How Environment Changes Everything: Packing for Jungle, Mountain, Arctic and Desert

Packing for Jungle, Mountain, Arctic and Desert

When I'm presenting, a question I'm often asked is, "What's the best way to pack for an expedition?" My answer always starts the same way: "It depends."

It may seem obvious to many, but if you don't know then you don't know. The environment that you're heading into will dictate almost every decision you make before you even leave home. A loadout that's perfect for a week in the mountains could become a liability in the jungle, whilst equipment that works flawlessly in the Arctic will generally be entirely unsuited to the heat and dust of the desert.

Over the years I've been fortunate enough to work in a wide range of environments, from humid tropical forests, to the frozen Arctic ocean, to high mountain terrain. Whilst every expedition is different, one lesson has remained constant: your pack isn't simply there to carry equipment. It should help you work more efficiently, protect essential kit and adapt to the conditions you're facing.

The Jungle: Managing Moisture, Not Just Weight

My 'adventurous life' really started in a jungle, and it really is my 'least favourite' environment.

When I first entered a jungle as a young man at nineteen, I had no previous experience, and no training aside from having watched a few old 'black and white' Tarzan movies. All I had was a thirst for adventure and a lot of misplaced self-belief.

Whether you're there for a few hours or several months, the jungle will test both you and your equipment.

The jungle is relentless. Heat, humidity and constant moisture means that almost everything you carry is always under attack. Clothing rarely dries completely, equipment is continually exposed to damp conditions, and mud has an uncanny ability to find its way into every pocket, crevice, and fastening - and then there's the insect life.

With regards to your pack, accessibility becomes just as important as capacity. When you're stopping regularly to deal with changing weather, navigation or hydration, constantly unpacking your entire bag quickly becomes frustrating and inefficient.

Organisation also becomes critical. Keeping essential items separated, protected and easy to locate saves time and conserves energy, both of which are valuable commodities in tropical environments.

Durability matters too. Dense vegetation, thorns, repeated abrasion, immersion and almost never-ending 'wetness' places significant stress on any pack. Robust construction isn't a luxury; it's essential.

One of the reasons I continue to use Karrimor SF packs is that they're built for exactly this sort of punishment. Wet days become wet weeks and failure simply isn't an option

The Mountains: Stability Above Everything

Mountain travel introduces a completely different set of challenges.

Whether you're ascending steep ground, scrambling over rock or negotiating uneven terrain, your pack becomes part of your balance. A poorly distributed load shifts unexpectedly, increasing fatigue, reducing confidence on difficult ground, and opening the possibility of accidents and injuries.

Weight distribution is therefore one of the most important considerations, as is stabilising the contents of your pack using compression straps, and stabilising your pack using proper adjustments of the yoke, hip belt, and shoulder and chest harnesses.

Mountain environments are also notorious for changing conditions. It's entirely possible to experience warm sunshine, heavy rain and near-freezing temperatures within a single day. Equipment needs to be accessible without turning every stop into a complete repack.

I live in Swondonia, Wales, which is renowned for its volatile weather, sometimes offering up 'four seasons in one day' in almost any month of the year. Aside from a few days in the height of summer, when I'm heading out for a day hike I usually pack my Karrimor SF Predator 30 for the best and the worst weathers.

A well-designed pack helps you stay organised whilst maintaining good accessibility and maintaining stability when every step counts.

The Arctic: Simplicity in Extreme Cold

Cold changes everything.

When you've been hauling a heavy pulk (sled) for anywhere from eight to fourteen hours straight day after day, in temperatures that range from minus fifteen down to minus fifty and below, life becomes challenging.

Tasks that seem straightforward at home become surprisingly difficult, even when you're not exhausted. As an example, wearing gloves makes it a lot more challenging when trying to operate and manipulate clips, toggles, buttons and buckles. Even rigging tent poles can be a test. Fine motor skills diminish to the point of frustration, and patience often wears thin.

Selecting kit for the Arctic means reducing unnecessary complexity. Essential equipment must remain easy to access and operate, whilst systems should be reliable enough to function consistently in extreme conditions.

Just as for any kit, practicing at home - or in less aggressive environments - builds familiarity, helps to develop the motor skills needed to operate your equipment effectively, and builds trust in your equipment and your ability to use it.

On an Arctic expedition almost all of my kit is carried in my pulk, but I still have a daypack containing my emergency, or 'DS' bag and equipment for the day ahead. Depending on the location and expected conditions, sometimes - often - I wear it, sometimes it's easily accessible as a 'grab bag' at the front of my pulk.

When the weather deteriorates, or the 'SHTF' the last thing you want is to question whether you can access your emergency kit inside your pack with shaking, cold, wet, gloved hands. The 'high north capable' designation of Karrimor SF packs and my own experience gives me confidence that my backpack will perform.

The Desert: Every Gram and Every Drop Counts

Vast empty landscapes where precipitation is so low that a moisture deficit exists - deserts - demand efficiency.

When operating in a stereotypical desert, planning for water restocking is essential, but you will inevitably carry an amount with you. Your water will probably be the heaviest item that you'll carry, and managing that weight becomes a balancing act between capacity, safety and mobility. 

Sand and fine dust works its way into everything, creating an abrasive layer between surfaces, clogging mechanisms, and adding an unwanted texture to food. Temperatures fluctuate dramatically between day and night, and prolonged exposure places constant demands on both equipment and the individual carrying it.

Good planning and organisation helps to reduce unnecessary stops, whilst thoughtful load carriage provides capacity for transporting water whilst minimising fatigue over long distances.

It's often said that amateurs think about equipment, whilst professionals think about systems. The desert is an excellent reminder that every item should justify its place.

(Fun fact: did you know that Antarctica is actually the largest desert on Earth?)

The One Constant

Although each environment presents unique challenges, one principle never changes: your equipment should work with you, not against you.

The environment is the ultimate product tester. The environment doesn't care about specifications, marketing claims or brand loyalty; it simply exposes weaknesses. Heat, cold, moisture, altitude, load, abrasion and time all have a way of finding the weak point in both people and equipment.

That's why Karrimor SF packs are designed and refined through genuine field use, in the environments they're built to operate in. The result isn't equipment that's designed to impress in a brochure or on a shop shelf, but equipment that's built to perform when conditions are at their worst.

Whether your next journey is a day in the hills, an overseas exercise, backpacking around the world,  or an expedition into a truly remote landscape, your focus should be on the challenge ahead and not on the pack on your back. 

When your equipment has earned your trust, it's one less thing to think about when everything else demands your attention.