Basic Skills Advice

[Luxso9929]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the game so I was wondering what peoples advice would be as far as what skills are the most important to develop? I have basic camping knowledge as far as setting up equipment and spending a night in a tent goes but other than that I'm a newbie.

many thanks.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hello and welcome.

Camping on sites or wild camping? If you are already wild camping, then it might safely be assumed that you already know navigation, terrain reading and site selection, and dressing for conditions and exertion.

What skills are important for you will depend on what you want to do and where you want to do it. If this is just something you are interested in it might be hard to say something is "important" for you to develop. For instance, you don't need to know plant identification, but if you are going to forage you do need to know enough to pick what you want, not poison yourself, and not strip the resource bare.

Personally I like basic tree identification and reading up about the properties and characteristics of trees (what makes good firewood, what makes good tools, what tends to drop branches!) , half a dozen knots (see Tarpology thread), safe use of cutting tools and fire craft. The latter isn't because I need a fire, but if I ever do light one I want it to work and I want to stay in control of it.

Chris

 

[Le Loup]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the game so I was wondering what peoples advice would be as far as what skills are the most important to develop? I have basic camping knowledge as far as setting up equipment and spending a night in a tent goes but other than that I'm a newbie.

many thanks.

I am not into modern gadgets or modern technology Luxso, I am more into primitive skills, such as flint, steel & tinderbox fire lighting. I think primitive skills & methods making camping out more interesting. So, I recommend fire lighting & wet weather fire lighting as one of the most important skills to learn. Cooking on a hot rock or over an open fire is useful. Using blades (knives & tomahawk) is important as is being able to sharpen blades correctly. You say you have basic camping knowledge, this is good. To make life more interesting I suggest you think about learning more primitive skills such as making cordage from plant fibres, learn how to sew so that you can repair your own clothes & your shelter. There is a long list of primitive skills you can learn if you wish.
Regards, Keith.

My YouTube Channel Luxso
My Woodsrunner Blog

 

[Robson Valley]

1. Food, cooking and fire of any and all kinds.
2. Shelter of all kinds in all seasons and travels.
3. Clothing depends a lot on your guts and the weather.

Make numbered lists from the paragraph answers above.
Winter nights are (or can be) long and cold. What are some hand-skills to learn in the tent by candle-light? Knots, carvings, fire kits and startings, cordage and so on.

We have power failures maybe once a week, maybe 2-4 hours or more, each. Lots of practice time with elementary gas and petrol stoves. Not so much the stoves but the cooking recipes and kits. Much more amenable than +2C and pi$$ing rain.

 

[Erbswurst]

Tree identification.
Knife safety.
Knife maintenance.
Basic carving skills.
Camp fire ignition.
Water purification by boiling.
Camp site selection.
Orientation with map and compass.
A few basic knots.
Poncho / tarp survival shelters.
Survival shelters made of natural materials.
Edible wild plants.
Perhaps fishing.

I highly recommend to stick with a basic equipment in the beginning.

We are talking here about equipment because we are bored. You don't need all that stuff. You need knowledge and skills.
A basic military surplus equipment is nice to have of course but there is absolutely no need to get into such a internet bushcraft kit addiction.

You see here a well thought through basic packing list for 3 seasons use. The kit suggestions are a selection of durable but relatively cheap available relatively idiot proof equipment. Your first goal should become to be able to go for hiking with it.

Later one can reduce the equipment and try to manage with less and less. But that's rather a summer project in the beginning.

Rucksack Dutch army Sting, used, or similar

Sleeping bag
Used Dutch or British army copy of the Carinthia Defence 4 or better the original new or something similar
Bivvy bag, used British, Dutch M 90 or German army version in good condition
Army closed cell foam roll mat, used.
Military poncho, used German, Austrian, Dutch or US army version in good condition instead of a larger tarp
Cordage
2x 3 metres to tension it as lean to shelter, and 1,50 metre to make a tripod.

Fleece jacket Solognac Fleece Recycled 500 or similar
in a dry bag as pillow too,
together with
Spare underwear 1X
Briefs and T-shirt, cotton.
Woolen spare socks 1X
Swimming briefs 1X

Toilet paper in a zipp lock freezer bag
Wash kit
Folding tooth brush, tooth cream, biodegradable soap in a small bottle and disposable razor (Wilkinson's) wrapped into a small microfleece towel and stored in a zipp lock freezer bag. Plastic signal mirror for shaving.

Food
In an olive green dry bag that you can hang mouse proof into a tree or in the
Mess Kit used from the German, Austrian, Finnish, Swedish, Russian or Rumanian army
(Or Lixada 750 ml stainless steel mug with bail and butterfly handles and nesting Nalgene type bottle)

Esbit stove used from the German army (or British army folding stove, especially if you choose a British army bottle with BCB stainless steel Crusader mug.)
Spoon stainless steel from the flea market
Candle In a zipp lock freezer bag, a few drips of wax can be used as a fire starter
Matches and 2 x Bic cigarette lighters
Head lamp Petzl e+lite


ON THE MAN:

Mountain boots Schladminger 100
Woolen Socks relatively thick
Underwear
Trousers or shorts, polyester-cotton blend, Solognac Steppe 300 or Shorts 100 or similar
Handkerchief , cotton
Several times folded usable as pot holder and pre filter before water purification by boiling.
Purse
House keys
Matches or Bic lighter
Belt Solognac 100 or similar
Knife, Hultafors GK, Mora Companion HD, Opinel No8 Carbone or similar
Canteen with mug and belt pouch
from any NATO army used
T-shirt
Shirt
Buttoned long sleeved shirt with two pockets and flaps over it. For example Austrian army, heavy version KAZ 75 used.
Compass Suunto Clipper or M-9 or whatever you have
Topographical map
1:50 000

If you already own other similar equipment you should use at first that of course.
I tell you here about an equipment system that you should learn to use properly.
One can of course also use other stuff.
Everyone of us owns a slightly different but generally similar kit. A good bushcrafter is able to use such stuff in all conditions.

 

[Trojan]

Fire lighting I think is the basic skill that has a lot of uses. So anything around fire lighting from different types of wood to different types of fires etc etc.

 

[Suffolkrafter]

My advice is try the usual range of activities and then just focus on doing the most of what you enjoy and what suits your environment, the time you have available and the resources at hand. For me, plant and tree ID is a pure joy. You could be in the deep wilderness or stuck in the most dismal town and still have a wealth of plants to study. Needs no equipment, and it's useful knowledge that lasts a lifetime. Natural navigation falls into the same category.
I also love playing with fire and constructing ridiculous tarp setups, but I don't get so much time for those activities. I've never enjoyed friction fire so much though. So I neglect it in favour of things I prefer.

 

[Broch]

When people come to my wood to learn the 'basics' I spend a fair bit of time introducing them to ecology, biodiversity, and the fragility of the natural world in this over-populated, crowded, island of ours.

The more one understands about nature, the more pleasure one can get from being immersed in it IMO.

 

[Suffolkrafter]

When people come to my wood to learn the 'basics

Do you run courses Broch? Or do you teach on a more informal basis?

 

[Broch]

Do you run courses Broch? Or do you teach on a more informal basis?

I've done both; more the latter of late, but not done much for the last two years for obvious reasons.

Even the formal ones are informal - max of 4 people in 15 acres of woodland is about right for me

 

[Suffolkrafter]

I've done both; more the latter of late, but not done much for the last two years for obvious reasons.

Even the formal ones are informal - max of 4 people in 15 acres of woodland is about right for me

That sounds great. Well here's hoping you can get back into it in the not too distant future.

 

[Luxso9929]

Wow thanks for the advise so much to think about! My plan is to wild camp with some friends, one of them has access to a run down cabin so I think that's the first adventure.

As far as equipment goes I have a basic setup that I can improve over time but its enough to see me through a night or two.

From reading the replies I think tree/plant ID, foraging and fire lighting are the way to go and take it from their. Shelter building is something I can practice while at the cabin knowing I wont haft to freeze for a night when it collapse on me haha.

Are their many bushcraft courses available? that is something I would love to do.

Many thanks. Lux

 

[Erbswurst]

There are courses that one could attend but one also can buy a few good books and just start doing all that.

Nowadays you find at YouTube videos about all and everything. A lot of bushcraft videos are made by people who are everything else than masters and show technical mistakes. But there are good ones too.
We collected a lot of them and you can continue yourself if you look for other videos of the same persons. You will see, that I invested quite a lot of time into that thread. I looked at a couple of videos from a person and when I found a single technical fault like for example sticking a knife into the ground without any reason I threw the guy completely out of the project. You can assume that the people who stood in the collection know what they are doing. Some of them offer paid courses, some make the videos just for fun.

In combination with a few good books this collection of educational films is already a very good course. And you can continue to look other videos by the same people that show you how such things have to be done properly.

There are meetings of the forum members where you can learn such things for free and you also can look via this forum for more experienced bushcrafters in your area and meet them.

Would you live in my area you simply could come along here and I would show you a bit. Or we could go together for hiking or canoeing. You surely can find a few friendly old hares in your area as well.

Professionally offered courses are surely worth it if we talk about already advanced people, because they can learn in such courses what they can't learn everywhere from every bushcrafter.
People like Paul Kirtley for example seem to do nothing else than bushcraft. Such bushcraft instructors collected a lot of knowledge of course.

But otherwise we have here members who did a usual job in daily life but do such bushcrafty things since 70 years. Of course they also know a lot and if you follow the forum here and meet such people you learn a lot.
Depending on your age and living area also the boy scouts still might be a good idea. A lot of us if not most of us are former boy scouts and we learned all what's needed there.

About English bushcraft books can tell you the others better than me, because I am German and didn't read any English bushcraft books.

The above mentioned video collection you find here:

Recommended EDUCATIONAL FILMS about the propper classical way of BUSHCRAFT and SURVIVAL

Please let's collect in this thread educational films and videos about how to do bushcrafty things CORRECTLY. There are so many idiotic videos in the internet, that in my opinion it is really necessary that we point out what is really worth to look at. We should collect films here, which help...

bushcraftuk.com

 

[abo4ster]

Hi Luxso

I would say these are the important skills to learn right away if spending time outside in a temperate climate:

1. Know how to properly dress (if you are dressed properly to begin with, any unexpected emergency is easier to deal with)
2. Firecraft - fire can make up for the greatest deficiencies if clothing is inadequate or compromised
3. Knifecraft - as you mentioned primitive skills, civilization was built with 3 tools; cutting tools, fire and cordage. Numerous reasons to know how to safely use a knife, but for this list would say processing wood in wet weather for fire
4. Wilderness First Aid - basic first aid, first aid kits and understanding human physiology and the bottom-line considerations when in a cold (or hot) environment
5. Basic Shelter and Bed Construction
6. Water Collection and Treatment Strategies
7. Signaling

 

[hanzo]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the game so I was wondering what peoples advice would be as far as what skills are the most important to develop? I have basic camping knowledge as far as setting up equipment and spending a night in a tent goes but other than that I'm a newbie.

many thanks.

I would suggest that the most important things would be to be in shape for your intended activity, be mindful and pay attention (to what you are doing, where you are going, and what is around you), and take enough to get you through if you get stuck longer than you intend. And let someone know where you are going and when you are expected back.

 

[Robson Valley]

In the temperate zones, there are 3 areas to contend with.
Food, including water and all things fire.
Shelter, daytime, nighttime, wind and weather.
Clothing, daytime and nighttime, your response to season, climate and environment.