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I asked Ben Orford to make me the first ever reindeer antler Nomad…

I’ve always liked watches. Since I was about 11 years old, I have longed for a Rolex Explorer, like the one Edmund Hillary wore climbing Everest. For many years it was only available in 36mm, and I have fairly enormous wrists and hands - it just looked too dainty on me. Then, fate. A couple of...

Well, here’s a strong vote for wet-forming. I always do it with my sheaths - as an instructor, I often have my knife in and out of my hand, and I need to be able to relocate my knife back into its sheath quickly and without looking. If you get the wet forming right, it almost acts as a suction -...

Barney! Don’t tell me that I can find bivvies on Vinted! What are you trying to do to me? I am also a big fan of bivvy and tarp - British Army and DD Superlight, just like Chris. I just don’t like the hooped ones. For me, kind of the whole point of bivvy and tarp is that you are closer to...

I'm of the opinion that there isn't really a good use-case for a hooped bivi, now that one/two-man tents have reached the point where they are nearly as light and small when packed (Lanshan, etc), and personally I find them uncomfortable. I'm not remotely claustrophobic normally, but I don't...

Looks great! I went with the rails and bars on mine because I already had a roofbox to go on it, but otherwise a rack would have been good. The big question is what you’re going to put on your rack…

You seem to be striking with the flint - that’s an unusual technique.

I have Yokohama Geolander AT15s on mine, at a slightly oversized size. They’re great, not too noisy on road and so much grip off road. Ground clearance - definitely. Some people use a lift kit on the FL2s, but that can cause all kinds of trouble. I’ve just gone for bigger tyres and a sump...

They are amazingly capable. I was camping at the weekend, and my FL2 and another instructor’s old Defender 110 were the only two that made it up the slippery track.

Hi @Dan00001, it sounds like you have already got lots of excellent advice, and you have spoken to the team at the OU, so I’ll just say this: I’m a Law Professor at a UK university, and so I know a bit about doing a degree and so on. I also have quite a few colleagues who work at the OU in both...

A mark of how good I think the Keela ventile smock is: I’ve just bought it again in the next size up. A few years ago I found one in XS at a crazy good price, so I bought it. I’m pretty small (5’8, 11 stone, 38 chest and 30 waist), so it fits me well but it’s tricky to get 2 chunky wool layers...

No, Cotton Proof does nothing to stop Ventile from stiffening. There’s good guidance from Hilltrek on how to care for Ventile clothing here: https://hilltrek.co.uk/blog/taking-care-of-ventile-and-cotton-analogy/

I have one. It’s fantastic. Developed with the Woodland Ways instructors, it really does lend itself to bushcraft. Super well made, and I like the single layer of Ventile with Keela’s lining - comfy and not too hot. It’s either in my pack or on me whenever I’m in the woods. I do wash mine...

The Rover is double L24 Ventile, and super high quality. Such a shame that Country Innovation is no more; Keela make very good Ventile smocks and jackets, but nothing quite like the Rover. I’ve been after one in my size (Small) for quite a long time.

A Country Innovation Rover Ventile Jacket

Welcome home! Fingers crossed that is your last big job for a while. Taking the side steps off is a good plan - they are pretty flimsy anyway, and have a tendency to hide some nasty corrosion on the FL2s. One of my jobs before the weather turns is to take the sill covers and wheel arches off...

Not quite convinced there - my Farmer is definitely thicker than my GAK, and the GAK should be the same thickness as the Safari Pathfinder (2-layer 108mm SAK).

Just a few thoughts, as someone who is very fair/pale and blond and also struggles in hot and humid conditions: - linen is much better than cotton (I really like the Amundsen Traveller’s Shirt) at allowing for air circulation and dissipation of sweat. Pure cotton is actually pretty rubbish at...

Overdue a service, so I tackled oil and oil filter, fuel filter, air filter and pollen filter. I also gave the sub frame and sills and arches a wire brush, coat of rust converter, and then some waxoyl before we head into winter.

Yes, mate, the wind deflectors are very easy to do. I’d recommend either iSpeed or Terrafirma branded ones - they are well made and fit like a glove, in my experience. Not sure they actually do much for wind, but I like being able to open the window when it’s raining, and when I’m sleeping in...