Which bushcraft era or style ?

[Xunil]

I know a lot of us approach bushcraft from very different angles and I guess there are coomon crossover points between all historical periods and most peoples/cultures.

For me I have a particular interest in the Native Americans, the Mountain Men of the fur trade era who opened the country up, ultra-primitive paleo stuff and modern day survival.

That covers a lot of ground I know, but is there any particular area of interest that particularly grabs you lot ?

This isn't so much a how you got started thread so much as a which camp really captivates your imagination ?

 

[British Red]

I like the 1700s to early 1800s period, but also the 9th century. I suspect my interest in this period is mainly due to my fascination with those "cultural bridge periods", The "Alfred the Great" period is fascinationg with countries and cultures forming and changing. The Romano Celtic and Celt / Saxon bridges are fascinating too - as is the Norman / Saxon.

If I had to be specific, I'd go for the Regency period - a completely changing world.

 

[durulz]

There's a real truism in that question that sums up the whole 'bushcraft' phenomenon quite well...

 

[Nonsuch]

Horace Kephart's era - 1910

 

[John Fenna]

Paleo, Iron Age, Viking/Saxon, Mountain man era ...basicaly anything pre brass cartridge rifles..... I am interested in most pre-industrial age, self relient influences

 

[Xunil]

There's a real truism in that question that sums up the whole 'bushcraft' phenomenon quite well...

I deliberately worded it...

 

[Martti]

Finnish 1000 AD to c. 1800 AD when things did not change much regarding bushcrafting.

 

[sapper1]

U.K. 21st century for me ,I find I cope quite well using all the kit and materials available to me.Sadly all those who prefer the older styles are very limited in their kit and would be hard pushed to carry out the hobby without some form of modern kit.Don't read this a trolling or decrying other peoples methods.I still use methods and equipment that was in use hundreds if not thousands of years old.But By using methods and equipment available to me now I can utilise methods from every era and decide which suits me best.I can light a fire using flint and steel or friction or gas lighter but if I run out of gas then I fall back on older methods.All of the older methods work,they must do as the human race is still here but like anyone who really needs something quickly I'll use the easiest and quickest method available to me.Do you really think a viking would turn his nose up at a clipper lighter in favour of flint nd steel?

 

[vizsla]

the era that most interests me is also the late mountain men the thought of exploring vast wilderness finding new places for the first time, and learning to live of the land and use resources, a hard life but a great one.
i personly like to use equipment that feels similar,canvas packs wool clothing leather pouches etc and i find these materials with no zips etc to go wrong a lot better and more enjoyable to use and i try to make as much kit as i can.
i also like to try and set camp up in a similar way, pots hung over the fire,carved utensals and cups and soon a bed roll im about to make.
i wouldnt say i coppy there ways i just do things in the way they were done in a era when they were needed most(if that makes sense)
thanks ash

 

[vizsla]

U.K. 21st century for me ,I find I cope quite well using all the kit and materials available to me.Sadly all those who prefer the older styles are very limited in their kit and would be hard pushed to carry out the hobby without some form of modern kit.Don't read this a trolling or decrying other peoples methods.I still use methods and equipment that was in use hundreds if not thousands of years old.But By using methods and equipment available to me now I can utilise methods from every era and decide which suits me best.I can light a fire using flint and steel or friction or gas lighter but if I run out of gas then I fall back on older methods.All of the older methods work,they must do as the human race is still here but like anyone who really needs something quickly I'll use the easiest and quickest method available to me.Do you really think a viking would turn his nose up at a clipper lighter in favour of flint nd steel?

do you manage to park your motorhome ok in the woods then!!(only joking)

 

[Xunil]

U.K. 21st century for me ,I find I cope quite well using all the kit and materials available to me.Sadly all those who prefer the older styles are very limited in their kit and would be hard pushed to carry out the hobby without some form of modern kit.Don't read this a trolling or decrying other peoples methods.I still use methods and equipment that was in use hundreds if not thousands of years old.But By using methods and equipment available to me now I can utilise methods from every era and decide which suits me best.I can light a fire using flint and steel or friction or gas lighter but if I run out of gas then I fall back on older methods.All of the older methods work,they must do as the human race is still here but like anyone who really needs something quickly I'll use the easiest and quickest method available to me.Do you really think a viking would turn his nose up at a clipper lighter in favour of flint nd steel?

We all live in the same modern world but have the luxury of selectively entering our hobby from whatever angle most interests us. The majority of folks I know are particularly interested in certain facets - I attended a mountain man Rendesvous in America a couple of years ago and was thoroughly impressed by the level of expertise and freely shared information.

A chap I know in Norway wanders off for several months at a time each year and lives purely by primitive skills - he walks the walk like few I have ever met.

The question is not what historical peoples would make of us and our current technology, but is rather what we can learn from them and theirs.

 

[RonW]

Mountainmen, pioneers, vikings, middle ages..... even my grandparents and their parents......
Anything that is natural, durable, not wastefull, in close contact with and with respect for our natural surroundings....

 

[sapper1]

We all live in the same modern world but have the luxury of selectively entering our hobby from whatever angle most interests us. The majority of folks I know are particularly interested in certain facets - I attended a mountain man Rendesvous in America a couple of years ago and was thoroughly impressed by the level of expertise and freely shared information.

A chap I know in Norway wanders off for several months at a time each year and lives purely by primitive skills - he walks the walk like few I have ever met.

The question is not what historical peoples would make of us and our current technology, but is rather what we can learn from them and theirs.

In that case my answer would have to be all eras,because I use both ancient an modern methods,skills and materials.I suppose my idea of bushcraft is being as comfortable as possible using whichever method suit the situation the best.If I had to pick a particular era it would be the bronze age.

 

[forestwalker]

Mostly three eras;

1. Stone age (pre-columbian amerindian, barely postglacial Scandinavia, etc). More a dream than a reality ATM.
2. Viking age, late iron age in general. Better tools, wool clothing, metal pots, flint and steel firelighting, etc
3. Around 1900 fur trapping style (or earlier explorers like Hearne). A few modern bits of kit, canoes in wood and canvas, etc, but still possible to go almost primitive.

 

[Puddock]

Three for me Viking and Mountain Men have already been covered, but what about the scottish highlanders prior to the middle ages. A great kilt which doubled as a clothing and bedroll, the sgian dubh providing the bushcraft knife, the sporran an early possibles pouch.

 

[Corso]

Horace Kephart's era - 1910

me too I lik his approach to packing light

 

[Tengu]

yes, a lot of his ideas were realy modern

 

[FGYT]

I prefer to look fwds and like learning the old stuff but how to adapt it and improve it or adapt it with modern methods/ materials and thinking to move on which i feel is exactly what they did back then from the dawn of time or we wouldn't be where we are now

 

[santaman2000]

the era that most interests me is also the late mountain men the thought of exploring vast wilderness finding new places for the first time, and learning to live of the land and use resources, a hard life but a great one...

I think I can build my answer best by piggy-backing on the above comment. I admire 3 seperate periods in the American past:

1st the Long Hunter period of the mid and late 1700s. along what was then the frontier just to the west of the original colonies
2nd the Mountain Man period of the early to mid 1800s in and around the Rockie Mountains
3rd the Cowboy period (the actual cattle driving cowboys) in the mid 1800s

Not for the gear or skills particular to their periods but as Vizsla stated because of the exploration. Their equipment was chosen by them as the best and most modern (of their time) that they could afford and maintain where they were going. But they were going where few if any had been before (with the exception of the cowboys whose cattle drives were something no one had attempted before) Likewise I am fascinated by the Australian experience and the exploration of Africa and India prior to the self contained cartridge. The courage and self reliance of those who attempted it; the thrill of being the first to see new sights, it's mind boggling.

 

[Siberianfury]

a blend of modern and old techniques that apply to my surroundings, im equally happy wether sleeping under a modern tarp or a roof of ferns and beech leaves.