72 And they are? “Leki poles, carbon-fibre, with a handy, quick-lock system. Extremely light. I always use hiking poles, I even run with them.” And your sleeping bag? “It’s a Spark Down sleeping bag, made by Sea to Summit; weighs only 225g.” His sleeping mat is a Therm-A-Rest NeoAir UberLite pad weighing 250g. He has a Petzl e+LITE headtorch for use in the tent at night. FOOTWEAR AND FIRST AID KIT Everything in Aidan’s rucksack is the lightest of its kind; and this applies also to everything he wears. Hillwalkers generally put hiking boots at the top of their gear buy list. What brand does Aidan favour? “I used to wear Meindl boots, up to about 2018, but then I stopped using boots and switched to Salomon trail running shoes. Now I use Asics Gel-trabuco running shoes. I wouldn’t recommend these to hillwalkers generally, as there’s a greater risk of twisting your ankle in them. But for my purposes they’re great. I can cover ground more quickly; they have an amazing grip, great for going over rocks; and they’re really light and flexible, very easy on the feet. They wear out quite quickly, though; they’ve a range of only 800-900km.” Pictured this page: Aidan’s tent, showing some of his essential gear and accessories The tent poles are his Leki hiking poles. Photo: Aidan Ennis MOUNTAIN LOG HIKER EXTRAORDINAIRE
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