Recent content by Barney Rubble

Hi de hi campers. In an earlier post on this forum I shared a video of a failed Haversack Challenge camp where I bailed out during the night. I made a few mistakes with my shelter which led to me suffering somewhat with smoke inhalation. It wasn't my finest hour, but I explain all in my earlier...

Thanks Peter, much appreciated. I'm back out this weekend for another crack at the challenge, albeit with a different kit load out and mindset. Another video will doubtless follow. I can thoroughly recommend that you give it a crack as you always learn a lot in the process. I'll definitely be...

If it were me, my first port of call would be Helikon Tex. They've been making a version of the m65 jacket for a while. I've never owned it, but have a couple of their other polycotton smocks (the Pilgrim Anorak and SAS Smock) and they're both excellent. I appreciate that's not as helpful an...

I've had the Montane Extreme Smock for a fair few years now, it's a wonderful bit of kit. I bought it at the time because it was a fair amount cheaper than the Buffalo Special 6. I haven't regretted it. Aside from being cheaper, I liked that it also came with the removable hood as standard. The...

All good now thanks. It took a couple of days and a couple of long rinses under the shower to get back to normal.

Hi de hi campers, hope all is well. I thought I’d share a brace of videos that I published recently as part of a winter minimal kit camping challenge. I referred to it as the Haversack challenge because that’s what I limited myself to in terms of stowage space (although my smock pockets were...

What a wonderful thread, thanks Toddy for starting this discussion, it's been fascinating to read up on everyone's tea drinking habits. It's a hard one to explain, but I always take great comfort from a nice cup of tea. I drink it in various forms throughout the day. I go big during the...

Nice one, I enjoyed the write up and pictures. I'd dearly love to do some wild camping in the Brecons at some point in the future. Ref your choice of sleeping mat. The multimat pads are very good indeed, it's perhaps with good reason that they make the issue kit for the British military. I...

Yes, same here. I've had mine for approx 8 years and it's a fantastic bit of kit. Decent battery life, robust, compact and plenty bright enough to illuminate camp. Over the last 7-8 years I have camped a minimum of once per month, every month and this little lantern has been on every single...

This sort of post will most likely generate a myriad of recommendations. Savotta, Karrimor SF and Helikon Tex are the three brands that I'd wholeheartedly recommend you look at. However, I'm not ashamed to profess that I'm another Savotta fanboy! I have the Savotta Kahakka 25 daysack and it is...

The good ol' one match fire is still a great skill to practice from time to time.

Poncho's and Bivi's are a match made in heaven, go for it. I expect your existing bivi probably just needs a bit of TLC. Check the taped seams and repair if necessary and then give it a wash and re-proof with Nikwax Tech Wash and TX Direct. With that said, I bought a brand new MTP British...

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. The thing that struck me with the Swagman scarf is not that it's a poncho per se'. I fear that if I wore it as a poncho, I'd look like a misplaced extra from the next Star Wars film. However, it does work great as a scarf (funnily enough!) and as a nice compact...

Thanks Chris. The wood stove was the Honey Stove with the Hive expansion kit. Sadly, I don't think you can buy them anymore as Bob and Rose (from Backpackinglight) retired last year (they made the stove here in the UK). Although you might occasionally find them pop up on here, the bushcraft...

Thanks, I'm very happy with the rucksack, the build quality is quite exceptional and it has been nice and comfortable to carry. It doesn't have a proper back system though so you do get a bit of a sweaty back. I get a sweaty back with my Osprey pack though so it doesn't seem to make much...