PREPARATION AND PACKING

“Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation”

At Ability Expeditions we believe that the planning & preparation for any expedition is key.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” Abraham Lincoln”

This guide is designed to help “you” select and prepare “your” personal equipment for the expedition you are taking part in. Any and all specialist equipment (e.g. Hammocks, cooking equipment, ropes, and project equipment) will be supplied by Ability Expeditions.

Do not panic thinking that before you now is page after page of expensive kit you now have to source and purchase. Look at what you already own.

There are some essential items of kit, these items are worth investing in, in order to make your expedition comfortable. Good quality equipment will serve you well and if looked after for many more expeditions to come.

For other less essential items consider sourcing second hand or even borrowing.

Use the internet, research what you think you may need, and be aware that not all individuals who work in outdoor retail outlets have knowledge regarding the items they sell! Go with an idea of the equipment you seek and its purpose, a brand or two and a price in mind that reflects the majority of outlets selling the equipment.

If you have never bought outdoor equipment before, bear in mind that there is no one set of kit that suits everyone, be prepared to try on clothing, rucksacks, and boots. “Don’t be afraid to TRY the equipment”. Put the boots on with the socks you will be wearing and tramp around the store for as long as possible! Open the rucksack and try it on with weight in it. Any shop worthy of return to, will assist you with these tasks. If you already have experience and kit to match please feel free to adapt this list to what you know works for you.

Equipment List

Essential items

1 x Backpack 30 – 60 litre (depending on your itinerary)

1 x Small backpack as a “changeover bag” (depending on your itinerary)

1 x pair Trek cross trainers / boots (with spare laces)

1 X *Light weight rain coat / poncho

1 X Sleeping bag (1-2 season / synthetic)

1 X Head torch (with spare batteries)

Toiletries

Sarong / towel

Sun screen

Insect repellent

Recommended items

Liners / Dry bags / zip lock bags Small day pack (for leaving items at base camp or

activity transfer) Penknife Para cord or string (10 meters) Gaffer tape

Essential clothing (minimum requirements)

1 x Long sleeve top

2 x T shirt

2 x short trousers

1 x Pair long trousers

3 x Pair Socks (walking sock plus normal)

4 x Underwear

1 x swim wear (lady’s please note ALL bikini costumes will need to be accompanied with a sarong / t shirt)

1 x Sarong

Sun hat

Wet shoes (old trainers, ‘Tevas’ or sports sandals with straps)

Recommended clothing items

1 x set of nice clothes for travel phases

1 x set of sleeping clothes (kept for sleep only)

Service element (refer to your itinerary)

If your expedition incorporates a service element you may wish to consider bringing old clothes for use during your working day on the project site. You will potentially be working with materials including cement, paint and other non-washable substances and they will creep, seep, fly, soak and

splash onto your clothing.

Mountain Trek

Students taking part in Mt Kinabalu summit are strongly recommended to bring the following additional items

Head torch (with spare batteries - essential)

Light weight water proof jacket (essential)

Warm fleece

Long trousers / leggings

Gloves / Hat

The mountain summit temperature can reach zero

degrees Celsius, it can also rain and if these

conditions both occur you will need the additional

equipment.

This guide is not exhaustive, if you have items not

included on this document that you know serve you

well from experience please feel free to include them.

Notes on Equipment and Clothing General notes Equipment for any expedition with an element of

trekking” or self-supported adventure in the itinerary

will require certain standard elements of kit. Please

consider the itinerary and therefor the equipment you

will need to bring. For example a one day trek on your

itinerary will not require anywhere near the same

amount of equipment as those of you taking part in a

ten day or longer, jungle & mountain trek. Backpack The backpack or Bergen (as it is known in the

military) needs to be strong enough to withstand the

jungle environment, and big enough to carry all the

items you choose to bring plus potentially additional

team items (such as food!)

If you have a backpack that is fit for purpose and fits

“you”, you need look no further. Rucksacks come in a range of sizes and environment

designs. The sizes are generally converted into litres

rather than small, med and large. For example an

average day sack is approximately 25 litres, where

as a full on expedition pack can be as large as 100

litres. You need to consider how long you are on

expedition for, how long you are trekking for during

that expedition and you may also wish to consider

“will it get much use beyond this trip”? The designs are very comprehensive these days,

ergonomically designed for not only age and size but

also gender, these are industry norms. Leading brands such as Osprey for example make

all their packs with a heat molded / sized waist / hip

strap feature (It is molded to your hips at the time of

purchase in store). The design of modern day packs also incorporates

far more consideration to access points and

attachment fixings. Ideally the pack has top access

and mid or bottom access (zips or openings that

allow you to access either end of your pack without

emptying the entire contents on ground.) Most, if not all good quality packs will have a rain

cover feature. This is a thin plastic cover usually

stowed away at the top or bottom of the pack that

acts as a ‘rain cover’ (spooky)! However do not be

misled this will not make your pack water proof, there

are very few packs on the market that can claim that

accolade (although many hint and infer at such

statements it is not true). A water proof pack “is only

such if” it can be dropped into water and submerged,

all the while keeping the contents dry. “This leads nicely onto our next topic”

Liners / Dry bags The use of dry bags is highly recommended when

outdoors and very much a need in a humid, wet

environment such as the rainforest. As previously

stated a rucksack is rarely water proof. As such your

contents will become soaked if a tropical rains storm

should occur. A rucksack liner is essential, (these are

sometimes referred to as canoe bags). They are

water proof sacks that ‘line’ the entirety of the

rucksack inner (same volume). This is the very

minimum you will require. These are tough plastic

based sacks that have a role top sealing system.

(Heavy duty bin liners can be used but are far less

durable and will not seal as efficiently as a purpose

made liner). You can sub divide items within that liner

into smaller ‘liners or dry bags’. Items such as

clothes, sleeping bag, toiletries, personal luxury

items are all needed at different times, dividing

simply allows you access to what you want without

exposing everything to the elements (quality zip

lock bags are very useful).

Why bother to subdivide? If you open your rucksack and it’s raining, that dry liner is now open to the elements, and now what was dry is going to get wet. Think what happens when you want that “one thing” that is annoyingly at the bottom of your rucksack, as you rummage around, remove items and precariously holding them under any available limb you have the rain doing its best to soak

the lot. If however you have separated up the contents using these ‘dry bags’, you need only search for that specific bag. This makes it quick and will protect all you desperately want to keep dry. It is recommended from experience, but not essential. Dry bags are fairly widely stocked in outdoor shops, they come in a range of sizes (again liters are most common) and also a range of bright colours making bag identification easy.

Adventure boots / cross trainers There are so many adventure footwear options on the market it is sometimes a daunting task to choose a pair. I refer you back to my original guidance, consider the itinerary and assess what you really need. A one day trek will not require you to purchase a pair of trekking boots. Some basic advice – If you have a pair that fit well, support your ankles and you like them. Don’t change them! If you are buying new, choose what fits best rather than what you think looks the best! (Vanity falls short when your comfort is compromised)

The environment is a humid and damp one, try hard

to avoid Gortex (or similar) lined shoes or boots,

these are often billed as the best, and in many

environments indeed they are. But the jungle is

unique, find something that is light weight, free

draining and made of fabric not leather. ‘Gortex’, and

similar products make the shoe or boot water proof,

but what can’t get in, also can’t get out! The humidity

will make your feet sweat, the rain will run down your

legs, the rivers may be deeper than the height of the

boot and add all those factors up and you will get a

boot that has moisture inside. It is then trapped by

the Gortex layer and slowly but surely casseroles

your feet! “Not fun”. There are jungle boots on the

market but they are hard to source depending where

you live and generally only bought by those spending

a great deal of time in such environments. Think light

weight, fabric, support, comfort, and drainage.

Towel or Sarong Drying anything in the jungle can be a real challenge,

towels that are used at home will not dry once wet in

the forest, and they become smelly, and can after

time harbour germs and bacteria.

Experience has taught me the best option for drying

in the jungle is a Sarong, these are light weight, pack

down very small and dry far more efficiently. Long Trousers You may wonder why long trousers are needed. The jungle can be a challenging environment, not all trails are a cleared wide trail. At times long trousers will be needed to protect your legs from vegetation and associated critters!

Secondly the evening is a prime time to be savaged

by the jungle curse “The mosquito” long trousers and

a long sleeve top can greatly assist in the reduction

of bites (obviously repellent is still required). *Jeans

are not recommended, they are unyielding, heavy

and hard to dry. Because of these facts they will chaff

you over time and potentially cause you real

problems. Loose fitting trek trousers or similar are

ideal. Remember, “It’s not what you look like that

counts” (The best use of ‘alternative’ clothing was

demonstrated by a Doctor friend who always wore

‘scrubs’ past 1800 hours on expedition).

Packing tips If you have never been camping before or on an

“expedition”, (“A journey undertaken by a group of people with

a particular purpose especially that of

exploration, research, or war”) Then packing your kit can be a daunting experience,

but worry not, everyone had to learn at some point.

There is an art to packing for outdoor trips. “What do

I put in first”? “How do I know what I will want”? ,

“What shall I pack together”? The Backpack is designed to be your wardrobe,

bathroom cabinet, kitchen cupboard and coffee table

all in one. If you have just bought a brand new

Rucksack take five minutes to have a look at it

(although you ideally did this before you bought it!).

Check out how it opens, where it opens, have you

got any side pockets, does it have hidden pockets,

does it open at the bottom? What exterior fixings

does it have, where is the rain cover? How do you

adjust it? They may sound elementary suggestions,

yet you would be surprised how many enthusiastic

souls rock up with no idea of what this piece of

equipment can do.

Packing I suggest you lay out all the equipment you require

out, then you can see what you have may have

forgotten! Then put all of it into logical piles, this helps you see

what you have, and if you have enough, too much or

not enough of something. (I would suggest most new

outdoor disciple’s pack far too much). Piles can include (refer to your itinerary) *Rain coat Tops, Trousers, Shorts, underwear Long sleeved clothes (if climbing Mt Kinabalu) Wet clothes (for wet activities) Toiletries Sleeping bag / clothes Tools/equipment (torch, Paracord, knife,

battery’s etc.) Personal / Luxury items *First aid kit (dependent on school guidelines)

Food/ Water

*Items are subject either school guidelines or

itinerary specific

If you have a single rucksack liner and no other dry

bags you may wish to now look at your kit with

different eyes, if you have time and the means you

then may wish to go and buy some extra dry bags. (If

this is not an option I suggest double bagging these

piles of kit in plastic bags. Put the sleeping bag / sleep specific clothes in at the

bottom. These will always be the last thing you need

each day. (You won’t get these out until your shelter

is built and you have a dry environment to unpack

into). Your warm clothes and ‘other’ clothes can be ideally

split, then bagged and put in next. (Again these will

not be needed unless you have a shelter up or you

change locations). Toiletries / sarong / towel can go next, Toiletries need

only be the basics (we are aware many of you will

ignore this advice, and it’s not always the fairer sex

that we refer too, please try and remember you are

on an expedition in the rain forest.

The basics are - Tooth brush and tooth paste, Soap,

Deodorant, wet wipes /sanitary products and foot

power (anti-fungal / medicated foot powder as

opposed to standard talc). I imagine your back pack is at least half full (if not

more) by now. The items you want at a moment’s

notice such as *First aid kit, torch, knife all these

items can be placed in the lid and or side pockets.

Again if you have no dry bags for them, use zip lock

plastic bags (bag the spare battery’s separate from

the torch in zip lock bag).

Water bottles need to be accessible at all times.

This will encourage constant hydration, best location

is the side pockets closest to the hip strap. Camelbak

hydration systems are popular (but by no means

essential equipment). If you are on a one day jungle

trek small plastic water/coke bottles are adequate.

However if your itinerary includes multiple days in the

jungle and a summit of Mt Kinabalu you may wish to

source a more durable option. 1 litre water bottles are

standard in all outdoor outlets.

If you are on an extended jungle and Mt Kinabalu trek

you will be carrying water purification tablets, these

would do well to be in a zip lock bag within easy reach

(backpack lid pocket).This saves endlessly emptying

every pocket searching for a two inch square

package. You should then have enough room left to add your

*water proof coat. Wet shoes can be left on the

outside of the backpack if fixed appropriately. Items that you will be issued with by the expedition

team may include a Plate, cutlery, mug, Hammock,

Tarp and food rations etc. All of these will fit in with

maybe a little assistance from the Expedition

leaders. If you have got to this stage in packing and

you can barely close the rucksack, you may need to

have another go! (You need to have a room left for

your additional equipment depending on your

itinerary). Remember the more familiar you are with

your kit the easier your life will be. All the suggestions

are offered with experience at the core of all.

“Proper planning and preparation prevents a

particularly poor performance” I genuinely hope this assists with your individual

preparation, attached is a pictorial for further advice

and guidance. We at Ability Expeditions look forward

to your arrival in Sabah Borneo.

Phil Austen-Smith Expedition Manager,

Ability Expeditions (2014)