British Wet Weather Camping Tips!

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CedrikG

Tenderfoot
Aug 6, 2012
54
0
When it has been raining for day's finding tinder bundle material can be a mess when making friction fire. Try to find a huge rotten trunk and go many inch inside to get some dry punk wood. This is my favorite tinder bundle material in wet condition when making a friction fire. If you have modern way to light fire, birch bark will do.

As for the bow drill set (because hand drill is set aside in rain), just remove all the wet bark and wood from a spindle and split a large piece of wood (4-5 inch) in half for the board. This way your stuff is dry. Keep the remain wood of the spindle for your kindling, these are the driest material you will find. Have A HUGE tinder bundle and lots in spare just in case.
 
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Harvestman

Bushcrafter through and through
May 11, 2007
8,656
26
55
Pontypool, Wales, Uk
I carry enough kindling and dry twigs to get a fire started, in waterproof containers. Doesn't take up much space, weighs very little, but saves a lot of hassle when it is needed.
 
Hi tristar, Here my Opinion based on my experiences.

Whilst wearing clothing in my sleeping bag I was warmer, then when I stripped to my Undies (in warmer weather or base layer in cold weather)
But being warmer I sweated which inevitably meant my clothing got damp and then I had to strip off which meant I had to put my cold damp clothing on, not an experience I relished.

The second time I made the mistake of keeping clothing on for bed, sure enough the same thing happened, I got hot and sweated, but I kept my clothes on this time and just undone my Sleeping Bag. My clothes still got damp and the next day they felt horrible to wear being matted with sweat.

No I always strip Down I think it is a matter of personal preference, but what does play an important factor is the Insulation under you

Just for Infor I was using my Softie 12 on both the above nights out, and that gets warm.......
 
Sep 21, 2008
729
0
55
Dartmoor
Always use a waterproof rucksack liner.

If you feel you must sleep in clothes, sleep in dry ones and put the wet ones back on to walk with.

Watch for spate rivers. A trickle becomes a torrent in a few hours.
 
My advice if its raining is to wack a goretex jacket on and crack on, if your walking to a campsite that your going to have a fire at, collect kindling on the way and stuff it inside your jacket, it will dry out as your walking and then when you get to camp you can start a fire fairly easy. The only other thing i can think of is carry a small offcut of a microfibre towel when using axes, knives and saws in the rain, as you can then dry the handles off and dry your hands off so you dont end up with slippy tools. The only other thing I can think of is getting into a good routine of keeping your wet stuff on untill you know you can stay in the dry untill the next day, and if yiu have a tarp as apposed to a tent, hang the clothes up, stuff the socks down the bottom of your sleeping bag.
Final thing is to powder your feet, and put polish on your leather boots, wet feet quickly disintergrate making doing anything a real pain.
 

udamiano

On a new journey
Ive seen a few post recently on the topic of wearing jeans, especially when out camping or walking.. So this is my views on the subject

Q.Firstly, why is it that a lot of associations like Mountain Rescue, Ramblers Association, and the such seem to have a problem with the said garments.

A. Denim is a heavy cotton weave material, and is rugged and hardwearing, and the favourites on those cowboy films, so why can cowboys wear them and not walkers, well simply its because they spend most of their time in a saddle and not walking! Denim is an ideal material in that kind of situation because of its wear resistance, and generally because at the end of the day most long cable drives have a support crew to set up a place where they can get a hot meal and a dry place to sleep and dry out wet clothes.

Denim being cotton naturally soaks up water, either sweat or rain water, this causes the fibres to swell, creating a slightly more abrasive (especially sweat, as this contains salt crystals)surface on your skin, ouch!
As the material absorbs water it becomes heavier and heavier, this extra weight (and it is quite a lot, have a go lifting some totally wet jeans to see that I mean) over a relatively short distance will start to effect those already tired muscles making those legs even more tired.
And of course the UK doesn't just rain, it is usually accompanied by the wind, which has a strong cooling effect on anything wet, and tired cold wet muscles do not perform well, and are more susceptible to knotting and cramping (this is why you should always warm up before undertaking strenuous exercise) and sods law says this is usually the case in a place that is remote, inaccessible, and at the most inconvenient of times, many try to struggle on making a bad situation worst to a point when the individual is no longer able to get themselves out of it without help, all this time the wind and the rain are compounding the situation by lowering the temperature of your now totally wet legs, this has a cooling effect on the blood traveling through those large vessels, which returns to the core a lot colder, and thus starts to lower your core temperature, which if allowed to continue, will in short order lead to hypothermia.

The more lighter walking trousers are designed to not absorb water into the actual fibres and this allows the material to dry very quickly. Even when saturated the material itself can still dry relativity easily with just body temperature, and the close weave gives some (but not total) protection from the cooling effects of the wind. It should also be noted that walking trousers are designed to be used with other outer layers that provide rain protection, and do not provide on their own an all round ideal solution.

However if the weather is fine and warm, without any chance of rain or you are just bumbling around a static camp then it really doesn't matter what you wear, but always keep an eye to the weather, especially in the UK.
 

Samon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 24, 2011
3,970
44
Britannia!
that was incredibley informative udamiano! :)

I figured I'd see if they were any other information we could gather as it's been a wet one, all year! :rolleyes:

mushrooms in the morning!
 

oldtimer

Full Member
Sep 27, 2005
3,185
1,801
82
Oxfordshire and Pyrenees-Orientales, France
Udamiano's post has given me the answer me to a problem I recently encountered when wearing my every day Craghopper Kiwis on a recent 3 day walk. I wondered why I had suffered more chafing than usual. Normally I wear quick-drying synthetic zip offs on trips with long johns or over trousers as necessary. I obviously hadn't taken account of the cotton content and sweating problem Udamiano describes. Thanks for the tip.
 

Paddytray

Settler
Jul 11, 2012
887
0
46
basingstoke
Can anyone show me some diagrams of a large tarp set up for a small group .
One ideal for coping with the cold and light rain.
i.e best layout etc .
 

Samon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 24, 2011
3,970
44
Britannia!
Have you seen what some people do with parachutes? They appear to make adequet shelter/tarps for groups.
 

Elen Sentier

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
If your using an open shelter like a tarp, change into your night clothes and get in the bag earlier than normal, best to do this while your nice and warm after a hot meal and drink. Not so needed in the comfort and shelter of a tent. In either case fill a bottle with hot water, use to heat your sleeping bag and if you need a pee just empty the bottle (arms reach from tarp or tent) fill bottle with warm pee, put back in sleeping bag and go back to sleep. Rinse the bottle before drinking out of again.

Take a small plastic cup with you if female ... like in the doctor's surgery :)
 

Still Waters

Nomad
Dec 20, 2007
459
0
North yorkshire
Dont be to macho to admit defeat

If your cold wet tired and hungry then stop do the best you can to get out of the wind and rain have a hot drink to warm your core and boost your moral as well as giving you time to think

If your not enjoying it and your just pushing on for the sake of it then knock it on the head and head for home or a pub,bed n breakfast etc

The wilderness will be there for you to enjoy another day but theres a good chance you wont be if hypothermia kicks in

Carp fishermans fleece onesies may make you look like a tit but are a great moral booster to climb out of wet clothes and into whilst doing your personal admin and bunking down for the night
 

Paddytray

Settler
Jul 11, 2012
887
0
46
basingstoke
im looking for some actual shapes that i could try to put together with a large tarp . does anyone have any links or pictures of a good group tarp set up ?
 

Miyagi

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 6, 2008
2,298
5
South Queensferry
It's funny how our clothing routine changes with experience, age and setting.

I like the rain, don't mind getting damp or even soaked to the bone, but I HATE wet cold feet. That induces a serious sense of humour failure. We should expect rain living here and be prepared accordingly.

We were taught to remove the wet gear and get into our spare dry gear for bivvying and special care was taken to dry our feet completely. Polish was applied to wet boots but not worked in and left overnight. If not stuck upside down on sticks, we tucked one combat boot high into the other and used it as a pillow. Putting on the wet gear in the morning made me extremely grumpy.

If "tactical" we slept clothed with boots on. Trousers unbuckled and rolled down to the boot tops made it a bit more comfy and was no bother to do up and climb out of sleeping bag if the poo hit the fan.

These days I sleep in a change of clothes, or in t shirt and shorts in the sleeping bag. Unless its been a boozy bushcraft weekend - then its all I can do to get in the sleeping bag, never mind get my jammies on, or "jammified" as my kids called it.

The Bible describes the great flood of 40 days and 40 nights - I don't know what all the fuss is about, that's just a description of a typical Scottish Summer.

My biggest problem in the rain is keeping my wet dog who wants to dry himself on me at arms length...


Liam
 

Paddytray

Settler
Jul 11, 2012
887
0
46
basingstoke
:lmao: I carry a towl for the dog so share your problem. Also cold wet feet is a serious NO NO for me.
I cant have prolonged wet feet thats the worst time ever for me so I take extra socks and dry gear for bed .
Thats if i can leave the fire alone long enough to sleep that is .
I also agree with previous comments about a 3x3 tarp
thats what I usualy use however This weekend Im out with my 7&9 year old and 2 friends so I've got us a mammoth size tarp 6m x 4m I think
Hoping of finding us a comfortabe warm way to set up the tarp.
Fingers crossed we will all be comfortable I still researching ways to set it up.
 

Paddytray

Settler
Jul 11, 2012
887
0
46
basingstoke
:lmao: I carry a towl for the dog so share your problem. Also cold wet feet is a serious NO NO for me.
I cant have prolonged wet feet thats the worst time ever for me so I take extra socks and dry gear for bed .
Thats if i can leave the fire alone long enough to sleep that is .
I also agree with previous comments about a 3x3 tarp
thats what I usualy use however This weekend Im out with my 7&9 year old and 2 friends so I've got us a mammoth size tarp 6m x 4m I think
Hoping of finding us a comfortabe warm way to set up the tarp.
Fingers crossed we will all be comfortable I still researching ways to set it up.
 

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