g, and can handle until -5º!)

You're going in May. Isn't this going to be too warm?

 

[Kiwi-family]

Well Diogo, if it works for you, then stick with it!

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Ola Diogo,
I also use ordinary cotton socks (or rather cotton polyester mix) as liner socks sometimes and I too find them great. Soft and comfy.

I was thinking about your jacket. Are you only taking one? Myself I find these waterproof jackets too warm to use when walking everyday, so I'm always taking one light breathable windbreaker and one rain jacket.
With fur lining (fleece fur, no?) it must be pretty warm? And if it gets wet it might take long to dry?

 

[Corwen]

your wash bag/health kit looks a bit overkill. If you wear a hat and have thin long sleeved and long legged clothes then you don't really need sunblock, or maybe just a tiny tiny package for your hands until they get tanned. Also do you really need deoderant? You have soap. Neither deoderant nor sunblock are particularly healthy and both are heavy. You could save a couple of hundred grams or more by getting rid of those. Also you only need enough of any medicine to give you a dose or two until you can find a pharmacy should you become ill (obviously not the case for medicines for pre-existing conditions), so all these medicines can be really tiny amounts.

You don't mention the name of your pack- how heavy is that? Its the one area where you can easily save a lot of weight. You might also want to add a very light roll mat as you have no way to sleep on a floor or in a church porch should you have to, unless you have something to sleep on.

Personally I aim for about 7 kilos when camping including a tent, but then I am a dirty bugger and don't take many spare clothes or much of a wash kit!

 

[Susannafromsweden]

:lol: laughing. Thank you Corwen, I needed that laugh, as I'm about to fill the **** tax form today.

You would faint if you saw my wash bag. Full of wonderful things, which might come in handy. :wink:

Something I learned the hard way is to always bring a good pack of medicine stuff, as:
The pharmacy can be forty km away and closed for siesta.
When you want to buy something "embarrassing", the pharmacist don't understand anything.
(And when you try to explain in pantomime, everyone in the pharmacy will laugh till they cry)
They might have what you want, but it comes in a 150 gr metal container, heavy as lead.

 

[Diogo92]

NicoZ, northern Portugal in this time of the year has temperatures of 3 degrees at night. My best friend also use this sleeping bag when we go to music festivals in summer, and he say that it's not so hot has that.

Susannafromsweden, I use this one http://www.wisebuy.in/product/843048/ and I think it's enough. He's not too warm or two cold (you can use it with a t-shirt, because when you walk, you tend to get warmer), and it's the same type of model that most people that I talked with about the Caminho did used. The fleece it's located only in the neck part, nothing more than that. About the socks, that two layer make the feet so comfy, that when I started to use it, I didn’t believed it

Corwen, the only long-sleeved material that I have it's the Polar Shield Fleece Sweatshirt and the Jacket. The sun cream that I have it's no so heavy, it weights only 150g, and its factor 50 because I have a very pale skin and many skin signals. About the deodorant, you're right, I thought about taking it out, and I'll do it. It's also mal, 75g, but he will jump off also
For the medicines, except for the ones that where prescript by my doctor, they are all in small doses and are already open. I'm talking about for example half Fucidine tube and half Fenistil tube. The pills for example I’ll take only 6 per package. If you have it already, take it. And if it's used, better, less weight. And I've mentioned the name of my backpack: Quechua Forclaz 40L. The roll mat it will not be very necessary in the Caminho Portugês (at least on this stage)

Best Regards
Diogo

 

[Diogo92]

Ohhhhh and I thought also in the problem that Susannafromsweden talked about. Most of my medicines are more for the first days of the Caminho, because they will be on a weekend. Pharmacy’s tend to be closed on weekends, and since Northern Portugal has so small villages, they won’t have probably a Pharmacy in conditions

Best Regards
Diogo

 

[Corwen]

:lol: laughing. Thank you Corwen, I needed that laugh, as I'm about to fill the **** tax form today.

You would faint if you saw my wash bag. Full of wonderful things, which might come in handy. :wink:

My pleasure! I remember finding someones wash bag left behind one day on the Camino and so I carried it on until I found its owner. It nearly doubled the weight of my pack! Not as bad as the seven pairs of jeans and portable DVD player one guy I met had though!

Corwen, the only long-sleeved material that I have it's the Polar Shield Fleece Sweatshirt and the Jacket. The sun cream that I have it's no so heavy, it weights only 150g, and its factor 50 because I have a very pale skin and many skin signals. About the deodorant, you're right, I thought about taking it out, and I'll do it. It's also mal, 75g, but he will jump off also

If you think about it I'm sure you could find a long sleeved thin layer that weighed less than 150 grams. Pertex Equilibrium fabric blocks 98% of UV. You'd then have an extra clothing layer, more versatile set up, could maybe lose one of the T-shirts, and maybe save some weight. I have a pertex windshirt that weighs 100 grams and is one of the most useful items of clothing I carry. Mine isn't this brand, I found a really cheap generic one in a camping shop, but this is the sort of thing:
http://www.facewest.co.uk/Montane-Feath ... Smock.html

Sorry I didn't see you mention your pack. If you have a birthday coming up you could ask for one of these:
http://www.ubergear.co.uk/vaude-triset- ... ht-35.html
and shave 700 grams off your pack weight...

I have one and its great, easily big enough for the Camino if you aren't carrying a tent and have a reasonably compact sleeping bag. The Golite Jam is lighter, but doesn't have the back system which I think is good, less sweaty, especially if you aren't taking deoderant!

So if you lose the deoderant and sunblock, change the pack, ditch a T shirt and get a windshirt you'll save a whole kilo.

 

[Diogo92]

Corwen, the t-shirts that I have are already high-tech and very light. I've already thought to buy something like the one you've choose, but things here in Portugal are a little bit expensive (but from what I'm seeing, they are cheaper in here. That type of shirt costs 38€ in here).

For example, for the backpack, I was supposed to buy this one http://loja.montecampo.pt/products/171-sortelha.aspx, but has you can see the price for a 30L backpack from a normal/regular brand it's not so cheap has that. I know, it has quality, but with that money I can buy a 40L one (from also a quality brand). My for example cost me in promotion time, 19,99€. Pretty good hum? The problem with going and searching for the Ultralight things it's that they are expensive. But hey, it's my first time, I'm learning, so I'll take all advices in consideration for a future material shop.

I'm thinking in taking only two t-shirts, since I've decided to sleep only with boxers

I've seen today for the first time the liner Sleeping bags that so many people talk over here, but that doesn’t work for me. They are to thin, and even in summer, I feel cold at night.

Best regards
Diogo

P.S: It's me who buy my own birthday presents

 

[kitfox]

Hi! Your list is great – especially for a first-timer! Well done! It took me 20 years to get this smart! If you still want to cut weight at 7 kg, though… I do a lot of desert hiking here in California. Because I have to carry a lot of water, I want everything else to be as light as possible. This is what I do…

I bring one large and one small plastic garbage bag instead of a backpack cover. They’re more useful than the rain cover and they allow me to dispense with most stuff sacks. I keep dry things (sleeping bag, clothes, etc.) loose in the large garbage bag, and potentially wet things (food, extra water, lotion, etc.) in the second bag. I don’t care if the pack gets wet on the outside – it is already water resistant and it will dry quickly.

If I'm worried about rain I take an extra garbage bag. I can use it as a waterproof skirt / kilt over the top half of my zip-off pants.

Your sleeping bag is pretty light, but it does seem too warm for the season. If a sleep sheet alone is too cold, I’d get a length of fleece and seam it up myself into a bag. Still light, but warmer. (It will take up more space, though.) I’d plan on sleeping in my fleece sweatshirt, socks, and fleece long johns (see below) if it got too cold for the fleece bag alone.

I don’t bring a pillow – I stuff my extra clothes inside my fleece hat and use that instead.

I use my scarf for a towel.

I take the lightest rain coat possible. As long as I’m hiking my body will create its own heat. If I get too warm I sweat, and that will chill me faster than anything. Once I stop to rest or for lunch I add my fleece sweatshirt, fleece long johns, extra shirt, etc. to stay warm.

For 10 days, I’d take just one pair of dark zip-off pants. I add fleece long johns to wear for warmth, to sleep in, and to wear while I wash the pants.

I take two shirts at most. One has long sleeves to protect me from sun and minimize use of the lotion. One has no sleeves – I sleep in it, wear while my laundry is drying, or double up if I get cold.

I’d change the hiking boots for light running shoes (with arch support). The lighter the pack, the lighter my footwear can be, and weight on my feet is more tiring than weight on my back. I’ve used running shoes in the worst terrain imaginable – with a light pack I’m more agile and can pick where to put my feet vs clomping along. I also have strong ankles and feet from hiking on uneven ground.

To cut more weight than that, you have to get fanatical. If you want to go even lighter:

Strip the covers off the notebook and the book (apologies to Henry David!)
Dry out the wet wipes and carry them in a Ziploc bag – the soap substance stays in the wipe and you can add water to them, one at a time, as you use them.
Kleenex and toilet paper are redundant – take the TP and buy more if you use it up.
Get rid of most of your stuff sacks, as mentioned above.
Use the smallest, lightest possible bags to carry meds, personal gear, etc. Consider mesh vs plastic, if possible.
Take your knife or a razor to everything you’re bringing. Cut out clothing labels, extra fabric, extra pockets, straps, tension lines, etc. etc. Do this especially on your backpack – yes, it will pain you to do it, but I cut almost ¾ of a lb. off my already-light pack. You don’t need the bells and whistles the manufacturers put on for show.
Measure the toothpaste you need for 10 days into a small ziplock bag. Leave the tube at home. Same with other lotions. Mark the bags with marker pen so you don’t brush your teeth with your bug repellent.
Put the deodorant back in and sacrifice the extra shirts and pants. I take only what I wear on the trail, plus a fleece jacket, rain jacket, fleece long johns, and a sleeveless tee to sleep in and wear while doing laundry.

This takes my desert pack down to 5 kgs before food and water, but that includes a very light down sleeping bag (when I bring it), my ground cloth, my tarp (in case it rains), my ultralight air mattress, and a teeny-weeny stove with matches and a beer can to heat water with.

Whatever you do, good luck and thanks for sharing your packing list! There’s no right list for everyone, all the time, (I always find room for chocolate, for example!), but I love hearing what others are doing.

 

[dariosilva]

great list. this may be to late but...consider a silk sleeping bag liner and silk long john's and dump the sleeping bag. At least on the Frances, all of the albergas have extra blankets. And remember that Portugal and Spain are basically 1st world countries. you can find there that you can find in the USA. One trick I learned from my brother...take an extra wash cloth as your butt rag. Clean yourself up, wash/rinse off the rag with a little soap, and hang it on the outside of your back pack for drying and sanitizing while you walk. I cycled the Frances last year with my family. Next trip will be the Portugese route. Buen Camino. d.

 

[Diogo92]

kitfox, you're a master survival man! Those ideas are great for a bushcraft thing! Thanks’ a lot for your advices. I've already dumped the pillow For the boot's, I just can’t dump them. I love boot's, they offer me a great ankle protection since I'm not so trained has you are in these type of things. But hey, always learning mate (and HELL NO to cut off the book cover :twisted: )

dariosilva, has I've said a little bit up, I'm taking this sleeping bag because of some things: I just can’t sleep only with the silk/liner bag they are too thin for me, and I do not feel comfortable with only a liner bag + blanket. At least my sleeping bag it's already not so heavy has that: I have one that weights almost the triple
Well, we (Portugal) and Spain are basically 1st world countries, but we are talking at passing at least in Portugal, in one of the most abandoned zones of the country. So that’s why I'm taking some stuff has a precaution. I'll be walking at least 3 days that things will be closed, and we never know what could happen. I like to have my own autonomy
It's normal that in the Francês you have extra blankets, because you have more pilgrims. I'm not saying that It won’t happen in the Portuguese, but hey, it's May, and northern Portugal has temperatures of 3º at night (it's snowing in the Northern part right now, so imagine the temperatures )

Well, 2 days only for my Camiño. I hope to learn something more about this subject after my experience.

Best Regards
Diogo

 

[kitfox]

Have a great time, Diogo, and let us know how it goes for you. (I'm going in Oct., so look forward to your post-walk insights and what I can learn from your experience!)

Kitfox

 

[Magnara]

Great info Kitfox! This is my 2 cents worth. My total pack and contents 6kg, my husband's 9kg including 2litres of water (2kg).We walked in the winter (starting December 27). Summer might require cooler clothes, eg no headband or gloves and short sleeves. But if you are walking in winter, be aware that it was a mild winter in Europe and we did not get temperatures much below freezing, in a more normal winter you might need more warmth (we sent on our thick thermals).

When you walk, you warm up, even in winter, so light clothing is good. I mostly walked just in a fine wool long sleeved t-shirt.

In general terms, choose everything small, lightweight wherever possible.

Minimise weight doing things like clip nails before leaving and buy clippers en route and then throw them away

There are plenty of grocery shops and pharmacies to buy common items eg vaselina, compeed, tissues, nurofen (ibuprofen)

You don’t absolutely need a guidebook, but John Brierley’s was an invaluable and interesting companion along the way. I highly recommend it.

You will need to personally carry some of the “Theirs” items if you are walking alone. We were able to share them. Water weighs 1 kg per litre.

We sent on and gave away some things after we had been walking a few days. You don’t need much. Life is so simple and a light pack makes for a happy walker.

I washed every night, usually just socks and sometimes tops.

For long periods I wore one set of clothes for day and one for evening. This minimises washing.

When you pack, put the heavy things at the bottom (eg sleeping bag) so your hips carry the weight.

I carried:
Hers

Aarn Featherlite 35 litre Freedom backpack
Sleeping bag

Silk long johns and top (for pyjamas and occasional extra warmth), 1 set (NZNature Co brand, bought mail order)
Ultra fine merino wool (Hedrena brand):
- single weight slacks, 2 pairs
- undies, 2 pairs
Ultra fine merino wool (Kathmandu brand):
- Long sleeved t-shirts, 2
Bridgedale wool hiking socks, 4 pairs
Anklet stocking sox, 2 pairs
Elastic knee support, 1 (two would have been good)
1 bra
1 small polyester pretty scarf, when I wanted to look nicer some evenings (we stayed a a few nice hotels along the way)
1 pair earrings, worn all the time
Reading glasses and lightweight case
Headlamp
Polar Fleece headband
Sleeveless Polar Fleece shell
Goretex 2 layer jacket
Goretex waterproof caving gloves
Akubra hat
Waterproof breathable overpants
Short gaiters
2 Trekking poles
Shoe horn
Randonnee Proof leather hiking boots
Running shoes (only used in the evening, to give my feet a rest)

In small containers:
- Moisturiser
- Face cleanser
- All purpose detergent
Small toothbrush
Small microfibre towel
Tissues
Cotton buds
1 tiny, thin washcloth
2 nappy (diaper) pins
Sponge bag (drawstring plastic bag to hold bathroom items)
Deodorant
Nurofen
Antihistamine
Vaseline
lip salve
tweezers
emery board

notebook and ballpoint pen

Small digital camera

In an inside pocket of my jacket
- emergency money
- one credit card
- info on bank accounts
- credit card cancellation info
- list of credit cards carried
- travel insurance info
- flight info



He carried:
His
Aarn 35 litre Featherlite Freedom backpack and 2 balance packs
Sleeping bag
Travel pillow
Chargers for Ipod, MP3 player, camera, 3G phone
Device to download photos from camera to Ipod
Adaptor plug
Swiss army knife
Sports watch with alarm, stopwatch, compass
Randonee Proof Leather hiking boots
Running shoes and bag
Running socks
Goretex 2 layer jacket
Polar Fleece headband
Goretex waterproof caving gloves
Document carrier with:
- passports
- credencials
- credit cards
- money
- list of flights and accommodation
- pen
Headlight
Glasses and lens cloth
Sunglasses and case
Medium size microfibre towel
Silk handkerchief
Small toothbrush
Razor and replaceable blades

Hi tech clothes:
- 2 pr undies
- 4 pr Coolmax socks
- 2 pr Coolmax sock liners
- 1 pr trousers
- 1 pr shorts
- 2 shirts
Polypropylene undershirt and long johns
Polar fleece sleeveless shell

Waterproof breathable overpants
Short gaiters
Akubra hat
1 Trekking pole

We split this: (he carried 3kg more weight, mostly water, so used balance packs in front)
Theirs
Collapsible 2.5 litre water bottle
Hotel sewing kit
Twisted elastic travel clothesline
Half a tube of child size toothpaste
Bandaids and Compeeds
Antibiotic cream
Anti-diarrhoea medicine
Anti-cramping medicine
Foam mat
Gel heel inserts in case of heel spurs

Food for the day , usually including chocolate, bread, cheese, wine
2 forks, knives, spoons

John Brierley guide book

 

[Mmc_56]

Please, for your walking companions, don't get rid of the deodorant !! Well worth the weight

 

[CaminoGen]

Please, for your walking companions, don't get rid of the deodorant !! Well worth the weight

Thank you for finally saying this. Not wearing deo, not washing your clothes and barely showering is all well and good when you're hiking in your tent along the Appalachian Trail but not so nice when sleeping with 30 people in a room. You might think that your sweat doesn't smell but it smells to others. Also, for the sake of the mattresses and keeping things nice for others, I would recommend that you take a shower before laying on the bed; sweat "burns' fabric. Now, I'm not saying to wear perfume which is as intolerable for a lot of people but be considerate of the fact that you are sharing quarters with strangers and that you are using community property.

 

[Diogo92]

Guys guys, calm down I'll wash my clothes and take a bath every day, I've never said that I won’t going to do it. Thats for what the blue and white soap is XD

Best regards
Diogo

 

[Diogo92]

So, I’ve arrived to Santiago on May 10th, and this Friday it makes 2 weeks about that happening.

About the gear (because the other subjects will be talked in the correct sections), I used everything that I took with me, except for the Arab scarf. This because I bought some sort of cowboy hat, that managed to protect the back part of my neck, and with the cold temperatures that I caught, the fleece in my jacket helped to protect my throat.

What I did learn about the material, it’s that next time, probably I won’t take so many things. The thing is that we caught rain at least in 4 days, and that made the clothes not dry on a proper way. But I think that I can manage to find a way to reduce weight and material. Next year I’m intending to take only a 20L backpack, so let us see. I can also carry my 40L backpack, but I’ll cut something’s that I took this year.

I can switch my jacket for a lighter one that I have (that fold itself and stay in a very small and light package), and I finally managed to find the Liner sleeping bags that so many people talked about in here. For only 10€, I’ll buy one probably this or in next month, and I’ll give it a shot next time that I go camping. But I’m still saying that the sleeping bag that I have it’s the best for me. At least I only felt cold in Padron, where the Albergue it’s in an old coble monastery from the 10th century. Probably I will buy a new pair of boots, some Salomon 3D GTX. They were already in my plans. I’ll switch from flip flops to sandals, but I have to buy some lighter ones.

One thing that I should have bought was some Gel or Silicone insoles. I ended up buying some only for the heel part, but I think that I should have bought some for the whole feet.

Vaseline ended up not to hydrate my feet, so I had to buy some fat cream and put it. Solved the problem, but the error was already made (I only bought the fat cream on the 4th day). Toilet paper ended up not being necessary, because I also carried the wet wipes. Some of the creams were also not necessary, and could be changed for other ones that ended up being. I decided not to take the sparadrapus, which ended up being a bad idea, because I ended up buying two packages. I carried the deodorant , and also the Sun Cream Protection that ended up being very handy in the three first days.

And that’s it (I think). Learned a lot about what to do and to carry, so next year let us see what will happen

Best regards
Diogo

 

[Llanero]

Sleeping mat? Necessary or not? :?

 

[SYates]

Sleeping mat? Necessary or not? :?

On the Camino Francés? Depends a bit on the time of the year you go and if you also want to use it to sit on during the day or to stretch out under a tree for a siesta, but most of the time you will not need one. SY

 

[Diogo92]

Llanero, I didn’t take any sleeping mattress. There were other pilgrims that carried out one, but they seem not to give them much use.

I've done the Portuguese.

Best regards
Diogo

 

[SYates]

Llanero, I didn’t take any sleeping mattress. There were other pilgrims that carried out one, but they seem not to give them much use.

I've done the Portuguese.

Best regards
Diogo

And don't forget, if you end up on the floor there is always a pilgrim that has a bed - and a sleeping pad. Which s/he can lend to you ;-) SY

 

[Llanero]

Thanks all of you. I think I will go without. I did take a look at some and there was one that would have been no trouble to carry insofar as the weight is concerned; it weighed next to nothing. But, being 6'2", the one I needed took up too much space. Even strapping it to the outside of my backpack would have made me rather conspicuous and enlarge my blind spot...