Packing

Today ive spent entire day,by trying to pack up my gear,and removing them,just to re-pack em again with something added and something removed.its prety good excercise to think these over and over again,and try to be reasonable with your kit. Im minimizing my cookware and shelter,and also throwing away all un-necessary spare clothes as no one gives a damn how clean youre there ,as long as your underwear and breath are ok). But one thing is,that i will not cut and reduce and thats nutrition so ive packed up pretty decent amount of food already and i think i will add more if package from Solution foods makes it here before take-off.Other than their supply,im having stuff to eat from Finn-Savotta,and some items from British army mre´s,as well as one whole Finnish military MRE portion as back-up & emergeancy nutrition. Kitchen is made out of that Primus Gravity VF multifuel burner,Primus EtaPower kettle,one Spork and aluminium windbreaker thingy. On my daypack im carrying Varusteleka´s us army field canteen and cup it has,theyre good for dayhike,even in winter as you can toss the cup in fire and melt more water out of snow,boil some coffe and things like that. As a spare,im taking one flameless heater along too,it doesnt take space at all,if reliable at any climate and does it job more than well.

Ok now im heading to have a sauna with my gal and buddies,ill be back im sure :)

Lapland kit thoughts

I am starting to gather up my kit for the trip now,and stressing about it,heh.

Theres this one factor setting me some boundaries,and its the list of gear"you need" set up by instructor(s),heres what they require us to bring with us:

-Rucksack & raincover

-Winter sleeping bag

-Ski ´s

-Ski ´ing boots(as we use wilderness ski ´s,most uf then have bought rubberboots having proper toe and heelshape for the skis,which are used military ones)

-Camp boots (warm and high)

-Clothes suitable for ski ´ ing

-Clothing for camp life (insulated/warm,lots of)

-Cloves and mittens

-Neck protection,like scarf or something

-stormglasses (im using motocross goggles anyway)

-Utensils

-Thermosflask

-Personal first aid kit

-Toilet paper

-Matches

-Knife :)

-Headlamp &flashlight and sparebatteries

-ice spikes? (as we will walk and work on icy lake too,when fishing there)

-Compass

-Some fishing kit

Plus these,if you are having someone as partner,you will share these:

-Camping stove

-Rope

-Food

And what we all,participants will share are:

-Military type tent with wood burning heater

-Coffee pot

-Ski wax

-Two shovels

-Axe

-Saw

-Spare pair of ski´s

-Garbage sacks,few.

Quite a list,aint it?

Im adding these t o my own kit,no matter what they say or what wil it weight

-My own tent (if i cant sleep under bare sky,which im about to do.They wont sleep when i sleep due to my hidious snoring)

-Folding saw,bahco laplander

-More food :)

-Camera & spare batteries

-One more knife

-One multitool ( i think it will be Leatherman Core)

-Us army field canteen with belt poch and steel mug in it

-Camelbak M.U.L.E,military issue version,without bladder,to act as my possibles pouch in camp and nearby,its big enough to carry spare socks,first aid kit,thermos flask,and sort of stuff.And it rolls up in tiny space in my rucksack.

-Neck-kit,concisting of Victorinox OH Trekker,Scout firesteel,tiny led flashlight and Suunto´s compass&thermometer-combo,all attached into Vic´s kydex neck sheath,which has some length of paracord,so its comfortable to have hanging from your neck all the time.This will provide me aids to fire,navigating,light/visibility,and tool to make shelter or what ever.This kit is around my neck even at home.

-Cooking device.I havent got new good one,for winter,so im bringing my trusty old MSR pocket rocket & Primus Etapower kettle there.Plus Esbit cooker in my camelbak with stainless steel mug.With tyese two small objects i can heat a meal,drink or boil water for my hiking dryfood,if the gas burner wont operate in cold climate,which wouldnt be odd at all.

-Sleeping mattress,its Finn-Savotta´s military version,which is about half inches thick and covered with tough waterproof cloth,and it has these sleeves folding aside,so its wider that way.I dont trust my cheap self-inflating one,at all in trips like this,in harsh froxzen places.And i kind of fell in love to this sturdy army mattress when i was in army,and now,finally i will have my own.

-Tripwire,duct tape,needles,pins,buttons,thread,spare zipper pullers,tent spares,in small pouch,as ive learned the hardway the murphys law.

-These are items ill be carrying around for sure now...i think:)....should i add or throw away something...?

Oh hey,this aint all,no.We will be spending two night during going to the place we start to ski,in cabin,and one when we return from trip,as well,in cabin,thats where we will change to hiking clothing and back to normal clothing,and scrub away the sweat in sauna,so we must take some bathing gear and spare,clean clothing too along....GRRRREAT.

Varusteleka´s hand-out.

So,just this morning i received another nice reply to my email,from this Finnish Surplus & military gear shop,Varusteleka. They are sending me US Military´s full,modular sleeping bag,along with few other items too. Im then about to test the sleeping bag and see how it stands out in laplands temperatures in winter,as theres not much info or published writings about it,saying does it allow you to sleep in comfort,in finnish winter. I think it might actually as us army does dot screw up things when it comes to gear,usually. Its more likely to notice the gear surviving better than expected but this bag just got me(and few others) intrested,cause its rugged,and the modular design allows you to adapt to the elements youre facing. Its combination of thinner sleeping bag for "better",warmer climates,and thicker one,for those below zero-temperatures. And as a crown of all,it has this removable Gore-Tex bivy bag,where you can stuck eithe rone or both of these sleepingbags,making it (i assume) pretty awesome kit,as the bivybag makes it more insulating and offers shield against rain and wind. It comes in black sturdy compression sack.this is what i know it so far,and after the trip,im much more wiser about the bag.Till then i can just wait it to arrive :)

So,what more can i say now,than Thank you Varusteleka,for your generous support.

Winter ski-trip to lapland,preparations

Ive been sending few e-mails to few companies & shops,and asking for their intrest,to offer some gear,to be tested and reviewed,during the trip im making,with my classmates,to lapland. Some companies have been intrested and ive received replies,its so good to get those from big companies thatt are surely busy all the time and im just one guy asking for gear,as sponsorship stuff or just bit cheaper,and all i can give in return to them,is photos of their products,in real field conditions,and story about how the equipment managed through the trip,links to their shops,and publicity in my modest Blog.

But,in this particular case,today i received just awesome,kind co-operation reply from Finn-Savotta,offering me a chance to get some stuff cheaper,and some for free samples,including rucksack and hiking meals,etc. So,id like to say thanks to them now,and ill be writing more as i get my hands on the products.

Ill be making a pre-trip review then,and after i get back,12 or 13th of december,im making a full scale post-trip writing,as thats when i really know how it all went,with me and the gear. But,a sive been using the rucksacks from their line,during my service in the army,and scouting,im pretty convinced that this kind of gear wont let me down. Their line of pack are very highly respected here in Finland,and some backpacks ive seen,are actually inherited from father to son. Thats something you dont see much these days. Its kind of ecological too,when gear is lasts for decades when its been taken care of and maintained,properly.


Thank you, Finn-Savotta.


M.

Few wilderness food course pics more.