Don't understand your problems?
Its gear For-If.!! so you carry it.
Seperate bag,if you're worried about someone haveing a good rummage.
What the "Hell", you can't get upset/personal about "Gear"!!
Unless you have'nt got it, or you're a tidy bettie and hate your pack being untidy!

Oooh you little devil, Peter!!!

The 95 mile checkpoint of the Lakeland 100 in Ambleside was in the Friend's Meeting House, it was a bit on the small side. To clear out some of the long stayers we announced "kit check in 5 minutes". That soon had them on their way.

My point of view is that life is to short to get hung up over whether somebody want`s to check my kit or not, as a seasoned outdoors enthusiast i am confident that should my kit be checked then all i need to carry will be found.

Far better methinks to have kit checks to give the organisers of an event peace of mind that should the worst case scenario befall an entrant that person will have been properly equipped and that no quetions will be asked as to why a person was allowed to go forth improperly equiped.

Ok if a person is stupid enough to carry a map and compass and not know how to use them then that is not the organisers problem, as the assumption has to be that they can.

Besides i find kit checks to be quite amusing and often enlightening in-fact i have learned quite a lot from seeing what variations on various bits of kit are carried by different folks.

I have nothing to hide in my sac and if an organiser say`s i am to carry something i consider irrelevant and i want to do the event then fine i will carry it,if they want to rummage through my sac then fine, then a quick thank you and of we go no harm done Happy walkers/runners/organisers. seems simple to me.

From a personal perspective I resent kit checks and would not re-enter an event the following year if subjected to one.That said I consider myself a mature adult and would not dream of entering an event without taking all the recommended kit - I just dislike the contents of my rucsac being put on display.
Janet - are you possibly suggesting that challenge events are competitions against other entrants?('unfair disadvantage')Surely not.

I agree we should have kit checks. I carry everything that is required and my rucksack is quite heavy. Whilst others carry absolutely nothing even after signing a declaration saying they are carrying the required kit. Which makes it an unfair challenge. Who is the daft one here. Me who carries the required kit, or those who lie and carry nothing.
From Janet Whiteman

John, as I need reading specs I have now resorted to digitised 1:25000 maps which are then enlarged so I can read them without my glasses. This was enforced when I once trod on my spectacles on Great Knoutberry during the Fellsman Hike ! A great plus with this method is the accuracy of the data, both for ascent and distance, resulting in cute little profiles of the terrain you are walking over. During the 100 this came in really useful. Add weatherproof paper and you have a very good system.

The issue of map and compass always makes me laugh. As I now wear reading glasses a map is of no use to me without them. So I suggest all entrants should be given a eye-test beforehand to ensuer that they can actually read the map

Kit checks are a particular bug-bear of mine. As other respondents have said, we have to take responsibility for our own actions. Take the arguement to the n'th degree. During a kit check one is often asked to produce a map & compass. But how many checkers actually ask for a demonstration of how to use them ? If they did so, then they would probably refuse entry to over 50% of those who turn up. I also take part in mountain biking events, which are by their very nature MUCH more dangerous than walking events, and there has never been a kit check on any that I've taken part in. I think it's pretty obvious by just looking at a person to see whether they are well equipped without counting the number of safety pins they are carrying. Let's have some common sense !

I am in two minds about kit checks.Before the weekend I was dead against it, its like being back at school and not being treated like an adult, but having just done the black mountain roundabout, I now realise just how cold and bleak and potentially life threatening it could be if you didn't have adequate kit. Having said that I have climbed in the himalayas with no kit checks and still in one piece...A good compromise is the method generally used on the 100, where you sign to say you have the recommended kit. I must admit I don't like some stranger rummaging through my rucksack, and if the kit check was as extreme as measuring the thinkness of my jacket I just simply wouldn't do the walk. I think there should be no formal kit check unless it is really absolutely necessary as for me it is intrusive, and it would be a shame for long distance walking to be the latest victim of the nannying state.

Have to say that one of the best things about our sport is that it's an escape from an over-regulated world, jobsworths saying 'you can't do this/that' etc. I think we've got it about right at the moment.

Agree that Kit checks can be a real pain (for both organisers and participants). I guess that signing to say you're carrying xyz kit means that you are aware of, and accept, the risks. Whilst you may be prepared to take responsibility for your actions, your executors (and their £ legal £ representatives) might have a different view if you come to grief!!.............then organised events would cease..........

Some events seem to check every last detail - usually those involving a mountain reacue team or such like, Black Mountains, Long Mynd H. Reservoir Roundabout come to mind. Fair enough, it is stated in the entry. But I see little point in stipulating xyz kit MUST be carried, and then not checking it all, and for most events the pure logistics of a full check are not viable.
Personally I prefer a "Recommended you carry a minimum of ..." and leave it to the individual on the day. We have to take some responsibility for our actions and kit, or we shouldn't be up in the hills in the first place. Matt.

Kit checks vary greatly in their thoroughness. I hear that they used to employ a micrometer on the Fellsman Hike to test the thickness of your jacket - and they only allowed fleeces a few years back ! Some events do a kit check at the start, others randomly throughout the day. Can a runner really expect a Pertex top to do the job in a storm ? If not, would our events suffer through over-regulation if we tried to stop him/her?