Bulletproof vs lightweight

Chris

Life Member
Sep 20, 2022
981
1,138
Somerset, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire
Does cooking kit wear out? I’ve still got a lot of the stuff that I started out with. A bit bent and a bit burned but still totally functional. I have never spent money on big brand names; couldn’t afford it. I’m pretty certain that I use my kit more than the average user.

Non-stick cooking kit tends to, the Teflon coated stuff. But I would never recommend cooking with that anyway, not only poisons your body but you can't get it up to a decent temperature without it degrading.
 
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Dan00001

Nomad
Nov 13, 2023
312
319
35
Wales
I think only experience will answer this question.

I can give you my kit list and overall weight from my camp yesterday.

Karrimor Sf Sabre 45 rucksack. Sack liner.
Toakes TiStand & 650ml pot & small tin alcohol stove, 500ml fuel. Trangia pan&handle
Robens closed cell foam mat, Rab Neutrino 700 sleeping bag, Hilleberg Akto.
1 set of dry clothes including down jacket in a dry bag. This doubles as my pillow.
1L water, 300ml milk, onion, burgers, baps, 2 wheetabix, choc bar, pack of sweets, tea/sugar,
3x torches, book , wet wipes, roll of electricians tape, few lengths of paracord, microfibre cloth, tissue, spoon, spatula, cup, couple of lighters, reading book.

I think that is practically everything I carried and it came in at about 13kg. I'm happy with that as it's practically a full 1 night winter kit.

As TeeDee said, can you lose a few lbs yourself? I weigh, or weighed (I've been exercising more) 100kg. I'm not fat, I've always been in and out of the gym weightlifting but I do carry what I call 'puppy fat' but I'm certain I could lose more weight in body mass than I could in kit.
 

parhanley

New Member
Dec 13, 2014
3
0
Southport
Hi all,

I'm debating in my head if to buy bulletproof heavy kit or lightweight kit that should last a few years.

I'd be interested in knowing all your thoughts?

Thanks

Jon
You need to define why you are carrying it. Light/fast/reliable/heavy are factors in equipment choice. But "Do you really need it?" is not often answered. Kelly kettle/dakota fire hole. Zero weight vs time and convenience. But that's the fun! Try it all out, be so knowledgeable you can do without. Carry it because you like to have it!
Knowledge of yourself, chosen tools and skills is the best package to carry.
Saw a very experienced and capable bushcrafter find his limit and "tap out" when he lost his firestarter because he knew he needed it and he had an out.
He fixed his skill gap straight afterward though.
Two bucket story ...
 

parhanley

New Member
Dec 13, 2014
3
0
Southport
Does cooking kit wear out? I’ve still got a lot of the stuff that I started out with. A bit bent and a bit burned but still totally functional. I have never spent money on big brand names; couldn’t afford it. I’m pretty certain that I use my kit more than the average user.

I know that gas jets wear out and fuel cans become obsolete. Also materials such as aluminium become unfashionable but does stuff break?
I’m using a 1940’s alcohol stove. I have some 1950’s aluminium mess tins tucked away that I still use from time to time.

OK so plastic sporks are just about single use items but other than them:
What’s sort of kit ISN’T durable?
No, not slagging gear off, don't make me. Duct tape is one use usually, but I carry it. And the field dressings and plasters. And whisky, and rum and tea and coffee, tell me I don't need them as essential equipment.
 

haptalaon

Forager
Nov 16, 2023
112
71
34
South Wales
I think for me, I'd prioritise lightweight. Nobody has ever gone on a hike and thought 'the only thing that spoilt that was it could have been a few grams heavier', but plenty have thought the reverse - and lighter kit is a safety thing too, you can walk further, you're less tired, or you can just carry more stuff giving you more options in a crisis (no more 'i guess i'll leave the first aid kit out').

wrt bulletproof, the question would be: how often do you do the kinds of hikes where you're getting shot at ;) I think most campers don't use their kit all that often, and regular campers are rarely using it in life-or-death situations - so durability and the risks of kit failure aren't big priorities.

If this kit fails, what is the worst that can possibly happen...? And usually the answer is pretty modest. I guess shoes are the exception to that.

Plus it's bushcraft - DIY and survival is part of the skillset, if you're into that side of it, kit failure can be kinda fun. Because it feels great to have that knowledge or problem-solving mindset to get out of a jam.

I do think everyone should 'invest' in stuff when they buy it, buy things to last - I loathe the people who leave their cheap quality tents in the woods because they're too much effort to take down for the cost. For ethical reasons, I always try to 'save up' over buying something cheap for expediency (or go second hand, and learn to fix stuff).

But 'guaranteed to never fail' is not where I'd put my money, if it was between that and weight.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,657
2,727
Bedfordshire
As mentioned earlier, there are some activities where tougher packs and outer garments can be important.
Examples of which I have personal experience:
  1. Hunting - involves stalking or wading through thorns and brambles, sitting hours on the ground, crawling.
  2. Canoeing - packs are stacked in the bottom of wet, grit filled boats, tossed out onto wet rocky shores, stacked wet on the ground where they pick up grit in the fabric, dragged through riverine brush on overgrown portage trails. Tarps may be subjected to higher than average winds, draped over rough canoe hulls to ride storms.
  3. Overlanding - Packs get thrown into and onto vehicles, sometimes they fall off, often have stuff stacked on top of them, and get heaved out passed all manner of angular, often metallic, stuff.
 
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Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
1,526
1,360
45
UK
As mentioned earlier, there are some activities where tougher packs and outer garments can be important.
Examples of which I have personal experience:

[*]Overlanding - Packs get thrown into and onto vehicles, sometimes they fall off, often have stuff stacked on top of them, and get heaved out passed all manner of angular, often metallic, stuff.
[/LIST]

Sometimes they get left by the side of your truck and get driven over, snagged under the truck and dragged a while before being flung out, under a rear wheel. Now I'm not saying that this has ever happened to me , but what I do know is that a robust rucksack will survive such an incident unscathed apart from some scuffing, while the very expensive comms suite inside said rucksack may be crushed to death, requiring a lengthy paperwork process explaining how such things can happen and how you may want to put a process in place to mitigate against such incidents happening again in the future. Just sayin........



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Flecktarnmann

Member
Sep 14, 2024
17
6
24
Germany
1. Hunting - involves stalking or wading through thorns and brambles, sitting hours on the ground, crawling.
I would add stealth camping and hiking on lesser used (and thus overgrown) trails to this. Brambles and ilex aquifolium (not sure what the English name of these are) are quite common here, and I've had equipment of friends fail on multiple occasions because they weren't durable at all.

I also put my bivvy bag directly in bushes sometimes, which I don't think a regular flimsy tent would be able to handle.

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