What equipment does the team carry?

Tent

The team will be sleeping on the ice in two Hilleberg Keron GT 4. These 4-person tents are simple and quick to put up and pack away but are incredibly strong to withstand the most viscious Antarctic storms. They are a favourite for expedition because although relatively lightweight, they are also very spacious inside which is important when you think that this tent is a home for 4 people for 40 days!

Sleeping

Keeping warm when sleeping on the ice is not so much about the bag you are in, as the protection that you have from the ice underneath. The team will be using dense foam Multimats which are light, rugged and sleep-inducing!

Cooking and maintenance

The team will be using MSR XGK stoves to melt snow and heat water but need minimal other equipment in the tent. Each team member has a bowl with a lid, a mug, thermos and water bottle but everything else is shared between the tent. The team kit includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) handset for navigation and a Leatherman that has blade, scissors and heavy-duty pliers – all essential for common repairs. Thanks to Ellis Brigham for supplying the majority of the team’s cooking and maintenance equipment.

Timekeeping

You may think that the last thing the team have to worry about in Antarctica is being late! But in fact, keeping track of the time is vital to the team's success. The team must make satellite phonecalls to support teams at precise pre-arranged times to let everyone know that they are safe and well. Watches are also used for navigation and for keeping a regular pace - important if the team are to reach the South Pole by New Year's Day as planned! There is only one watch in the World that will keep working reliably at extreme temperatures of -40C and below and the team are lucky to have one. Pilotur watches of Denmark are seriously tough and the team intend to test them to their max!

Toilet

The team does not have access to toilet or washing facilities while in Antarctica. However, they are keen not to leave any trace of their presence in the pristine polar environment and so they carry ‘Portable Johns’ supplied by Anteon. These are ingenious devices that allow the team to hygienically store and transport all toilet waste so that it can be shipped out of Antarctica with the team when they leave.

Camera Equipment

The team will be photographing and filming themselves during their 40-day expedition. The extreme cold plays havoc with delicate equipment and so we have had to choose our kit carefully. We are taking two Panasonic TM300’s with high capacity battery packs and two Panasonic TZ7’s. All equipment has been kindly supplied by John Lewis.

Medical Equipment

The team have to drag all their equipment with them and so it is important that every piece of equipment is as light as possible. When it comes to the medical kit it is tempting to take everything ‘just in case’. However, with expert advice from Adventure First Aid, we have limited our medical kit to the essentials. As well as Spenco for blisters, laxatives and blockers for stomach troubles and Sudocreme for just about everything, we are also taking a selection of antibiotics and plenty of antiseptic wipes and dressings to keep any wounds clean. If a team member were to have a serious injury that required evacuation it might be days before a plane could reach us, therefore we also carry some serious painkillers so that we might make them comfortable during the wait.

Communications

The team will be sharing their experiences with the world all the way through the expedition thanks to some very clever satellite technology. The only satellite communication system that works in Antarctica is the Iridium network. The kind people at Iridium have given the team plenty of talk time so that they will be able to speak directly to the world through podcasts on this website. The team are also very excited by the fact that they will be able to use their Iridium phones to send SMS messages - so they will be able to Twitter to the South Pole!