LUXURY

As I am not yet an ultralight hiker, being up to 5  kg base weight, I bring 3 luxury items.

I read Mike Clevelland's book "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips", chapters #53 and #60 caught my attention about this theme.

1 - A knife, a real knife plain edge Ka-Bar BK11 at 143 grams included sheath and cord handle (2 or 3 meters), I love to bring this knife and if you refer to the chapter 53 in "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips" I could of course take something lighter because it's obviously not an indispensable item. I store this item in my pocket not in the bag.

2 - A mug for the coffee. Concerning this piece of gear I intend to change for something lighter and smaller. This mug is a Nordisk aluminium mug about 300 ml and 90 grams.

3 - A book. I won't be going out without a book, not the Lord of the Rings special edition 800 pages but a small pocket book is a real pleasure in the evening before going to sleep.

JAMES O CURWOOD : THE GOLDEN SNARE

JAMES O CURWOOD : The GOLDEN SNARE

As an adventure novel this book is in a bit old-fashioned style which could be very seductive. Often sold as a teenager book I found it fascinating went I read it during the Kungsleden. 

amazon 

SALLY PONCET : LE GRAND HIVER

A winter season in a boat in Antarctica. Don't know if an English version is available ?

amazon

SUGGESTED READING : MIKE CLELLAND UBT

MIKE CLELLAND : ULTRALIGHT BACKPACKING TIPS

A technical and philosophical guide to lighten your backpack. Funny cartoons, short chapters, fun and pleasant to read.

amazon

Hiking the Kungsleden : from Ben P

Hiking the Kungsleden from ben p on Vimeo.

LIFE CYCLES

VANGO HELIUM 200 REVIEW

TENT : VANGO HELIUM 200

Vango is a Scottish brand which offers a variety a products for outdoor activities. In this catalog you will find a special category of gear under the label "Force Ten" which is a technical and more extreme type of gear. The Helium series belongs to this category. 

The Vango Helium 200 was, at the time I purchased this product, the best price-to-weight-to-technical nature ratio tent I found on the market. My wishes were about enough room for two people, place to store a pack or cook in bad weather, light weight and price. The Helium 200 did it all.

Technical aspects : The Vango Helium could be seen as an Hybrid tent between a tunnel and a self standing tent. It's composed of a inner shelter of orange ripstop nylon all closed with an oval shaped door with a nu see um mesh window. An opening at the feet secured by a mosquito mesh breezes the room. I didn't had to complain about any condensation during the Fjallraven with cold and wet weather nor during another overnight hike. 

The rain shelter is made out of ripstop sylnylon and can be pitched alone before pitching the inner shelter which is a must when it's raining. you can of course let the inner tent at home and pitch the rain shelter alone dropping the overall weight to less than 600 grams (i will check this point again).  Pitching the tent is fast and easy. The stock pegs are very short but light, T bought longer orange (easy to find in the grass) aluminium pegs from Decathlon.  The unique aluminium pole goes from side ti side over the tent, a small pole is pitch at the foot to rise this part and insure ventilation.

Comfort: The Helium 200 is a palace for one person and I could sleep with my pack beside me and easily dress inside. For two people, I mean adults, it will be a bit more tricky and you should consider to be in love with the one who will share the shelter ! If it's cold outside you will share human heat. This is mainly due to the inner shape of the tent (see diagram up the page) one close to the door will have a straight room for is body and legs, the one at the opposite will have to bend a bit in the angle. Despite this remark nothing impossible and sleeping in a wild and remote area is rarely a comfortable experience anyway so, with a sportive mind let's go ! 

I'm 1.78 m high and I can stay sit in the tent at the entrance where the under roof clearance is the best, my head just gently rubbing the top. The room outside is big enough to welcome a backpack and some small stuff like shoes or trekking poles, you can easily prepare a hot meal in this place. A pocket/shelf is sewn near the door and big enough to store a headlamp a small bottle and a book (I hike with a book, that one of my three luxury items).  

I slept very well in this tent with plenty of room, not touching the walls during the night. The orange color give a feeling of heat and the pretty small surface of mesh fabric participate to protect against the wind freezing in cold areas like Lapland. 

Price: I purchased this item in December 2010 from an online UK retailer (I will try to remember the link) for 220 euros delivery included. It's surely more expensive than a Decathlon product but surely not the same quality considering all aspects : good looking, finish details, fabrics quality, durability...). The brand's technical specifications are well respected with an announced weight at 1300 grams and a scale checked weight, just out of the box including the repair kit and labels, of 1360 grams ! 

Conclusion : A nice purchase ! With more experience now I would probably purchase the Helium 100 (1190 gr) which is more in my ultralight approach and may be, if I were rich enough, the Helium 100 Carbon (860 gr). 

Check the video : Helium 100

Bad picture of the tent

GRANITE GEAR CROWN VC 60 UPDATED REVIEW

I recently loaded my new pack with my sleeping bag, tent, mattress, cook kit, gas canister, emergency kit and some clothes to check the volume of the pack compared to my Deuter ACT lite 40+10 liters. I still have more room left in my new pack with all this stuff and I haven't used to extension collar. Yet, the pack doesn't look that huge loaded with stuffs what is very pleasant in my opinion. It feels great on my back, soft and supple and I guess offers a good load transfer to the hip-belt but my bed-room test is not relevant and I will bring it on the trail soon and bring you the feedback at the end of august.

You can check these reviews on YouTube :

Prolite

Backcountryedge

And here are some more pictures of the pack : 

View of the two packs side to side the GG doesn't seem to be bigger than the Deuter...

The nicely padded shoulder strap !

Grams (or ounces) counters can remove the hip-belt system and switch for none or a DIY lighter one !

Ready to jump inside ? view from the top. The inside is not of a black fabric making it easy to find stuff.

View of the back inside. notice the toggle for a water bag but could be used to secure something. under the toggle is a zipper for water bag pouch and the internal frame access.

The internal a removable frame.

FORGIVE ME FOR MY FAULT.

I'm sorry to notice that I make not only language mistakes but also writing mistakes, forgetting letters in words or writing words in a wrong way. I promise to try to improve this skill in the future...

GRANITE GEAR CROWN VC 60 UNBOXING : FIRST IMPRESSIONS

As I wished to become a very-light backpacker (still not ultra or mega light) I chose to go for the Granite Gear Crown VC 60 after having considered the Osprey Exos 46 and about a hundred other packs ! I received yesterday my parcel from ArklightDesign.

So, here ar my very first impressions when unboxing this pack.

This pack is light !

The colors are nice and discrete.

The overall construction seems good (for 200 $ you can expect a good quality !).

It doesn't look like being a 60L pack ! I really don't know what is the real capacity of this pack compare to my 40-10 liters Deuter ACT :

I guess the 60 liters are obtained by using nearly all the collar extension of the pack making it very versatile. 

The mesh pockets are very nice, it's not a traditional net mesh pocket but a much more dense fabric which seems durable. The green fabric seems very durable too. The coyote brown fabric is told to be waterproof and even if it seems lighter it's made of very good quality material. the seams do not seem to be sealed but it's may be enough to deal with rain and gives you the opportunity to let your backpack cover at home.

The shoulder straps are nicely constructed with real padding  as well as the hip-belt system. For hardcore light packers you can save weight but removing the internal frame (160 grams) and the hip-belt as well (don't know the weight but I would say 100 grams at least). Concerning this last point, small buckles will remain attached to each side of the pack so it should be possible to create a very light hip-strap system.

The shoulder pockets seem to be too high on the shoulders to be really effective, you can't store a smartphone in these pockets may be a small cell phone but no GPS, I tried to put my Lumix FT20 but it's tight and I'm afraid that it's placed on the round part of the shoulder and could damage my device. May be to store a small compass or cereal bars.

The front mesh pocket is huge and goes underneath the green fabric on each side and all the way down to the bottom of the pack, offering a nice storage space. The side mesh pockets are huge too and can welcome your cook kit, trekking poles, water, emergency kit...they can be secured by making the draw cord run over it or you can choose to make it run underneath the mesh pocket.

The VC backpanel is nice and seems supportive because it's made out of a very dense foam, not a soft foam like a sleeping mattress but closer to beach shoes.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC 2011 : CONCLUSION

Hiking the Fjallraven Classic is a great experience everyone should try. the nature is fantastic the organisation has no failure and its a very good way to discover Lapland.

The trail is of medium difficulty with very few "flat" trail. It's all the time rocky and you have to be careful of not sliding when it's wet. The trail is always a little bit up and down and you have to cross moraines, swamps fortuity equipped with wood trails but often under the water line. The biggest difficulty as I can remember was the way just after Kebnekaise and the Tjaktja pass, but nothing impossible. Many people are walking with their children (I guess the youngest was about 8 yo) or with dogs (even very small dogs !). The real difficulty is the one you decide to give to the trail by trying to go fast or put too much weight in your pack, otherwise you can have pleasant time with no stress.

My buddy and I will do it one more time for sure. For myself I will probably tempt the whole Kungsledden in 2013, as a solo hike.

If you are in search of a particular on this trip feel free to leave a comment and your question.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC 2011 PART 7 : ABISKO NATIONAL PARK TILL THE END

ABISKO NATIONAL PARK - FINISH LINE

With surprise(and pride!) we noticed that we were able to finish the trail in less than 72 hours and then catch the gold medal. So we hit the trail with no delay heading for the last check point.

 

A very nice surprise was waiting for us : a all you can eat buffet of pancakes, Chantilly marmalade ans coffee !!

We took a little rest at the last check point, chatting for a while with German backpackers then standing on our feet for the last stretch. The trail across Abisko National Park was a bit tricky because there were more trails and at this time it seemed like some work was done in the park and the trails were re-routed with detours. We finally made our way thru   the park and passed the Kungsledden door. Just in front of this door was set a big board with  the indication of the distance to finish line : "500m".

after these last meters with reached some buildings an heard the sound of many people and music. on the left was a big tent with a pub and tables outside passing this point we received applause and a member of the team came to us to shake our hand ! Just after we had to check for the last time confirming our time at less than 72 hours - 71H02minutes - and we were given the medal a patch to sew on a garment or a backpack a soft drink and a candy. We stayed for the night at the Abisko station where there is a restaurant, rooms, showers and sauna. Here you can pickup your luggage and purchase a bus ticket for Kiruna.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC PART 6 : SALKA TO ALESJAURE

SALKA-ALESJAURE

We left again early in the morning and headed to the "frightening" Tjaktja Pass. This stage was described as the most difficult stretch of the trail. In fact the pass is just an intense climb on a short distance about from 940 meters at the bottom for 1140 meters at the top on a 200 meters stretch. We climbed it at a pretty good speed, not without having a rest from time to time an taking pleasure with the view to the south and the magnificent valley.  Finally by reaching the summit we found some snow remains, a small cabin and...toilets. 

 

On the other side of the pass the landscape is 100% mineral on some kilometers before gaining in green. The weather also became more friendly with some sun rays but fresh temperatures. 

We passed our intended camp site during the day and joined the Alesjaure checkpoint and its magnificent lake. We had a rest on a beach (no sun tanning) and our dinner.

We walked some more kilometers and established our camp site North of the lake near some others small lakes and not far from a reindeer coral. 

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC PART 5 : KEBNEKAISE TO SALKA

KEBNEKAISE-SALKA

We left early and headed to Singi check point then Salka Check point.

In my mind this part of the trek was may be the most difficult, with the climb of the tjaktja pass. Mainly because the weather was a bit rainy and the trail slippy with mud and rocks and a up and down all the way from Kebnekaise to Singi. This was widely compensated by the beautiful landscape which were now surrounding us, we were entering the Lapland wilderness. The landscape was now different the trees had disappeared and it was a rocky mountain landscape at first then a ice age valley when heading to the North. The temperatures where close to ice too with no more than 3 to 4°C during the night and may be 8 to 10°C at day time. We finally reached Singi for the lunch break. 

We reached Salka in the evening where we had the nice surprise to find a coffee and cinnamon cake to welcome us!!

We pushed a few kilometers after this checkpoint and camped mid way to Tjaktja pass. 

In green on the map the camp sites we intended to use and in red the camp site we used.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC PART 4 : START TO KEBNEKAISE

From Kiruna a bus shuttle bring you to Nikaluokta Fjallstation which is the starting line of the Classic. Here we found, in the big red building, a nice restaurant with a small gift shop. We used the scale outside to weight our full loaded packs (11kg for mine and 11,5 kg for my buddy). Outside, a small stand offers a fast food service. Many people were now gathering, some with their dog. We went to the blue tent for the ultimate check-in. 

 

A few minutes before the start a Sami person gave us a speech and the Sami anthem was song.

Then the "race" began. The trail was overcrowded for some kilometers before each one found his rhythm, balanced his gear and clothes. the path was still very crowded until Kebnekaise check point. We intended to camp before the Kebnekaise check point because with a starting time at 16pm we thought we were not able to join this place before the "night", but as there is no real night in this land and because we were underestimating our stamina we were on time at the Fjallstation for checking and pushed a bit more after that to find a camp site. this task was not that easy because there is not so much place at this point : many people, a river on one side and the mountain on the other. My advice would be to walk some more kilometers, but it was raining a bit and we didn't chose this option.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC PART 3 : KIRUNA - LAPLAND DISCOVERY

KIRUNA and LAPLAND

Once in Kiruna the air is much fresher than in Stockholm and the moisture is higher too. 

As we thought the organisation is very good nearly perfect. The buses were on time at the train station, we were welcomed and led to the Operating Center. At the gymnasium containers are parked on the parkway in order to receive your luggage you could wish to be delivered at the finish line like a rolling locker. Each luggage was given a number and you keep the receipt. Then we had to go to the check-in where every participant received a personal information by a member of the Fjallraven team about the race the rule how things work...then you check-in receive your personal logbook with a bar-code which has to be scanned at the starting line in Nikaluokta. After this we took the line to pick-up our gas canister, food, bread, map...even a small store from Naturkompaniet provided the gear one could wish to add to his already too heavy pack !

We then went to the Camp Ripan to book a cabin for the night, it was raining really strong outside and a good night was a good idea before the "race".

Kiruna is a small industrial city with all the facilities you wish for a short stay: grocery, outdoor retailers, pubs, restaurants (Camp Ripan has a good restaurant and breakfast service (restaurant was a bit expensive in my mind)).

Kiruna doesn't offers much activities but you can visit the town, we appreciated the Church, the city hall with an interesting architecture and art exhibition, the great iron mine can also be visited but we didn't.

FJALLRAVEN CLASSIC PART 2 : TRIP TO KIRUNA

We traveled to Stockholm arriving at the Skvasta Airport then to Stockholm by bus without any problem. We let the luggage at the Stockholm Central Station where lockers are at disposal. Lightened of these weights we took a little site seeing in the town that we previously already visited separately. We decided to travel to Kiruna by train despite a plane travel was also possible. the price is appreciatively the same only the time needed is different ! 

The departure was at 21h30, as a night train we booked a cabin with small beds and had the luck to be only two in this 6 places "room", many travelers seem to prefer the regular seat travel. we reached the destination at about 12h00 the day after. everything in the train was clean and nice we even had a shower ! People are quiet and nice too a big change when coming from France ! I wish I could live in Sweden !! 

We had a connection in the morning and took another train for Kiruna the main line doesn't go all the way. In this "new" train passengers have another style : 95% backpackers. after this 16 hours trip we finally reach Kiruna where buses were waiting for us to drop hikers to a gymnasium close to Camp Ripan being for this time the registration center and supply center. 

Our start was the next day so we took some time to walk in the town where you can find everything you need from food to outdoor equipment, pubs, restaurants, we slept at Camp Ripan in a small but very comfortable cabin. In Kiruna its also the last place to have a phone call to friends or family before the phone free wilderness territory !