Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Hard Kit is all other accoutrements that are not clothing, weapons or armour. This includes pots and tents, and flint & steel, and other things like that.

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SierraStrider
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Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

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I've finally gotten my kit sufficiently put together to post a writeup, at least of the core. There are some minor elements missing and others in flux, but here it goes.

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More or less the core of my hard kit is my chest harness, an over-the-shoulder affair that has anchor points stitched onto it to which cargo can be lashed. It is kept from slipping by a waist belt, off of which hangs my all-purpose belt pouch. My need wallet can either be secured at the small of the back or across the chest.

My walking crook is 5 feet of hickory, shod with steel. It's remarkably multi-purpose; in addition to functioning as a crook for my goats and as a walking staff, it's very good for extending one's reach.

A ~1l leather flacket hangs on its own strap so that it's easily unshipped to fill and use.

A toggle rope is wrapped around my waist, forming an anchor point to keep things like the belt pouch and flacket from bouncing when running, among many other potential uses.

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On the back, I have my bedroll and snapsack (Just delivered by Elleth). The bedroll is bound up and secured to the harness by another toggle rope. Below that is my snapsack, contents to follow.

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Here are the current contents of the snapsack. My small tinned copper pot is kept in its own leather bag to prevent soot smudging onto other items. My tinderbox contains a fair bit of jute twine in various states; waxed, unwaxed, and pyrolyzed, to serve as tinder and kindling. The waxed twine is partially shethed in a small copper tube. In this way, a very stable flame can be maintained and provided fuel fed through at a controlled rate.

I've got a few days' worth of dry rations along with seasoning. This will be expanded.

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Here's the rope doing its job, hanging the snapsack to deter bears. I may well use my main linen food bag for this in the future; the thought of a squirrel making its way to the hang and chewing through that lovely bag to get at my otameal does not bear contemplation.

Things needed: a good by-knife. I'm planning to re-handle and make a sheath for a Mora #3 blade I've got lying around. I also need to make a scabbard for my sword.
I'm contemplating better ways to carry the blanket; it's a lot of weight on that single strap. I've toyed with a horseshoe carry, but found that it's rather awkward (if easier on the shoulder).

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Bonus: Me with my best hiking partner, Hairy Goatleaf.
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Iodo
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Iodo »

that's a very well thought out kit so far, I like the idea of the toggle-rope belt, it looks useful, also I notice you have two fire strikers, is one kept somewhere other than your tinderbox as a backup in case of loss?
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Elleth »

OMG your goat has grown so much from your hiking videos!
Cuuuuuuute! :mrgreen:

Nice setup!

I am SO GLAD that bag is getting use. You make it look grand!
The water flacket looks awesome!

Regarding your sore shoulder - I'm kinda hesitant to say this, since I know your modern hiking experience is so extensive - but I think you will find less wear if you rig the pack/bedroll so that you can shift it around from shoulder to shoulder or across your chest, especially if you won't be wearing a quiver. A harness like that is grand for keeping - say - a lightweight quiver in one place, but not so good for a significant load over time. From the way the bag and blanket are hanging, I'm also betting you're getting some tiring bounce.

I think - assuming you don't take to horseshoes - Greg's "Brisk Morning Outing" setup would carry better for you.
All the old pictures are gone but I'll see if I can find another example. Basically you have a single wide buckled strap and the blanket is tied/buckled/toggled around it. The snapsack either hangs off it, or the strap is attached directly to it.

edit - WOOOOO! The pictures are back!! :)

http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... php?t=2936

In the event they're cut off again, here's the example:
brisk-morning-outing-bedroll.jpg
brisk-morning-outing-bedroll.jpg (78.73 KiB) Viewed 17616 times
Note how he's rolled his blanket long and skinny. That keeps everything in nice and night with a minimum of floppyness and throwing your center of gravity way out the back.
That's more important when it's over a quiver, but it's a nice to have regardless.

(and for what it's worth, I laid out the bag you now have for exactly that carriage, shortly after giving it a try in simple linen and being enamored with it. So if that's the direction you end up going, it should work well with the other pieces. :) )
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

Elleth wrote:OMG your goat has grown so much from your hiking videos!
Cuuuuuuute! :mrgreen:

[...]

Regarding your sore shoulder - I'm kinda hesitant to say this, since I know your modern hiking experience is so extensive [...]
Yeah, he's now the largest member of our family, at over 180 lbs.

And your suggestions and advice are VERY welcome. I may be pretty experienced with aircraft-alloy internal frame packs and carbureted petrochemical stoves, but this is a whole different ballgame where I've got even more room for improvement. The snapsack on its own rides really well on the harness, though I think I will try separate strap for the blanket. Thanks for the tips!

And, THANKS SO MUCH for the snapsack and all the attendant paraphernalia+extras. It took me a moment to realize you were unweaving that swatch of linen for the thread to embroider the eyelets--genius! I got them all stitched and replicated your toggle drawstring system. It works great! It turns out to be the absolute perfect size. Not too big, but any smaller and it wouldn't fit my cookpot.
Iodo wrote:that's a very well thought out kit so far, I like the idea of the toggle-rope belt, it looks useful, also I notice you have two fire strikers, is one kept somewhere other than your tinderbox as a backup in case of loss?
I do like the toggle rope, though without a group of similarly equipped comrades, its utility is much more limited. Apparently soldiers used to make whole bridges out of them!

The smaller striker actually does primary duty as a penanular brooch for my cloak--but if I lost my tinderbox, it is nice to have a backup. A little piece of quartz and some juniper bast and I'm back in business.
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Iodo »

SierraStrider wrote: I do like the toggle rope, though without a group of similarly equipped comrades, its utility is much more limited. Apparently soldiers used to make whole bridges out of them!
I'm not sure I would trust a bridge made of them, to many joints to fail, but I suppose if it were the only option in an emergency, cool idea though
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

Iodo wrote: I'm not sure I would trust a bridge made of them, to many joints to fail, but I suppose if it were the only option in an emergency, cool idea though
Wild to me as well, but impressive. The eye splices are stronger than just about any knot--if the toggles weren't a weak point, a series of toggle ropes could be just as strong as a continuous rope...in theory. Wouldn't catch me out on one except in direst extremity.
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Iodo »

if the toggles were made of steel I'd consider it
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Greg »

Things are coming together nicely! There are references to shepherding in Bree...you very much look the part!
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Greg »

That's a cool breakdown.

HOWEVER!

I noticed you only (presently) have food bags weighed, and I'm quite sure they're empty at that weight. A suggestion:

I carry a copper 'Gil' cup as both a small drinking cup that I can brew tea in, etc. as well as for a measuring/rationing cup. I use it to measure flour for dumplings, milled oats (and the 2 to 1 ratio of water to cook them in) for hot breakfast, and other useful tasks.

To that end, when I'm packing my food bags, I can actually know how many meals/servings I'll get out of my dry goods by measuring into my food bags, rather than just filling them. I can then intelligently plan for minimal carrying weight (plus extra servings for safety/emergencies/reaslism/whatever). Taking this approach to food measuring would help you very accurately plan your carrying weight since you're already keen on the topic.

I've recently re-organized my food stowage solution as a part of further minimizing and organizing my on-trail kit. My actual trekking gear is now what I would call 'extremely minimalist' for our pursuits, partially because references dictate that I carry a few things that are not necessary for a trip, such as a sword and a bow. I've cut down immensely on other things to make everything not only manageable, but quite comfortable. Having my food carefully proportioned and organized has been a big part of it.

Looking forward to see where this all continues to go for you!
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SierraStrider
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

Greg wrote: I noticed you only (presently) have food bags weighed, and I'm quite sure they're empty at that weight. A suggestion:

I carry a copper 'Gil' cup as both a small drinking cup that I can brew tea in, etc. as well as for a measuring/rationing cup. I use it to measure flour for dumplings, milled oats (and the 2 to 1 ratio of water to cook them in) for hot breakfast, and other useful tasks.
That's a great idea. It may not come as a shock at this point that I've got a fairly extensive spreadsheet enumerating the nutritional value of a wide array of dry goods suitable for backpacking. I'll have to add a column for "weight per gill". Hmm...Townsends' sells a Gill cup for $60+shipping...Home Depot has a 2" copper plumbing cap for $11...
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Greg »

You're looking in the wrong place!

http://backwoodstin.com carries a tin-lined (ie. you can stick it in the fire to heat some water and brew a small cup of tea as well as rationing uses) Copper Gil cup for $29.75, or straight tin for $22. Mine is beautiful, and one cup of uncooked oats + 2 [Gil] cups of water is a perfect breakfast serving size.
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by SierraStrider »

Hmm! That looks nice...thanks for the suggestion.
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Kortoso »

Outstanding kit, brother!
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Re: Sierra Strider Hard Kit Breakdown

Post by Manveruon »

Oh wow! I had never seen that Lighterpack thing! What a fantastic tool!
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