salokcinnodrog

More Nutty bait, another 10kg of shelf life, a new retaining sling to replace the old one that's dying, of age, and more PVA bags.
https://rodhutchinson.co.uk/product/folding-camo-recovery-sling-xl/

I saw @newmarket have one delivered when I visited him a while ago, so when mine died I had it already in mind.
 

Think you were unlucky with your bed. As has been said the solar range are top notch in my opinion.  I've had several beds from different manufacturers (fox, Nash sleep system plus others) but my solar bed is head and shoulders above anything I've had before in my opinion.  I sleep better on that than I do my bed at home 🤣. 

That retainer looks mint - not seen it before 😎👍

More Nutty bait, another 10kg of shelf life, a new retaining sling to replace the old one that's dying, of age, and more PVA bags.
https://rodhutchinson.co.uk/product/folding-camo-recovery-sling-xl/

That's weird!
As @kevtaylor has said for Solar to have a problem is a rarity.
Perhaps a fault in the frame manufacturing?
 
Sonik items on the other hand i now avoid after cheap rod rings drop inners, and chairs where the extending legs slide in under Nick weight, I'm only 80kg... so they can only be used on a perfectly flat and level bank.
 
 

That's the Solar buzzer bars with the goalpost adaptors, so I can use either pod or sticks.
With the ground being so soft sticks work.
Had to keep the tips up, still a lot of weed about.

It's not just you, I've had totally different forecasts from the BBC to MetOffice.
 
 

Yes, I have the original Solar  bedchair, and yes it's comfy, however the folding legs don't lock in or out, it is you making sure that the legs are fully opened before you get on it, and I have occasionally forgotten to check to my cost.
The strap keeps them in place during transport, so it's not a problem. I also use the legs as 'side bars' when it's on my barrow.
You have approximately 100millimetres on the full leg extensions so you can get flat and level on most ground. The Springloc system locks as well, it does not slide.
 
To be honest, most of the time weight is not an issue for me as I can drive to most swims on the lake.

It's just for the ease of transportation and I'll mainly be using these on canals so won't have to cast far.

Most apps and services use the same weather stations so for the most part they're all the same in terms of accuracy. I believe Met Office invite civilians to submit data from their personal weather stations to add to the data set. No idea if it makes a difference or not.
I've used all sorts over the years but now just go by the BBC. Let's face it, the weather here can change at the drop of a hat so no-one can really have massive confidence in the longer range data.

I use Metoffice on my phone as well as the app installed by Samsung as well as checking BBC regularly.
All 3 are giving wet weather for at least one day this weekend.
 
I've noticed that forecasts are changing regularly, I can check for 2 or 3 days ahead, then 24 hours later get a totally different forecast.
 

Cotswold. All day.

I'd probably be going to 8lb maybe even Kryston Jackal in 20lb. Sounds heavy but for a coated braid it is very thin.

Hi Yonny, great feedback, thank you.
And to the other replies too, thank you. 
It has sorted in my head exactly what I need to do.

I'm not sure on the effectiveness of most fishing tackle brand winter clothing, as most are not outdoor specialists in the clothing range. I prefer army surplus, hunting or shooting clothing.
My cold weather clothing is from army surplus, and Hoggs of Fife, along with Merino wool socks.
Top half is usually t-shirt, Norgie or UBAC with a standard fleece on top, and a Hoggs Strathmoor jacket on top, (look at current outdoor shooting or hunting jackets), or a DPM wind and water resistant smock on top.
Bottom half is combats with Hoggs overtrousers, and the Merino under my combat boots.
For the neck I do have either a snood or my shemagh.
That is cold winter wear!
 
I have 2 of them. Annoyingly where I fish the phone signal is absolutely awful, half the time I'm on emergency calls only and when it comes up 4/5G is only one bar.
It is often lack of signal that causes phone batteries to die faster.
The Fag packet size chargers I can usually only get 1 charge out of. The Juice long Weekender I can get 2 sometimes 3 charges out of.
I still sometimes end up going back to the car and having to charge from the cigarette lighter.
I really must look out for the Anker versions.

Just so people know, I do often do 2 and 1 on single sticks.
I do like the stability of a goalpost setup, but if one rod is better placed in another direction.
The one on single sticks is over a mix of mashed bread, particles, crushed boilies, worms and molehill soil, while the two are being fished with stringers over boilies.

Anker do seem to lead the way .

Absolutely put something they want to eat where they want to eat it and the rig can be anything
just need a sharp hook..
 
Don’t forget you can make a kilo of boilies go an extremely long way if you crumb them up so then it can become “relatively” cheap 
a sack of groats are about 20£ a sack and easy to prep even for a beginner.
and can help to make a kilo of boilie go even further and add some cloud into the water to give the fish extra confidence 
Just need do what you are happy doing 
confidence breeds success 

The only reason I can think of to justify having a heater in a bivvy is if I was going to claim on mrs B B life insurance 🤔

Ooh no, you don't need a bivvy heater.
A decent sleeping bag for night, and good clothing for day.
 
Too many 'accidents' with bivvy heaters, burnt down bivvies, and deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Even using a stove in the bivvy is a risk.
Years ago a mate I used to fish with had a run while his stove was on to keep him warm, he only burnt a hole in his sleeping bag, but other mates have destroyed their whole bivvies and woken up in A&E.

You don’t need a bivvy heater 
decent bag and a water bottle and maybe a winter skin and that should be good enough 
whatever you do 
please don’t use gas heaters it’s just too risky..

Different concepts with completely different objectives mate.
If you want your baits to last, or become rock hard, air drying is the one.
If you want to boost them, just coat them as soon as they're out of the freezer (they will absorb liquids as they thaw).
You can of course air dry then rehydrate with liquids if you want to completely saturate them (to prevent them from soaking up silty substrates for example) but it's a lot of faff.
Under normal circumstances you don't need to do either imo, and when bites get harder to come by on boiled baits I'd sooner switch to something else entirely rather than attempt to make them more attractive using little tricks.

For years I have taken baits out of the freezer as I pack my gear into the car.
I've rarely gone to the 'faff' of adding extra liquid or defrosting a day before.
I'm not saying defrosting before use does not work, but I have caught on baits that have been put on the hair still part frozen, and sometimes within minutes of casting in.
 

How many times have I said updates and upgrades are not always better?
Nor me.
That's not a mark 2, it's a mark 2.5 or 3.
I hope you get it sorted, you can always use the return of item as not suitable for use described. It is one you could win especially if you got Trading Standards or CAB involved as the description is not clear.