Kayland Boots

Boots, ideally wanted summer hiking boots but since only a handful of manufactures make boots in size UK13 (USA14) my choice was limited. The last resort for getting a good fit pair of boots was Kayland, they make up to 13 and are well regarded in the hiking world. I wanted their Vertigo High boot, but no look finding a size 13 in the Ireland or the UK. So after reading some reviews I got the Kayland Contact 1000 three season boots, they arrived in the mail on Monday from England I purchased them online.

After trying them on they fit great, just need to go on a mini hike now to break them in and soften them up a bit, but not much is needed. Louise has a pair of three season Scarpa boots which fit her great and are great for long hikes.

Now I just need to find some size 13 socks! I have found it difficult to get 12+ Bridgedale socks in stores here but should be able to buy online. For the long hikes we plan on doing we need two pairs of socks, a liner which wicks moisture away from your foot to stop blisters, and an outer layer to reduce friction to also stop blisters.

Nikon D40

A good camera is essential for the trip and after much hesitation I decided to go for the Nikon D40. It’s the cheapest DSLR camera around and after trying it out for the past few days it’s really cool and the photo quality is amazing and much better than my old CyberShot.

I am happy with the 18-55 lens that came with it, but in the future I may get the 55-200 or 18-200 Nikon len which would be well worth it.

GPS, maps, or both

Before Christmas I ordered all the maps for each National Park we will be visiting, the maps are great and include all the trails. Then I decided should I get GPS, or not. Price was a consideration but after much searching I found the Garmin GPSmap 60 at an eBay store and it does the job for a low price, 24 hour battery life and waterproof. This is great for peace of mind when hiking and will come in extremely handy.