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