20080429-Conakry
20111224-Antiguawww.thisfabtrek.com > land-rover > equipment
On Land Rover outfitting and equipment
Ps 201104: What you see here is the Land Rover equipment page pretty much as I compiled, later reedited it. Call it the good, the bad and the ugly for the useful, the useless and the unused stuff. When setting out in 2004 I carried too much, all that I could not get rid off and did not want to leave behind, clothes, wetsuits, golf equipment, drill.
I also bought sh!t I thought I had to have (a 500GBP tent, 100EUR jump-starter, both never used), most of the tools and spares I used over time, some all the time (hey, it's a Defender). Annoying were the outdoor shop's gadgetry that proved completely useless for longterm traveling in Africa, the top of the notch headlamp just falls apart as it's not made for day after day rattling and severe exposure to dust.
With technology changing as rapidly as it did, I abandoned the CDs, slide scanners and film cameras for MP3 players and digital cameras, I changed my computers 4 times, the GPS units as often.
Now I am on the road with not much more than a knapsack, a good pair of boots, computer, camera and GPS; I want to be able to always take a flight/abandon my van/go and see my children.
What equipment? What gadgetry?
Ps. 2008: After 4 years mostly in Africa I am still carrying too much stuff. On the road more and more stuff is deemed irrelevant, a burden to carry around. On the other side equipment on the road breaks and tears so much quicker and as I own only what I carry in the truck, anything that I abandon today I'd have to re-buy tomorrow.
This is so true for clothes, they fade at lighting speed, laundry in Africa is done by rubbing the clothes on stone, the washing powder is never rinsed completely, it stays in the cloth, the acid burns holes and more holes.
When back home I take those non worn clothes that fill up brothers' and sisters' wardrobes, wear them for another year and then give them to someone poor. In Africa children too often run around naked, especially in Sahel winter at night temperatures fall close to zero. This is what I call recycling!
That legendary Africa journey equipment page.
- Boxes - most stuff is stored in boxes.
- Camera Stuff - cameras, lenses, scanner, tripod, mono pod, films, ...
- GPS - Garmin.
- Lenovo 3000 n200 laptop computer, after I burnt the Asus F2J, plugging the adapter in the 12V. Also had an Acer before, but their service dep. let me down.
- 300GB Maxtor and some other external HDDs.
- Iridium satellite phone. But it is expensive and complicated to buy credit.
- Nokia mobile phone always a Nokia, (click for the current number).
- Edirol 24 bit digital MP3 recorder R1. Soundbites -- coming up soon.
- Cables - mains/12V/usb for computer, gps, digital cameras, phones, chargers, etc.
- Ovation guitar.
- CDs - no-more, switched to MP3 and bought a
- Creative Zen Touch MP3-player. CDs and CD players scratch and break. (PS 2011. actually the MP3 is no more, broke on the road)
- Tools, 3 boxes full of tools, where 2 before, but now I think I have most of what I need, as good mechanics you find easier then good tools.
- Spares, 2 boxes (been 1 before), not a question if you need them just when (as Stuart Foley said)
- High-lift jack, sand ladders, 2 spare wheels, air compressor, towing straps.
- Books - you always carry too many books, maps, manuals, dictionaries, but dictionaries really are going digital...
- Kitchen stuff - espresso machine, pan, pot, pressure cooker, mugs, cutlery, plates, wok, chopsticks, tagine, ...
- Engel 12V refrigerator. The best. (PS 2011. deemed undestructible but even that broke)
- Food - spaghetti, rice (sometimes 10 kilos), beans, lentils, cous-cous, flower, olive oil, vegetable oil, and stuff ..., coffee, tea, ...., usually a lot of vegetables (several kilos of potatoes, onions), lots of different spices, dried chilies, eggs for breakfast.
- Sporting equipment - golf kit, wet suit. (Ps. 2011: haha)..
- Backpacks, walking boots, mountaineering stuff.
- Tents.
- Blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, mosquito nets (so important, buy one for 3 EUR in Nouakchott).
- Clothes, for winter, summer, the beach, the city, rain and sunshine, ...
- Victorinox SwissTool, I never leave without it, and it never breaks.
- Buck hunting knife.
- Medication, First Aid stuff, ..., from headache to Malaria.
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