Basic kit for beginner

[phill_ue]

The good thing with a tarp is that you can set it up high for use during the day to work under as well. It is a very versatile piece of equipment, you can even fashion a makeshift boat with them!

 

[Queequeg]

I like the sound of them. plus your mates can sit under them and a have a beer or two. I take it they can be put up without trees using poles etc? Like the link from the decathlon site you sent me. That looks pretty good.

 

[maddave]

I like the sound of them. plus your mates can sit under them and a have a beer or two. I take it they can be put up without trees using poles etc? Like the link from the decathlon site you sent me. That looks pretty good.

You can put them up in many ways. Check out this site.... Scroll down and you'll see a load of different setups

http://www.equipped.com/tarp-shelters.htm

 

[MrEd]

I get concerned watching people who have had no formal training, swinging a sharpened piece of steel on a stick all over the place! I don't consider an axe an essential item for a beginner.

Personally, I'd start off suggesting free stuff: a large catering can without the plastic insides and a wire arm as a billy can, a few pop bottles for carrying water, a few blankets from home wrapped in a builders tarp (try to blag one, if not they are only a few quid) and tied into a Hudson Bay pack or onto a Roycroft frame. A mora would be my knife of choice, an Opinel if I couldn't find a Mora easily or couldn't buy online (Look in Decathlons for Opinels) and you can borrow a pan from home to cook in.

If you do have some money to spend, then you can do a lot worse then getting surplus gear, you aren't going to be travelling in Africa or the Arab states if you can't afford alot of kit so surplus gear is just fine in UK. Lightweight trousers are good, a norgee and a HD Jumper will keep you warm in the most extreme conditions when coupled with a half decent windstopper/waterproof shell. Regatta have cheap stuff on their website.

Issue tarps are fine, they are a fairly good size and robust enough. Not as bulky as a builders tarp and blend in better, but it really shouldn't be an issue of needing the same kit as everybody else. I'd be more in awe of a fellah who tips up with a knife, pot and blanket for the weekend then somebody who carts loads of gear in.

here here, sometimes bushcraft seems to be a gear fest lol, you can supply yourself with plenty of firewood with just a folding saw in the UK, and even then quite a bit without it. Also if your not careful a small axe can do a lot more damage than a full size one cos the first thing it will hit if you get it wrong is your legs. a full size one will hit the ground first.

i have a issue sheet shelter and its great, i also only spent a tenner on my 'beginner tarp' 3 years ago and it works so dont feel the need to change.

£10 mora is perfect, i use that more than my other knife,

big dog food tins make good billy cans. Endicotts army surplus ahve some norwegian, norwegian tops in stock at the mo, i just picked up a new one, unissued one for less than a tenner.

mil surp trousers can be cheap and not necessarily DPM, i got some black MOD Plod ones that are good.

swedish canvas rucksacks are good, and if you get one with decent leather, strong aswell. i get loads in mine, its big enough for everything i need. and was a tenner.

shoulder bag i got a swedish gasmask bag and another type of gasmask bag, both around the £5 mark for my grab bag.

Swedish army cookset is cheap and cheerful and bombproof. yes its not the fastest but it is cheap, easy to use, and has burner, 2 pans and windshiled all in one. some people slag them off but for starting off with its great, as bear in mind you cant just go lighting fires anywhere you like. Or look in Clas Ohson at their cheap trangia copy. a tenner and its pretty good, wont last for ever but again a good starting point

one thing i would definately say dont scrimp on is boots for your feet.

However its your money spend it on what you like, but a lot of people run out and get the latest gear only to put it up for sale as 'mint, barely used' a year later. everyone is different, you will work out what you need and what works for you and what doesnt.

 

[Queequeg]

This is the stove which i currently have and use occasionally for fishing. DO they last well?

http://www.factsurplus.co.uk/product/57

 

[MrEd]

This is the stove which i currently have and use occasionally for fishing. DO they last well?

http://www.factsurplus.co.uk/product/57

yes mate thats the one i was meaning. its a good stove for the money for one person, bit heavy but it works and works quite well. bit slow, but who is in a rush!!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

yep brilliant pieces of kit the swedish army trangier i have one and love it, its brill

bomproof and relieable and yes admittedly slow but who the hell goes out to the wilderness to rush anything.

i certainly dont well except the first of the morning coffee

cos cant function with out the coffee

now moving on to kettles cos stoves yes i agree abrill but if you want a kettle that is unbelievably brilliant

the thing you want is a kellykettle

from

www.kellykettle.com

drew

 

[MrEd]

the keely kettle is great, i have a friend with one, its fast but a bit of a one trick pony - remember its a kettle rather than a cook system and you cant transport water in it. you can prob do more with the trangia thing. mine got me round europe for a month and iwas eating spaghetti bolognaise etc so proper food on it lol

it is open flame though which is nice, and it is fast, and i do like open flame!

 

[Queequeg]

the keely kettle is great, i have a friend with one, its fast but a bit of a one trick pony - remember its a kettle rather than a cook system and you cant transport water in it. you can prob do more with the trangia thing. mine got me round europe for a month and iwas eating spaghetti bolognaise etc so proper food on it lol

it is open flame though which is nice, and it is fast, and i do like open flame!

Yeah i used on a fishing trip in kent. It is slow but boiled water for coffee and managed to cook noodles and pepperoni as well.

Do you have to use the brass burner or can it be put on the fire? I now you can hang the pot but can whole stove go on?

 

[MrEd]

what use the brass burner with the kelly kettle? no, the KK has a firebowl you light a fire in then put the KK on top and feed sticks down the chimney

you can use the swedish trangia pots on an open fire though

 

[nigeltm]

Don't forget the little things!

Duct tape - a couple of metres can be wrapped around an old credit card. Useful for repairing tarps, inflatable mats, jackets and the like. Also can be used as an improvised bandage/support, temporary bindings for pot-stands, shelters and more.

Sewing kit - just a couple of needles and thread wrapped around a piece of card.

String - no need for pricey 550 paracord just yet

Basic 1st aid kit - as MadDave says a shemagh (or just a 1m square of any reasonable cotton sheet) makes a good improvised wound dressing or bandage, but you still need to handle the small things. A wood splinter could become infected, could you extract the splinter, clean the wound and then protect it? A couple of plasters, tweezers, some cleansing wipes, painkillers and a few other bits and pieces in a small plastic bag would do.

Wet wipes - a small travel pack so you can quickly clean up before meals, use instead of toilet paper and to freshen up in the mornings.

Alcohol gel - helps keep bacteria at bay after going to the toilet, clean around wounds (not to clean a wound as it hurts like bu**ery!) and as a fuel to start a campfire or to prime a multifuel stove (with practice you can light it with a ferro-rod).

Plastic bags - from waterproofing your kit in your rucksack to a makeshift waterproof groundsheet to carrying out empty tinnies, a couple of bin bags are worth carrying.

Hip flask with the tipple of your choice! - nothing like a bit of Irish coffee to get you going in the mornings

 

[Queequeg]

Don't forget the little things!

Duct tape - a couple of metres can be wrapped around an old credit card. Useful for repairing tarps, inflatable mats, jackets and the like. Also can be used as an improvised bandage/support, temporary bindings for pot-stands, shelters and more.

Sewing kit - just a couple of needles and thread wrapped around a piece of card.

String - no need for pricey 550 paracord just yet

Basic 1st aid kit - as MadDave says a shemagh (or just a 1m square of any reasonable cotton sheet) makes a good improvised wound dressing or bandage, but you still need to handle the small things. A wood splinter could become infected, could you extract the splinter, clean the wound and then protect it? A couple of plasters, tweezers, some cleansing wipes, painkillers and a few other bits and pieces in a small plastic bag would do.

Wet wipes - a small travel pack so you can quickly clean up before meals, use instead of toilet paper and to freshen up in the mornings.

Alcohol gel - helps keep bacteria at bay after going to the toilet, clean around wounds (not to clean a wound as it hurts like bu**ery!) and as a fuel to start a campfire or to prime a multifuel stove (with practice you can light it with a ferro-rod).

Plastic bags - from waterproofing your kit in your rucksack to a makeshift waterproof groundsheet to carrying out empty tinnies, a couple of bin bags are worth carrying.

Hip flask with the tipple of your choice! - nothing like a bit of Irish coffee to get you going in the mornings

Excellent. Didn't think about a hip flask. Will pick up a shemagh at my local surplus as they aren't very expensive there last time i looked. I got a first aid kit. so will pack it into a small custom one to carry. Forgot all about a sewing kit.