I sleep cold so moved from a Corus 32 to a Katabatic Flex 22 and 15, both are warm enough for UK spring through autumn.
Following the advice in this forum I also got an Exped Ultra 3R and very happy with the combo, never had a cold night since.

I'm also very happy with the X-mid, we can fit 2 exped LW mats and it's super easy to pitch, I now just need to add the extra guylines for windy conditions.
I can fit the tent + groundsheet + quilt + merino layers in an 8L drybag!

Many thanks for the advice, I'll contact you later in the year to discuss alternative routes if we end up going if you don't mind, it's getting tricky to organise all the prep trips as my son is doing his A levels soon. I used the katabatic quilt in the south downs trip and it was amazing, a bit col...

Iceland Someone said Iceland? Where, where? :wink:  I remembered Bonzo's Iceland thread and found I had not answered some questions... sorry for that :oops: . Will get on it. Thanks Reg for helping me remember. different kettle of (fermented) fish. You'd think with all that melted glacier water you...

Hi Bonzo. If using a bottle at the downtube it might be an idea to get the mtb version of the camelbak bottles. They come with a rubber cap to protect the teat/tip. I usually carry a 3L bladder inside my framebag. It's the shapeshifter version and can be reduced to 2.5L with an internal baffle. IMO...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I've bought a couple of handlebar bottle bags from aliexpress for each bike. I'll remove the cage in the downtube as it get too dirty (or maybe I'll leave it as a backup).

Two 500 ml.bottles.one normal.ome.a.filter bottle. Geneslly inly use the later late at night. 3 litres.of water is 3 kg and the.uk is pretty wet so off road there are always rivers and on the road there are always churches / graveyards and also peoples houses. Only.a desert would make me.consider.3...

Firstly, hope you enjoyed your trip :smile: I've never carried more than 500ml and a filter. 3 litres of water would far and away be the single heaviest thing you carried. Every time you filter and fill your 500ml bottle, drink it straightaway then filter another 500ml to take with you. My 500ml bo...

Keep with your single bottle and buy a filter. Also, consider carrying a bladder which can be filled up just prior to stopping for the night. Water's heavy, think of ways to carry as little as you can. :wink: We did carry a bladder half full but ran out of water as I didn't find the taps that were ...

We recently did our maiden bikepacking trip on this route https://bikepacking.com/routes/downs-overnighter/ which provided good lessons. One of them is that we need to carry more water, currently we just have a 500ml bottle each mounted to the frame. I saw this option https://adventurehydration.com/...

I'm also about to pull the trigger on a Katabatic Flex 22. I bought a Corus 22F/0C and was cold in a camping trip in Wales, so I'd rather be on the safe side as I sleep cold. It will be handy on our prep trips to Scotland.

@Alpinum I was starting to plan the trip and I have a few questions to ask you if you dont' mind: We can do this ride between July and the 15th of September. You mentioned it is best to do it end of August/beginning of September, is that when the river crossings should be at their lowest? There is a...

Me again, peg time now
I guess I'll need 12 pegs for soft ground and 12 pegs for hard ground?
I was looking at these for soft ground: https://vampireoutdoorgear.com/products ... tent-stake and these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32714391928.html in 200 or 240mm for hard ground?

For some trips I also use the X-Mid (heavily modded Pro version, 2nd gen.) and wouldn't want to use it in Iceland without any modifications, since it’s not really a mid and not quite as good in wind as a treu mid in my experience. I recommend adding some guylines in strategic places and buckles to ...

@Alpinum following your advice I’ve decided to get a mid tent: Durston X-mid solid 2, do you think a ground sheet is necessary for this trip?

Getting everything from Extremtextil the material costs where round about 110 €. Bear in mind I have to make two quilts, if I buy if from Spain, it's 380 eur (12 meters of 7D + 5 meters of Apex 200) including vat and delivery. I can save 21% by ordering from UK but then I have to pay uk vat plus cu...

Getting everything from Extremtextil the material costs where round about 110 €. Bear in mind I have to make two quilts, if I buy if from Spain, it's 380 eur (12 meters of 7D + 5 meters of Apex 200) including vat and delivery. I can save 21% by ordering from UK but then I have to pay uk vat plus cu...

You may not needed for Apex, but I suggest going with calendered fabrics. They tend to work better with humidity, wind and dirt. I'd probably rather go with a calendered 10D than a non calendered 7D. If you don't mind ordering from DE, check out Extremtextil.de. Fantastic shop. I looked in that sho...

Not only would I, but I did on all (3) quilts I made and said liner bag. My go to winter bag is also completely from 7D as are some of my and my girlfriends down clothing. So far so good. Except for that time (winter, probably 2018) when I didn't tighten the bar harness enough and the front, studde...

If you haven't bought any fabric yet and wondered if 7D (eg the one from extremtextil.de) is up to the task (sleeping bag/quilt/bag liner); yes it easily is. My oldest MYOG quilt is turning 10 in autumn, made a liner too. Especially the liner gets torn and pulled since I use it for almost all trips...

Cool thanks, will get the 200 one.

We are going to build our own quilts soon, what apex would you recommend for Iceland in summer?
I was leaning towards apex 200 which is rated up to -1 celsius?

The Icelandic Highlands, through a part of which the "Iceland Divide" goes are currently with temperatures around freezing (eg. Askja and Nyidalur). Make sure to be dressed/have kit to keep you warm at single digit freezing temperatures. Not just warm enough sleeping bag, but of course al...

I've got a copper spur. Love it but there's no way I'd be taking it to Iceland. South Downs are great for exposure. Any decent storm on a convenient night, ride down there after work. You'll arrive knackered around 10pm +. Perfect experience 😆 Did that route with my son a few years back, we had lov...

I've been there twice (not camping) and the second time the flight was cancelled as they couldn't open the hold due to strong winds. We live in south west London, so I guess Wales is our best option for bad weather and quick trips. We'll definitely do a long one in Scotland. It's more having to set...