First in the Bag
The holy grail of any great kit, is to find items which are perfectly poised between functionality, form, durability, weight and price.
To get all these qualities in one item is really satisfying. It’s virtually impossible to achieve this with every single item you need in the mountains, but the aim is to get as close as possible. Then you don’t need to keep on buying new shit each season, you don’t care if stuff gets worn and old - because you KNOW it’s good for the long haul and that it does its job brilliantly. Here’s the items we always carry when touring, which I think have achieved the holy 'dream kit' status.
Zak’s Kit
Mountain King super light Poles
Made in UK, these weigh in at only 95 grammes each. Lightest poles I’ve seen anywhere. Mine have lasted about 5 seasons. And…these are double seasons. I use them for mountain ultra-running in summer months, as well as splitboarding in the winter.
They’ve had a real hammering and passed the test.
They fold into 4 pieces, come with detachable snowbaskets (though I also run the summer with these, and yes, passers-by do take the piss but they stop the poles getting stuck in rock cracks when descending at speed). They’re light as you like. Why carry anything heavier or chunkier?
Petzl Nao head torch
A fantastic bit of kit. I carry it in my bag most of the time in the mountains. It gives me reassurance if I ever get caught in the night that it won’t be a problem. I dunno what kind of black magic they’ve put inside this headlamp, but it’s awesome.
Again, I’ve used it a number of seasons now, summer and winter. On multi day trips and epic ultra marathons in the alps, I’ve not yet managed to run this light down yet. Even after a full night, it’s still on two of three battery bars. After weeks or months of not using it, I get it out of my kit cupboard and it has never had less than one bar. (obvs I do make sure I charge it each time I’m going to use it. And I always make sure I carry a small but effective back up head lamp too, with spare batteries for both lamps).
Andy’s Kit
Smith Ski/Snowboard Helmets
In recent years I've used Smith helmets simply because I ended up buying Smith googles on sale at some point and it turns out Smith helmets fit really well with them, of course.
Now though, I'm a bit of a Smith fan because I fell in a crevasse wearing a "Vantage" of theirs - the main structural foam around the forehead area was about 1.25 inches thick when I fell in (luckily landing on an ice ledge about 5m down) but after rescuing, I discovered the foam had been crushed down to just 0.3 inches. Ok, a big flap of skin on my forehead had been ripped open too, lots of blood - but no fractured skull. The helmet took it instead of me. Lifesaver. I wear the same model now.
Helmets though - generally useful - a few years earlier, when wearing my very first helmet (can't recall the brand now), I was felled by a car park barrier bar coming down on my bonce while walking through a St Anton supermarket car park with my post-ride food shop. There's a lesson in here somewhere...
Dakine Poacher 45L Snowboard/Ski backpack
My favourite backpack bar-none. Sadly not made any more. For a start, 45L is a massively practical size - big enough to fit both glacier kit, a rope and sleeping gear for 1 or 2 nights away (assuming meals in huts) but at 1.7kg it's still pretty light, and it has more than enough compression straps to cinch it down if all you are doing is resort riding for a day. i.e. One bag - big range of trip options.
It's got rear and top-entry into the main compartment, side pocket for drink bottle, two capacious top pockets, vertical & diagonal snowboard/ski carry, foldaway helmet carry, inner pouch for water bags and insulated sleeve for the hose, ice-axe carry, dedicated shovel/probe pocket (also perfect size for a 15" Macbook Pro...), etc etc.
They only make them up to 42L these days, but that includes Mammut Removable Airbag System (RAS) compatibility which I'm guessing will remove a bit more of that lovely - and useful - volume.
Pete’s Kit
GSI Microlight Flask
Capacity: 500 ml | 17 fl oz / Weight: 223 g | 7.9 oz
When the wind’s up, you can’t even see your goal, and energy levels are falling there is nothing better than a good hot soup! There not much more to say, other than it’s the lightest flask I could find on the market, it keeps shit hot and it’s helped me re-energise countless times.
I searched high and low for the lightest small flask and eventually found this one - the GSI Outdoors Microlight Flask 500ml (also comes in 350ml and 720ml sizes). The 500ml weighs in at a mere 223g, which isn’t a whole lot more than a standard water bottle. Only downside is there’s no cup, so watch out for a burnt tongue when taking the first swig of the day.
Devold Merino Snood
Ok, so any merino snood will do, but I simply dig Devold kit. I mean they’ve been making woollen clothing since 1853, even Amundsen was shrouded in Devold wool when he beat Scott to the South Pole in 1911.
I never hit the hills without my snood, it’s a hat, an ear warmer, a neck warmer and even a bloody face mask too.
But not only is their kit super-functional and warm, its right-on too. It’s expensive but that’s because it’s made in Norway and Lithuania in their own factories, not mass produced in China like most of the crap we buy, 90% of the companies transportation is land or sea based. I could go on…