seedsAdmin

This is not meant to tell you everything about Garmin, or other watches, rather it is a brief summary of what I’ve learned about hiking watches.

There are two main watch brands that hikers consider to be very good. Garmin and Suunto. Both are considered to be very good based on their mapping and battery life. I don’t have much experience with Suunto and will most likely stay with Garmin without ever trying Suunto. That is primarily because Garmin are very good, have a lower entry cost and their tech is very good. Other watches that claim to be for “adventure” etc (like Samsung Galaxy and Apple) usually significantly fail with battery life which makes them unsuited to multi-day treks (ie: what we do). I also know many people with Garmin and very few with Suunto.

Garmin watches have lots of features and lots of different models. The primary feature that we recommend is the visible maps although they do a lot more than that. The main model that I’ve always chosen comes from the Garmin Fenix series of watches. The Fenix series are multisport so the watches get used during the year as well as providing excellent tools during the hikes. There are other Garmin models that show maps but I haven’t used them at this stage (Epix/Instinct/Forerunner and possibly others).

Garmin’s website is a bit annoying to help you find a watch that matches the features you need so be careful when choosing one. As an example, a Garmin Fenix with “Pro” in the name (eg: Garmin Fenix 6X Pro) has mapping but one without “Pro” doesn’t have mapping (eg: Garmin 6X). I say again, check thoroughly before spending.

(more…)

There are lots of things to consider when getting setup for trekking. Common things to think about are:

• cost (it’s easy to spend lots on gear, but not always necessary)
• durability (will the item survive for a reasonable amount of time/use?)
• suitability (is it needed, is there a better option, will it actually help)
• item weight and total carry weight (everything you take you have to carry so consideration at the time of purchase will affect your trek)
• what is the target environment you need the item for? (are you going to a hot/cold, wet/dry, windy or other environment)

Google is an easy way to find other peoples recommendations and share in their knowledge. Some sites even have hiking checklists available with descriptions of why their equipment was chosen. There is an interesting article at Australian Hiker and another example at Go Camping Australia. If you are willing to look, here is a link to Google results that should help to get you started.

As many would say when they think of others in the group, it is good that we are all different. I tend to keep lists of things so that I can plan to a level that I’m comfortable with. Aside from spreadsheets, there are online planning tools that are free that can help with this aspect.  My current preference is a tool called Lighterpack (https://lighterpack.com/) which helps me to categorise, track and consider what I’m taking. I also often add items that I’m thinking about as options as it allows me to not have to keep it all in my head.

The items below may assist in creating an essential gear list. I find it helpful to think about my gear in useful categories. These include:

• Tent gear (tent, pegs, mattress, sleeping bag (or quilt), pillow)
• Backpack (pack, pack rain cover, pack liner)
• Clothes – carried/worn (layers, warmth, hat, balaclava, gloves, jumper, socks, gaiters, boots)
• Toiletries and medical (toothbrush/paste, spade, wipes, lip balm, sunburn cream, pain relief, Band-Aids, etc)
• Technology (phone, battery bank, head torch, charging cable, etc)
• Crockery/cutlery (plates, mug, spork, Steelo)
• Stove and Fuel (stove, fuel, cooking pot)
• Food (methodical planning as it is simple to carry too much)
• Hydration (water and containers)
• Miscellaneous (knife, towel, map, compass, sewing, repair tape, sit pad)

If you are a beginning hiker, I recommend that you start with boots and backpack. I strongly recommend that you find someone else in the group to ask questions about items you are considering as there is too much information to be easily written down. It’s also worth noting that there is so much information you could feel a bit overwhelmed, but it’s important to know that most of us started with minimal knowledge in this area.

Michael O

28/9/22

It’s been a pretty intense lead up to the trek this year. We are all looking forward to participating in what promises to be another challenging trek. This time we are headed to the Buller Huts Trail in Mt Buller, Victoria.  This walk is considered to be very difficult and we are looking forward to the challenge. We’ve placed some details at this page if you are interested in learning more about our route or tracking us.

Michael O

21/4/2022

Our live tracker updates every 5 minutes during the days of our trek. We usually turn it on when we wake up and turn it off when we get to our campsite for the night. Due to variable conditions, sometimes the trackers signal doesn’t connect straight away so sometimes if you are looking, you may need to be patient. This tracker is going with Craig’s team, which leaves from Bogong Village. The tracker only shows the previous seven days data so if there is no data, the page might look like it isn’t working, again, be patient.

Click here and the tracker page should open in a new window.