TentMeals.co.uk

The usual commercial backpacking meal options (foil packs, freeze-dried, that sort of thing) have never appealed to me, mainly for reasons of price and choice*, and for the last decade we have, with the exception of a couple of our foreign trips, cooked and dehydrated almost all of our in-tent evening meals. However, back in May I had the opportunity to try a couple of the offerings from a little company called TentMeals and I was impressed enough to pen a few words in their favour (something that I was under no obligation to do when I tried them – I didn’t receive them direct from TentMeals and the company has no idea that these meals landed in my stomach**). 

Three things immediately struck me when I saw these meals:

1) they don’t have an excess of packaging. They’re very small and neat packages (which does rely on you having a pan/bowl/tub available to make up the meal); and

2) they look thoroughly wholesome, being presented in layers including nuts, seeds and fruit; and

3) they contain a goodly amount of calories (the packs shown below are both 500 calories for a 127g pack; they also come in 800kcal/180g-ish packs)

^{I would have sworn that I took photos of the main meal I ate, but if I did I now can’t find it, so here’s a photo of a different main course, as well as a breakfast which may or may not have been the same one as I ate.}

I tried both a breakfast and a main meal:

Breakfast

I’m not entirely sure which breakfast I tried as it ended up in my hands because the label was missing, but I think it was the Blueberry Burst pictured above. Whatever it was, the main things that struck me about it was that it produced a massive portion and that it used oats of a much better quality than those I usually use. The portion would, perhaps, not have seemed so large if I was on a walking trip when I tried it, but as I was spending my days sitting down at the time, the portion proved big enough to keep me feeling full until lunchtime. That’s quite remarkable for someone who is renowned for the phrase ‘I’m hungry’ and who usually only makes it a couple of hours after breakfast before snacking. My verdict for the recipe was a definite thumbs up. 

Main Course

It was the Morrocan main that I tried, which is a couscous based meal, with fruit and nuts, a few veg, herbs and flavouring. Very tasty it was too. Another thumbs up, and my perception was that it was definitely more wholesome and filling than an Ainsley Harriet flavoured couscous sachet. It wasn’t as filling as the breakfast, but it was enough for me, and if a bigger portion was required, the company also does an 800-calorie version of its mains.

Overall Verdict

TentMeals is only a little company and I really like what they’re offering. I would happily eat these again on any of our trips.

Unfortunately for TentMeals, that doesn’t mean that I will necessarily become a customer (although, that said, if the generous discount voucher I have is still valid, I might be tempted). Whilst I think that £4.50 for both of the meals I tried is competitive when compared to the rest of the commercial backpacking meals market, the fact is that these are essentially raw food meals that get their high calorie content from nuts, seeds and dried fruit and I could knock up something very similar myself. However, not everyone wants to spend time making up their own backpacking meals, so for those who want to buy off the shelf, I’d say that TentMeals is very much worth a look.

(*choice being a particular issue as I avoid meat; all of TentMeals offerings are meat-free, albeit with serving suggestions that meat can be added.

**that was me doing the ‘disclosure’ thing!)

Pyrenean Kit List 2016

When we were walking Offa's Dyke Path in April this year, and I was struggling to get comfortable on my NeoAir Short, I wondered why that sleep mat was proving less comfortable than it had been on the Southern Upland Way (SUW) last spring and the GR10 last summer. Then I started to wonder whether I'd used it on the SUW; maybe the low temperature was causing the problem? My blog frequently provides me with answers to questions I have about my own life, but its been years since I last posted a kit list, so it was of no use to me on this question. 

So, for my own future reference, listed below is all the stuff I carried in the Pyrenees this summer. To make some of it potentially of interest to others, I've provided comments on some items. 

I haven't weighed the individual items, but housed in my Osprey Exos 46 (and without gas, food or water) it came in at under 6.5kg (Edit to add: the stated weight excludes one complete outfit of clothes - i.e. what I expected to be wearing). 

Items marked with a single asterisk were new for this trip, but direct replacements for retired items. Items marked with two asterisks were new for this trip and of a different make/model/design to what I had fulfilling the same purpose before. Items marked with three asterisks were extra items, not before carried.

Category/Item	Comment
Sleeping
Top section of homemade synthetic double quilt, in homemade stuffsack	Lightweight version. Was okay at 1 degree but if it got much cooler I'd be donning my fleece
Thermarest NeoAir Short in silk bag	I get on fine with the short length in warm weather. Prefer medium length if it's cooler.
Jagbags Silk sleeping bag liner (cut down)
Tent Poles and Pegs (Tarptent Double Rainbow) in homemade bag	Mick carries the flysheet.
Polycro Groundsheet in plastic bag	Accidentally took one cut to the shape and size of the Voyager. As it happens we only felt the need to use it twice.
Cooking and Eating
MSR Superfly Stove, in original MSR carry bag	I hate how big and bulky this stove is compared to the Coleman F1 Lite, but love the genius that allows it to be used on both screw-thread canisters and click-lock Campingaz canisters. The latter are much cheaper and more readily available than the former.
MSR Titan Kettle cookpot
Two plastic teaspoons	Can't believe the original two teaspoons, given away as disposable with M&S lunches in 2008, are still going strong.
One plastic spork	Lives in backpack lid for use at lunchtimes. Another M&S 'disposable' piece of cutlery from 2008. Sensibly, M&S soon switched back to more flimsy one-shot cutlery.
Homemade pot cosy	The sides and lid are made of metalicised bubblewrap, the base is closed-cell foam (although only because I ran out of metalicised bubblewrap when I was making it)
Homemade foil windshield	Made out of a disposable baking tray
cigarette lighter	Bought five for a pound at Poundland.
can opener	Weighs 8g and takes up almost no room, but as it's been used twice in eight years, I do question why I still carry it.
Half a washing-up sponge
Homemade stuffsack for cooking kit
Plastic mug	Bought in first week of LEJOG in 2008 (and washed at least a dozen times since then!). Quite delaminated on the outside now but still perfectly functional.
Sawyer Squeeze Mini water filter	Used extensively. It's so quick and easy to use that all water, except when got out of a tap in a hotel/bar or bought in a bottle, was put through the filter. It's not as comprehensive as my Drinksafe Systems filter in what it removes, but perfectly adequate for the (probably perfectly good even without filtering) water sources in the Pyrenees.
Sawyer Squeeze 0.5 litre water bladder	1-litre capacity would be more convenient, but this is what came with the filter.
Sawyer Squeeze backflushing syringe	All water was such good quality that there was no clogging of the filter at all, but past experience has shown that just one dodgy water source can clog a filter enough to make a backflush necessary.
2-litre Platypus water bladder
32 fl Oz Gatorade bottle	Main drinking bottle.
Asda bag for life (AKA food bag)*
Daily Clothes
Craghoppers convertible trousers	I didn't notice last year that these are too long on me; it was so hot that the legs didn't see much action. This year the legs were used extensively and were quite annoying when they kept getting stuck under my heels. Must turn them up!
Mountain Equipment Fleece
Short-sleeved merino top
Short-sleeved synthetic top
Homemade arm warmers/sleeves***	Not used, but I'd still take them again as they're so small and light.
Two pairs Kalenji (Decathlon) pants
Phenomenally expensive Odlo sports bra
X-Socks One ankle socks (x2)	One more pair of socks than I would usually take. Intended to wear the old, stretched pair for the first week then bin them, but they survived the whole trip.
Injinji toe socks**
Smartwool ankle socks (bedsocks)	I compromised on bedsocks, taking a smaller, thinner pair than usual. Good call, as I didn’t need them beyond the first few cool days.
Mock-croc camp shoes	Sadly binned in Bolquere.
Tilley Hat
Dirtygirl gaiters	Love 'em! Keeps grit out of the shoes without any foot sweatiness.
Cold & Wet Clothing
Homemade insulated vest** in silk bag
Montane Atomic Waterproof Jacket	It may be waterproof but it's seriously lacking in breathability. Worst jacket ever owned, but it was cheap and is light.
Berghaus Paclite Waterproof Trousers
Disposable Poncho***	It may be a glorified oversized bin liner with a  hood, but it weighs 50g and is remarkably effective!
Extremities Powerstretch Beanie
Berghaus Powerstretch gloves
Buff
Extremities lightweight waterproof overmitts*	Not used, but if it'd been a bit colder on the rainy days they might have been
Montane Featherlite windshirt
Waterproof 3L stuffsack to hold hats & gloves*
If something goes wrong
First Aid Kit	Three types of painkiller, anti sickness, anti squits, antihistamine, hydrocortisone cream, plasters, zinc oxide tape, bandage.
Sewing Kit	Needle and various pretty colours of thread.
3g tube of superglue
length of dyneema cord
Tenacious tape	Mick carries the gaffa tape
McMurdo Fastfind Personal Locator Beacon	A 'one-shot' PLB - only to be used in dire emergency!
Whistle
Safety pins (2)
Hygiene
Toiletries kit in mesh bag	Toothpaste, toothbrushes, mirror, shampoo, soap, moisturiser
Small bag of soapflakes	Would have been used if I hadn't lost them within my bag for the first 18 days of the trip! Bags  sent in resupply parcels were used.
Toilet paper in small plastic bag	Mick carries the 'shit kit' including the toilet paper, hand gel, cigarette lighter and poo shovel. I carry the 'squit kit' (i.e. extra, emergency toilet paper)
Sanitising Hand Gel
Lipsyl (Factor 15)
Suncream (Factor 30; 50ml tube)	Mick's delicate skin takes Factor 50+. The 50ml tube wasn't quite new for this trip and lasted for its duration. I didn't burn.
Pee-rag and pee-rag holder	The holder is a little half-mesh bag with a strap which holds it accessible on my belt.
Handkerchiefs (2)
"Towel"	half of a super-absorbent Vileda cloth.
Where are we?
Maps
Compass
Ortlieb Map case
Miscellaneous
Printout of planned itinerarararary	Should have also printed the copy with accommodation info on it. Was difficult and battery consuming to get info off phone.
Passports
European Health Insurance Cards
Plastic Ziplok bags (3)	to hold First Aid Kit, Repair Kit and Electrical stuff.
Spare plastic bags	varying sizes and types. The collection grows as we eat our dehydrated meals, and reduces as those bags are re-used for breakfast cereal and rubbish.
Homemade sitmat	Two layers of the insulating foil stuff that goes behind radiators (not the bubblewrap type), taped and sewn together. Not ideal for sitting on a slope (hessian bag on a helter-skelter…) but very small and light.
DEET	50% DEET in aerosol form. Thankfully only called into action on 2 occasions this year.
Sunwise Windrush Sunglasses and bag
Two clothes pegs	Never carried any until I 'acquired' these two pegs on a campsite in France last year. How did I ever manage without them before?!
Exped Fold Drybag rucksack liner*
j-cloths (2)	One for mopping the tent, one for use as a pan-lift.
Tough plastic bag 'wallet', for bank cards, money and spare SIM
Large Aloksak to store paperwork & maps	Really on its last legs now after 8 years of use. Need to find somewhere to buy another one this size.
Electronics
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini mobile phone	Guidebooks and other written materials also held on phone. All walk-related materials on my phone are duplicated on Mick's. This also acted as GPS and camera. I didn't take a separate camera, and thus didn't need to carry a spare camera battery either. SIM was on 3 network, to take advantage of the cheapness of their 'Feel at Home' deal.
Earphones
Petzl e+lite headtorch	Only adequate for night walking if Mick is in front of me with a decent headtorch!
Spare batteries for headtorch	If we'd needed to do any night walking, I would have needed to use the new batteries. As it was, I managed with the nearly-dead batteries already in the torch.
Three spare phone batteries	The curse of blogging on the go. I have never yet got beyond using the third of four on any stretch between electricity supplies.
Two mini-USB cables
One Fitbit Surge Cable	For Mick's Fitbit. I switched to my Zip for the trip, which has a battery which lasts 3 to 4 months.
Fitbit Zip
Two European USB plug	In the UK I always carry one double and one single. Would have been handy to have had the same arrangement in France as we kept getting rooms with only one plug socket.
Aquapac waterproof phone case