I have been doing a lot of research about equipment for training and the race and I would like to share here some of my findings
- Base Layer: How come I had never heard of Merino wool base layers before joining this race? They are a miracle!! They are very confortable, very warm and (this is the most amazing part) they don't smell!! You can wear one of these for a week and it will smell just like the first day (well, maybe not just like the first day, but good enough with no pungent odours). How different from the normal synthetic base layers which stink after just one day of wearing them! There are many brands to choose, including some offerings from Musto but I have found a brand which I like and which can be found for a good price online. It is called Isobaa and you can find them at a very good price here
- Mid Layer: You should probably be thinking about several mid layers so that you can layer up according to how cold/windy/chilly it is. As a mid layer to wear just on top of a base Merino wool layer I quite liked the Extreme Thermal Fleece Trouser and Top offered by Musto. If you use your Musto discount code they come up at an affordable price and they are very warm and nice to wear. They are only available in a single colour which is quite ugly but I guess that we are not getting ready for a fashion show :-) I took a look at the other mid layers offered by Musto, the Frome Mid Layer Jacket and Salopettes but I found them just too expensive at more than £100 each even including our Musto discount. Since I already own other mid layer stuff I'll go with what I already have
- Mid Layer: You should probably be thinking about several mid layers so that you can layer up according to how cold/windy/chilly it is. As a mid layer to wear just on top of a base Merino wool layer I quite liked the Extreme Thermal Fleece Trouser and Top offered by Musto. If you use your Musto discount code they come up at an affordable price and they are very warm and nice to wear. They are only available in a single colour which is quite ugly but I guess that we are not getting ready for a fashion show :-) I took a look at the other mid layers offered by Musto, the Frome Mid Layer Jacket and Salopettes but I found them just too expensive at more than £100 each even including our Musto discount. Since I already own other mid layer stuff I'll go with what I already have
- Dry Suit: Should you buy a dry suit? There is a very good video that discusses the pros and cons which you can find here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4jsd8VnzMA The main conclusions are:
- Unless you are doing one of the colder legs (3, 4, 6) you won't probably need one
- Think of a dry suit as an insurance policy. If you fall over board it will greatly increase your survival time, specially important in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean or the North Pacific.
Since I am going to be doing leg 3, I decided to go for it. But I tested the dry suit provided by Musto and I hated it. It is too cumbersome, getting into the suit and out of it was a real nightmare, I could not really have done it without the help of another person and this is a real no-no when on board. Also way too expensive at more than £1000. And I don't like that you wear it instead of your normal foulies, duplicating the stuff that you need to carry and making the Musto smock (which is amazing) almost redundant. Instead I have found an alternative that I like a lot, it is called Ursuit MPS. It is a dry suit that you wear as a mid layer, just on top of a warm mid layer. It is very lightweight, very easy to get into and quite cheap when compared to the Musto suit (you can find it for less than £500 here). When packaged it stores in a very small package that weighs less than a kilo. It is also quite comfortable, the only bit that I don't like is that the neck feels a bit too tight
- Boots: There are two clear candidates: the Le Chameau Neptune boots and the Musto Ocean Racer boots. The Le Chameau boots are made of rubber with an inner neoprene lining. The Musto boots have several synthetic layers and one of them is waterproof and breathable (Goretex). They are much lighter than the Le Chameau boots, weighing less than half and are much more flexible. They are also less durable and less warm.
- Unless you are doing one of the colder legs (3, 4, 6) you won't probably need one
- Think of a dry suit as an insurance policy. If you fall over board it will greatly increase your survival time, specially important in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean or the North Pacific.
Since I am going to be doing leg 3, I decided to go for it. But I tested the dry suit provided by Musto and I hated it. It is too cumbersome, getting into the suit and out of it was a real nightmare, I could not really have done it without the help of another person and this is a real no-no when on board. Also way too expensive at more than £1000. And I don't like that you wear it instead of your normal foulies, duplicating the stuff that you need to carry and making the Musto smock (which is amazing) almost redundant. Instead I have found an alternative that I like a lot, it is called Ursuit MPS. It is a dry suit that you wear as a mid layer, just on top of a warm mid layer. It is very lightweight, very easy to get into and quite cheap when compared to the Musto suit (you can find it for less than £500 here). When packaged it stores in a very small package that weighs less than a kilo. It is also quite comfortable, the only bit that I don't like is that the neck feels a bit too tight
- Boots: There are two clear candidates: the Le Chameau Neptune boots and the Musto Ocean Racer boots. The Le Chameau boots are made of rubber with an inner neoprene lining. The Musto boots have several synthetic layers and one of them is waterproof and breathable (Goretex). They are much lighter than the Le Chameau boots, weighing less than half and are much more flexible. They are also less durable and less warm.
So I would say:
- Le Chameau: advantages very durable and very warm. disadvantages: not breathable and quite heavy, less flexible
- Musto: advantages: breathable and very light, more flexible. disadvantages: less durable and less warm
There is a PDF article which explains this, it is in french and a bit old (2011) but a lot of the info is still relevant. In my case I have decided to go for the Mustos as I value a lot what they offer (weight, flexibility and breathability) and they have a good price once you use your Musto discount
- Gloves I have been testing a lot of stuff but I have not yet found something that I liked 100%. Some gloves got wet too easily, other (like the ones offered by Musto) were too rigid. I don't like neoprene gloves as, though they keep you warm, they don't keep you dry. I have just bought some waterproof gloves from Sealskinz. They are really comfortable and warm and they promise to be waterproof but I have not been able to test them yet. You can find them here
- Sleeping bag I had heard some really good things about the Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bags. Some people would argue that you don't really need to go for one of these, that if you have a normal high quality sleeping bag and a bivvy sack it should do the job. But I know how important it is to get a good sleep while sailing so I decided to go for one of these. You can find them here. The sleeping bag is really comfortable and warm, it is a real pleasure sleeping in it. The only problem is that it is huge (imagine double the size of a normal sleeping bag when rolled). I ended up buying a bag with compression straps just to be able to compress it to a manageable size. You can find one of these compression bags in Amazon
- Decathlon Tent Organiser One of the persons that had already participated in the race recommended this and I have found it very useful. It is just a small organiser with several pockets that you can use to organise all your small stuff and find it easily. You just tie it up at the head of your bunk. You can find it here
- Gloves I have been testing a lot of stuff but I have not yet found something that I liked 100%. Some gloves got wet too easily, other (like the ones offered by Musto) were too rigid. I don't like neoprene gloves as, though they keep you warm, they don't keep you dry. I have just bought some waterproof gloves from Sealskinz. They are really comfortable and warm and they promise to be waterproof but I have not been able to test them yet. You can find them here
- Sleeping bag I had heard some really good things about the Ocean Sleepwear sleeping bags. Some people would argue that you don't really need to go for one of these, that if you have a normal high quality sleeping bag and a bivvy sack it should do the job. But I know how important it is to get a good sleep while sailing so I decided to go for one of these. You can find them here. The sleeping bag is really comfortable and warm, it is a real pleasure sleeping in it. The only problem is that it is huge (imagine double the size of a normal sleeping bag when rolled). I ended up buying a bag with compression straps just to be able to compress it to a manageable size. You can find one of these compression bags in Amazon
- Decathlon Tent Organiser One of the persons that had already participated in the race recommended this and I have found it very useful. It is just a small organiser with several pockets that you can use to organise all your small stuff and find it easily. You just tie it up at the head of your bunk. You can find it here
