The Adventure bag challenge

 Welcome to the Prologue. 

This is where i explain a little bit about what I am doing, why I am doing this and the rules around the challenge! Connected with each Chapter of this adventure story is a video to watch as I go on 12 months of as many adventures as possible with one kit list! 

So let's start at the beginning. I have had a sense of adventure for as long as i can remember, I am the kid that climbed trees, trekked through the forest and just enjoyed being outside. I still like to do those things but I find they take more time, planning and prep. 

This year on my annual journey to Reading for tough mudder I found myself really looking at my travel bag and a thought struck me, 'what it I had a dedicated adventure bag?', 'what if that bag had everything in it i could possible need for an adventure?', then the challenger inside my kicked and and asked, and 'what if when you added those items you couldn't add any more.?'

That's it the seed was planted and the idea set, I gave it a lot of thought over the weekend, talked it over with myself and my husband then before long the plan was in motion. 

One kit list, One short set of rules and as many adventures as I could do over 12 months, thus began the #AdventureBagChallenge. 

I suppose then it made sense to start with the bag, I had two I could choose from the one I mostly use for travel and my running back pack, one had more pockets while the other was smaller, looking at my bags i double backed on my brain thought and figured actually the best place to start was the type of adventures I would be facing. 

Drawing up a list it included hiking, walking, camping, bike packing, backpacking, wild camping, paddle boarding, kayaking, weekend away, jump on a plane? These ideas swirling around, I figured it would make sense to start jotting down the items I would need, sleeping bag, tent, cooking items, warm clothes, clothes for cold, waterproofs.... the list was long, I sat and pondered it a little longer then adjusted the items I had on the list several times until I eventually reached a list that covered everything i might need for food, sleep, safety, and stay warm and dry, that also wasn't a huge amount of items. 

I ordered the items i needed to add to the bag, then once i had most of it i started piecing the bag together, this is where it got really exciting, I grabbed everything on my list piled it up then looked at the best way to store it, looking it over I ended up going back through my list and making adjustments to the items, i removed some and added others thus created 'the final kit list' 2.0, still not fully happy with my items I tweaked it a little more, i even had some items on there i wasn't sure of, each time i revisited the list i pack the items down, packed them into my bag and fasted it up to ensure it all fit in the I had my final kit list. 

The Final Kit List:

Full set of spare clothes (base layer, quick drying t-shirt, leggings, underwear)

Comfort items (fluffy socks, hat, buff, gloves x2, arm warmers)

Waterproof jacket, trousers and socks

Sleep kit (Bivy bag, sleeping bag, tarp, sleeping mat)

Safety items (Power bank and cables, First aid kit + painkillers, Compass, Torch, Paracord bracelet, Parkrun bracelet, Waterproof phone case)

Food Items (Camping stove, Gas can, Mug, Cutlery, Bottle+soft bottle, Hot drinks+Tabs+emergency nutrition)

Other items (Wash kit-small, Towel, Carabina, Camera, Umbrella, Reuseable bag and plastic bag, Dry bags, Notebook +pen, Adventure buddies, Hiking poles)

That is everything I have in my bag, alongside these I will have my daily items (phones keys purse etc), what ever clothes I am wearing for the day (do I wearing layers and take a jacket to risk carrying things I don't need or do I leave them behind save on carrying things and and risk being cold and damp) and what ever food I bring for the journey (these can go in their own containers and don't affect the kit list however my adventure will dictate how much i can carry, less stuff more food space, more stuff less food space)

The kit list is set and so the rules get set in place as well, the rules are actually really simple. 

I cannot add anything to the original kit list. 

Items can only be exchanged for similar items (so i can swap a stove for a lighter stove but can't ditch a stove in place of a chair) 

All items from the kit list must be able to fit in or on the bag of choice, or the person. 

Items may be removed from the bag prior to the adventure but this comes at a cost, whatever is removed is no longer useable. 

I did toy with the idea of having just the one bag and only that bag but I quickly realised this would backfire once I started doing adventures requiring smaller kit or bike packing bags, so I decided the challenge was about the kit list, rather that the bag, though I anticipate most my adventures will use my main travel bag. 

So I think that about sums it up really, I have one set of kit to use for as many adventures as possible, I cannot add to that kit but can exchange for an equivalent item to upgrade or replace, items can be removed before and adventure but at a cost, and I aim to go on as many adventures as possible using the kit in 12 months. At the end of the 12 months I will do a deep dive review of the kit list, what i used, didn't use, what I would change etc. 

As I go on my Adventure journey's each individual adventure will be its own chapter, I think mostly because I feel like this is more of a story rather than just a YouTube series, which is also why I plan to write each story down and blog it too!

So keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter and let me know your thoughts!