Wild Camping Northumberland. Solo, in the Simonside Hills. MSR Elixir 2 fail. 

YooHoo Ruth, ace to hear from you in your solitary confinement 😬 and super chuffed you heard your shout-out and enjoyed the vid. Yeah, a bit weird with Norman, he used to comment on everyone's vids, and I know he was an older chap, I don't think 'Scout' was his real surname, I believe it referred to his time in the Scouts back in the 70's or 80's, he would always leave great little stories in the comments. The pasta was pretty lethal 🔥haha, I'll not be buying anymore pmsl, but those breast milk storage bags might be a great discovery - and they're re-usable. Take it easy Ruth, speak soon xxx

For the little time I had after work, and to be able to get out of that wind for once, sheltered by the hill behind, it was the perfect pitch for that particular night Graham. Believe it or not but it's the first time I've pitched there, I usually like to get a few more steps in on a camp lol. Cheers Graham atb DVS :)

Yeah I was pleased to get back down to the car without incident the next day 🤣🤣 great idea about using the breast milk bags though 😊

I know MSR has had trouble regarding the waterproofing of some of their tents in the past. Maybe I bought an older model without knowing it? It's a good tent with some great features, and it's also a good looking tent with a great space to weight ratio. But for a tent to wet out like that on only it's 2nd outing wasn't good - all credit to Go Outdoors for their excellent no quibble customer service, and I bought a bike from Halfords with the refund money lol, I'll get more use out of a bike, I have too many tents anyway 😅

Thanks Mick - it's a quick hike up, so perfect for afterwork. And yeah, the customer service at Go Outdoors was brilliant - and I spent the refund money on a new bike, so happy days lol. New Bike is ace 😁🚴🏼‍♀💚

Morning Gray 😁 I'm always very careful using a spirit stove in the tent - everything gets moved out of the way and I have my sturdy little Snow Peak table for stability. The breast milk bags are ideal, the seal on them is amazing and I've never had one leak so far. I'm pleased to say the darker cold nights seem to have upped and disappeared now - I was out on Thursday, bike-packing in the forests, to reach an incredible pitch with views to die for. Just finished editing that vid this morning so hopefully I'll get it uploaded either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks Gray, hope you've had a great weekend :)

Morning Kev, aye another canny pitch with great views, and not too much effort to reach after a work day 👍 Tea was a learning curve lol, the breast milk pouches worked a treat, but the pasta sauce was way too hot 🔥 🥵 luckily I managed to get back to the car without incident the next morning 😬😅

Aw, that's a lovely comment, thanks Paul X

Cheers Paul - I remember this being a great camp, because after months of crappy windy weather I was sheltered here, and able to sit out with a cider and just enjoy my pitch. Shame about the tent wetting out, but it made me buy a bike - and look what I'm doing now, it's like divine providence 🙏🏼 And I still struggle leaving comments on my phone, it takes ages because of all the typing errors making me look like I can't spell, I much prefer a nice keyboard and pc ;-)

Aw thank you Ervin, that's a lovely comment. I live in a stunning part of the UK, and I'm lucky enough to have places like these within an hours drive ⛺😊

Yeah, it was perfect for an afterwork recharge Steve. Tfw 😊🏕

I had vey little wind that night John, and nothing wind wise on the tail end of the tent, so it wasn't anything to do with the fly and inner touching. The rain was light, and on and off all night, nothing biblical. The water was beading as it should, but seeping into the fabric at the same time, also a small patch on the bathtub floor had also wetted out. It was like it hadn't had enough DWR treatment, or whatever MSR use. Very peculiar. Looking on the bright side, I have more than enough tents - so I bought a new bicycle instead with the money & now I can go bike-packing again 😂 (bike-pushing haha)

@@donnavansenior enjoy your new bike 👍

Thanks Mac, tbh there wasn't much drone footage that I could use, either too windy up high or a bit bland lower down with the landscape, so I appreciate you mentioning that 😊 I returned the tent to Go Outdoors, excellent customer service, and I got a full refund, which I spent on a new bicycle 🚲 🥳😁

Aw thank you Sarah 💚💚😁

That's a shame you haven't heard from him either Jimmy. He sounded like an older gentlemen with his stories of hiking and backpacking from the 70's/80's, with the heavier gear etc. I don't think 'Scout' was his real surname, he was on my FB friends list for a brief period, but when I started to realise he'd gone quiet and checked my friends list there were no Norman's there anymore 😢 tfw Jimmy hope you're managing to get out this weekend, but that rain yesterday was endless. Roll on the nicer weather :)

Couldn't believe that the MSR wetted out like that Miriam, on only it's 2nd outing - so yip, back to Go Outdoors with it, refunded and went to Halfords to look at the bikes instead 😂😂 Hopefully picking New Bike up after work tomorrow, just in time for me heading off to Scotland for a wee holiday next week. The breast milk pouches - I do Amazon reviews, and they popped up as items that needed reviewing, so I immediately thought of storing camping meals in them, they sent me a box of 100 and hey presto, they're perfect! They freeze really well, will hopefully be re-usable and take up less room in the freezer than traditional plastic food containers. Haha, genius!

@@donnavansenior absolutely genius!! Enjoy your trip to Scotland!! 😎

Great stuff Phil, congratulations on your permission. I have one, but haven't used it yet because the owners didn't want any fires started in their woods, so that sort of took the shine off it lol. The best thing about woodland camps is having a small respectful fire, especially in the dark months. Thanks for your nice words regarding this video, it was nowt special, just me bobbing up a hill for a chill out tent night, the cooking segment was funny though, never again will I eat a triple chili pasta 😂😬

Aye to be honest, the thought of eating that and consequences after would have forced me to eat grass instead of your pasta. 😂😂

🤣🤣🤣@@PhilDodsworthOutandAbout

Thanks Mark, it was the perfect pitch that night for the time I had and the wind direction lol. The Elixir looked great all lit up, very photogenic, and it's a nice spacious tent for the weight, but after seeing all of the wetting out on the fly the next morning I took it back to Go Outdoors for a full refund. Bought a new bike instead 😅 Yeah I used the covid test tubes for washing-up liquid - if I can find another use for something I will, I hate plastic waste. These breast milk pouches are well impressive so far 😂 Cheers Mark, and yeah I'm sure we'll see each other up a hill one day, that would be cool 😎🏕

Thanks Will, hope you're having a good weekend despite the weather :)

Nice one Siimz, thank you. Not an epic hike in, lol, but for an after-work quickie it ticked every box 😁

Good evening D & B - how on earth did you get a years free sub for Disney?? Lucky man lol. I love the Star Wars films, but I've never watched any of the tv series, or the animations. My son watches most of them though and he says they're a good watch. Yeah - the breast milk storage bags haha, I got a box of 100 for free & knew I'd be able to use them for camping meals - they work out a tad cheaper than similar sized Mylar bags, but I like it that you can see what's inside, and I'll try and re-use them a few times. Mylar always recommend heat sealing their bags, these just zip-lock shut and they seem really leakproof. Picking new bike up on Sunday & looking forward to getting out on a bike a lot more, with a few bike-packing trips as well. Go Outdoors customer service couldn't have been any better today, they were great. I hope you two get out properly soon, plan a good 'un with a nice view as a reward for not being able to get out 😁⛺💚 Cheers Dave, atb from DVS :)

@@donnavansenior Evenin' Donna, I got the Disney+ sub with my new Samsung phone (and £100 knocked off it + free Buds) when an offer was on (always lookin' for the bargains) The live action series are worth a watch, (better than the new trilogy) I got "moon-moon" bags from Amazon some time ago, but didn't have faith in the locking to take them out filled with food. Best of luck with the new bike. As for camping with a view in Cheshire, that'd be nice.. bit flat round 'ere 😆 All the best D & (-of course-) B 👍

Sometimes I think I'm more daft than inspiring for going out in most weathers lol. But it's what I love to do, and it's such a good feeling when the tent's set-up and you get out of that wind, and it's an even better feeling when you can sit outside and admire your pitch and view, like I managed to do for an hour or so on this camp 💚 Great to hear that you do a spot of wild camping as well Angela, it's so good for the mind, body and soul. Thanks for watching 😁⛺ X

Thanks Sarah 😁 not a bad pitch for an afterwork recharge 💚🏕

Morning Dave - yeah the breast milk pouches were a real winner, as was the professional cooking segment on this vid 😂 I knew there was a flushable toilet in the nearest village, about 3 miles away, but yeah, it's risky eating anything that hot up a hill 😂😂 never again will I be cooking a triple chili pasta. It was a nice little pitch up there, even better to be out of that wind, it's only a short hike up but it was perfect for an after work recharge. The MSR went back for a refund and I bought a bicycle instead from Halfords 😂🚴🏼‍♀️ off to Scotland next week for a few days, so hopefully New Bike will come along & we'll have fun. I'd rather eat another triple chili pasta than sleep in a bivi 😂😂 cheers Dave :)

Thank you Jimmy 😁 not a bad little perch for the evening, and best of all was that it was sheltered from the winds that night ⛺💚

Sunday morning I pick him up - I went for a Carrera Crossfire 1 men's hybrid bike, with suspension. Same price as the tent just about lol. And yes, a fantastic cooking segment on this vid, complete with breast milk bags 😂😂

Morning Mick, yeah it's a canny little pitch for an after-work quickie, I went to pitch there last week but it was really wet, so I had a van night and a hill camp the following day instead. And as for the tent, no way should the MSR have wetted out like that, the fly ends weren't touching the inner and there hadn't been enough wind to blow them against each other. Also a dribble of water had pooled on top of the groundsheet - and the bathtub floor had wetted out as well over that spot. It was beading, but also soaking in at the same time, so it looks like there hadn't been enough DWR treatment put on it. Are you out this weekend? TFW, atb DVS :)

@@donnavansenior yeah definitely contact them about that. Yep I’m just finishing packing now, heading to the lakes this evening for a change 🤣 more up the northern parts though, weather looks ok..well so far 🤣

@@otf.outdoors Took the tent back to Go Outdoors yesterday for a full refund, great customer service. Bought a new bike from Halfords instead 😂😂 Have a good 'un over the Lakes Mick ⛺😁

@@donnavansenior ha ha nice one, electric bike or human powered?

@otf.outdoors old school pedal power 😎

🤣🤣 It's a really good idea using the breast milk bags 🤣 as long as there's no breast milk in them 😬

Cheers Mark, I needed a quick pitch after being at work, and this one seemed to be the most sheltered from the winds that night ⛺😁

@@donnavansenior this one I actually know! Looking forward to your next vid

@@MarkSweeting_ Yeah I've seen a few people pitch up here on video's, it's a nice spot for a quick recharge.

It's a genius idea, if I do say so myself Joanne 😁 The ones I have are labelled as 180ml, but I can fit closer to 375ml in them with my chili's and soups. And they take up less space in the freezer than using clip-lock boxes etc. I'll be experimenting more in the coming weeks 😉 tfw :)

@@donnavansenior I look forward to seeing what you come up with I’ve used normal zip lock bags but found they leak and that’s just on a normal camping in a cool box never mind my backpack.

Tried and tested now Joanne - they froze nicely with almost 400ml of content in (I did a veg and pasta soup and a veggie chili), they took a bit longer to defrost, but 100% leakproof and I'll be experimenting re-using the bags. They take up less room in the freezer as well.

@@donnavansenior just got my delivery of about 25 and looking forward to testing them out in the next few weeks can’t wait to try have you tried to boil the boil to cook yet x

Nope, not tried boil in the bag yet - I've filled mine right full lol, probably too full to try that, but I'm currently drying some out after washing them, and I'll see how re-usable they are. What size bags did you get? How many ml's? X

Hahaha, good evening to the southern pansies, from the northern lands of Englandshire where it's windy every day - but we still go out camping because it's cheaper than staying home and putting the gas on😁🏕Cheers Peter, atb from DVS :)

Hya Ruth, yeah I'm still enjoying heading out, as long as it's not too mad windy or too biblical with rain. This camp was such a welcome relief to get out of the winds and sit outside for an hour or so, watching the clouds roll by and the lights of the nearby villages come twinkling on. I always pack earplugs, so I usually manage to get to sleep ok when the wind is howling. Plus the earplugs stop any worries about weird noises outside lol - something walked right past the tent as I was going to sleep on this camp, it didn't stop and I saw no lights, so I guessed it might have been a sheep. Good to hear from you Ruth :) X

I've heard about problems with the waterproofing of certain 'versions' of specific MSR tents, so maybe you're right with what you say. I never thought to look for a manufacture date on the tent (or bag), but I didn't see one either - all my Vango tents have these dates and they're usually very easy to spot, as they're on small tabs in the inner. I've got too many tents anyway, maybe it was a blessing in disguise 🙄 and I re-spent the money on a new bike, and I'll definitely get more use out of a bike....😁🚲

Nice, enjoy the bike! 🚲🚲

I had no need to guy the tent out fully as the wind wasn't too strong where I pitched, and I had minimal condensation that evening, the tent vents very well. I'm an experienced wild camper who knows her tents, the fly of this Elixir 2 'wetted out' which means the DWR coating failed, and the rain soaked in through the fly, not from any issues with pitching - apparently this has been a re-occurring problem for MSR tents.

Yey!! The big telly is always the best 😁😁

Cheers Andy - it was great to be out of the blinking wind for a change 😁⛺