Equipment - helmet, via ferrata kit, water bladder...
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| Alni18. 07. 2012 07:22:37 |
Since the mountains have obviously pulled us "inside", we'll need to get some more "basic" stuff.
Which helmet do you recommend for us (I have a rather small head )?
Which via ferrata kit to buy?
Which water bladder is worth buying? (Deuter or Camelbak?)
Thanks for the advice
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| Loni18. 07. 2012 07:40:06 |
100 people, 100 wonders...
Go to a suitable store with specialized equipment (or two, three), and see what they have. They usually know how to advise. To be honest, I don't even know offhand the brands of my equipment, because the name wasn't criterion no. 1 for me at purchase. Oh, and you'll probably need to buy a climbing harness too, unless you already have one (or plan to buy the full set).
If buying only the bladder (with or without backpack), there are other brands besides those two that are just as good. Check the mouthpieces a bit, because they differ from brand to brand, some are hard to clean.
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| Janez Seliškar18. 07. 2012 07:53:44 |
Most mountaineers should be members of PZS, or a specific PD. In the societies they have professionally trained people, mountain guides. They know how to give smart advice on equipment selection, and also on its proper use.
You need to attend some society trip or training that the society prepares for its members!
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| turbo18. 07. 2012 08:11:05 |
Helmet:
buy a women's model for yourself  let it be as light as possible, let the size - head fit be easily adjustable, so you can wear a thinner cap under the helmet on cold days. All helmets are tested, UIAA and similar.
Self-belay kit:
straps should be elastic - stretchy, so they don't dangle while climbing.
About self-belay kit read the following, very useful:
http://www.volontar.net/javno/clanki/samovarovalni%20komplet_loti.pdf
Bladder:
I use Deuter, 2l, and I'm very satisfied. The tube can be easily removed and cleaned with a special brush (similar to those for cleaning baby bottles), the bladder itself has a wide opening and you can put your hand inside and clean it thoroughly.
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| Zebdi18. 07. 2012 08:23:09 |
Take the helmet that fits your head best. Buy it in a specialized store where they can advise you (forget various Hervises, Giga sports etc.)
Bladder? Based on my experience I'd recommend Source Widepac 2, which you get at Igluj. Durable thing, good mouthpiece for drinking, no plastic taste, opening on the top side allows easy cleaning. Two liters seems optimal volume to me too. Oh, Deuter = Source.
With the self-belay kit I'd wait a bit in your place. If you gradually increase path difficulty, it can quickly happen that you realize you don't need it in our mountains at all
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| Janez Seliškar18. 07. 2012 08:38:50 |
Zebdi, your statement that a via ferrata kit is not needed in our mountains is inappropriate and misleading.
Since you probably don't use it, don't put other mountain visitors in danger!
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| Zebdi18. 07. 2012 08:46:37 |
macesen1, don't put words in my mouth! I said that they might themselves find out that they don't need it (just like I and more or less everyone I know who goes to the mountains have figured out). If they think so, they can still buy it in a year or so, when they get to know the high mountains and route difficulties a bit better (I assume their next trip won't be in the range of Hanza's on Prisojnik). I find it inappropriate and misleading to claim that this is mandatory equipment!
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| Janez Seliškar18. 07. 2012 08:56:43 |
An individual decides themselves whether to use certain equipment or not. On organized trips, however, according to the demand of the mountain guide leading such a trip, the via ferrata kit is mandatory.
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| puma18. 07. 2012 09:59:16 |
Regarding the helmet (I also have a smaller head) - after visiting shops and trying all sorts of helmets, Salewa stood best on my head (it's light, nicely adjustable, the only one that didn't wobble and fit well, and it has a somewhat soft padded part on the forehead). You can try a kids' one too, I have a kids' one for skiing for example.
And happy shopping
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| Flora118. 07. 2012 10:47:43 |
Whatever you get that fits size-wise is ok. So to the shop and try out as many helmets as possible there...
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| Alni18. 07. 2012 13:57:49 |
Many thanks
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| jax18. 07. 2012 18:32:04 |
Let me throw in a bone to chew on too ...
As for the helmet, I wouldn't even look beyond Camp Rockstar (in Iglu for 39 euros, with PZS discount even less). I've had it for almost ten years and it still diligently protects from stones. The size is universal so I think there shouldn't be major problems with that either. Mine is an old model without headband adjustment, which is a small drawback, but as far as I saw new models have that too.
As for the via ferrata kit - maybe it's really best to wait a bit. The trips themselves will tell you when it would be sensible to get one.
As for the bladder - my first question would actually be whether you're really sure you need it. It's just a piece of equipment whose purpose I've never really grasped. Bottles do the job just as well, and after the trip you can throw them away or use them to water flowers. As for that constant hydration thing, I have to say I haven't felt that need in practice - I'd rather say that constant sipping just interferes with maintaining a steady breathing rhythm. But these are just my experiences.
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| sebanakis18. 07. 2012 20:22:00 |
As for the via ferrata kit: we don't teach this because it's fun to drag iron on iron. Mainly because stones loosen and they have no timetable. A stone hits a person on the hands and look, the person falls. Nowadays it's not unusual for a moment of weakness and you let go of the cable. In both cases the consequence can be death. If there's no via ferrata kit, at least have a makeshift one, because if it saves a life once, its function is fulfilled. Think like that. First love yourselves and do the most for yourself. And good luck wherever you go.
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| Zebdi18. 07. 2012 21:41:02 |
@jax: you see, for me the bladder is one of the indispensable pieces of equipment. I admit I'm a bit lazy and don't want to keep taking the bottle out of the backpack non-stop, but rather stop, take a few sips and continue  Actually I'm so lazy that I even have a tube with a valve for the flask  Maybe an advantage is also that you can drink calmly even on a section where it's awkward to put the backpack down... it probably also depends a lot on how much drink you need
@sebanakis: what kind of makeshift kit do you have in mind? Prusik + carabiner?
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| mailman19. 07. 2012 05:15:18 |
Anya, 3l isostar is too much. one liter is enough, the rest should be water.
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| samokham19. 07. 2012 10:56:25 |
For me the hydration bladder is also very useful, no need to keep stopping all the time. I have no problems with breathing. It's mainly a very practical thing, of course far from essential gear.
Helmet is really a different story, as visiting mountains without it can be fatal.
With the via ferrata kit, using improvised methods can be dangerous. Bought VF kit with certificates has dynamic shock absorption, so in case of fall our spine doesn't break.
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| keber119. 07. 2012 13:49:17 |
The bladder is practical or indispensable for me also because due to more frequent drinking of small amounts of liquid I actually drink less liquid than pouring it every half hour (and on some very exposed path it's extremely impractical). At least I personally on some all-day high mountain tour need certainly about a liter less than before with bottles, despite harder tours. Liter less is of course kilo less.
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| GregorC19. 07. 2012 14:54:10 |
For me the bladder is the law. I put water in it, plus a bottle or bidon of some isostar. What I like about the bladder is that I don't have to always stop and take off the backpack when I want to drink. And I prefer drinking more often little by little rather than a lot at once. I have a 1l one from Deuter and 2l from McKinley and I'm very satisfied with both, on foot and on bike.
As for the helmet, it's more essential for me than the via ferrata kit. But that's individual. I've had Camp Rockstar for about 5 years and I'm completely satisfied with it.
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| tol19. 07. 2012 22:02:01 |
With helmets I have small problems. These quasi alpine helmets> WTF come on?
Center of gravity? On most helmets too high, consequently the helmet isn't stable on the head without fixing it with straps...
Size? one size fits all? No chance, and that rear adjustment doesn't help at all. And then girls wear a helmet almost half too big? Such helmet at most protects against falling rocks... what about falls, slips? ok better than nothing, but that's not it....
In short: helmet must fit the head as well as possible without extra fixing (some manufacturers even have only two sizes, which is way too little if you can choose from at least 5 sizes dude..)
Bladder? McKinley at Intersport is totally OK. about 14 EUR, and the closing system, filling liquid is super simple and working. Only problem is that always some sip of liquid remains in the bladder because the outlet is slightly too high. Compared to more expensive bladders it's completely insignificant flaw...
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| jax20. 07. 2012 16:31:18 |
Just a short reply for sebanakisa, not meant as a polemic, but simply from my own experiences.
As I observe my functioning in the mountains, I could speculate that in some hard situation dropping the lanyard is the very last thing one does. Stone falls and you drop the lanyard? I don't know, I think rather you'd grab it even tighter. I don't say, sure it's possible it hits exactly your hand and you drop it, but maybe it's not even the smartest to speculate about the worst possible scenarios.
Otherwise, the reason why I'm skeptical about the via ferrata kit at least in Slovenian mountains, elsewhere. Yesterday I was for example on Kočna - and what do you see there? Two lanyards on a few tricky passages, a couple of pegs, and that's it. Meanwhile lots of rocky terrain, steep grass, scree without any protections. And my past experiences lead me to that on most demanding paths here it's like that: secured parts are (with some exceptions) relatively unproblematic, but you can have much more trouble on some steep, crumbly and exposed unsecured parts. And there of course the kit doesn't help at all. In short, even if you have the kit, it helps only with quite a small part of troubles you can actually encounter on paths. Elsewhere you have to rely only on your nerves, concentration, experience. And that's, at least in my opinion, a bit different than on Italian and Austrian via ferratas, where lanyards are lined up even over technically demanding parts and where without self-belaying you really almost can't go.
Just my opinion of course ...
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| Pohodnica5620. 07. 2012 17:25:30 |
Yes, with helmets I also have eternal problems. I can't get one so small as my little head is , a children's one doesn't fit at all. Luckily I'm not often in such situations, I'm not exactly a top alpinist, so my old one still holds, though sometimes it slips a bit sideways The bladder with "homemade Isostar" (lemon, honey and a bit of salt) is indispensable, I sweat a lot and the body dehydrates even faster. Plus I need a lot of liquid and the bladder is much more practical than bottles and takes up even less space.
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