One year Australia, what gear do you recommend?

Bagheera

Bagheera

Joined
Oct 6, 1998
Messages
957
Hi,

I have friend who has quit his job coming December (we work for the same company) and he's applied for an Australian visa to travel one year trough it.

He's what I call a "young dog" with practically no backpack travel experience and I'm trying to help him as much as I can.

He needs literally everything from backpack, tent, sleeping bag down to his shoes.

I would like to get some advise from you all as to what is needed and also recommendations about favorite brands of equipment that is necessairy and good quality but also AFFORDABLE for him.

By the way he's thin and tall about 6' 6" and 180 pounds.

Tips & tricks about equipment , sites about the subject and/or gear everything is welcome.


By the way we have the possibility to buy gear in the US and have it shipped to our company in San Diego :) .

So let's hear it,

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera


LS. A SAK Backpacker will be the ONLY knife he'll be carrying ;)
 
Hi Piet,

Since the trip will be for a year long, very durable (high quality) gear will be needed, even at its higher price, because it will be used hard on a daily basis.

TENTS
-- Bibler Tents are about as good as it gets, but at a higher price. http://www.biblertents.com/text/excfr.html
-- Moss Tents also enjoy a good reputation for being very good. http://www.mosstents.com/

SLEEPING BAGS
-- For goose down bags, Feathered Friends come highly rated. http://www.featheredfriends.com/bags/bags.htm
-- FWIW I have a North Face Superlight (rated to 5 degrees F) that I slept under virtually every night for almost twenty years. I just threw it on my bed between trips. Very comfortable, summer or winter, and very lightweight & compressible. It has lost some of its loft & leaks a bit of down from the draft tube, so I don't use it any more. But it was (and is) a super bag.
-- For synthetic bags, Wiggy's Bags are good, but with the usual heavier weight of synthetic fills. He also makes some clothes. If you're set on Goretex for a rain layer, you'll have to ignore his bias against it. ;) http://www.wiggys.com/cgi-bin/Web_store/Html/frontpage.html
-- A good sleeping pad will be more than a luxury, it will be a necessity. Go with Therma-Rest. Buy from whoever has the cheapest price and be sure to get a patching kit for it.

CLOTHES
-- Marmot Mountain Works for bombproof Gortex rain gear.
-- Polar fleece (not wool) for lightweight compressible warmth layer.
-- Thorlo socks for durability. I have some of their crew socks that have withstood civilian wear for close to ten years IIRC. Wearing the cheapie brands, I would get about 1-1/2 year at the maximum.

GENERAL
-- Here's a good lightweight backpacking site, including pages on planning & purchasing your gear. http://www.backpacking.net
-- Online stores like REI, Campmor, Cheaper Than Dirt, Brigade Quartermaster, and others will probably give the best prices. I've found CapsSource.com the best price for paracord. Shop online hard for the best prices.

Hope he has a great time on the trip,
Greg
 
It depends on what he's planning to do and when and where and what his budget is. Backpacking covers a wide variety of ways of doing things and Sydney in January and June sports a pretty big temperature difference.

Australian towns often have inexpensive hostels with dorm beds - these are good alternatives to camping because you don't have to carry the extra weight of gear and they are right in town and great for current backpacker news and views - you get to hear of events, free/cheap transport, shortterm work, bad/good lodgings, and find company to travel and share a room with, which is cheaper than paying for a single. Many hiking trails may have cabins or lodges along the way for hikers - this shouldn't be hard to check. So if he chases the warm weather and ends up spending summer as far south as possible, ground insulation may not be necessary, and a goosedown sleeping bag that packs down small should be all he needs.

An Evian bottle will do very nicely for water - they're pretty strong and don't cost anything except the first time! A lot of big ziploc bags can be very useful. He may need a little cookpot and cookstand and a packet of solid fuel but my suggestion is to wait and see if these are actually necessary and only then buy them in Australia, which is after all the home of the billycan. He'll need a tent and sleeping pad only if he is solo camping in the bush. This is a bad idea for a newbie in Australia. The world's 10 most poisonous snakes, the funnel web spider, the box jellyfish, salt and fresh water crocodiles all live there. In any event, one can trust Aussie bush gear to be well suited to the Aussie bush so he should buy it there. Aussie sun is the worst and Aussie sunblock is the best so buy it there and tell him to remember he has to apply it in the shade and let it dry before it's effective.

Typical all weather travel clothes: sweater, warm jacket, windproof quick-dry ripstop pants, river sandals, hiking boots. No jeans. Buy such T-shirts and shorts as are necessary along the way: you'd be surprised what you can pick up cheap - there's always the Aussie equivalent of the Salvation Army.

I would bring a small duffle with decent city clothes and shoes and dump it in a locker or hotel lockup when heading out to the bush. One of the great charms of Australia is its cities and it's never a waste to spend time in them.

And tell him to read Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburnt Country" (European edition may be entitled "Down Under") first. He will have a great year.
 
Since he has to buy everything you might want to check out places such as LL Bean (www.llbean.com) and REI (www.rei.com). They make their own quality gear and have good prices. They also have outstanding return policies (on anything they sell, not just their brand name). I think that things like footwear and backpacks need to be tried on. Everybody is a little different and the fit isn't always the same. Asolo boots and Dana Design packs are high quality products, but they don't fit me as well as Vasque boots and Gregory packs, which as a result I prefer. If your friend can get to San Diego, they have an REI there.

If he is planning on using a backpacking stove, MSR and Primus make some good multi-fuel and single fuel models. However, since transporting fuel would be a problem he may be better off waiting to get down there and get a single fuel stove using whatever fuel is most common down there.

As for clothes, polypro or other synthetic materials make a good base layer. You can also get military surplus stuff cheap. I have they polypro that the US Army uses and it is very warm stuff. I also like thorlo socks, as well as similar socks by wigwam and smartwool. A fleece pullover is one of my favorites. It is good for a wide range of conditions and fits nicely under my shells. I prefer the regular stuff, not the windproof fleece. If it windy or rainy I put either a light weight nylon anorak over it or a gortex shell. If it is going to get colder than the fleece can handle, a good down jacket works nice and packs relativly small. And finally, the shells I've already mentioned.

Good luck to your friend on his trip.
 
He might want to read Surviving Australia: a practical guide to staying alive by Sorrel Wilby. Copyright 2001. It is somewhat superficial, after all it discusses a whole country, but it also has an extensive bibliography, including web links. Another nice factor, it is relatively current. :D This book should make a good starting point; as if it was written for his trip. It has a lot of lists of items, suggested for various types of travel or activities.

I did enjoy the book mentioned above, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, c2000. He has a rather wry sense of humor. I especially liked his description of the way he sleeps, page 12 as I recall.

In addition to the usual items, if he is not too concerned with appearances, he might want to take one of those nets you put over your hat to keep out noseeums. Both books mentioned certain areas/times when small flying bugs can be a nuisance.
 
You say that an SAK will be his only knife on the trip. Bare in mind that Australia is very hard nosed on the carrying of knives. I corresponded with one Aussie who got arrested and put in jail for carrying a Swiss Army Knife. It would behove you to contact the Australian Consel and ask about the carrying of knives in their country.:( :o :mad: :barf: :confused:
 
Whatever boots ya'll decide, buy them NOW!!!! Get him to break them in really good with long walks. It will suck if he has sore feet the entire time from stiff shoes. Besides, it'll be good exercise. Also, go to the drug store and get some mole skin.
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the info and advise, I will make shure that my friend won't get into trouble with his SAK, as he wanted to take the Rucksack model with him and it has a longer blade that locks so that could be less acceptable for the Aussies.

He just got himself a nice Berghaus Cyclops Vulcan 2 backpack, a used military surplus one, but still in very good order, the #3 size fits him perfectly.

I've been hunting the web for sites with info andbackpacker "reviews" about Australia.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
 
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