Travelling Kit Advice, Cambodia to New Zealand

rossyl · 25 Mar 2006 at 18:06

Hi,

Trying to decide what kit to take?

Its 4 months going from a very hot Cambodia/South East Asia (May) TO a cold near wintery New Zealand (August).

Questions over what to take are on shoes, trousers, fleece and jacket.

Pack

I wanted something large (65l i thought would be sufficient), with strap covers, and a detachable daypack.

Found this Karrimor Pack for £110
Karrimor Voyager 70L-90
http://mountainwarehouse.com/shop/product/products_id/2631.html

Also a Berghaus Spirit 65L-15 for £99.

And this from Milletts, Eurohike 70L +15 with lotsa free stuff!! Doc holder, Med kit etc.
http://www.millets.co.uk/millets.st...talog);MIL+SS06+Travel+Packs(BLG+Base+Catalog)
Any opinions or other CHEAPER options!! Thanks

Trousers
Not sure what kind to take. I need stuff thats light and airy for hot countries, and stuff thats waterproof for when it just ****** it down but is still quite warm, and warm trousers for when i'm in NZ jumping out of planes and trekking glaciers.

Fleece.

I've discovered two types, the polartec material and windstopper/windbloc material. Polartec doesn't seem waterproof. Windstop/windbloc seems warm and waterproof. (Warm enough for NZ?) But is expensive. I've seen a Regatta Xtreme fleece, which is cheap and waterproof. Will it be good enough?
Here they are...NOT the £80 one though!
http://www.regatta.com/productlist.asp?a=1&b=4&d=1

Waterproof jacket
Those waterproof jackets in a pouch. Which are like £10ish.

Now the thing is, have I taken warm enough stuff for NZ? Shall i just take a TWO layer coat with a zip-away fleece on the inside, and a proper jacket on the outisde? Or is the fleece with a crappy windproof jacket enough?

Further I plan to go ski-ing but just for a day or so. Should I really carry stuff for that that i'll only use for one day? Or should I rent and get ripped off?

Opinions please!!

Thanks

Amp34 · 25 Mar 2006 at 20:22

How much are you willing to spend on each thing? Price and quality range so much that there needs to be a starting point. Personally I wouldn't go for regatta or eurohike especially something as important as a pack but again it depends on how much you want (or can) spend.

For the trousers how about some basic walking ones, maybe a thin pair an a thick pair (maybe even split ones you can take the legs off?). Then buy a pair of waterproof overtrousers to go over the top when it starts to rain. By the looks of the places you want to go when it rains it P***** it down so some water resistant trousers will be a bit pointless.

As you rightly pointed out polartec is usually not wind or waterproof and is mainly designed to go under a water/wind proof coat whereas windstopper/windbloc is designed to keep the wind and some rain out. The polartec will keep you a lot warmer if worn under a top layer but the windstopper would be a good all round mid/top layer for when its not too cold or wet. Polartec comes in varying thicknesses as well dependng on how cold its going to be.

On the skiing front i would say rent while your there, it shouldnt be too expensive and there is no way you will be able to carry a pair of salapets/ski socks/gloves etc around with you.

st00dent · 26 Mar 2006 at 14:22

Lots and lots and lots of sunblock. My mate went to Cambodia and said he couldnt get any there, seen the pictures of the burns and they aint nice.

rossyl · 26 Mar 2006 at 23:39

presently i want to get a decent fleece that can be worn by itself with a rain jacket that goes on top.

If i can get a two in one, it'd be better.

Any tips?

Zip · 27 Mar 2006 at 00:34

rossyl said:
presently i want to get a decent fleece that can be worn by itself with a rain jacket that goes on top.

If i can get a two in one, it'd be better.

Any tips?

By Fleece do you meen wool? If so, pick one up in New Zealand. They are the sheep capital of the world and you Pound kills there dollar

peter_hutson · 27 Mar 2006 at 03:48

If your going to Asia mate, make sure you pack plenty of Imodium(sp). I've been told Cambodia is quite bad when it comes to getting the trots. Trust me, it can really ruin a aholiday! I got a bad case of Deli belly while in Bangkok, could not move more than 5m from a toilet for a bout 12 hours. And I was only eating in good hotels. Asias a great place though, well worth putting up with the runs for.

Andy100 · 27 Mar 2006 at 04:01

Just head down to your local army surplus store.

You can buy pretty much everything you need from there at a fraction of the cost of the more trendy labels.

I've done loads of hiking/camping and my army kit has never failed me. I'd also suggest buying some webbing and belt pouches. Always good to have large easily accessible pockets while you're on the move.

Burned_Alive · 27 Mar 2006 at 04:14

Ideally you want a backpack with anti-slash netting inside it

Amp34 · 27 Mar 2006 at 11:51

Burned_Alive said:
Ideally you want a backpack with anti-slash netting inside it

Thats a good point, if the pack doesnt come with it you can buy seperate netting that goes over the top of the pack and does the same job.