4. My choice of kit

Mongol 100 Kit

There’s a lot to take in regarding what clothing to take when you read the advice from Rat Race; mandatory kit and a list of suggested clothing to survive this unforgiving environment that you’ll be living in for 7 days.

I only really had running gear as I don’t take part in winter sports or do a lot of hiking or adventure walks.

I decided to find and read as many blogs from those who did the inaugural trip in 2019 and learn what they took and what worked or didn’t work for them.  There is also the recorded teleconference from the Rat Race website which has loads of great information on what to expect and what to wear.

In addition, I’m finding the Mongol 100 Group Facebook page useful.  Members are very helpful and happy to offer advice when asked.

At times, advice was conflicting and what became clear is that what works for one person may not work for you.  You need to work out and decide what’s best for you.

An example of this is, what size of ice-skating nordic touring boot should you use?

Some advised that their regular shoe size was OK and others advised up to 2 sizes larger than normal; to accommodate the extra socks you’d be wearing.

I made a table listing what each blogger took on the trip including what Rat Race recommend and compared it to find common themes and recommendations.

TABLE

There are so many brands and types of artic and cold weather clothing, some of them quite expensive, especially if, in my case, it’d be unlikely I’d use them again.

I decided my approach would be not to skimp on footwear, favour Decathlon products for base layers, and mid layers and hire equipment, such as the season 4 sleeping bag and thermamat.  It was also less expensive to hire the very best triple hand protection you can get than buy it.

	My Choice (mandatory kit in red)
Head gear	Balaclava x2 Hat plus spare Buffs x 4 Skull cap/beanie Helmet Neck gaiter/snood, fleece tube plus spare Goggles / Sunglasses Fox fur Mongolian hat	I plan to buy one and hire a second Own – Thinsulate beanie Own Own Own – Tog24 Ski helmet Own Might buy one there
Body wear	Heavy duty down jacket Base layer x2 plus spare Mid layer plus spare Good insulating outer jacket Wicking underwear plus spare	Own Wed’ze base layers Wed’ze 2nd Layer Own Rat Race Fort Augustus Thermal Jacket own
Hands	Good gloves varying thickness Liner glove Outer glove, thin & thick mitten	Hire Artic glove system (3 layers) Own – a second pair
Legs	Base layer x2 plus spare Mid layer plus spare Wind stopper style soft shell trousers Running Tights	Wed’ze base layer 500 & 900 Wed’ze Ski Layer Own - Mountain Equipment Comici pant Own
Feet Ice Skating	Nordic touring boot NNN Spikes Minimum 1 liner sock and thicker sock plus spares Yak wool sock available	Alpina Alaska Nordic Touring Boot (NNN) Hire – Khatoola microspikes Amazon Pure Silk Sock Lightweight Liner by SkiMarket Amazon Artic Cold Weather Sock MoD spec, white by Silvermans
Sleep wear	Base layer top Leggings Gloves Hat Socks Sleeping bag liner Pee bottle	Wed’ze Base Layer Ski Base Wed’ze Base Layer Ski Base Own Own Own Minded not to get one based on news that the yurt gets very hot Not got one yet
Bag	Daypack for spare clothing, food drinks & mandatory kit	Own – Ultimate Direction Signature But not a large one so will use vacuum bags for stuff
Equipment & Accessories	Lip balm 1L dry bags squeezy water bottles vacuum water bottles trekking poles sleeping bag / liner Thermarest mat Wide mouth pee bottle Head torch Pebble charger pack Toilet paper Toiletries Knife, fork, spoon Meals Baby wipes Anti bac handwash Suncream Blister kit Holdall Moisturiser Battery charger	Own Lakeland freezer bags Own Not sure yet Hire Hire Something cheap Own Might borrow my daughters Own Own Own Trying some now – see a separate blog Own Own Own Own Hoping to borrow a suitable one Own Probably not due to weight

Ice Skating

As I'm not allowed to use my nordic ice skates at the local ice rink during public sessions (a risk to the public apparently due to the long blade),  I've been attending the local ice speed club for ice skating practice. ( https://www.facebook.com/FVISC )

I'm using regular figure skating skates to start off with with the aim of becoming confident on the ice and being able to move around without falling.

The club members have been fantastic - encouraging, helpful, offering advice and friendly; what a great bunch of people.  I pay a weekly sub which helps the club and allows me to practice with my nordic skates when ready.

The plan is to practice on the ice every week until the New Year when I will transition to my longer nordic skates and get used to them.

(I should note that I bought the recommended ice skates from Rat Race when the 2019 trip was being arranged - the plan then was to practice using them before arriving in Mongolia)

During the week, I will also practice skating using inline skates.  I found a decent brand new pair being sold locally through Facebook's Marketplace.

I'm not practicing using ice poles and so far, I'm confident that with all the practice and the poles I should be fine on Lake Khuvsgul.

Travel Insurance

Rat Race advise a decent travel policy covering you for general travel to Mongolia and which covers participation in outdoor sports.

Rat Race also state a seperate Evacuation Insurance Policy is also needed which covers an emergency transfer to Ulaan Baatar for urgent medical attention via a helicopter.

I used money supermarket.com to search for travel insurance.
I compared quotes with and without specific winter sports cover and found that a regular policy  without winter sports was half the price but still covered outdoors pursuits.

I couldn't find any policies that had ice skating, but many had jogging as standard.

In light of the fact I had to take out an Evacuation Insurance Policy I figured I didn't need a "winter sports" extra as this kind of option didn't cover ice skating and I had no need for any snow activities or ski hire.

The Policy I chose was from coverforyou.com Premier Single Trip and is defaqto rated 5 stars.

So that's me covered for any injuries or cancellations prior and during the trip.

(I'll give some feedback on the Evacuation Insurance Policy later)