The Gear – My Marathon des Sables

Whatever you think you will be spending on your kit..

You’re wrong, it’s more than that.

And you will likely end up disposing of at least 1kg of your expensive tat at the end of the first day, upon realizing that 13kg is far to weighty a price to pay, to haul your rucksack of unnecessary gadgets across a desert.

Below is a table of what I spent and where it went. Try and substitute as much as you can. You need the protection, not the brand.

Substituting swimming goggles for the measurably more expensive sand goggles, will not make you look at all like Doc Brown (Back to the Future)

Flex on the different sections of your vacuum-packed bag here

(note: weight of n/a indicates item is worn)

1	ESSENTIAL	Weight (g)	Description	Cost (£)
2	Backpack	670	OMM Classic 25L	55
3	FrontPack	200	Raidlight Equilibre R Light FrontPack	30
4	Sleeping bag	450	Western Mountaineering HighLite	255
5	HeadTorch	88	Petzl Tikka XP2	45
6	AA Batteries (x2)	30	Llithium AA batteries	1
7	10 safety pins,	5		1
8	Compass with 1° or 2° precision	10	Recta DT100 Starter	9
9	Lighter	15		1
10	Whistle	0	incl in OMM Classic 25L	0
11	Pocket knife	20	Victorinox Classic Swiss Army knife	12
12	Hand anti-septic, disinfectant gel	50	Friar's Balsam	4
13	Medical Kit	57	Adventure Medical Kit 0.3 (Ultralight and Watertight)	12
14	Anti-venom pump	28	Aspivenin Venom Pump	18
15	Signalling mirror	12	Adventure Medical Kit Rescue Flash Signal Mirror	14
16	One aluminium survival sheet.	13	Adventure Medical Kit SOS Headsheets Emergency Blanket	5
17	TOTAL WEIGHT	1648	TOTAL PRICE	462

1	PRETTY NECESSARY	Weight (g)	Description	Cost (£)
2	Sleeping mat	258	Klymit Inertia X Frame Regular Mat	70
3	Sleeping Bag liner	130	Sea to Summit Premium Silk Sleeping Bag Liner	36
4	Spare Laces	10	incl with Hokka One Ones	0
5	Walking Poles	276	Mountain King Trail Blaze Running Poles (110cm)	77
6	Bottle	90	1x NUNN 750ml bottle	5
7	Bottle	90	1x Raidlight 750ml Drinking Bottle with Straw	10
8	Bottle Holders (x2)	180	Raidlight	15
9	FlipFlops	150	Crap tacky ones from Ibiza	0
10	Earplugs	35	BioEars Soft Silicone Earplugs	5
11	Cooking Pot	118	Esbit Titanium Pot	40
12	Cooking Stove	14	Esbit Titanium Stove	12
13	Cooking Fuel (x2)	160	Esbit solid fuel tablets (20 x 4 g)	5
14	Cooker wind break	52	Optimus Wind Foil (Aluminum Wind Screen)	11
15	Food packs	0	Poly - Lina Pour & Store 8 Unique Self Standing Resealable food Pouches (235mm x 155mm)	2
16	Spork	30	Trekmates Stainless Steel Folding Spork	3
17	Electrolytes (2x 12pax)	114	Nunn	22
18	Portable toilet roll (2x)	120	Andrex on the go Toilet Tissue	3
19	Cloth/Flannel (2x)	28	WemiWipes (tube of 8)	3
20	WetWipes (2x)	100	Wet Ones	2
21	TOTAL WEIGHT	1955	TOTAL PRICE	321

1	CLOTHING	Weight (g)	Description	Cost (£)
2	Gaitors	n/a	Raidlight Desert Gaiter (Regular / Lycra)	24
3	New Trainers (1 full size up)	n/a	Hoka One One - Stinson B Evo 5.5	134
4	Gaitor Glue	n/a	Evostick Contact Glue (& sew ends of velcro)	7
5	Socks (x2)	n/a	Bridgedale Woolfusion Trail Light Women's Sock	20
6	Injinji Liner Crew Socks (x2)	n/a	Injinji Tetratsock Lightweight Performance Crew Liner Toe Socks	14
7	Compression top (S/S)	n/a	2XU Elite	65
8	Compression shorts	n/a	2XU Elite	55
9	Sunglasses	15	Polo sports	0
10	Buff for neck cover	10	Buff	13
11	Sun Hat	65	Raidlight Sahara Sunhat	18
12	Gloves	50		0
13	NIGHT: Hat	10	Single Lightweight 1 Hole Balaclava Spandex Airsoft Paintball Security Police Black	7
14	NIGHT: lightweight pullover	265	Microfleece Montain Fireball Smock	103
15	NIGHT: Sleepsuit	185	Tyvek Classic Xpert Disposable Coverall	7
16	NIGHT: Compression leggins	30	2XU Elite	84
17	TOTAL WEIGHT	630	TOTAL PRICE	551

1	MEDS	Weight (g)	Description	Cost (£)
2	Sun Protection	200	P20 SPF50 200ml	25
3	Blister Stick	25	Compeed Stick	7
4	Heel Pads	10	ENGO Blister Prevention Patches - Heel Pack	10
5	Feet tape	300	Leukotape P Combi Pack. 1 strip ball of foot, 3 strips on heel: top one first	14
6	Feet Rub	75	Akileïne Sports NOK Anti-chafing Cream 75ml	9
7	Foot Pads	10	ENGO Blister Prevention Patches	8
8	Sore rub	75	Brave Soldier Friction Zone 74 ml	13
9	Foot Powder	50	Zeasorb Super Absorbent Powder	6
10	Toothbrush	100	Go Toothbrush	1
11	Toothpaste	25	Colgate 25g	1
12	Lip Balm	20	Carmex	3
13	Tabs	30	Immodium (Dose: 2) / Nurofen 200mg Ibruprofin (Dose: 2per 4hours) / Paracetamol 500mg (Dose: 2per 4hours)	0
14	ShowerCap	10	Use as basin	0
15	Sewing Kit & Strong thread	20		3
16	TOTAL WEIGHT	950	TOTAL PRICE	100

1	NON-ESSENTIAL	Weight (g)	Description	Cost (£)
2	Clingfilm	0	For phone	0
3	SweatSleeve	50	X Bionic Wallaby	14
4	Arm Sleeves	30	The Rough Country UV Protection Arm Sleeves (Pair)	15
5	Ziploc Bags	0	54 Ziploc 17.7cm x 19.5cm bags	4
6	Ipod Shuffle	13	Apple	0
7	Ipod Nano	30	Apple	0
8	Camera	175	Hasselblad Lunar	0
9	Solar Charger	138	PowerBee Executive Solar Phone Charger	19
10	Phone	180	HTC Desire Z	0
11	Goggles	30	Adidas Hydrospeed	13
12	TOTAL WEIGHT	646	TOTAL PRICE	65

1	TYPE	Σ Weight (g)	Σ Cost (£)
2	Essential	1648	462
3	PrettyNecessary	1955	321
4	Clothing	630	551
5	Meds	950	100
6	Non-Essential	646	65
7	TOTAL	5829	1499

Food will be your Nemesis.

You will feel a hunger like no other experienced before. And equally, you will hate and feel burdened by the meals you are carrying

Look for the best calorie per gram payoff (more is better!) and get used to the taste of dust.

//Imported from a spreadsheet and it’s a formatting disaster. I’ll deal with it later.

1		Food	Foodstuff	Weight (g)	Calories	Fat	cals/g	Carbs	Carb/1g
2	Day 1	Sunday 7 April		25km
3	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Hot Cereal Start with Mango (High Energy Serving)	186	822	30.9	4.4	92.6	0.50
4		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
5	During	Sport Beans	Sport Beans (Lemon)	28	100	0	3.6	25	0.89
6		Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
7		Fruit	Dried Mango	50	160	0	3.2	18	0.36
8	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta (High Energy Serving)	138	808	58.6	5.9	52.7	0.38
9		Fruit & Cereal Bar	SIS GO Energy Bar (Apple & Blackcurrant)	65	217	1.3	3.3	44	0.68
10				549	2513
11	Day 2	Monday 8 April		38km
12	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Porridge with Strawberries (High Energy Serving)	168	805	37.1	4.8	103	0.61
13		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
14	During	Sport Beans	Sport Beans (Orange)	28	100	0	3.6	25	0.89
15		Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
16		Fruit	Dried Mango	50	160	0	3.2	18	0.36
17	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Chicken Tikka with Rice (High Energy Serving)	140	809	56.8	5.8	51.2	0.37
18		Fruit & Cereal Bar	SIS GO Energy Bar (banana)	65	221	1.4	3.4	44	0.68
19				533	2501
20	Day 3	Tuesday 9 April	DUNE DAY	38km
21	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta (High Energy Serving)	138	808	58.6	5.9	52.7	0.38
22		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
23	During	Gel Shots	PowerBar Energise Sport Shots (Lemon)	60	210	0	3.5	48	0.80
24		Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
25		Fruit	Dried Mango	50	160	0	3.2	18	0.36
26	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Chicken Tikka with Rice (High Energy Serving)	140	809	56.8	5.8	51.2	0.37
27		Fruit & Cereal Bar	ProtoPure (Cranberry & Oats)	60	198	1.6	3.3	41	0.68
28				530	2591
29	Day 4	Wednesday 10 April	DOUBLE DAY	82km
30	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta (High Energy Serving)	138	808	58.6	5.9	52.7	0.38
31		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
32	During	Gel Shots	PowerBar Energise Sport Shots (Cola)	60	197	0	3.3	45	0.75
33		Gel Shots	PowerBar Energise Sport Shots (Cola)	60	197	0	3.3	45	0.75
34		Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
35		Fruit	Dried Mango	50	160	0	3.2	18	0.36
36	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Chicken Tikka with Rice (High Energy Serving)	140	809	56.8	5.8	51.2	0.37
37		Fruit & Cereal Bar	CNP ProEnergy	70	235	2.6	3.4	50	0.71
38				600	2812
39	Day 5	Thursday 11 April		42km
40	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Hot Cereal Start with Mango (High Energy Serving)	186	822	30.9	4.4	92.6	0.50
41		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
42	During	Sport Beans	Sport Beans (Raspberry)	28	100	0	3.6	25	0.89
43		Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
44
45	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta (High Energy Serving)	138	808	58.6	5.9	52.7	0.38
46		Fruit Bar	Chimpanzee Apricot	55	198	4.2		30	0.55
47				489	2334
48	Day 6	Friday 12 April
49	Breakfast	ExpeditionFoods	Hot Cereal Start with Mango (High Energy Serving)	186	822	30.9	4.4	92.6	0.50
50		Energy Gel	GU	32	100	0	3.1	25	0.78
51	During	Nuts	50g Almonds	50	306	28	6.1	3.5	0.07
52
53	Dinner	ExpeditionFoods	Chicken Tikka with Rice (High Energy Serving)	140	809	56.8	5.8	51.2	0.37
54		Fruit Bar	Mule Bar	192	197	3		38	0.20
55				600	2234
56
57			TOTAL WEIGHT	3301	14985	TOTAL CALS
58
59	Addnl Snack	Food	Foodstuff	Weight (g)	Calories	Fat	cals/g	Carbs	Carb/1g
60		Dextro	Dextro Energy Tabs	47	171	0	3.6	43	0.9
61		Sports Bar	Energize (Vanilla)	60	220	2.6	3.7	40	0.67
62		Sport Beans	Sport Beans (Cherry)	28	100	0	3.6	25	0.89
63		Sport Beans	Sport Beans (Watermelon)	28	100	0	3.6	25	0.89
64		Energy Gel	GU (Peanut)	32	100	1.5	3.1	20	0.63
65		Energy Gel	GU (Peanut)	32	100	1.5	3.1	20	0.63
66		Gel Shots	GU Chomps	60	180	0	3.0	46	0.77
67		Gel Shots	HoneyStinger Energy Chews	50	158	0	3.2	38	0.76
68		Gel Shots	HoneyStinger Energy Chews	50	158	0	3.2	38	0.76
69
70			TOTAL WEIGHT	3688	16272	TOTAL CALS