Add the number you first thought of

[boatman]

I wonder if I am mean but the extra cost of anything with the label "Bushcraft" or similar attached to it seems excessive. Mostly it doesn't appear that much has been invested in the sort of testing that food and drug companies do that might justify the price. Perhaps it doesn't matter to the wealthy or the dedicated enthusiast but it certainly does to the beginner or those of limited income.

More insidious is the implication that you have to buy the kit and pay the price in order to participate. Modern commercial meths burners are good but I camped for years with a meths cooker from Woolworths that cost twelve and a half pence (2s 6d) or less. I know we have many threads here on making your own and on budget kit but there is still a trend in all activities nowadays for the pricy to be advocated on grounds of safety and "doing it the right way" which impresses those with little knowledge or experience.

I have no solution but traders might like to discuss with their suppliers whether there is a margin to make the price of something indicate its cost and value.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Your absolutely right, Bushcraft to me is a subject header, an umbrella the subjects to learn, exped planning and packing, camp skills, food prep, navigation, firstaid, to name but a few, you can't DO bushcraft, you can't BE a bushcrafter you can't GO bushcrafting and you most certainly can't buy a bushcraft whatever! you buy a knife to cut things, different knives cut different things in different ways, you buy different shelters to sleep in different environments its just how it goes, but you most certainly don't have to buy any certain type of anything to join in, as long as your comfy and fed who cares what you have or don't, its all about fun, if your not enjoying it either during or after then what's the bloody point

 

[ThreeFires]

I wonder if I am mean but the extra cost of anything with the label "Bushcraft" or similar attached to it seems excessive. Mostly it doesn't appear that much has been invested in the sort of testing that food and drug companies do that might justify the price. Perhaps it doesn't matter to the wealthy or the dedicated enthusiast but it certainly does to the beginner or those of limited income.

More insidious is the implication that you have to buy the kit and pay the price in order to participate. Modern commercial meths burners are good but I camped for years with a meths cooker from Woolworths that cost twelve and a half pence (2s 6d) or less. I know we have many threads here on making your own and on budget kit but there is still a trend in all activities nowadays for the pricy to be advocated on grounds of safety and "doing it the right way" which impresses those with little knowledge or experience.

I have no solution but traders might like to discuss with their suppliers whether there is a margin to make the price of something indicate its cost and value.

The only solution I can think of is for folks to do their own research. those who are not willing to research things for themselves will be left to pay high prices, or incur unnecessary expenses.

That seems fair to me.

 

[Andy BB]

I think economy of scale comes into it too. Produce hundreds of thousands of anything and cost of machinery per unit falls dramatically. And much of the "bushcraft" stuff is small volume, so hence unit cost rises (particularly if it's hand-made).

Certainly agree that you can get by with low-cost stuff in most situations - a penny stove made for nothing, old cans for hobo stoves, pots and cups, groundsheet/tarp for a few quid from a builders merchant, Mora knife for £4 from Clas Ohlsen etc etc.

But playing with shiny stuff - well, pretty much all kit - is fun, and cheaper than cocaine

 

[nuggets]

if ya gear ain,t endorsed by uncle ray ,then ya can,t be a proper bushcrafter !!! Its all snobbery and marketing mate ! Get out into the woods and make do with what ya have ...enjoy !!!!

 

[British Red]

The funny thing is that "objecting" to "kit" is just another form of snobbery.

"Look at me I don't need equipment"

"I make my own - its more authentic"

"Know more, carry less"

and other lines in "one upmanship"

For goodness sake - its a hobby. Its not imortant. No-one here plan to explore an untracked waste to start the bleeding fur trade. Its a forum populated by IT technicians, milkmen and shopkeepers in an overpopulated country with broadband.

Its all one big game of lets pretend and no more sensible than the armchair Rambos who play airsoft.

Its making dens in the woods.

Who cares what the kit costs or what other people have or how they choose to pass their leisure time? Its ridiculous to play one upmanship or object to the cost of unnecessary kit for an unnecessary activity.

Its a silly, totally pointless game of fantasy and dressing up. Lets not pretend the kit, the manner, the frequency of participation actually matters. It doesn't.

So why does it matter what kit people have, what it costs or how we do it huh?

Lets just let everyone take whatever pleasure or profit they can out of it without criticism.

Whilst people make money out of medicine, food and heating fuel, the cost of bushcraft kit is, really, irrelevant.

Red

 

[bushwacker bob]

No-one here plan to explore an untracked waste to start the bleeding fur trade.
Red

I was going to until you foiled my plans and wrote it on the intertwit. That and some girls called Pita said they didn't want me to trap their beavers.

 

[British Red]

It wouldn't be a good idea for a man of your age...a nice Bath chair in Bognor is probably wiser

 

[boatman]

The funny thing is that "objecting" to "kit" is just another form of snobbery.

Red

So to compare the price of the same tin of beans in Waitrose and Tesco is snobbery. To wonder why a name embossed on the handle of a knife adds tens of pounds to the price is snobbery. OK a fool and his money are soon parted and what people spend is their affair but do you not have a slight twinge of concern at the commercialisation of our hobby which is happening in most sports with the consumer the loser?

 

[Retired Member southey]

For goodness sake - its a hobby. Its not imortant. No-one here plan to explore an untracked waste to start the bleeding fur trade. Its a forum populated by IT technicians, milkmen and shopkeepers in an overpopulated country with broadband.

HEY! speak for your self, I'm a heroic mountaineer today!

 

[Retired Member southey]

So to compare the price of the same tin of beans in Waitrose and Tesco is snobbery. To wonder why a name embossed on the handle of a knife adds tens of pounds to the price is snobbery. OK a fool and his money are soon parted and what people spend is their affair but do you not have a slight twinge of concern at the commercialisation of our hobby which is happening in most sports with the consumer the loser?

that bold phrase there is a very good example of the kind of snobbery he means I think, I certainly thinks its a mean thing to say about any one, my feelings on this front are that if a peice of kit is expensive and I either want it or need, I will save for it or see if i can make it, but I would never tell some one who instantly spends THEIR MONEY on what ever they want that they are a fool, as to do so would just be wrong.

 

[nuggets]

And i`m planning to live on the wild side of life in the next few months !!!! pah............ IT technicians ........... ha ha ha

 

[British Red]

So to compare the price of the same tin of beans in Waitrose and Tesco is snobbery. To wonder why a name embossed on the handle of a knife adds tens of pounds to the price is snobbery. OK a fool and his money are soon parted and what people spend is their affair but do you not have a slight twinge of concern at the commercialisation of our hobby which is happening in most sports with the consumer the loser?

Yep, I would rather buy from Waitrose and spend more. Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partership - an organisation with the highest standards of ethics - as opposed to Tesco who break British farmers and drive wages down in third world economies.

I would rather buy a handmade knife from Joel or Stuart and pay more to support a cratsman with high standards than use something produced in a sweatshop.

Do you know what else I like? Living in a free market economy, in a capitalist society, where we don't live in a price controlled world and I am free to make choices, free to sell my labour and products for whatever I can get for them.

No-one make you buy fancy gear, nor do you need it. If you are too lazy to make your own, to tight to buy craftsman made, there are plenty of Army surplus shops, classified adds on here and economy products.

No-one makes you buy fancy gear for a pointless hobby. There are a thousand more important things happening in the world.

 

[boatman]

that bold phrase there is a very good example of the kind of snobbery he means I think, I certainly thinks its a mean thing to say about any one, my feelings on this front are that if a peice of kit is expensive and I either want it or need, I will save for it or see if i can make it, but I would never tell some one who instantly spends THEIR MONEY on what ever they want that they are a fool, as to do so would just be wrong.

Why do you think that the phrase was coined in the first place? So we mustn't comment on prices that differ wildly for what is essentially the same thing?

Oh well back to just showing each other our new shiny things and no thought must be expended on the why of the cost or anything else I suppose, boring but safe topics then. Must remember.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Why do you think that the phrase was coined in the first place? So we mustn't comment on prices that differ wildly for what is essentially the same thing?

Oh well back to just showing each other our new shiny things and no thought must be expended on the why of the cost or anything else I suppose, boring but safe topics then. Must remember.

nope, discussing the price of things is completely different to insulting people for spending their money on what ever they want, imo

 

[nuggets]

here red ...... who put the roof on your barn ??? Was he the cheapest quote ??? or did you pay the extra for an endorsered product ???

 

[ex member pyrophil]

If you think camping shops charge a lot try going into a yacht chandlers, lots of boat owners go to camping shops because stuff so much cheaper for the type of things you can use on a boat. Car dealers for engine parts ect.

 

[ex member pyrophil]

I find caravan shops pretty good on prices. Have to shop around so not get ripped off.

 

[British Red]

here red ...... who put the roof on your barn ??? Was he the cheapest quote ??? or did you pay the extra for an endorsered product ???

I paid extra for a local one man band tradesman - who stands behind his work

Extra for corrosion resistant fittings

...oh and extra for the roofing sheets that are coated and resist the elements


.....but you get what you pay for - plus its important to me to work with people who do a quality job. Happily my clients seem to think the same

 

[Shewie]

I think as far as buying kit goes it's entirely up to the person how much they spend, they shouldn't be judged if they're wearing either gucci or army surplus.

I'm an advocate of buy once and buy right, if it's cheap then that's a bonus. For the fundamental bits of kit like waterproofs, shelter, sharps, clothing, footwear and cooking then I buy the best I can afford, but only if it's right for me and is well regarded.

Some folk have the stance that cheap gear is just as good, while others think the more you spend the better quality of item you get, each have their arguments for and against.