Beginners kit

[Erbswurst]

ON THE MAN:

Mountain boots Schladminger 100, new
Woolen Socks Falke TK1 or British army, new

Underwear briefs thin cotton
Trousers Solognac Steppe 300, new
Belt Solognac 100
Cotton Handkerchief
Several times folded usable as pot holder and pre filter before water purification by boiling.
Purse
House keys
attached with 40 cm cord to the belt.
Bic cigarette lighter orange
Pocket Knife Victorinox Climber, new, attached with 60 cm cord to the belt.

T-shirt Solognac 100
Shirt Buttoned (army) long sleeved shirt with two pockets and flaps over it or Solognac hunting shirt 500
Compass Suunto M-9
Topographical hiking map 1:50 000

That's a complete packing list for several weeks or months long journeys.
More you don't need and you can start in summer conditions with much less of course.

 

[Erbswurst]

That was 2019 a good recommendation but the list is outdated because the items became expensive or aren't longer available:

Low Budget Equipment 2019

Please let's write a beginners equipment list together with extremely inexpensive stuff that is made in a good quality. The stuff should be currently available, so please don't talk about stuff which nobody offers. I would like to see here active links to traders! (But please write down the...

bushcraftuk.com

Nevertheless surely informative to read through it.

 

[Erbswurst]

Paul Kirtley packs a slightly smaller but very similar rucksack here in the video below. I find my recommendation more practical but one can of course also do it like this:

Paul Kirtley's blog is a very good source, by the way.

 

[Robson Valley]

I'll suggest that you begin in your kitchen. Some sort of a little stove, fuel for it. Then the food thing and pots/pans to cook it in. Eat out of the cooking pan. Make a list, be very conscious of the weight of your growing kit. Eat attractive foods and get to be competent to satisfy your appetite with both quantity and quality. I'll suggest that practice will make you look good, out on the track.
Could you do this for a week, straight? Water?

 

[Bearmont]

For the craft part of bushcraft you really want to have a knife with you. A cheap Mora or that Hultafors will serve you well. Bring appropriate clothing and a minimum of your usual hiking supplies, like a water bottle and a lighter. Having a hatchet or boy's axe or compact saw is great too.

A lot of this is really just carving and processing wood in various ways. Camping is a more all-round experience, bushcrafting is getting practice at fire making, shelter building, carving traps, tent pegs, bow drills, saw handles or whatever else you can think of. You could basically do a lot of it at home, if you had enough wood and sticks there, but that's not accounting for the elements and the rest of the experience.

If you have the money and enjoy the equipment shopping, that's fair too. I would start repurposing things you already have that would suit you.

 

[Erbswurst]

In the eighties we still found the needed equipment of military or civil origin at flee markets, but somehow the market for such things dried up. It doesn't have to be the case in your area, but I stopped watching out in Germany. I still found usefull equipment at French flea markets though. I guess you rather find such things in the country than in town because there the space is too expensive to store old things. And the new civil products usually don't work outdoors because there is too much of plastic.

 

[Woody girl]

There is a saying,... all the gear and no idea.
Don't buy stuff because it's what you see on you tube.
All you realy need is some sort of stove pot , and water carrier to be able to brew up your choice of drink.
Maybe a some simple food to prepare and eat.
Perhaps as already said a knife to be able to whittle if that's what you want to do but do be aware on the rules on carrying fixed blades.
Something to sit on and keep your backside dry and comfy, a tarp of some sort, even a cheap one to practice with, which will also provide shelter if needed, untill you can afford something better, and a bit of cordage for tying it up, plus three or four pegs, unless you know how to make your own.
That could be your first project.
If you are wanting to stay out overnight, you'll need a sleeping mat and decent sleeping bag.
So then, do you take your tent? Or sleep under a tarp. Perhaps attempt to build a natural shelter.Your choice, but do use what you already have to start with, then you can progress on to hammocks if you wish, bit try one out first before buying. Not everyone gets on with one. Myself it's my preference. The main thing is to enjoy yourself. It's not about the gear, but the skills. The more skills you have, the less gear you need.
Try going out with a pot, a knife and some cordage. Make a bowdrill, make a fire and forage for your meal, cook it and make a shelter. If you can do that, with those 3 items, you are sorted! Have fun.

 

[Laurentius]

Despite all the videos out there I would not recommend going out in public woodland looking like a back woodsman with an axe strapped to your pack, ready to blaze a trail. You can't go chopping down saplings and limbs to build a shelter and light a fire, but do you really need to? It depends on what your definition of bushcraft is and where you have access, if all you have is public land, that limits your options so far as cutlery is concerned, but if you have a back garden there is a lot you can do there, also for me my kitchen is my workshop where I do all my whittling. For overnighting, you don't need much, a tarp, an insulating mat and a bivi bag will do in summer. Improvising is a good way forward, look at the Ikea drainer for a stove for instance, make your own billy can from stainless steel food containers, things you might find in a charity shop. This forum is full of ideas if you care to google up some past threads.

 

[billycoen]

Don't know if it's beem mentioned,but you could try your kit out in the back garden,just to see what suits your needs. A BCB folding stove and some firedragon cubes will boil a brew,and costs next to nothing.Jetboil cookers are ok for MRE's,but a company called Planet X were selling a similar stove for a third of the price.And, as Erbswurst has mentioned,some army surplus is just the job,again at a reasonable cost.

 

[crosslandkelly]

As I am very new to this life, could I get some help or ideas of what sort of hardware I might need? I am guessing an axe and a knife… but where do I go from there please?

I don't know if you are handy with a toolkit, but I really enjoy repurposing things and making my own kit.
Link here to some items I made last August. https://bushcraftuk.com/community/t...es-3-setups-with-a-cheap-plastic-tarp.161676/

 

[crosslandkelly]

You won't go far wrong watching Simon either.
Simon a bloke in the woods, budget bushcraft overnight camp, on Youtube.

 

[MattyWW]

You won't go far wrong watching Simon either.
Simon a bloke in the woods, budget bushcraft overnight camp, on Youtube.

+1 great channel and seems like a lovely bloke

 

[Woody girl]

I don't know if you are handy with a toolkit, but I really enjoy repurposing things and making my own kit.
Link here to some items I made last August. https://bushcraftuk.com/community/t...es-3-setups-with-a-cheap-plastic-tarp.161676/

Any way you can describe how you made the fray bentos frying pan?
I've been trying to figure this one out for myself and had no success. I had one as a kid, but can't remember how it was made. It's the only thing I need to finish off my home made kit cooking set up. Thanks.

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

Erbs suggestions are always really good starting points, they were for me anyway. He helped me with various specific bits and bobs and other things I started with his suggestions and found a few bits that either fit my parameters or wallet or both.

If you don't have a sleeping bag then I definitely can vouch for the british army one. I was camping on Dartmoor over new years last year and there was snow outside, ice all over the tent, but during the night I had to whip off my thermal trousers and socks as I was too blooming hot!

Draw back is it is bulky and heavy (relatively speaking), but the positives are it's insanely warm and cheap! However watch a few videos to see it in action. The opening once zipped up is big enough for part of a face and not much else!