Invaluable, Money Saving Walking Gear Tips - Page 1

 

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I used to suffer from soreness under the balls of my big toes until I discovered a foot file. i used it to grind off the hard skin that caused the problem. I bought mine in Boots, made by Scholl, but I'm sure there are others.

Tom Gardner, Gauldry

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Shop around for walking gear and kit

I decided to buy myself a new pair of walking boots for this season as the soles were getting a bit worn on my old one's. My old ones are a pair of Meindl Vakuum's which are really superb & when I bought them they cost me £175.00, which was supposed to be unbeatable at Go Outdoors. but my tip is to really shop around as it's amazing what you can find. I eventually managed to find a pair of the same boots on the net at a shop in Plymouth for £129.00 inc free delivery - Bit of difference!!!

Steven Gill, Leeds

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Use a titanium kettle and cosy . . .

A lot of people use dried packet food which requires simmering for (say) 10 minutes. Also, during the simmering, the stove and food needs to be watched for boiling, tipping over, setting fire to tent/vegetation etc.. I use a titanium 'kettle' and have made a 'cosy' for it out of two layers of radiator reflector/foam and 'duct' tape, with a separate similarly insulated lid. When cooking, I bring the water to a boil, add the dried food, and bring it back to a boil. When it's reboiled, I turn off the stove, put the lid on the kettle, place it in the cosy, and set it to one side. It will continue to cook and can be left for at least half and hour when it will remain hot, while you carry out other camp tasks. Keep the cosy on when eating the food to prevent burned fingers. Jim

Jim Ford, Watford

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Don't waste money on Hydration Systems . . .

"Hydration Systems" - a posh pseudo technical name for a water bladder are just fashion accessories. The water invariably becomes tainted with a chemical taste from the plastics used in its manufacture, and the 'dead' section of water in the tube gets tepid which is unpalatable and emphasises any taint. You also can't easily fill a bladder from a burn. Just use a SIG bottle, or best of all, a wide mouthed polycarbonate one.

Jim Ford, Watford

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Take ear plugs when YHA-ing

My tip is always take some decent ear plugs with you when your away & intending to stop in a YHA hostel somewhere. Because you can guarantee there'll be someone in your room who'll snore like a donkey & drive you crackers!!!!

Steven Gill, Guiseley

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Don't forget the bivi bag

Although I've got a superb Vango Ultralite 200 tent which i still use from time to time, I've now bought an ex army bivi bag too. It's certainly a great piece of equipment. It's fully waterproof, hooped & can be fully erected in approx 2 min's - also packed away in approx the same time. It is very compact, very light & gives me the ability to pitch up just about anywhere i want. Good Ex-army issue one's can be bought for a very reasonable price if you shop around

Steven Gill, Leeds

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Small plastic food boxes keep things dry

The small plastic food boxes, which cost several for a pound, are good to protect things like camera, phone, GPS, etc. Totally waterproof when you fall in a river, or spend days in rain. Also provide shock protection when you tumble down a rocky slope, or have to throw your pack over an obstacle. I've managed to do all these!

Keith Eyles, Stroud

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Carrying a spare bootlace

If you want to carry your compass around your neck and the string supplied with it is too short, use a bootlace. That way the compass is always to hand and so is a spare bootlace if needed.

David H Leicestershire

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Put a plastic bag over your muddy boots

Put a plastic bag over your muddy boot when slipping on overtrousers and your boot will slip through easily and without getting the inside of the overtrousers muddy.

Pat Needham, Bacup

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Take a Jar of Sudocreme with you

My original walking and camping tip is . . . take a jar of Sudocreme with you - it's great for cooling sore feet,sweat rashes in intimate places etc . . .

Adrian Price, Wigan

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Use a Sprayable Air Freshener

Always bring an sprayable air freshener to spray inside wet smelly boots so your tent doesn't smell after wet hikes.

Beth Baker, Chepstow

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Leave your partner at home

If you've had a row with your partner make sure you leave them at home or they will spoil the experience!!!

Rosemary Janes, Monmouth

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My original walking and camping tip is . . . take marmite!

My original walking and camping tip is . . . take marmite! While it may seem a strange idea, think of all the foods you take camping... packing light doesn't have to mean taking plain and tasteless foods! Marmite is in a small tub and you only have to use a little because it is just so full of flavour - yummy!

Lauren Fenner, Dronfield

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My original walking and camping tip is . . . use a fleece blanket inside your sleeping bag

My original walking and camping tip is . . . on a cold night use a fleece blanket inside your sleeping bag - that way your bag is cosy when you get in and you stay warm all night.

Carole Devine, Macclesfield

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Black bin liners are always useful

Black bin liners are always useful as water proofing ruck sack, as a bouncy [buoyancy] aid crossing water, storing your bits from the elements or animals and of course to bin your trash.

Paul Davis, Irlam

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Make use of cyalume lightsticks

My original walking and camping tip is . . . make more use of cyalume lightsticks, they can be used to check your map when walking in the dark (not red ones). They can also be used to mark your tent in a busy campsite so you can find it at night, or mark your tent-pegs or guy-lines so you don't trip over them. They are light and last a long time so can be used by walkers and campers for many purposes.

John Turner, Dunfermline

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Don't eat the green snow

My original walking and camping tip is . . . don't eat the green snow!

Ronnie Smith, Glagsow

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Never try pitching your tent on a Welsh hillside in a thunderstorm

My original walking and camping tip is . . . never try pitching your tent on a Welsh hillside in a thunderstorm. It doesn't work well.

Deborah Prior, Nottingham

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Always take a second pair of socks

My original walking and camping tip is . . . always take a second pair of socks on a walk, on a hot day, change half way through the walk (changing out of damp socks reduces blisters and is great on the feet); in wet weather there is nothing worse than having to walk miles in wet socks!

Michael Wright, Reading

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Recycle webbing straps from old rucsaks

Recycle webbing straps from old rucsaks etc and make belt loops using a hot glue gun and some old split rings. Used by my scouts as a project to hang an assortment of things from their belts using a carabiner or karabiner.

David Miller, Thame

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Duck [Duct] Tape

Wrap a couple of layers of duck [duct] tape round your flask or water bottle. Handy for emergency repairs to rucksak, boots etc

Eddie Dougan, Newport On Tay

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Large Supermarket Food Bags

Large supermarket food bags make excellent waterproof map cases.

Andrew Fleming, Blandford

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Keep items dry in your rucksack

Don't expect your rucksack to keep items dry. Use a heavy duty plastic bag which acts as a liner. Your equipment never gets wet.

James Mcdonald, Newcastle Upon Tyne

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Tie a cotton beer towel to your rucksack

In the summer months tie a cotton beer towel to your rucksack - they are great for wiping the sweat from your brow!

Glyn Beech, Dunfermline

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Fashion a homemade forearm strap for your GPS

I fashioned a homemade forearm strap for my Garmin Geko 201 GPS using a bit of nylon webbing and velcro. Many of the smaller Garmin units have mounting screws in the back to attach them to cradles for use on mountain bikes etc. I put a hole in the nylon webbing using a heated nail (to seal it) and put the screw through this - then sewed some velcro to the strap so it could be worn on the inside of my forearm.

This kept the unit out in the open to keep a good view of the sky and satellite fix, but mounted to the inside of my forearm it was out of the way and kept my hands free for walking poles, navigating gates or stiles and snapping pictures.

The best part was that with easier access, and with it not being put in a case that it needed to be removed from, I could check it more often and also knew where it was all the time, so less likely to lose it out of a pocket or such.

They aren't cheap to replace and you don't want to lose a navigational aid - especially if you're storing other routes in it as well.

Paul Clement, Rochdale

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