Wednesday 13 February 2019

Spine Race - Part 3 - Kit List

Here's my kitlist from the Spine. I would have had a lot of kit I could have used 20 years ago when I was winter climbing and mountaineering a lot, but none of what I had left really fitted apart from the mitts. Fell running kit really isn't up to the job on the Spine, so I had to buy most of this specially. My thanks particularly to High Sports in Shrewsbury who patiently let me try virtually everything in the shop, and always managed to find me a decent discount on production of my Mercia Fell Runners membership card.

If it isn't on here, it didn't get used:

Clothing

Thermal tops - I went for a base layer of long sleeved light to midweight thermal tops:

  • Arctery'x Phase SV Zip Neck Thermal - very warm, but not fantastically wicking when worn next to the skin so it could feel a bit sticky, found the zip neck together with all the other zip necks mid layers just meant everything was a bit too bulky, so I switched at Hawes to
  • Salomon Mens' Trail Long Sleeved T - not as warm but much better wicking, and a crew neck so no extra bulk. I wore this all the way from Hawes to KY.

Underwear:

  • Kalenji and M&S microfibre briefs, both picked because they're warm when wet and close fitting but not too tight.

Running tights:

  • Ron Hill Trail Winter Tight - superb, I could not fault these - good wind resistance, wicked quite well, very warm and only changed them when they got disgustingly filthy.
  • Marmot Powerstretch Tights - equally brilliant in a different way - not so good in the wind but warmer in still air, wore these from Alston to the finish and they performed really well on the very cold last night on the Cheviot.


Shoes and Socks:


  • Inov8 Trail Ultra 290s - these were a size 10 with a little room in them (not a lot). Great on the slabs (compared to other shoes) because there's quite a lot of rubber in contact, and acceptable on mud. Drain about as well as can be expected considering the wrap around welt to protect your feet. My only gripe is the shoe comes a little high on the outside under my ankle bone and can rub there - I pre-taped with Kinesio tape for the first leg, had no problems, and didn't bother for the second leg, still no problem. Probably had done about 150 miles in these before the start of the Spine race. Fine afterwards, look like there's plenty of life in them yet (260 miles done now).
  • Salomon Speedcross 3 - the standard ones, not the Goretex ones, in size 11. Very comfortable and a little more cushioned than the Race Ultras. Nowhere near as good on the slabs and only just a good grip wise on mud, but they protected my feet well except for the massive tongues freezing up and battering my ankles on the leg from Middleton to Alston, but this was really down to wearing the wrong gaiters, not the shoes. Reasonably comfortable in combination with my Micro Spikes on the final leg over the frozen Cheviot.

See my Part 2 post for more detail on my choice of socks, but suffice to say I had no blisters whatsoever. My feet were cold on and off but never to the point where I was worried damage was being done. I didn't use waterproof footwear, but I had no signs of trench foot at all. I started with thickish socks when putting each pair of shoes on first, then moved onto the thinner Hillys as my feet swelled to fill the shoes more tightly. I changed socks at every CP, although I did just rinse the liner socks out to get rid of all the silt, wring them out and put them back on a couple of times.

  • Bridgedale Coolmax Liners and Bridgedale Thermal Liners - couldn't really tell the difference between these, but they were comfortable and also useful to wear to pad around the various CPs.
  • Hilly Off Road Anklet - brilliant mid-weight merino socks, fairly warm and very comfortable (except that ankle elastics can dig in a bit once your ankles start swelling because they're quite low).
  • Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew Sock - I had a pair of these from years ago, I think I bought them in REI in Vancouver in 2000 and odd. After my experiment with Drymax failed to impress I had a brainwave and reverted to my old walking sock solution of thin liners and a more cushioned woolen sock. The old worn out ones worked so well I bought a couple on new pairs. Extremely warm, even when wet through, very comfortable, and well worth the investment. Much higher than the Hillys, so no problem with biting in.
Wearing gaiters was one of my best decisions - they kept almost all of the abrasive material you normally collect out of my shoes and socks. The plan backfired on me a bit when they froze solid on the way from Middleton to Alston, but I should have switched to waterproof gaiters for such extensive snow work.
  • Inov8 Debris Gaiters - worked very well although both the front clips eventually failed. I could have cable tied them onto my laces but couldn't be bothered as help was on its way by the time the second one went. Would use again in any conditions other than snow.
  • Cheapo PU Nylon walking gaiters - obtained by Zoe from an outdoor shop in Corbridge and handed to me at Peel Road. Wore them to Byrness then forgot to put them back on for the Cheviot crossing. Got away with it!
Mid-layers


I wore a mid layer throughout, and doubled up on the colder sections or when I was moving slowly with a fleecy bodywarmer.

  • RAB Mens Powerstretch Pullover (x2) - so good I wore one throughout. 2013 model to Middleton, 2014 model (a little softer and a little less snug fitting but just as warm) thereafter. You really need a layer which will fit closely and trap a lot of air next to your skin. I put the fact I could keep going when my cag wetted out on day 2 and the morning of day 3 to these tops. Absolutely indispensible.
  • North Face UTMB (CCC) Race Finisher's Gilet - great as an extra layer because it had no arms, so I could slip it on without risk of overheating. Used from Malham to Alston and again between Byrness and KY.
Emergency Insulation

Look no further than Primaloft to provide your emergency layer. Down just doesn't cut it in an atmosphere where, even if you can keep it dry in your bag, it'll be soaked quite quickly once it's on.
  • Montane Fireball Smock - awesome as an extra layer over your mid-layers, shit as a mid layer because it doesn't trap that layer of warm air next to your skin. An amazing piece of kit but you need to learn how to use it (that gem cost me a 100 mile DNF to learn);
  • I also borrowed a super-thick Primaloft jacket (RAB I think) from Darren Hunt before I started the final section over the Cheviots. I just wanted to be sure... I stuck it on for the first ten minutes away from each of the Huts when I was just getting going again then packed it away into my sack as soon as I felt myself starting to get a sweat on.
Shell
  • OMM Aether eVent Jacket
  • Haglofs Smock
  • OMM Kamleika Pants
  • Montane Lightning Windproof Smock
Headgear
  • Underarmour Balaclava
  • Montane Fireball hat
  • Ron Hill hat
  • Buffs - mainly a Wrekin Wrecker buff I got for marshalling some friends' race a few weeks before, worn round my neck when feeling a little cool, doubled up on my right wrist the rest of the time. Simple, effective way to micro-adjust temperature.
Gloves and Mitts:
  • Nike gloves
  • Extremities Wind Gloves
  • Extremities Waterproof Gloves
  • Helly Hansen Mountaineering Mitts

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