French Alps trip – need recommendations on updating my gear

[Edward K]

Hi everyone and greetings,

I have just been invited to join some friends in the French Alps on 15 August for 12 days hiking.

This is great news but I have realised that alot of my gear is really outdated so first off is footwear…

I have always used traditional leather hiking boots but last year I bought a pair of Merrell Bare Access Trail shoes after lurking here and on other sites.

I bought them for a trip that fell through due to health reasons but I’m back on track now.

However, the Merrells are pretty much worn out on the soles and one of the eyes pulled out last week… I’ve just spent a few hours trying to find the exact pair online but no luck. I think that they are great shoes and have worn them everyday for work and then walking at the weekends – just coastal paths here with no ascent but they’re very light and comfortable.

I’m in the UK and will have to buy from amazon / wiggle / online shop etc as there are no real shoe shops accessible to me.

Anyway, after a bit of a frustrating search I thought maybe I should be looking at other shoes – I thought about the following:

La Sportiva Helios (bit soft? not hard wearing?)
Inov8 295? 300? there are so many different types – any ideas?!
Saucony Xodus

I’m 42 yrs old / 6’2″ / wide feet / high arch. In the Merrells I am EUR 45 / UK 10.5

My friends who have organised the Alps trip are French and have booked refuges along the way – normally I carry a tent so this will be new for me. I’m hoping to get a low pack weight as there will be no tent (and possibly no thermarest/stove to carry? Will have to read about refuges in that area…).

I only know the Pyrenees – never been to the Alps but from looking at photographs the paths look similar so I reckon I’ll be ok with a trail type shoe rather than traditional leather boots.

More questions later…

Thanks,

Ed

[David Thomas]

In the A’osta Valley in the Italian Alps (very close to France), the refuges have sleeping pads (mattresses, really), blankets and pillows. So you only need to bring (or buy at the first one) a sheet or liner. Some offer a full meal plan (like salad, soup, bread, entree, and dessert) at dinner. Others are less full service. Research and plan ahead because a 20-Euro note is FAR lighter than any food and stove combo.  Many of them offer Ramen, Vienna sausages, crackers level of groceries so, again, research and bring cash instead of food. Maybe have 1-2 light-weight, no-cook meals in reserve, but find someone else’s blog about the route and see what you can leave behind.

Potentially, you don’t need a tent, stove, pots, sleeping bag (but for that liner sheet), or sleeping pad.

I see a lot of serious long-distant, off-trail hikers use La Sportiva trail-running shoes.

[Cameron M]

Read carefully about the refuge temperatures. I just came off the GR20 and some people in the gites complained of being cold with just their sheets; blankets were not supplied. Also some people carry special sheets because of…bedbugs. Ugh. Also take comfortable earplugs!

[Edward K]

Thanks for the info.

I was planning on getting a new tent (probably a ZPacks Duplex) at some future point but might take a bivibag depending on my pack weight. This might give me the option to bivi if the weather is good. I know for certain that 2 of the guys I’m going with snore like trains so earplugs and the option to bivi close-ish to the refuge might be my plan!

Any more ideas on shoes?
Particularly INOV8 – what model would be good to consider?

Thanks,

Ed

[Bruce Tolley]

@Edward

I had a pair of walking shoes fall apart while doing a long walk in Northumbria. This outfit had a great selection of shoes and delivered overnight to me at Twice Brewed Inn.
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co
Cheers/Bruce

[David Thomas]

And if you aren’t a party of six, you’ll usually end up with other random gender / age / snoring travelers.

So, yeah, +1 on the ear plugs.

[Stuart .]

The most suitable shoe for hiking in inov8’s line-up is the RocLite 295, although the new Trailtalon 275 might be worth a look if you’re going to be dealing with well maintained hardpack trails. The Roclites have deeper lugs which are helpful for trails that might be somewhat muddy. I picked up a pair of Terraclaw 250 on sale and so far this summer I have to say I’ve been distinctly unimpressed.

Honestly, I don’t know what inov8 are playing at. Each of their “flagship” shoes in the last few years has been discontinued rather than improved over time. I loved the TrailRoc line. I was less impressed with the Race Ultras that seemed more of a road running shoe. The X-Talons are designed for obstacle course races. I only use mine in hardpack snow.

 

[Roger Caffin]

I have seen people doing a few stages carrying a day pack with toothbrush, liner, fleece, poncho and waterbottle. Ah – AND CC. Bought take-away lunches at the Refuges.

Footwear: FIT, WIDTH and COMFORT! New Balance have some wide fitting joggers: that’s what we wear in the Alps.

Cheers

[Rick M]

Hi Edward, I’ve just finished hiking the South West Coast Path section from Minehead to St Ives wearing NB Leadville V3. ~£70 on Amazon UK now. VERY comfortable trail shoe. Plan on using them when I start the Tour du Mont Blanc Aug 6.

[ed hyatt]

What Roger says about shoes; I use La Sprotiva Wildcats as they really suit me.

Sleeping in Alpine refuges is vile in my opinion due to the factors cited above….I always camp outside if I use them.

[Roger Caffin]

I have camped across Europe in my tunnel tents, and I have slept in many Refuges as well. But I don’t think we ever had any problems in the huts – maybe we were too tired to notice? :-)  One can usually find a spot not too close to others.

One thought: my wife and I look like ‘senior citizens’, and we were carrying Alpine Club Membership cards. Perhaps that got us slightly preferential treatment? Actually, I know it did – we got good beds when the hut was fairly full once, and I overhead one receptionist explaining to another one ‘but they have club cards’.

Cheers

[Edward K]

Thanks everyone for the info on shoes etc

I went for the Inov8 Roclite 295’s (size 10.5) – if they are no good then I think I still have time to try another make/model. Plan B is to repair my Merrells and take them.

Right… next up: pack
I have a really old (20 yrs?!) Berghaus Pulsar 55BC that weighs 1800g.
I have a 15 year old Arc’Teryx Miura that is more of a climbing sack and weighs 1200g.

I’m keen to buy something lighter and suitable for this trip and for future short trips – I think I will get a larger pack at a later date for longer trips.

What should I be looking at?
I’m 6’2″ and about 90kg.

I used the Miura alot for travelling with some hiking – normally about 6kg. It is an ok pack but I found the back got a bit sweaty.

I think I am a bit short on time so won’t be able to get a cottage industry pack – just something that is available to purchase now online…. (I know, not the best way but hey).

List so far:
Osprey Exos 38 (970g / 38litres)
Mountain Hardwear Scrambler RT 35 (850g / 35litres)

Any advice?

Thanks,
Ed

[Edward K]

Working on a lighterpack dot com list… so that I know what I’ll be carrying in the new pack.

Was also looking at :

ULA CDT – 680g / frameless / 3370 cu in (54 litres) / can carry 8kg / recommended base 5.4kg

ULA OHM 2.0 – 935g / frame / 3960 cu in (63 litres) / can carry 13kg / recommended base 5.4kg

Still working out my list but with duplicates of gear before pruning it back it is about 6kg.

The ULA CDT looks good but I don’t know if the back will get hot/sweaty for me….

Will have a read about these two packs.

Getting there with the rest of the gear – a small pile is growing in spare bedroom. I have bought some replacement bits as somethings were really outdated…. My original Thermarest was 725g and only 25mm thick. Bought the NeoAir xlite regular at 350g.

Are there any regular length mats but wider at the shoulders? i.e. the NeoAir xlite regular is the same as my original : 183cm x 51cm and for my shoulders/elbows (sleep on my back) the ideal would be ~160cm x ~60cm wide.

i.e. I don’t need a mat 183cm long but I would like one wider at the torso

Thanks,

Ed

[Roger Caffin]

Mats: Exped Synmat UL7 is very popular and very good (imho).

Cheers

[Mole J]

Edward, just reading this, then saw your location.   You know there are several UK forums with many members who might rapidly ( same time zone) give you pertinent advice re UK suppliers and availability? ( and. Deals)

Probably more your demographic too,  the Alps being somewhat more “local” E.g.

Trek-lite.com

Outdoors Magic

Ukclimbing

 

HTH

 

[Edward K]

Thanks Roger – I looked at the Exped Synmat UL7 in regular / large and wide. The wide offerings are long too. I was looking for a wide / short mat. It’s just an ideal… the NeoAir lite will be ok. I’ll look in more depth after this trip.

Thinking about packs…
Is it a bad idea to get the ULA OHM 2 ? I think it will give me good flexibility for future trips but I am guessing that it will be a little under packed on this trip. Am I right in thinking that the waist and back straps will keep the pack a little off the back and give a little airflow?

Or just go for the ULA CDT and accept that there will be little/no airflow on the back?

[Roger Caffin]

Synmat: I was given one as part of our survey of airmats in 2011:
https://backpackinglight.com/airmat_sotmr_part1_2011/
https://backpackinglight.com/airmat_sotmr_part2_2011/

After the reviewing was done, my wife stole it from me, so I had to buy another one. For my wife to steal it from me is high praise; for me to actually go and buy another is equally high praise.

Packs: for anoything more than a day walk I insist on a frame, and a sprung frame with airflow at that. see our survey of internal frame packs here:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lw_internal_frame_packs_part_1a.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lw_internal_frame_packs_part_1b.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lw_internal_frame_packs_part_1c.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lw_internal_frame_packs_part_2.html

Sure, frame packs weigh more than frameless packs, but they carry a whole lot easier – some might say they carry ‘lighter’. I certainly do.

Cheers

[Edward K]

Rough list with duplicates/alternative options…

https://lighterpack.com/r/fiz92a

Any input gratefully received!

Once I have removed some alt’s then it should resolve down to a reasonable weight.

[Author]

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