bushcrafters or gear geeks?

[Melonfish]

Personally i don't bushcraft, woodcraft or camp.
technically i spend my time face down in the mud burbling "oh gods, not another hill"
and other mutterences to that effect...

I think they are secret BG fans....

Steady on!
remember to keep it friendly

 

[John Fenna]

The trouble is - if you call it "camping" it gives no reference to the craft/hunting /foraging/tracking/DIY etc sides of the game it just refers to the sleeping out bit!
At least "bushcraft" gives the listener a clue to the broader picture of what you might find of interest....

 

[Doc]

Some compound bow hunters look down on rifle hunters, for being too reliant on technology.

And some recurve bow hunters look down on the compound bow hunters for the same reason.

And then there are those with home made self bows and flint arrowheads who look down on those with modern glass laminate recurve bows.

I guess the atlatl fraternity could look down on the primitive archers.

The throwing stick enthusiast might reckon the atlatl user has it far too easy with his advanced technology.

There's really no end to this kind of argument.

 

[Klenchblaize]

And skateboard wielding pigeon killers look down on fox-mushing 4X4 owners!
That is when they are not looking at a Magistrate.

Cheers

 

[Hoodoo]

If you think of bushcraft as a set of ancient skills, then most people here practice some form of bushcraft. Lots of people camp but don't do any bushcraft. And bushcraft is something you can do in your living room or wherever. You don't have to be camping to make cordage by hand. Camping is a more general term that has evolved with the times.

If you think of bushcraft as an ancient and traditional way of life, then I doubt there is anyone here who lives that way, unless you think paleo living involved the use of computers.

If you think of bushcraft as a religion, well, not much I can say about that other than to each his own.

BushcraftUK is a forum for discussion. It's not bushcraft, it's a place for discussion within the limits of the rules set by the forum. Discussion of kit is part of BushcraftUK and always has been. If that offends people, then I can only imagine they are on the wrong forum. The solution is simple though and Tony outlined it above. If you don't want to participate in or read a particular thread, you are not obligated. So please stop the whining about what others are discussing. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. If it is unacceptable, it will be moderated. And what is and is not acceptable for discussion is Tony's decision.

 

[Paul_B]

Tadpole semed to make out that my opinion that bushcraft is too widely used and has become meaningless in that it is used to describe such a wide range of activities. He seemed to make out that it is only bushcraft if it follows my rules. I'm sorry he thinks that as it is not my rules to follow. I think originally bushcraft was used to describe the skills of hunter gathers who lived off and knew their land so well. They used the skills that worked in their landscape and needed nothing that the land could not provide. This is true bushcraft. Tadpole and others might practise some of these skills but from what some describe as their activities it seems more of a craft thing. By this I mean the RM thing of making stuff out of wood, more for the craft of it IMHO. It is good people are keeping the skills needed to make these things but I wonder if spending best part of a day making an intricately carved whatnot is what the hiner gathers do as part of their bushcraft. I just think like with gear bushcraft has become a but flabby with extras, which are good skills to have and practise, but are they really bushcraft?

 

[Paul_B]

Now if you go out and live off the land while you are camping out then that is closer to my opinion of bushcraft. Personally I call myself a wild camper who would like to hunt own food and who wished he had the knowledge to properly forage (especially funghi and native plants) but doesn't.

I just think whilst RM and others have popularised the survival or bushcraft activities they have also diluted things. I mean it wasn't that many generations ago that country folk could get their hands on fresh meat from the wild. It was a part of their normal diet. It was closer to the hinter gatherers than the weekend warrior that most are these days.

 

[Tadpole]

I guess it depends on how skilled the old timers were. Having watched a recent Ray Mears programme, the indigenous first nation west coast Canadians that were so skilled at their hunting, gathering, and farming etc that they had time enough to carve and decorate just about anything they wanted too with all kinds of difficult and skilful applied patterns.
I guess that the fact they were so skilled that they had time to spend effort and time to decorate items; they could not be doing proper bushcrafting.

If you live hand to mouth that’s bushcraft, but if you time, the desire and skill to add decoration to an everyday item like a spoon, basket, or the back of a knife, then that is “flabby camping”

 

[gregorach]

He seemed to make out that it is only bushcraft if it follows my rules. I'm sorry he thinks that as it is not my rules to follow. I think originally bushcraft was used to describe the skills of hunter gathers who lived off and knew their land so well. They used the skills that worked in their landscape and needed nothing that the land could not provide. This is true bushcraft.

[My emphasis]

Do you not see a contradiction between saying "it is not my rules to follow" before going on to lay down your definition of "true bushcraft"? And while I really don't mean to do you down, do you really think that your 34 posts allow you to define how other long-standing members of this forum should or should not define the term? The fact that you're even trying shows that you haven't seen this argument before, whereas most of us have seen it so many times we're sick to the back teeth of it.

If you want to see how this usually ends up, there are plenty of previous threads that have gone down this road (a search on "definition of bushcraft" or "what is bushcraft" should find dozens, if not hundreds, when it's working properly). It never ends well.

 

[leon-1]

Guys can we get back on track.

We all know that each and everyone of us have our own definition or way of seeing bushcraft, one man's bushcraft is another man's survival. Whether you define it as light camping, backwoodsman skills, survival or bushcraft it doesn't matter.

The question was bushcrafters or gear geeks.

A gear geek is a gear geek.

My answer is both.

When I am designing kit and thinking about how it will best serve, the gear geek in me will turn round and kick in, but it's backed up with solid knowledge of practical bushcraft.

When I am out and about then it's more a case that I am a bushcrafter.

When I return if something I have designed hasn't performed to the way that I like it then the gear geek steps in and modifies it to the way that I want it to work, but still backed up with the practical knowledge provided by practicing bushcraft.

 

[John Fenna]

Yeah - but my definition is the only valid one!

 

[treefrog]

As a young lad in the scouts we called it backwoods (backwards?) skills.
Having been at the Outdoorshow earlier this year i can't say I have the beard to be called a 'bushcrafter'.

 

[andythecelt]

Yeah - but my definition is the only valid one!

As I get older I'm finding more and more often that this is the answer to most of life's problems

 

[leon-1]

Guys can we get back on track.

Sorry about this, but just a little point on What about the above don't people understand.

 

[launditch1]

Im a bushcrafter and a geargeek

 

[John Fenna]

I too am Spartacus - erm - a gear geek and a Bushcrafter!
The moon is now waning!

 

[leon-1]

I too am Spartacus - erm - a gear geek and a Bushcrafter!
The moon is now waning!

John you can be Calamity Jane as far as I am concerned as long as the thread stays on track.

 

[John Fenna]

Was Calamity Jane a gear geek or a Bushcrafter?
The moon is still quite full - sorry.....

 

[Martyn]

Sorry about this, but just a little point on What about the above don't people understand.

In fairness Leon, I think the OP was more of a rant than a question, so I'm not exactly sure there is actually a track to get back on, but some round the topic discussion is probably inevitable anyway.

 

[leon-1]

In fairness Leon, I think the OP was more of a rant than a question, so I'm not exactly sure there is actually a track to get back on, but some round the topic discussion is probably inevitable anyway.

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