Bit's and Pieces from Decathlon

As I mentioned having bought the canoe I needed some PFD's and had gone to Decathlon to pick some up however I picked up a few other odd's and ends while I was there. Way back in the summer when we'd camped up on the coast I thought it would have been nice to have had a fishing rod to pass the time and just maybe actually catch something. I could have taken a regular rod but obviously something more compact would be preferable so I picked up a small telescopic rod complete with reel for £10. The Caperlan 4x4 180 tele and reel weighs in at 365g complete with 6lb line, extended length is 1800mm and it compacts down to 450mm so it's easy enough to carry just in case.





Another impulse but was a fleece neck gaiter with a drawcord, I like these as you can tighten the drawcord to make them into a hat. The Wed'ze 400 cost £3.99.





I'd normally look at the camping gear but it seemed to have been removed to make room for all the ski gear but I did find some light closed cell foam sleeping mats. Actually that isn't strictly speaking true, what I found were Domyos fitness mats, 1400mm L x 500mm W x 6.5mm and weighing 130g priced at £2.99. I bought 2, one to use as a kneeling mat in the canoe the other I figured might work as a summer sleeping mat or combined with a 3/4 self inflate in winter.



Finally while wandering around the sailing/boating section I found a 20m reel of 3mm braided cord. It's branded as Cousin Trestec and I bought it to use as guyline for a 2 person tent I've just bought but I think it's probably too thick. It's available in 2,3 and 4mm, I should have gone for the 2mm but no doubt I'll find a use for it, price wise it was ok at £7.00.




I had been looking at the mountaineering gear on the Decathlon website some of which looked interesting but none of it is stocked in the Belfast store, I can't imagine why not, surely everyone has heard of the Antrim Alps ;-)

I did find one other item that I'd have bought if they'd had 2 of them. I ws looking at the trekking poles and found a 2 piece telescopic Raid pole, the Diosaz 700. They were quite long when extended and although not as compact as a 3 piece pole they were still packable. They were only 200g each and had nice cork grips but they aren't on the Decathlon website either so I guess they musy be old stock. The had a pair of very similar Nordic walking poles, again 2 piece rather than the usual fixed length. They were 210g each IIRC but had a rubber grip which didn't feel very nice at all, much to grippy IMO.

The Raid section on the Decathlon website has a couple of interesting items, the Diosaz Raid 30l looks like it would make a reasonable weekend pack if you go light, the price is good at £35.00, some of the other more shaped raid packs might make good bike packs. The Diosaz Raid Mini gaiters might be worth a look for anyone using trail running shoes rather than boots. They aren't waterproof according to the information but again at the price might be worth taking a chance on.