Tuesday, January 06, 2009

essentials for kinabalu


hey, did you realise there are so many different forms of insect repellants in the market??

allow me to show you.. clock-wise from top left:-

1) All natural mosquito repellent patch : lately very popular - uses citronella oil to repel mozzies. stick on clothes, no direct contact with skin. buzzword : NATURAL
(the pack i bought is attached with a bottle of spray)

2) OFF! Insect Repellent Lotion : this one contains DEET, which is a chemical used to repel insects. used to be very popular before the natural stuff came out. i bought this due to recommendation by many climbing websites. Most if not all of them stressed "DEET"

3) Aquatabs : water purification tablets. on closer look it is actually chlorine! so i will be drinking chlorine water!!

4) Beyond Bodiheat : heat pad for 12 hours of pain relief. i am sure i will be aching ALL over... a little pad goes a long way... can even keep me warm.. *bliss*

and finally,
5) new anti-mosquito wristband : this one intruiged me cos it looks like one of those sports band... haha... whether it works or not never mind. it can be a fashion statement for my climb. i bought the yellow colour one.

8 comments:

san said...

I used an orange band when i went to KK, not Mount Kinabalu:) It worked very well indeed when I was at the river. I did n't get bitten by mozzies at all.

KXBC said...

No need to bring all those things.

I don't remember any mossies when I climbed it in 1997. Bring a 1.5l water bottle more than enough to get from base camp to the rest lodge. Bring another small 500ml bottle if you think not sufficient.

What you really need to bring:
good warm but not bulky & heavy sweater - not really necessary as I only wore 2 t-shirts, a windbreaker and shorts for the morning ascent
good windbreaker - very important
a ski mask
face moisturiser and lip balm
some carbo gel (those that marathoners eat) or bak kwa (2 slice enough) for fuel reload on the way up
Torch light (lightweight) - very important. Best if you can secure your torch light to your cap to leave your 2 hands free to grip if you slip while ascending for sunrise

Your muscles won't ache till the next day.

Oh, bring a thin towel to line the sleeping bags provided if you have sensitive skin.

kuro.shiro.neko said...

thanks for the tips KXBC! er... i think i will carry those insect repellents lah, i bought so many! kekeke...

KXBC said...

The more things you bring, the heavier your bag and the more tired you will feel. :)

Anonymous said...

I saw lots of OFF lotion at Unity pharmacy...not difficult to get mah...

Meow said...

so which one is useful?

kuro.shiro.neko said...

dunno yet... havent gone...

auntie p said...

OFF spray and lotion works very well...from my years of experience. :)