Expedition Kit and Equipment:

A major part of all expeditions is getting your kit right. The right kit for where you are going can make the difference between a cold miserable night and a toasty warm one. It can also make the difference being able to cope with an emergency or first aid situation or not. In this section we hope to build some useful tips and hints of what kit works for us. We'd love to hear from you with your suggestions and reviews.

We work closely with Nomad Travel store in supplying much of the specialist kit for our trips. If you are looking to buy expedition equipment or get travel vaccines we now have a dedicated kit page on their site:

If you are shopping on a bigger scale and want to get expedition kit or just want some advice it is always worth getting in touch as we may be able to get you some bigger discounts from our suppliers.

Travelproof Stretcher Hammock

Continuing my theme difficult to review expedition items - the next on the list was a stretcher hammock - again ideally I would like to put it to the test on a long jungle expedition - with a real life casualty! Luckily however I was booked to run a tropical forest training course with some leaders from schools expedition company Adventureworks. I figured that a group willing to get out and learn tropical forest skills on probably the coldest day of the year so far, when much of the country was grinding to a halt with snow, would be up for some running around with a stretcher - if for no other reason than to keep warm.

Overall our conclusion was that it was a simple, robust and well-designed piece of kit. My only reservation would be that it would not really serve a dual purpose for me - I don't really like the A-frame style of hammock which generally involves more chopping and clearing and also I don't find it as cosy as my simple travel hammock. Having said that I think for only £30 and being incredibly light it would be a very useful addition to my expedition kit - it would form the basis of a far more solid stretcher than the conventional jungle litter - and also could be carried away from base camp on day walks when the rest of the hammocks are left set up in camp.

Thanks to the guys from Adventureworks for giving it a go - especially to the brave casualty who was dragged around the peak district woods! You can see the stretcher hammock and other useful expedition equipment on the nomad travel website.

Want to learn more about dealing with expedition emergencies? Have a look at our expedition leadership weekend.