tent and sleeping bag.. please help!

[mistermark]

hi guys, i'm planning a long trip.. from kashgar in china, over the karakorhum(?) highway (KKH) to pakistan, then india and nepal.. and maybe back to europe through iran... (weather shouldn't get too extreme- think UK winters min.)
planning on getting an extrawheel to take weight off my wheels and improve downhill speeds... but am getting lost with tents and bags... i keep hearing get a down bag.. but then it might stink after sleeping in it nearly every night.. is a silk liner enough to protect me? or should i get a synthetic bag and thus wash it?!
also not sure of weight.. been looking ultralight since i read to aim for a 1.5kg tent..but seeing people here talking about 2kg plus
so... as i'm in china now i'm also slightly stuck for options.. but what do you think:
Big Agnes Seedhouse Superlight 2 man 1.5kg
or MSR Hubba hubba 1.69kg? both 198 quid here
or big agnes Copper Spur.. which is 265 quid but 1.5kg (hubba as a weight/ price/ space compromise?)
all 2 manners (just me touring)
and for sleeping bags: North Face Blue kazoo (165), 1.3kg
or Marmot Helium - 255 quid but only 0.9kg
or North Face Hightail 600 - 0.8kg and 185 quid
there's also a cheap Vaude ultralight bag, but it's synth. and can't find a review of it.
problem is i will buy online and can't test the bags. worried a 'mummy' style might confine me?

Bearing in mind i have little experience of climbs (but belief), plus probably the extrawheel and their paneers.. is it worth going as low as possible on weight? my funds aren't great.. maybe 3500 quid before gear.. but i can live like a rat

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post, and any help/ advice (other options? ) will be much appreciated
mark

 

[RedBike]

I can't help with which items

I recently brought cheap bulky camping kit because I wrongly thought a few grams here and there wouldn't really matter with a trailer on a short trip. I was wrong!
It all adds up quickly. I'm now leaving more stuff behind that I would like to just so that I can pull the thing. 30kg behind the bike really makes a difference!

I will now be buying all new kit before I attempt any sort of distance. I wish I had spend the money in the first place on stuff that packs down small and is nice and light.

 

[willem]

Since you wil be travelling in pretty serious environments I think you need some good stuff. And you want it light and compact. As for serious tents, my preference is for Hilleberg. I guess the Nallo 2 is probably ideal, because light and still spacious enough for long trips in bad weather. If you expect really bad weather, go for the Nammatj 2 or one of their dome tents.
By all means get a down bag. They are warmer, lighter, far more compact, an dthey last at least twice as long. In the UK PHD is the top brand. In the US Western Mountaineering.
Willem

 

[Riverman]

How about one of these? (kidding)
http://www.cheaptents.com/acatalog/Product_Catalogue_Down_Sleeping_Bags_44.html

First one down. Now that is one expensive extreme peice of kit.

btw I think you need to search harder for cheaper prices as some of those things can be found cheaper using google shopping.

 

[stephenjubb]

www.alpkit.com

 

[mistermark]

Don't forget to take a gun, you can pick up a decent pistol in the border towns in Pakistan. Oh, and some ammo.

hahaha.. i heard ak47's are going for under a fiver on ebay pakistan! hopefully i'll be tanned by then, but heard the people are great.... d-d-d-d-d-don't believe the hype! haha
thanks for everyone's help.. the cost of the more extreme eqipment is bothering me a bit. i'll be in extreme places at the best time of year, i hoe.. and will skate to india if it gets too cold.. that's why i was thinking 3 season.. i'll check out your rec.s later though.. work work
cheers cheers cheers

 

[mistermark]

any more ideas for kit? sure i might be able to find them cehaper online, but then i have to pay import duty, which will whack up the price.
any comments on weight of bag and tent? guess i want them as good and light as posisble... 1.7kg heavy for a tent? will i really notice 200g extra?

 

[Riverman]

Why do you need a 2 man tent? You can cut half of the tent weight off by getting an ultralight one man.

 

[JackE]

Big Agnes tents aren't really considered 4 season tents. The mesh inner and the fact that the fly-sheet doesn't go down to the ground makes for a draughty tent. You won't go wrong with a Hilleberg Akto or Nallo, personally I would prefer the extra space of the Nallo.
The Marmot Helium is a superb bag but get the EQ version because of the versatility of a full-length zip.

 

[andrew_s]

Don't go too lightweight on the sleeping bag.
On the high plateau in China, before you cross over the top of the KKH, it chills off very quickly once the sun goes down. It can be shorts temperature during the day and -10 to -15°C overnight. As you'll be using the same bag in lower, warmer areas, get one with a full length zip and take a liner, silk or otherwise. If it's warm you sleep in just the liner, or use the unzipped bag as a quilt when sleeping in the liner. You'll also want the liner when sleeping indoors.
You'll also want a warmer bag if your tent is american style (ventilation gap under edge of outer, largely mesh inner) than you will if it's european style (outer down to ground, fabric inner).

On weights, whilst you'll not notice 200g extra on the total weight, if you let the tent weight creep up by 200g you'll tend to apply the same logic to other things too, and the next thing you know your total weight will have gone up by a couple of kg, which you will notice. When adding up weights, don't forget that you'll be carrying food & water too.

 

[mistermark]

Why do you need a 2 man tent? You can cut half of the tent weight off by getting an ultralight one man.

i get a bit claustro dude.. and now i might have a lady companion.. or may 'ahem' pick up one or two on the road.. haha.. i'm dreaming of the latter... but i do get a bit claustrophobic
i started thinking the hubba hubba cos of people in here saying they ahd 2.5kg + tents.. someone even said 6kg?!
and the HIllebergs sound great, but can't buy one in china me thinks

 

[mistermark]

Don't go too lightweight on the sleeping bag.
On the high plateau in China, before you cross over the top of the KKH, it chills off very quickly once the sun goes down. It can be shorts temperature during the day and -10 to -15°C overnight. As you'll be using the same bag in lower, warmer areas, get one with a full length zip and take a liner, silk or otherwise. If it's warm you sleep in just the liner, or use the unzipped bag as a quilt when sleeping in the liner. You'll also want the liner when sleeping indoors.
You'll also want a warmer bag if your tent is american style (ventilation gap under edge of outer, largely mesh inner) than you will if it's european style (outer down to ground, fabric inner).

On weights, whilst you'll not notice 200g extra on the total weight, if you let the tent weight creep up by 200g you'll tend to apply the same logic to other things too, and the next thing you know your total weight will have gone up by a couple of kg, which you will notice. When adding up weights, don't forget that you'll be carrying food & water too.

great advice mate.. i've been reading about the chinese side and it does sound a bit nippy at night.. and draughty tent..hmm.. can't source any British tents so far. THe Chinese are obsessed with US culture.. as you probably know
was looking at the norht face hightail too... but down to -29?! or was it solar flare? arrrrghhh.. nightmare not being able to even hold these things to test them!

 

[mistermark]

woah, i have found the hillebergs but they're hella expensive (here).. 500 quidish.. damn it

 

[Brains]

US tents (North Face in particular) are more designed with camping in snow in mind. UK tents (exampe Terra Nova) are more designed with a wet weekend in Snowdonia in mind.

Both willdothe other perfectly well, just I suspect camoing in the rain is more likly than camping in the snow, hence buy British if you can.

There used to be a good shop off Nathan Road in HK run by the Scouts, they should be able to source UK tents

 

[rich p]

It might be worth reading this blokes blog of when he travelled through Iran. It went down to -8 deg overnight and he also went through Pakistan and had some wonderful experiences. Contact him through the guestbook for advice.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/3625