Equipment for the Milford Track

...have I mentioned I'm walking the Milford... 

As you are no doubt aware (because I mention it so often) I am going to walk the Milford Track in January. I am going the guided way and Karen and myself will be gathering gear to specifically walk the track. This time around I will not require so much gear as Ultimate Hikes is providing us with meals and accommodation. What I will need to take is basically my own personal gear...

Sutherland Falls from the Arthur River

First lets look at the gear that I don't need...I don't need my sleeping bag, cooker, or food because all these are supplied. These will save a good deal of weight that I would otherwise need to haul over McKinnon Pass.

So lets look at the gear I will be taking to walk the Milford Track.  

Pack:

I will be taking my Vaude Brenta 40l pack with me to haul all my gear in... 

..my Vaude 40l pack should suffice...

I figure that this pack should be large enough to haul my gear. I don't need to take a lot with me so this pack will be fine for carrying my gear. It is big enough to carry everything with me but not so large that it slows me down...

Vaude Brenta 40l will see me right

Walking poles:

I will be taking my Lexi poles with me on this trip...

...remember to bring your walking poles...

I didn't carry any poles with me when I walked the Milford Track back in 2018...it was a mistake so I will be taking them for this trip. 

Water botltes:

My standard water bottles will go with me on the track...I will carry two 1 liter bottles to be sure I have water for all the day. 

...I will be carrying two of my 1liter bottles...

I will be filling it as necessary over the days....

Clothing:

Clothing is the one thing I will have to carry with me...I need my standard tramping kit plus something to wear in the lodges when I get there. These are broken down into the clothes I will be wearing and the clothes I will carry for emergencies...

Wearing:

I will be wearing my standard kit for tramping i.e. I will wear a short sleeved shirt and shorts. The total clothing I will wear is:

short sleeve shirt, shorts, technical underwear, socks, boots (my Lowa Ranger III's should be fine), a hat. Additionally I will carry my wet weather gear for wearing while on the trail...because it will rain!!!

My usual attire: shorts, short sleeve shirt, sun hat

Emergencies:

I will carry a few items for emergencies namely: 

...spare clothing I will take with me...

Spare short sleeved shirt

Long sleeved thermal top

Thermal bottoms- I will wear merino for warmth

 Polar fleece

Down jacket

Track suit pants

Hat and gloves- warm

This should provide me with spare clothing to wear if I get wet or if any of my kit gets damaged. 

Safety gear:

I carry some kit for my personal safety including my PLB, maps and other gear.

PLB, maps, first aid kit, a SOL emergency bivy, pocket knife, tape for my feet 

...I will be carrying my PLB...

Personal items:

I will be carrying a few items which are intended to make my stay more comfortable. These include:

...I will be carrying various camera gear...

Paperwhite, toiletries kit, repair kit, head lamp, various electrical cables, camera, keys, wallet

Brown bag lunch:

Every day the Ultimate Hikes people supply you with a brown bag lunch to consume while on the trail. Items such as sandwich's, fresh fruit, biscuits, chips and chocolate feature on the menu and provide you with much needed calories while you are walking. 

This is about all that I have to carry.

Tramping Equipment: Macpac Uber Lite down jacket

 ...My new winter clothing items...

Here is my latest outdoor equipment purchase the Macpac Uber Lite down jacket. I brought this recently in the Macpac winter sale and with the sale prices and club membership discount it cost me only $99 New Zealand dollars. 

The Macpac Uber Lite Jacket

I have previously owned a down jacket for using on my tramping trips but have not used it for several years as it became too small to fit my body. I could not do the zip up on the front as my advancing years and increasing chonk meant it was too small. You must be able to zip up your down jacket to keep in the air which warms you. 

Front zipper on the Uber Lite from Macpac

As you would have seen my go to warm layer is a Hunting and Fishing fleece top. these have many good features the best of which is ease of drying, warmth when wet and durability. The main problems with these tops is their bulk and weight...my fleece easily tops 500 gm's. 

Down jackets by comparison are super lite weights and pack down to basically nothing. this jacket is around 300 gm's and packs down to the size of a 600ml coke bottle. Down is significantly warmer for weight than fleece but they are useless if wet and are not as robust as your average fleece jacket. 

...the Uber Lite weighs in at 300 gm's...

Here are some specifications about the Uber Lite jacket:

Inner fabric: 100% Nylon

Fill Type: 90/10 RDS Duck Down

Fill Power: 650

Fill Weight(gms): 120 (4XL)

Main Fabric: 100% Nylon

Weight: 320gms (size 4XL)

The Uber Lite has a main zip up the front of the jacket from waist to neck and a padded collar around the neck to retain heat. It has two external zipped pockets and two internal pockets for gear storage. The fit is loose rather than athletic and sizes range from XS to 4XL in the men's jacket. There are jackets with and without a hood but hooded jackets go to size 20/3XL only!

Macpac Uber lite jacket...front

...zip pockets on the Uber Lite jacket...

The Uber jacket comes with a nifty waterproof Nylon bag which is the correct size to hold the jacket. Remember...stuff your jacket into the carry bag and do not fold it or roll it. All down products should be stuffed and not folded to prolong life of the insulation. 

Loose fitting through the back...Uber Lite

There are four colors with Black/Blue/Olive Oil/Tapestry and I currently own two Uber Lite jackets one in Olive Oil and one in Tapestry. Only the Tapestry and Olive Oil go up to size 24/4XL the black and navy blue variants are only to size 20/3XL...

The Uber Lite in 'Olive Oil' color...

Uber Lite jacket in 'Tapestry'

I have only worn the jacket a couple of times so far and I find it comfortable, warm and easy to use. I took it with me on my recent Christchurch 360 Trail trip and it worked well. I will put up some photos of the jacket in action once I take it out on some adventures. 

Wearing my Uber jacket on the Christchurch 360 Trail

Here I am at a park at McCormicks Bay on the way to the end of this section of trail...

At Indie's Park while walking from Scarborough to Mt Pleasant

You are sure to see my Uber Lite jackets going into the future and the next opportunity will probably be when I visit the Able Tasman Coast Track in early August. 

You Tube: Macpac Uber Lite jacket