Bushcraft clothing on a budget?

[Ronnie]

The winter Kiwi's are really thick lined. Great for winter, probably unbearable in summer!

 

[yerbache]

I've had a number of pairs of the Cragghoppers Kiwi trousers, and I have to say I really don't like them. Great at first but they always tear in the groin, and the waist can be pretty chafing at the moment. I'm pretty mad about the Fjallraven Barents trousers, but if you can't afford them you can still pick up good old-fashioned British Army Lightweights for £5-10 a pair.

 

[Prawnster]

I've had a number of pairs of the Cragghoppers Kiwi trousers, and I have to say I really don't like them. Great at first but they always tear in the groin, and the waist can be pretty chafing at the moment. I'm pretty mad about the Fjallraven Barents trousers, but if you can't afford them you can still pick up good old-fashioned British Army Lightweights for £5-10 a pair.

I agree. The Craghoppers are just not comfortable.

I find my Fjallravens to be very comfortable but their price for what are after all just polycotton trousers is ridiculous.

 

[yerbache]

I find my Fjallravens to be very comfortable but their price for what are after all just polycotton trousers is ridiculous.

It's the Greenland wax....I think it's made from Scandanavian Mermaid tears....

 

[John Fenna]

You could always get a charity shop sewing machine, cheap fabric off the market and ...make your own custom gear!
That is how I started a career that ended up (high point) with my designing for Craghoppers (for a short while - as a freelance ) and I sold many a copy of my DIY books

 

[Ogri the trog]

...make your own custom gear!

Big thumbs up for that John

The only downside I can see is that I rarely finish anything - its always being modified or tweaked in some way. But my homebrewed ventile smock is, by far, my garment of choice for outdoor wear!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Grendel]

Just bought some un-issued Brit Army lightweights £10.
So now have Trousers, Boots, fleeces tops (norgie) Poncho & 3 in 1 shelltex jacket/fleece so seem to have most of the right kit at last.

Thanks for all the advice folks.

 

[Melonfish]

If you do fancy a goretex or an MVP get on fleabay and look at the army surplus ones on there, most are in the desert pattern now but its waterproof and breathable and thats what counts.
commando socks are a good buy, they're reletively cheep and mostly wool (70%?) with polyester so keep you warm and still insulate when wet

 

[Grendel]

I looked at Army Gore-Tex trousers but as you say most are in camo.

 

[Paul72]

Dont forget charity shops - lots of decent kit in there...and if you ask nicely many will hold gear for you if you drop in fairly often...

Seconded! This week I picked up a pair of North Face Apex trousers for less than a fiver. Looked at their website and they're going for £110!!

 

[Magentus]

I'd recommend the charity shop route - I have 2 brand new pairs of craghoppers that cost me £3 each, a load of shirts for £1 each, leather gloves for 1.50 and a couple of pairs of boots for £5 each, oh and an M65 type jacket (waxed from H&M) for £8.
Plus loads of hand tools, books, dvd's, cd's etc. You have to be there at the right time, but I just head out on a fortnightly basis and see what comes up.

Magentus

 

[Morrolan]

Most of my outdoorsy stuff involves cycling and camping. I'd always go for synthetic fabrics (and no, I don't mean the day-glow lycra stuff). I get a lot of stuff from Decathlon, but always steer clear of cotton, as it takes too long to dry. The Decathon stuff is really good, cheap, comfortable, and most of all, normal looking.

I second Decathlon - I have a dark grey waterproof from there, paid about £25 so I don't mind if I end up scrambling through brambles, and I also bought a pair of Geologic fishing/outdoors trousers in green, £15.

I would certainly steer clear of the Real Tree and too much DPM - it just tends to give the wrong impressions to landowners and members of the public. I do use DPM pouches on my belt, and that was purely a cost thing. At the time I could get WebTex or Brit-issue pouches for about a quarter of the price of green or black

Personally I like Snugpak for bags, but then again I got into Snugpak when I was doing a little third-party work for them, so got a couple at cost. I know that a few people on here have issues with Snugpak sleeping bags (I think it's sleeping bags) but I've only ever had one split on a bag and that was my own stupidity.

I've found that as long as you aren't wearing really bright clothes, you still get to see all of the wildlife that the woods has to offer - you just have to blend in to a degree, you don't have to blend in to the point where even a soldier can't spot you