The Spine Kit Lessons
The Spine Kit Lessons
What I'd do differently next time
I put a lot of time and effort into planning my Spine kit. It took so long that I only managed to bring everything together a couple of nights before the race, meaning I never actually trained with it all.
The first lesson, therefore, is to start planning kit early, and aim to have everything together some months before the race begins.
I heavily based my kit choices on James Elson’s fantastic Spine kit breakdown, available on YouTube and the Centurion website. I'd highly recommend following his advice first and foremost.
What follows is an enumeration of my main kit selections, observations of how well they worked, and notes of anything I'd change in future.
Footwear
La Sportiva Cyklon Cross GTX boots (with another semi-size up pair in my drop bag)
Inov-8 TrailTalon 290 shoes (in my drop bag)
Dexshell Compression Mudder socks (with multiple spare pairs in my drop bag)
Yaktrax Pro microspikes
The Cyklons were a solid boot. The waterproofing was probably handy in keeping my socks dry from the outside in, and the closed design meant I didn't need gaiters to keep the debris out. The grip was pretty good for the non-iced sections.
I find Boa fastening systems both convenient and frustrating in equal measure, because I find them really difficult to tighten sufficiently (if the dials had some wings protruding from them, it’d be much easier to get purchase, but the tiny grooves aren't enough for me).
Did I need a boot-style shoe? That's debatable. For the first stretch, certainly not, but it was a nice luxury when the snow got deep.
I switched to the TrailTalons for one stretch to give the soles of my feet a break.
The Dexshell socks were great, keeping my feet 100% dry & clean. I did struggle with sore patches on the soles of my feet though; whether this was solely impact forces from the frozen ground, or whether wearing the Dexshells played a role, I don't know.
The Yaktrax were extremely effective, but I found the size I bought didn't fit very comfortably over my Cyklons. This meant I didn't wear them, and consequently I spent much of the race falling on the ice.
What I’d change
I didn't need waterproof boots in the conditions I faced. If conditions were similar again, then I’d just wear a regular, nimble trail shoe such as a TrailTalon, Hoka, etc.
For favourable stretches, I'd probably choose a more cushioned shoe than I normally wear to reduce impact on thr soles of my feet.
I'd ensure I have at least one pair of shoes appropriately sized for Dexshells with a liner sock. It may be that I'd even start in that dual-sock configuration.
I'd either take some nanospikes to wear over my shoes, or a pair of Blizzards (which have them built in).
I’d test the Yaktrax beforehand to ensure they were properly sized for my shoes.
Handwear
Montane Fury gloves (with spares in my drop bag)
Montane Prism Dryline mitts (with spares in my drop bag)
I wore the Fury gloves like a liner, often with the Dryline mitts over the top.
It was sufficiently cold that the Fury gloves sometimes felt pointless, or even counterproductive. I'd ball my hands up within the gloves for extra warmth.
The Drylines were excellent. I had attempted to attach them to my wrists using looped elastic attached with bowline knots. The idea was sound, but my knots were not, and they quickly came undone.
What I'd change
Rather than attaching the elastic loops with knots, I would sew the loops to my mitts.
I might opt for a warmer liner glove, or.have one in reserve.
Headwear
OMM Core beanie (with spares in my drop bag)
Montane Punk balaclava
Montane waterproof cap
Various buffs
Bolle Tracker 2 safety goggles
The OMM beanie was great. It's not too warm, so it was useful across a wide range of conditions. Most of my midlayers had hoods, and this was how I added warmth over the modest beanie.
I used the balaclava a couple of times, which did what it said on the tin, but I disliked the claustrophobic design and removed it as soon as I could.
Surprisingly, I did use the Bolle Tracker goggles on a couple of brief occasions. A headband is very helpful in keeping them attached to your head, especially when you're dealing with many hoods and a head torch. The headband on these, though, came unattached quite easily, and was really fiddly (read: impossible) to reattach in the field.
What I'd change
I found adjusting head warmth principally using hoods to be quite awkward (4-5 hoods is a bit much!) So I might go for fewer hoods, and more/warmer beanies. Possibly 2 OMM Cores, and a SealSkinz waterproof beanie.
I'd definitely take a less claustrophobic balaclava.
I'd also look for a more robust set of goggles. Failing that, I’d find a way to make their headband attachment more permanent.
Upper Layers
Montane Phase Nano waterproof
Montane Featherlight windproof
Montane Fireball Lite
OMM Core fleece (multiple)
Montane Protium Lite midlayer (multiple)
Inov-8 L/S Half Zip midlayer
Patagonia L/S Capilene Cool (multiple)
Patagonia L/S Capilene Midweight
My baselayer was the Capilene Cool, often paired with the Protium midlayer and Featherlight windproof. I added the Core when I needes more insulation, the Fireball for a lot more insulation, and the Phase Nano for rain, or just out of desperation for extra warmth. The Capilene Midweight and Inov-8 mid were typically in backup, added only when things got really severe.
The layers were highly flexible, but as it turns out flexibility wasn’t what I needed. Changing layers was such a big job (with such a large pack, multiple gloves, all the hoods and so on), that I only did so when absolutely necessary - when I was physically overheating, or absolutely freezing.
Case in point - on day 1, I started in far too many layers, and only removed them gradually over a series of stops, while overheating the whole time. On later days, I struggled to get enough layers on quickly enough as temperatures dropped overnight (I needed to minimise time stopped with gloves off, lest I freeze, and so I found it tricky to put on more than one layer at a time).
The 5+ hoods became quite complex to adjust especially when wearing a headtorch, and with gloves and mitts on. Fewer hoods would have been simpler.
What I’d change
What these particularly cold temperatures needed were fewer, more heavyweight layers. I would need to research my options.
Lower Layers
Patagonia Strider Pro shorts
Helly Hanson Lifa tights
Inov-8 Trailpants
Montane Spirit Lite (in the drop bag, in case conditions warranted it)
One person started in shorts, and probably swiftly regretted it.
I wore two long layers plus shorts for the duration. That may have been a bit much for the first stretch, but otherwise worked well.
Storage
Montane Gecko VP 20+ pack
Naked Belt
I really like the Montane Gecko packs, so taking the VP 20+ was an easy decision. It worked well, with a couple of notes:
I suffered from shoulder pain after CP1. To mitigate this, I pulled the front straps tighter, doubling them over in what was a time consuming process every time I needed to take the pack off or put it back on.
The side pockets are brilliant; but they are also open, so I worried about things falling out every time I took the pack off (nothing ever did, but it consumed mental energy)
The Naked belt was a useful addition. In particular, it allowed me to store a water bottle close to my body, which proved to be my only way of keeping some water from freezing.
What I'd change
I should have trained more with a fully loaded pack, and I should have addressed existing shoulder issues prior to the race.
I'd also give some thought to making the front straps more easily adjustable on the go.
Poles
Leki Neotrail FX One Superlite
While I carried them for the duration, I think I only used them in the first 50km through the Peak District.
I probably overused them in that first section, out of an abundance of caution to preserve my muscles for the 268 mile distance. After growing frustrated of how they were impeding my gait on the flatter sections, I simply resolved not to bother with them again unless I felt a climb particularly warranted them.
While the Spine does summit numerous fells, it didn't feel like a particularly mountainous race. Given my personal preference is only to deploy poles on long climbs, such as those in UTMB-style Alpine races, they just didn't come out again.
What I’d change
Would I bring poles a second time around? I'm undecided.
Note that I expect this determination is quite uncommon, and that most Spinners would consider a good set of poles a basic necessity.
Sleep Kit
I simply followed James Elson’s advice:
Thermarest Hyperion 32F/0C
Thermarest Neoair Uberlite
Terra Nova Moonlight
Vango Ultralite 600 (in my drop bag)
I had absolutely no intention of using this on the trail, so it was purely a question of safety.
That said, I did test it on an overnight wild camp prior to the race. I found the ¾ length mat highly frustrating, leaving my lower legs and feet touching the ground. The sleeping bag was just about sufficient on what was a pretty cold night, but needed extra clothes when temperatures hit their overnight low. The bivvy bag was basically a body bag with a mesh section over the face, which I found awkward and uncomfortable in equal measure. In combination, it's an emergency solution, not something that is likely to afford a decent sleep. That was fine for my purposes.
I packed a second chunky Vango sleeping bag in my drop bag for use in the checkpoints. In reality, many of them provided bedding, and I didn't actually deploy it.
What I'd change
I’d add something suitable for use as a pillow to my drop bag.
Cooking Kit
BRS 3000T stove
GSI Bugaboo 400ml pot
MSF 110g gas
MSR piezo lighter
True folding knife
Basic folding spork
I had no intention whatsoever of using the cooking system. Frankly, I couldn't even imagine using it in an emergency. The chance of me deciding to brew a cup of something on the trail was, for all intents and purposes, zero.
Electronics
Petzl Nao RL headtorch with a spare Petzl R1 battery
Fenix HM65R-T headtorch (backup)
GPSMap 67i
Garmin Forerunner 955
Garmin Enduro 2
Anker Powercore 5k battery pack (with spares in my drop bag)
While not a fan of Petzls with their reactive lighting, I made the decision to deploy the Nao RL in favour of my trusty HM65R-T in order to better balance the weight between the front and back of my head. I reasoned that might be important on a race of this duration, and I am happy with my decision to do so.
I opted to take a full-fat GPS device in the form of the 67i. It was useful on a few occasions, particularly along Hadrian’s Wall, but this was only really because I'd loaded Lindley’s lower resolution GPX files onto my GPS watches. Carrying such a hefty GPS handheld was probably overkill.
I took two watches for a few reasons. First, I could balance the battery drain. I put one next to my skin, just recording location and HR, always on a low frequency update screen (i.e. the battery drain was mainly from optical HR): and I wore the other over my outer layer, with optical HR disabled, but showing nav (i.e. the battery drain was mainly from map rendering). This meant I didn't need to worry as much about watch recharging at checkpoints.
Another reason was for redundancy. Garmins do occasionally crash, in my experience. I didn't want to have to deal with technical troubleshooting in the middle of a 268 mile race, in negative whatever degrees. While I had a very capable 67i handheld in reserve for nav, that's not something I want to carry in my hand for prolonged periods. If there was any problem, I wanted to be able to switch nav to the other watch, and keep going.
What I'd change
I'd probably take a smaller and lighter handheld GPS. I have a basic old eTrex, and that'd probably do.
However, I’d also mitigate the risk of having to use that simpler handheld GPS device. The key thing here is to load Lindley’s higher resolution GPX file onto my watches, rather than his pre-split, lower resolution ‘watch files’. I'd split that big file into six CP segment files first.