Gear & Equipment Season 8

A new season of Itchy Boots: Season 8! This season is going to be an interesting one - mostly because I only have a vague idea about what my final destination will be, and an even vaguer idea of how to get there. That makes for tricky planning in terms of gear, so for now I have focused on the weather conditions I am expecting for the first leg of the journey, and take it from there. 

In this blog I am sharing the gear & equipment that I’ll carry with me this season. 

Clothing - REV’IT! 

I’ve been a REV’IT! Ambassador for many years now and I absolutely love the Dirt Series line of adventure clothing. This gear is lightweight, comfortable and flexible and CE certified so that means it’s safe to wear on tarmac too. 

This season I am wearing the new body protector: the Nucleus Protector jacket. Because I will be crossing some high mountains, I am bringing the Component 2 H2O jacket. This jacket (but in black) kept me warm and dry in Alaska, so I am glad I have it with me again. Just in case I am facing some serious downpour or icy cold winds, the light weight Rain jacket Barrier 2 will be an extra layer to keep me dry. 

On top of my jacket, I wear the Trail vest. I was so fortunate to be able to be one of the first people to test out the trail vest. And I have not looked back ever since. I love this vest because it carries my hydration pack, low in the vest so it doesn’t strain my back and I am using every pocket on the side and the front to keep some cash, my Garmin Inreach and my earplugs case. I am a fan!

The Trousers Continent are pants that can be worn over the boots, to make sure water doesn’t run into my boots from the top, but if I want, I can also snuggle them inside the boot. 

This season I have the Expedition GTX boots for the first time, that now have a Gore Tex membrane and are also a little easier to step into - I love these! 

I have two different gloves with me, for warm weather and cold weather. If temperatures are great, I wear the Dirt Series Massif Gloves and when things get chilly, I use my battery powered heated Liberty H2O Heated Gloves.

When I arrived in England, I started wearing the Jacket Territory 2 and Coast Gloves. The gloves have the biggest range in temperatures I’ve ever had. Good in 46 degrees heat in Pakistan and still good at a few degrees above zero!

Luggage system - Mosko Moto 

Why change a winning formula? I’ve been using the Mosko Moto reckless 80 for 5 years already - and still love it. This season, I am using the brand-new 4.0 version, which has some great improvements in terms of buckles and the main plate on which the bags are mounted. I am impressed. 

The total volume that I carry in the reckless 80L Revolver (V4.0) is 84 liters: 2 dry bags of 25 liter each, 1 stinger bag 22L bag, 2 removable 4L dry bags and 2 Molle pouches. 

For the tankbag, I chose the Hood tankbag again. I like how much space this bag has and the easy access to it. It’s the perfect place to keep camera batteries because I am changing those a lot during the day! 

Navigation system - Tablet

When I raced the Baja Rally in Mexico, I met rally racer Willem Avenant and he developed this tablet to use for digital roadbook rallies.  I like that it’s just android so you can put apps on it and use opensource navigation apps for navigation (like OSMand). So you won’t be restricted to Garmin maps for example. Here is the link to his website: The Rally Tab

Unfortunately, on my last day in Türkiye, I didn't tie the tablet on properly and it fell off and broke. From then on, I used my phone for navigation.

And that’s it, my most important pieces of gear that I am wearing and using for this Season of adventures!