Saturday 12 June 2010

So you want to walk the coast... Kit

Boots.
The question I get asked the most is: "what sort of boots do you recommend?". This is perhaps the question that is easiest to answer: "ones that fit you." That is all there is to it; get boots that do what you want and that are comfortable: recommendations are essentially pointless, as what works for me will not for you. Unlike coats and trousers, boots are much more variable in terms of shape, fit and size. I used five pairs of Scarpa Trek 2's on the walk (sadly no longer in production), along with three pairs of trainers for the road stretches.


GPS.
There is little that is coastwalk-specific about GPS units, so I refer you to the Walkingworld website for information. Note you may want to have a mapping unit, or leave it on the whole time to create a trail of your walk.

Tents.
Again, there is little specific about tents. Please remember, though, that if you are camping you may spend many hundreds of nights in it, so get something that is a) bulletproof and b) comfortable. This may rule out some of the lighter tents.Get something that you can see spend many nights in.

Walking gear
Obviously a good coat and waterproof trousers are vital. Aside from this, fleeces, trousers and base layers are all required. Many people swap clothes out between autumn and spring, sending home or receiving warmer clothes. There are many different clothes on the market, many of which would do the job admirably. Find out what fits and is comfortable and think of how it will wear out over the course of the walk.

2 comments:

Graham said...

What gave in on the Scarpa Treks ?

Just curious, as am about to buy.

David Cotton said...

Hi Graham,

They just wore out: due to an injury I walk on the outside of my feet, and that part of the soles would wear out (although that happens with all of my boots). Because I was using the boots day after day I could not clean or proof them often enough, and the leather above the toes was therefore prone to splitting.

They finally stopped making Trek 2's after my walk, and the replacement models did not suit me as well. Which was a shame, as the Trek 2's were a good boot.