Overview

We came across the MyWay roof tents at the Billing Land Rover festival and had a good chat with a couple of people who were the proud owners of these tents. The main selling points that interested us were the overall weight of the tent and the size and number of windows for air flow. We already had a 3rd hand Hannibal tent that was reaching the end of its natural life and were looking forward to getting a tent that didn't smell!

Construction

At the time of our investigations there were 2 roof tent options available from MyWay - the canvas Serengeti and the nylon Evolution. We decided to go for the Serengeti as the canvas meant that we can have more of a lie in on bright mornings (critical decision!!!). In my mind it also seemed more sturdy and likely to withstand the rigours of daily camping in a range of temperatures for 2 years or so.

The Serengeti has a light weight canvas core with a nylon flysheet and plywood base, weighing approx 42kg. The light-weight-ness of the tent means that I (some would say a weedling female!) can pack it up on my own with no problems - I quite enjoy the amazed stares of the inevitable crowd of people that have gathered to watch!

The flysheet is held approx 7cm away from the canvas at both doorways and the apex which cures the leaking spot above the doors that we had with our previous tent.

The ladder is light weight and has 2 sections; one attached to the base of the tent and one loose. We also needed the extenders as we have 2" raised suspension on the Land Rover. The extenders are simply 2 metal bars that slot into the ladder legs with metal springs but to be honest these were so flakey that we immediately swapped them with a simple nut and bolt which adds a few minutes to the setup time but are much more secure. (Paul informs me that he has since changed the design to include a more sturdy 3rd section to the ladder.)

Airflow

The tent has 2 entrances and 2 big side windows that can be opened from the inside, all of which have mozzie netting. It also has a vent in the top of the canvas for airflow when all other windows are closed. All of these vents and windows are an absolute godsend. Many of the places we have stayed in have been very cold at night but hot as soon as the sun comes up.

The design of the windows means that we can shut the tent up tightly in the night and gradually open the windows as the temperature heats up....even more important when you have a hangover!!! The top vent keeps condensation to a minimum, with the worst we have experienced being a very light dampness on the canvas.

Size

We went for the 1.3m x 2.4m version and have found this a good size for 2 people. It's longer than many dome tents so you really can stretch out. The height is fine for sitting up but there's no standing up to put your jeans on! It's the perennial problem of all tents!

Comfort

The mattress is about 5cm thick and is very comfortable. Our previous mattress had worn down over the years and caused severely aching hips and shoulders. We thought this was just something we would have to get used to so it was a very pleasant surprise when we tried out the new tent and woke the next morning with no aches and pains! The other major comfort is the windows which let any breeze run right through the tent, cooling you down on a hot day.

Weatherability

The tent has stood up remarkably well to the extremes of weather that mother nature has thrown at it. On our trip so far we have experienced temperatures down to -5c at night and up to +40c during the day. We have also weathered desert wind storms and lashing rain, with the Land Rover rocking from side to side but no damage to the tent and no water inside the tent. We did leave the tent up during a day time hail storm in Turkey but unfortunately some kind soul decided to do us a "favour" and fold up the tent without covering it, thus exposing the mattress and getting it wet - darn-it! It dried out soon enough but we have no idea how it would have faired..

And now the down-side

The travel cover is really is the one area where I have to make some negative comments (but a positive update follows). There were 2 main problems that combine to make 1 serious problem: the tent cover was slightly too small to fit comfortably over the folded tent and the zip was quite weak. This has meant that the zip has broken on both corners from where it is pulled too tightly against the folded tent. When packing up in warm weather it's not too much of an issue as the cover material heats up and becomes more flexible, but when packing up in cold weather with a rigid cover it is almost impossible to fit the cover without damaging the zip. Paul from MyWay UK offered to post a replacement or help with the repair but as we have no idea where we are going to be from one week to the next we had to abandon this idea. We now have a good compromise of zipping up both sides to the corner and using the velcro straps to hold down the back.

A recent update from Paul has confirmed that they have now updated the design to include a bigger cover and protective padding between the zips so it looks like this problem is now fixed.

Summary

This is an absolutely great tent for us, I am happy every time I open the windows and feel a breeze and even more happy when I take of the fly sheet and star gaze through the top vent. If I was buying a roof tent now I would still choose a Serengeti, especially now that the cover problem has been fixed. We have been on the road for 3 months, camping 80% of the time and the tent itself (ignoring the cover) is as good as new.

Highly recommended!

Our 4th way to shower - who would have thought we would be so obsessed by washing! But like the pump below this has a dual (and primary) use as a water carrier. This is a lovely piece of Swiss Army engineering - the sack weighs next to nothing, rolls up to take little space, but yet looks robust enough to withstand anything we can throw at it. Basically we will take this with us to store water whenever we have a reason to carry more than our 'normal' 40l. It will also sit on the roof of Dino, absorbing sunlight, a la solar shower, to produce some hot water. Search on ebay under wassersack.

On-the-road update: this works as a perfect water carrier/warmer and is incredibly sturdy. The only downside is that water tastes like rubber even after filtering but it's still drinkable.

Bought (from a caravanning ebay seller) because Ollie got fed up of pouring the water from our 20l water jerry cans into the on board water tank. This baby takes up next to no room, and will empty the 20l in less than a minute. I think this would also act as a shower, and some sort of pressure washer. All in all I would recommend getting one of these, especially over our fitted shower.

On-the-road update: this doesn't fit through the neck of our water tank...d'oh! We are still hanging on to it just on the off-chance that we find a way to use it.

The Cobb is our latest discovery and we would certainly recommend taking one with you. Our potje has now been given away to Jenny's sister, the notebook bbq is now on the reserve list, and the Cobb is coming with us. The Cobb's basic functionality is as a BBQ and it does this job with no problems at all. In fact would can have a full on bbq with about 5 briquettes of charcoal. But where the Cobb comes into its own, is when you put the lid on top, and it functions as an oven. Bread, pizza, roast chicken are now with our grasp on the road. It takes less than two hours to roast a chicken, and ten minutes to cook a pizza. Yum Yum.

On-the-road update: this is an absolute gem! The best has been pizzas and stuffed peppers when Jenny has tired of her 100th serving of tomato and cucumber salad

A hammock that doesn't force you to flash your undergarments and lose your dignity when mounting! After trying and failing to set the hammock up between a door handle and chair back, we decided that our only option was to head out into the forest and find ourselves a couple of trees out of view of any over-zealous ranger. We took our time following the instructions on the hammock bag and found it was incredibly easy to hang. Our first attempt was too low and would have grazed our posteriors on the ground, but after a quick undo/redo we had it at the correct height for sitting. To get in, you simply sit, lie and do up the velcro - easy.

We also got the snake skins, which completely confused me as to their purpose at first, but once the light bulb came on it was all ok. The skins allow you to pack the hammock into two "pipes" of material which you can then store coiled up. When you come to set up the hammock the next time, you simply attach the ropes to your designated tree/object, push the skins to the side and the hammock is ready to use.

All in all, I think this is a great hammock. It's multifunctional as a chair and tent, easy to set up and incredibly comfortable. It's probably at the luxury end of overlanding kit, but well worth it and for us has become essential.

On-the-road update: We have used the hammocks a few times and they have been very comfy. You do need a good layer of insulation underneath to stop the chill and we found that a waterproof picnic blanket does the trick nicely.

Twisty elasticated stuff to stretch across the landy, to dry ones undergarments and the likes. We love this! Bring two or three.

On-the-road update: indispensible!

Our Engel kicks ass! After the disappointment of the Waeco, having the all singing all dancing Engel is just pure refrigeration bliss. The fridge is well up to the job. It lasts us 2 or 3 stationary days without a hiccup and will easily freeze your entire food supply if you ask it to (or mis-read the controls!).We brought it at Billing, from Simon at MPS. Simon could not have been more friendly and helpful, putting up with our 3 visits to his stall, and explaining the good and bad points of all his stock. There was no salesman's patter, just friendly advice and interest in our trip. Go see him if you want a fridge!

On-the-road update: still going strong. Generally out battery lasts 3 days when the temperature is under 30 deg c, dropping to 2 days in hotter climes.

A Kelly Kettle (or Storm or Volcano Kettle) is a device for boiling water outside, taking advantage of rather than fighting any breeze that is around. We love ours, it boils water as fast or faster than our gas stove, and is much more fun. It's a good excuse to carry a small axe with you. One point though, don't buy the extra pots and pans that come with it, they are useless. The kettle is great though.

On-the-road update: still great fun but only really use it when we are wild camping.

Personally we think this is our most sexy bit of kit. It is a PDA with integrated GPS/Bluetooth/Wifi. With 624Mhz it has the processing power to deal with all the applications we need. The GPS is sensitive enough to get a location lock inside our house. We use memory map for UK mapping, I-GO for Sat-Nav and will use Ozieplorer for mapping past Russia. I-GO gives city level mapping all the way to Russia.

On-the-road update: this is still proving its worth, even though we ran out of maps in eastern Turkey. We use the tracking function to make sure we are heading in the right direction and to find our way back out of towns. We are also recording all our routes.

Another beautifully simple idea - let the water heat up all day in the sun, then let gravity pump it down on you. You won't get much better value for a tenner anywhere. We've also got the electric shower fitted to our water filter, but will take this as well.

On-the-road update: this has been replaced completely by the wassersack, which is stronger and more versatile.

This is so good you wonder why it hasn't always existed. Folded up, this is the size of a laptop, but when unpacked makes a BBQ big enough to deal with four, or possibly more, hungry overlanders. We originally bought it to use before we go away, and changed our minds to bring it with us. The was before we discovered the Cobb! Now it is on the reserve list. Still a nice bit of kit mind.

On-the-road update: we didn't take this bbq in the end, partly as the Cobb took over and partly as it barely lasted a summer's use. Great idea but needs refining.

We got a Maha charger on recommendation and 1100Mah for AAA and 2700Mah for AA. We already had some lower capacity batteries, and these really did not cut the mustard. Spend the money get the bang!

On-the-road update: still going strong and means we don't have to waste money on local batteries that will only last a day.

Hmm - We do like this, but think that certainly this could be one place that the money isn't really worth it. We bought it second hand and had Foley's fit it. So perhaps we could have fitted it ourselves to save some money. It does come with a 40l tank, hidden under the vehicle, which is fairly handy. The down sides being that the tap has little pressure, and if you want a hot shower then all the water in the tank has to be heated up. Apart from that it is a nice bit of kit.

On-the-road update: this really is indispensable for us. After sanding down the water filter we found that the water pressure is much better and we now have a great supply of safe drinking water on tap. It means that we can wild camp for long periods of time without having to buy copious amounts of bottled water and we can have luxurious showers in the desert! It does mean that we are kitted with more facilities than most Pamiri houses!!!

Well we got this from eBay and it's worked a treat. RRP of £1000+ , we were originally thinking about a toughbook, but this was out of our price region for the spec we wanted. We were recommended this on the Hubb and have no complaints. We are using it for all our blogging, photo, music, movie and mapping needs.

On-the-road update: Although we have no complaints and this laptop is still going strong, we would prefer a much smaller laptop/netbook possibly with an external, rugged harddrive.

£400 bought us the canoe, paddles and life vests from Bournemouth Canoes during their Christmas sales. These guys were very helpful, and we are certainly happy with what we have got. The canoe packs down to just over the size of one of our really useful boxes, and has already found a place in the back of Dino. It takes about 5 minutes to set up the canoe, and so far the material seems to be tough enough to serve our needs. The only complaint we have was when paddling against the tide on the River Test we struggled to keep in a straight line. We think this may have been because the large lump of Ollie was placed at the front of the canoe. If we find out that this issue is resolved by swapping places then this canoe will deservedly earn another prestigious Jollyfolly star!

On-the-road update: another star added as it was due to weight distribution issues! Some would say that we are insane to bring this but it has been great fun and used several times to see some great scenery. No regrets and a great toy!

Until Ollie received this as a leaving present from his colleagues at work we had made do with a £2.99 garage bought imitation, which had jut about done all we had asked. We had never expected it to work when we really needed it, with our backs against the walls, and hence we are really chuffed with the Leathermans professional feel. The only big test it has had so far is to take the top from one of our water jerry cans, which it did easily.

One this to note is that the charge has several variants, one of which does not come with a pair of scissors. Our preference is to have the scissors.

On-the-road update: a great bit of kit. Keep it on your belt to get full use and to look like a real man!