Bedfordshire Outing - First solo camp with Boone stylee kitlist...

[Bowlin]

I'm off for my first ever solo camp (rather than an 'organised/ group one) in some local woods for an overnighter this afternoon.

Those of you that know me will recall that I usually have at least 3 sets of everything in case of disaster and to provide adequate redundancy. I can't help it, it's the Project Manager in me! Usually filling my 110ltr bergan, with additional stuff strapped to the outside!

However, inspired by BigStu and others from the Suffolk Group and egged on by my oppo MarkinLondon this trip is not only going to be my first solo camp it's also going to be (for me at least) a minimalist one based loosely upon the Boone kit-list (almost).

My bedroll (including groundsheet, tarp, Czech Bedroll, squirrel cooker and stool) weighs about 7.5lbs.

My backpack (Czech M60) without food & water weighs 7lbs, with food and 3.5 ltrs of water and food wiegh in at 10lbs.

My full kit-list is:

Mors Pot and lid
2x pan scourers
Cup
Small Pot
Plate
Honey Stove
Water Bladder
Water Bottle
Fak/ Hand Sanitiser/ Bog roll
Folding Saw
KFS
Emergency Space Blanket
Opinel No 8 Knife
Condor Bushcraft Knife
Czech Bedroll
Tarp
Groundheet
Headtorch/ Batteries
Flint & Steel
Tinders
Small Candles
Turbo Lighter
Stool
Squirrel Cooker
Czech M60 rucsac
Mobile Phone
Plastic Rubbish Bag

Before the 'Boone purists' start, I know my kit-list is not up to code, but for me at least it's a big leap into the unknown leaving a shed-load of lightweight/ modern kit at home, walking to my campsite (rather than driving and then walking 200-300 yds). It's my first solo camp (MarkInLondon had to bail-out at the last minute), so it may not be 'perfect Boone' but boy am I looking forward to it!!

I have several new, (to me) bits of kit which I shall be trying for the first time: Czech bedroll, Czech rucksack, Squirrel Cooker (purchased from Whittler Kev of this parish) and my Mors Pot (an amazing boot-fair find).

I think that the Czech bedroll will be more than warm enough, however, I'll be interested to see how I fair without a roll-mat, a much smaller tarp than I'm used to and I think that I'm probably carrying far too much water for a single night!

We shall see......All packed (apart from food) and rearing to go...hope it doesn't rain!

See you on the other side!

Steve

 

[Mesquite]

Have a good time Steve and remember... it didn't happen unless there's some pics

 

[Bowlin]

Have a good time Steve and remember... it didn't happen unless there's some pics

I shall be going to the place where we met up for a brew (if you hadn't already figured that out) looking forward to it immensely. I shall definitely take some pics, here's the first pre-trip one of my load out.

 

[nephilim]

Let me know where it is

Sent from my C6833 using Tapatalk

 

[Bowlin]

Let me know where it is

Always a difficult one! Not sure how the location is going to pan out yet.

 

[Big Stu 12]

Nice one Steve, you should have a great time.. let us know how you get on mate

 

[Man of Tanith]

Looks good.
pics and trip write up please?

 

[crosslandkelly]

Looking forward to the report. Enjoy yourself.

 

[Mesquite]

I shall be going to the place where we met up for a brew (if you hadn't already figured that out) looking forward to it immensely. I shall definitely take some pics, here's the first pre-trip one of my load out.

I figured it might be... it's a nice woods with a lot of potential.

Enjoy the deer spotting

 

[Bowlin]

Bloody marvelous!

Got back home about an hour ago, lots of pics and lots to say.....

The Woods....

About 1.8 miles away so a good test of carrying gear etc. Toms of wildlife, I saw lots and lots of deer, rabbits, squirrels (black and grey), pigeons, red kites, owls, and what I think was a buzzard. Brilliant.



Being the first time I've hiked into a campsite (more than 300-500 yds) I quickly discovered that strapping the bedroll to the bottom of the M60 rucksack doesn't work well. It's just too heavy for a rucksack without a frame/ internal structure and pulls on the shoulder too much. As history teaches us it was much, much better to carry the bedroll over my shoulder by the straps (I shall probably go to a haversack in future).

Just about the only piece of kit I didn't rate/ wouldn't use again is the Czech M60 rucksack. Because it doesn't have a frame or structure I found it uncomfortable, and it didn't sit right when loaded the closing/ locking tab also broke off as I was packing it so I cannot properly close the main compartment (not a problem on this trip as it was predicted dry and warm).

Lots more to say, but I've got to go out with SWMBO, so I thought I'd get some pics posted and post more comments later when I have time.

But for me it was a huge success with lots of personal goals met....

1. Drastic kit reduction, easy to carry the 3.6 mile round trip
2. All fires made with flint & steel, charcloth and natural tinders
3. Headtorch only used for those 'middle of the night calls of nature' everything else done by candlelight/ firelight

Anyway here's some pics, comments on the site and kit to follow later....









TTFN

Steve

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nice one Steve, looks like you had a good night out. It certainly makes you rethink your kit, doing this.

 

[Goatboy]

Looks like a fun time, and a good shakedown of kit for future swithering as what to take/leave behind. Glad you had fun and looking forward to more from you on it.
ATB,
GB.

 

[Mesquite]

Looks like a good, fun time Steve with some useful lessons learnt as well

 

[Bowlin]

Still short on time, so as the first part of my review/ write-up here's a quick note on the kit I took, comments/ views/ opinions welcome....

Kit Views:-
Mors Pot and lid – A thing of beauty, aesthetically as well as in design, however, I didn’t use it! It was just too big for me on a solo trip. Love it to death and it will feature in trips where I’m in a group or taking part in joint/ group meals. I did use the lid on my smaller pot.
2x pan scourers – Didn’t use them, I tried using grass/ moss and dirt which worked extremely well. No need to take scourers anymore!
Cup – I took the excellent plastic fold-a-cup, but wished that I’d had a cup which I could have put into the heat.
Small Pot – An old aluminium pot from a Scout cookset, used it and loved it in conjunction with the Mors Pot lid. It’s the same diameter as the Mors pot but only about a third of the height. This is now my go-to pot for solo/ Boone trips where I’m not using an open fire (it doesn’t have a bail-arm for hanging over a fire).
Plate – A new item for me, used it as a frying pan for bacon and as somewhere to put the rice whilst I was heating the stew (hhmm single-pot cooking is thought provoking).
Honey Stove – Love it, used as the enlarged ‘Hive’ version for the first time, brilliant bit of kit. However, I missed not having an open fire and would always do so where it is an option.
Water Bladder – Excellent piece of kit, but too tempting to take too much water ‘just because I can’ it probably won’t feature on outing where I have to hike in or on Boonesque or solo trips.
Water Bottle – Black plastic crusader, will be getting another, two of these will be my ‘standard’ water load-out in future. I'd probably get a more 'Boonesque period' waterbottle next.
Fak/ Hand Sanitiser/ Bog roll – Essentials, ‘nuf said.
Folding Saw – A new purchase from Lidl for £2.99, absolutely brilliant, cut everything I needed to.
KFS – Didn’t use the spoon, caught myself having to be too careful with these (carefully putting them down so I wouldn’t lose them etc.) Can now see me getting a wooden spoon (a la Boone kit-list) and then stage two will be carving my own. Doesn’t matter as much if I lose a wooden one and does the job just as well.
Emergency Space Blanket – Didin’t use it but it’s an essential safety item, small enough to be a ‘no-brainer’
Opinel No 8 Knife – Love it, a classic but didn’t use it on this trip. When I go down the ‘wooden spoon instead of a KFS’ option then it will be my food prep/ eating knife.
Condor Bushcraft Knife – Love it, a present from my Son, used on this trip to make tent/tarp pegs, basha poles etc and an essential bit of kit that comes with me on every trip.
Czech Bedroll – A recent purchase and the first time I’ve used it. Absolutely love it in use it was very warm and comfortable. Obvious draw-backs are the weight and size, but a new favourite of mine.
Tarp – A Webtex dpm army style basha 2.6m x 1.7m, this has come out of retirement as I usually use my DD 3x3m tarp. A brilliant piece of kit, I didn’t really miss the luxury of the extra shelter/ space that my 3x3 offers (on a longer trip I might), but totally happy with this smaller tarp and I now realise that the DD is a luxury and that the smaller Webtex is perfectly adequate (I might change my mind in heavy rain situations!)
Groundheet – A standard 2.7m x 1.55m sheet from the British Army IPK, I use this on every trip and absolutely love it! Brilliant!
Headtorch/ Batteries – A Petzl, used on this trip only for those late might/ early morning calls of nature. An essential back-up item I think.
Flint & Steel – Took my steel, picked up some flint on site.
Tinders – Took a bag of dried grass that I collected months ago and some of my char cloth. I wanted to use a natural substitute instead of char cloth but my recent quests to find some in local woods came to nought. I would like to use a natural substitute in future if I can hold of some. Having said that, the char cloth method worked flawlessly and I used nothing else on this trip.
Small Candles – First time I’ve used candles to light my basha and I loved the effect, would like to get some beeswax candles for next time or some UCO 9 hour candles.
Turbo Lighter – Not used, but an essential back-up item
Stool – My luxury item, I don’t ‘need it’ and could easily do without it and will do so on ‘proper’ Boone outings. I would like to make/ purchase a more ‘old skool’ stool from wood and canvas.
Squirrel Cooker – Nice bit of kit (made by Whittler Kev on BCUK) used on this trip only cos’ it’s new and I wanted to try it. Does what it should, very well made, it will probably come with me on trips where I don’t hike in.
Czech M60 rucsac – Didn’t get on with it. Straps too short for use with a jacket and not adjustable, main compartment fastener broke, lack of frame/ ridged structure meant that it didn’t sit well when loaded (for me). Would prefer not to use this again, on the lookout for a suitable replacement ‘old skool’ rucksack, however, may go over to a haversack instead.
Mobile Phone – Used for the obligatory call to SWMBO to say ‘nighty-night’ and to listen to some music (well I was solo and didn’t have anyone to talk too!)
Plastic Rubbish Bag – Essential, leave no trace.

More tomorrow...

Cheers

Steve