Hello Peeps,
I'm relatively new here, mostly a lurker with a couple of posts, so heres my first real one. Im sure youre all sick of people banging on about their kit, but here I am firstly asking for advice since Ive not actually used it yet (and its not complete), and secondly Ive spent a lot of time putting this together as cheaply as possible, so thought it might be a good starting point for others in the same boat.
I've been trying to put together an ultra low budget kit, an dcome up with one for about £50. Without going into too much boring detail I have found myself in the situation of being on a very low wage for the time being, and paying extortionate rent which is sadly actually the going rate in my area. Add in a pile of debt racked up whilst trying to follow the career of my choice, and Bobs your uncle naff all money, but a real need to get away from it all occasionally.
Anyway I dont feel this should stop me or others from enjoying nature, and I particularly take inspiration from the fact that Mr Mears has said many times that he also couldnt afford any kit when he first started staying out, hence the reason for developing his bushcraft skills in the first place (and he hails from just down the road from me, so if he can, I can). Likewise, the common bushcraft mantra seems to be however light your load, make it lighter!
I cant drive (nor could I afford it), and I live in greater London. This means that generally I will be using public transport or possibly sponging a lift if Im going somewhere relatively nearby. I will also likely only be staying anywhere for at most 2 nights, and most likely in some sort of campsite which allows fires etc, or a bit of low key wild camping. This is just for now, as I add to kit and learn skills I hope to be able to get the train all over the country and stay out longer.
This has affected my choice in kit not only in terms of what I can realistically carry, but also in what I am comfortable carrying on public transport. For example, I considered getting a British Army machete instead of a forest axe since I will not be using it heavily anyway and it is potentially more versatile. However I am simply not happy carrying it in public, hidden or otherwise. There are often random bag searches at busy train stations in London, and there is a particular campsite I hope to visit in North London (travelling from South London) so Id have to traverse the whole of the city using the tube. In such case, even if I was carrying a Mora knife and an axe, Id still feel much happier explaining that than with a machete since, unfortunately, thats often what people use to threaten each other with in my neck of the woods. Also, it means I will need to take a stove of some kind since many places will not allow a fire, or I will not want to bring attention to myself. Also, I need to assume that I wont be allowed to cut any trees for wood.
It's probably also worth mentioning that my nearest army surplus store is a couple of towns away and a complete rip off, so none of this has come from army surplus stores (unless you count the bag from eBay).
So heres my kit so far. Ive worked this out at about £50 not including the extras at the bottom, but I think its pretty comprehensive and covers all the essentials for my situation. There is a what you might consider a bit of cheating going on since some of it I have been given for free, but they are common camping items so I think that most people will be able to beg or borrow the same items from friends or family like I have. ( I have starred the things I am yet to buy but have sourced one pay day at a time, sweet Jesus!):
Backpack Dutch Patrol Pack (35L) - £10 delivered, eBay, sorted.
*Knife Frosts Mora Clipper - £10 (I am assuming that since I will not be using it
heavily, hopefully it wont need sharpening for a month or two, by which time I hopefully can afford a whetstone etc.)
Tent Free An elderly family member who no longer goes rambling will let me
borrow a bivvy tent. I am hoping to blag it off of him since he no longer needs it (with is permission, of course), or at least for a small amount of money, a favour such as playing bridge with him or trimming his ear hair, or permanently borrowing it! Camping has become so popular lately that Im sure most people know somebody with a spare tent young families often upgrade to bigger ones and double up on stuff, like
Vango Sleeping bag free again, offered to me by a friend for nothing. Touch.
Stove Hexi Stove - £4 just in case, cant really afford much else.
Pop can stove free again, just in case. I havent actually made it yet, but found plans on the internet. I also realise that the Trangia is not very expensive so I may get one, but for now Ill go with this. Also, I suspect the pop can could be placed inside the hexi.
Fuel for stove Hexi blocks are about 0.60p each, although Id prefer not to use them
for various reason (smell, mess, non-eviro friendly), but good for back up. *Meths is about £4 for 500ml in B&Q, but may be able to get it cheaper in art shop. Again, I am hoping to use natural resources wherever possible, and only use a stove if necessary.
Other option Im also considering buying a few of the Canland Heat Packs (just the heater) for about £1.50 each, as another back up. Particularly if wild camping or Im having a really bad time of it and am awaiting some sort of rescue(!), there is no need for a flame. But again, not very enviro-friendly if using often.
Food Homemade/foraged Im not going to count the cost of this, since Ill only be
out a couple of nights Ill try and bring some non-spoilable or frozen grub from home. Will probably pick up a couple of vacu-packed meals for back-up/lazy days though i.e. Look What We Found about £2.50 each, which can also be heated using the Heat Packs. Not cheap in my book, but hopefully wont need to eat them often and theyll keep for years.
Dry Bag free - Bin bag/plastic bag.
*Roll Mat About £5 simple old fashioned black foam thingy.
*Billy about £5 or free Ive not actually bought this yet, but I will either buy one
cheap one or a cheap nesting set for about £15 which is the price of one Zebra (billy that is, not the mammal, for £15 I would eat a Zebra every time I camp). I do realise that some people, especially strange Americans on youtube, suggest that you can just use an old coffee can or such like, but Id rather just buy one for a few quid. Besides, I dont drink much coffee, Id have to buy a large tin of it specially, at probably the same price as a cheap billy, and then not sleep for about 3 years.
Water Bottle free forgive me if this is against the bushcraft rules or something, but
as things stand, I shant be buying a 58 pattern bottle. Sorry, but bomb proof isnt a major concern for me at this stage although If Im camping inside the M25 it might be. Id love to get one, in fact I will one day, but for the sake of a couple of nights camping (probably on a site with water access) I will be using an empty 2 litre coke bottle for base camp and a half litre or so mineral water bottle to keep on me. Maybe Ill paint them camo. Done.
Mug free thermal mug, or enamal for £1ish Again, I reckon almost everyone knows someone who has
one too many of these. They seem to be given away at conventions with company logos on and stuff, so they cant be expensive. Im well aware that I cant put it straight on a flame! Cant even remember where I got it, but I didnt buy it.
*Utensils KFS set for £3 delivered from eBay, obviously I could just take some from
home or use free plastic ones, but I fancy those ones that clip together with a tin opener. Takes me back to my (brief) air cadet days.
*Medical Kit Again, pocket kit for about £4 posted from eBay.
Torch Free I defy anybody to tell me they dont have a torch knocking around the
house. Most people have several, and no idea why! I realise its not the most reliable thing in the world, but I shall be taking a little LED torch I got form a pound shop ages ago (for a pound, obv.). It glows in the dark too. If I see a cheap maglite I might consider it.
Wash Kit (incl. toilet paper) Free come on. It doesnt need to be special, take a
few bits from your bathroom and put them in a bag or wrap in a towel. Again, Ill probably be spending a couple of nights trying to rough it on a camp site in the low season, so there will be amenities. If not, Ill just smell until I get home.
Fire Up to a £2 I spent ages convincing myself Id buy a firesteel so that I could
do that cool thing where you scrape the spine of your knife on it. And Im sure I will at some point. But do you know what? Its basically a lighter isnt it? I still couldnt improvise one if I was lost in the wild, I still have to carry it in, so I dont see much difference between the two. For now, Ill take some extra long cooks matches and a lighter. Maybe even a turbo one for when things get grim. And I promise to try a bow drill or something while Im there.
Also I am planning to take some cotton wool as padding for noisy bits of kit, which can double as emergency tinder.
Possible extras:
*Bivvy Bag around £10 to £15 Not sure what the tent is like to sleep in yet, so I
may still like a bivvy bag. At least that way I can put the roll mat inside it.
*Folding Saw/axe saw £5 B&Q, axe £10 B&Q Yep, Id like the Bahco, but if I
use one at all its likely to just be for breaking up palettes that some sites provide as free firewood.
*Denim Pouches free instead of leather ones for firelighting kit etc. I will
probably cut off the bottoms of a pair of old jeans and fashion them into a couple of pouches. Might even paint a celtic symbol on them in bleach or something. For that punk look you could get all Jackson Pollock on them.
Obviously everyone has their own approach as to what theyd prefer to pay for and what to save on (like the cutlery set), but Ive tried to make a kit here for me in the first instance, but also for others in a similar situation: city based, beginners, can only stay out for short periods, and skint. So theres a compromise here between cost, necessity, comfort and preference.
I will update (if you like), and also provide pictures at a later date.
Let me know if theres anything important Ive forgotten!
Cheers,
Woody
I'm relatively new here, mostly a lurker with a couple of posts, so heres my first real one. Im sure youre all sick of people banging on about their kit, but here I am firstly asking for advice since Ive not actually used it yet (and its not complete), and secondly Ive spent a lot of time putting this together as cheaply as possible, so thought it might be a good starting point for others in the same boat.
I've been trying to put together an ultra low budget kit, an dcome up with one for about £50. Without going into too much boring detail I have found myself in the situation of being on a very low wage for the time being, and paying extortionate rent which is sadly actually the going rate in my area. Add in a pile of debt racked up whilst trying to follow the career of my choice, and Bobs your uncle naff all money, but a real need to get away from it all occasionally.
Anyway I dont feel this should stop me or others from enjoying nature, and I particularly take inspiration from the fact that Mr Mears has said many times that he also couldnt afford any kit when he first started staying out, hence the reason for developing his bushcraft skills in the first place (and he hails from just down the road from me, so if he can, I can). Likewise, the common bushcraft mantra seems to be however light your load, make it lighter!
I cant drive (nor could I afford it), and I live in greater London. This means that generally I will be using public transport or possibly sponging a lift if Im going somewhere relatively nearby. I will also likely only be staying anywhere for at most 2 nights, and most likely in some sort of campsite which allows fires etc, or a bit of low key wild camping. This is just for now, as I add to kit and learn skills I hope to be able to get the train all over the country and stay out longer.
This has affected my choice in kit not only in terms of what I can realistically carry, but also in what I am comfortable carrying on public transport. For example, I considered getting a British Army machete instead of a forest axe since I will not be using it heavily anyway and it is potentially more versatile. However I am simply not happy carrying it in public, hidden or otherwise. There are often random bag searches at busy train stations in London, and there is a particular campsite I hope to visit in North London (travelling from South London) so Id have to traverse the whole of the city using the tube. In such case, even if I was carrying a Mora knife and an axe, Id still feel much happier explaining that than with a machete since, unfortunately, thats often what people use to threaten each other with in my neck of the woods. Also, it means I will need to take a stove of some kind since many places will not allow a fire, or I will not want to bring attention to myself. Also, I need to assume that I wont be allowed to cut any trees for wood.
It's probably also worth mentioning that my nearest army surplus store is a couple of towns away and a complete rip off, so none of this has come from army surplus stores (unless you count the bag from eBay).
So heres my kit so far. Ive worked this out at about £50 not including the extras at the bottom, but I think its pretty comprehensive and covers all the essentials for my situation. There is a what you might consider a bit of cheating going on since some of it I have been given for free, but they are common camping items so I think that most people will be able to beg or borrow the same items from friends or family like I have. ( I have starred the things I am yet to buy but have sourced one pay day at a time, sweet Jesus!):
Backpack Dutch Patrol Pack (35L) - £10 delivered, eBay, sorted.
*Knife Frosts Mora Clipper - £10 (I am assuming that since I will not be using it
heavily, hopefully it wont need sharpening for a month or two, by which time I hopefully can afford a whetstone etc.)
Tent Free An elderly family member who no longer goes rambling will let me
borrow a bivvy tent. I am hoping to blag it off of him since he no longer needs it (with is permission, of course), or at least for a small amount of money, a favour such as playing bridge with him or trimming his ear hair, or permanently borrowing it! Camping has become so popular lately that Im sure most people know somebody with a spare tent young families often upgrade to bigger ones and double up on stuff, like
Vango Sleeping bag free again, offered to me by a friend for nothing. Touch.
Stove Hexi Stove - £4 just in case, cant really afford much else.
Pop can stove free again, just in case. I havent actually made it yet, but found plans on the internet. I also realise that the Trangia is not very expensive so I may get one, but for now Ill go with this. Also, I suspect the pop can could be placed inside the hexi.
Fuel for stove Hexi blocks are about 0.60p each, although Id prefer not to use them
for various reason (smell, mess, non-eviro friendly), but good for back up. *Meths is about £4 for 500ml in B&Q, but may be able to get it cheaper in art shop. Again, I am hoping to use natural resources wherever possible, and only use a stove if necessary.
Other option Im also considering buying a few of the Canland Heat Packs (just the heater) for about £1.50 each, as another back up. Particularly if wild camping or Im having a really bad time of it and am awaiting some sort of rescue(!), there is no need for a flame. But again, not very enviro-friendly if using often.
Food Homemade/foraged Im not going to count the cost of this, since Ill only be
out a couple of nights Ill try and bring some non-spoilable or frozen grub from home. Will probably pick up a couple of vacu-packed meals for back-up/lazy days though i.e. Look What We Found about £2.50 each, which can also be heated using the Heat Packs. Not cheap in my book, but hopefully wont need to eat them often and theyll keep for years.
Dry Bag free - Bin bag/plastic bag.
*Roll Mat About £5 simple old fashioned black foam thingy.
*Billy about £5 or free Ive not actually bought this yet, but I will either buy one
cheap one or a cheap nesting set for about £15 which is the price of one Zebra (billy that is, not the mammal, for £15 I would eat a Zebra every time I camp). I do realise that some people, especially strange Americans on youtube, suggest that you can just use an old coffee can or such like, but Id rather just buy one for a few quid. Besides, I dont drink much coffee, Id have to buy a large tin of it specially, at probably the same price as a cheap billy, and then not sleep for about 3 years.
Water Bottle free forgive me if this is against the bushcraft rules or something, but
as things stand, I shant be buying a 58 pattern bottle. Sorry, but bomb proof isnt a major concern for me at this stage although If Im camping inside the M25 it might be. Id love to get one, in fact I will one day, but for the sake of a couple of nights camping (probably on a site with water access) I will be using an empty 2 litre coke bottle for base camp and a half litre or so mineral water bottle to keep on me. Maybe Ill paint them camo. Done.
Mug free thermal mug, or enamal for £1ish Again, I reckon almost everyone knows someone who has
one too many of these. They seem to be given away at conventions with company logos on and stuff, so they cant be expensive. Im well aware that I cant put it straight on a flame! Cant even remember where I got it, but I didnt buy it.
*Utensils KFS set for £3 delivered from eBay, obviously I could just take some from
home or use free plastic ones, but I fancy those ones that clip together with a tin opener. Takes me back to my (brief) air cadet days.
*Medical Kit Again, pocket kit for about £4 posted from eBay.
Torch Free I defy anybody to tell me they dont have a torch knocking around the
house. Most people have several, and no idea why! I realise its not the most reliable thing in the world, but I shall be taking a little LED torch I got form a pound shop ages ago (for a pound, obv.). It glows in the dark too. If I see a cheap maglite I might consider it.
Wash Kit (incl. toilet paper) Free come on. It doesnt need to be special, take a
few bits from your bathroom and put them in a bag or wrap in a towel. Again, Ill probably be spending a couple of nights trying to rough it on a camp site in the low season, so there will be amenities. If not, Ill just smell until I get home.
Fire Up to a £2 I spent ages convincing myself Id buy a firesteel so that I could
do that cool thing where you scrape the spine of your knife on it. And Im sure I will at some point. But do you know what? Its basically a lighter isnt it? I still couldnt improvise one if I was lost in the wild, I still have to carry it in, so I dont see much difference between the two. For now, Ill take some extra long cooks matches and a lighter. Maybe even a turbo one for when things get grim. And I promise to try a bow drill or something while Im there.
Also I am planning to take some cotton wool as padding for noisy bits of kit, which can double as emergency tinder.
Possible extras:
*Bivvy Bag around £10 to £15 Not sure what the tent is like to sleep in yet, so I
may still like a bivvy bag. At least that way I can put the roll mat inside it.
*Folding Saw/axe saw £5 B&Q, axe £10 B&Q Yep, Id like the Bahco, but if I
use one at all its likely to just be for breaking up palettes that some sites provide as free firewood.
*Denim Pouches free instead of leather ones for firelighting kit etc. I will
probably cut off the bottoms of a pair of old jeans and fashion them into a couple of pouches. Might even paint a celtic symbol on them in bleach or something. For that punk look you could get all Jackson Pollock on them.
Obviously everyone has their own approach as to what theyd prefer to pay for and what to save on (like the cutlery set), but Ive tried to make a kit here for me in the first instance, but also for others in a similar situation: city based, beginners, can only stay out for short periods, and skint. So theres a compromise here between cost, necessity, comfort and preference.
I will update (if you like), and also provide pictures at a later date.
Let me know if theres anything important Ive forgotten!
Cheers,
Woody
so it's not all about having the best of gear.
