Day Hiking/ Trekking/ Mountaineering must haves.

Sev

BarryD wrote: »

A mobile phone? Yes, by all means carry one and have it fully charged etc. But the idea that it's an essential piece of kit is a dangerous mindset

I agree, I was dubious about putting it on my list since you can't rely on it. There's no guarantee you will even have coverage. But if you really do run into trouble, it allows you to talk to people who are miles away instantly. A very powerful convenience of the modern age that is senseless not to bring with you, considering most people carry them all the time anyway.

Sev

Sev wrote: »

But in completely unknown terrain, what good is a compass? At least if you have a map, you can deduce north and south by identifying landmarks on the map that you can see, and there are many ways to identify north and south without a compass (even in poor visibility combined with your map, you could make decent guesses based on, say, wind direction, slope aspect, rivers). But there's no substitute for a map.

I agree that maps are useful when, as you say, one can see landmarks. On a ridge in a thick fog or whiteout, at night time in a featureless bog, gimme a compass. I'm happy to bet anyone here who has been on top of some peak like Mangerton, no rivers, no landmarks in poor visibility, wind can come from any direction, will confirm that knowing if one is heading off down to South Kerry or towards Killarney is useful.

As for slope aspect, when one is going downhill in very poor visibility, how do you know if that is downhill going north, south, or whatever? In fact I would find slope aspect the least comforting, because you are getting further and further from the summit and further and further from at least an identifiable landmark.

They are just so cheap, so easy to carry, it takes little to get the basic hang of them.

BarryD

A good hill navigator combines several skills at any one time. The ability to pick a good route uphill & downhill by judging the terrain, both what can be seen and what might be hidden, good map reading skills - you should be able to 'pinpoint' your position at any given time with a reasonable degree of accuracy, the weather and its likely effects on your route and an ability when necessary to go in a specific direction and know how far you've traveled. Relying just on one technique or another is never a great idea, the best navigators use all above seamlessly and vary their tactics according to the prevailing conditions.

I think Conor, you're down in the SW - there's some pretty good orienteering maps down there of many of the upland area. Very detailed maps with 5 metre contours with complex landforms. You should try get a hold of some and really micro navigate, know exactly where you are. I think it'd greatly benefit when you switch back to even the 1:50,000 mapping. Or even just go to an O event in some of these open mountain areas and see how quickly people can move across complex terrain and stay in touch with the map. This is not navigation on the high hills but is good training.

Sev

Deleted User wrote: »

I agree that maps are useful when, as you say, one can see landmarks. On a ridge in a thick fog or whiteout, at night time in a featureless bog, gimme a compass.

Yes, but on a very basic level... if I drop you in the middle of nowhere with a compass, what are you supposed to do? You may know which way is north, but you don't know where the nearest town is and where you are in relation to it!

Maybe it's because I generally just climb crags in Ireland and don't go bagging peaks... but in general don't find myself in white outs or lost for direction much, so I rely 99% of the time on just a map and being able to infer my direction by comparing it to my surroundings, and all the other indicators available to me.

But I agree that there are times when a compass may be the only thing you can rely on to point you north. But given a choice between the two, I would always take the map, no doubt about that!

LionelNashe

I bought a first aid kit and saw the 20 types of bandage inside that I don't know the point of, and I've never brought it walking. The only way I can see myself getting into trouble is with a sprained or broken ankle, or maybe a fall, and I don't see how a bandage or sticking plaster is going to help.

I usually bring a phone, sandwich, tissues, water, map, compass, hat, gloves, neck-thingy, a torch (or two), GPS, spare batteries. I'm wearing heavy waterpoof trousers and a raincoat over a fleece with one or two light layers underneath. I find it tough enough slogging around hills for 8 hours even without a rucksack weighing me down so I carry everything in my pockets and in a kind of belt-pack.

I'm considering adding a walking pole though, and some kind of wrap-around eyewear for rainy/snowy conditions.

LionelNashe

LionelNashe wrote: »

I bought a first aid kit and saw the 20 types of bandage inside that I don't know the point of, and I've never brought it walking. The only way I can see myself getting into trouble is with a sprained or broken ankle, or maybe a fall, and I don't see how a bandage or sticking plaster is going to help.

Needed it for myself once, when an accident getting over barb wire left me dripping blood and a nicely lacerated hand. Then last winter was in a group where a woman fell and slipped 20 or 30 metres, and was particularly glad to have it that day, bad cuts to her head, was first down to her and it was a sight. Another more experienced climber had a very large first aid kit and he scrambled down and between us she was patched up and taken to a doctor where she got a good few stitches to her head. It seems like a bit of a waste of space alright and one hopes to never get to open it...but when it's needed it's badly needed.