Bushcraft Magazine?

[arctic hobo]

The thing about Combat & Survival is that it's very much a military magazine, and much more military with a survival slant than survival with a military slant, and so it has much wider appeal.
Plus the trouble with many magazines (and I should know, I sell them for a living) is that they all get very same-y after a while - you can see that they have no material so they write more about the same things. Sooner or later they'll literally be repeating themselves. You can see the same in newspapers that have very little news to report - they re-use material all the time and they're all the same.
Bushcraft is not a subject that would work well in a magazine for those reasons. Worse, there is not even any new technology to talk about, which is what often becomes the staple of a magazine with no material. Because of course we're all about ancient skills! And celebrity talk - how many of us really want to hear about a day in the life of Ray Mears?
While I appreciate bushcraft can be a very wide ranging subject there I don't think it's suitable for such a news-based media as magazines.
There are (I think) about 1500 members on here. OK so there are doubtless more people out there who have not found the forum because they're not computer type people or just haven't stumbled on it yet - but we must also ask ourselves, would those people buy our magazine? Even if all 1500 members here bought it, it would still have to be very expensive, as the salaries of the writers and editing & design staff have to be paid, and the less copies sold, the higher the individual price would need to be.
And at the end of the day, it's about getting out there and doing it, not reading about it. "All the gear and no idea" as they say.
Just my thoughts :wave:

 

[bambodoggy]

The interesting thing is to look at the life cycle of outdoor books too ... in the 80s they were heavily into the basics and real-life stuff, now, too many are just coffee table travel brochures. Nice to look at but thin when it comes to actual material.

IMO the very same applies and is highlighted perfectly by Ray Mears's various TV series.....

The new ones on now are (apart from the first one the other night) just going over the same ground again and again....and in less detail....

Still watch them though! lol ):

 

[Wildpacker]

It depends how narrow the focus is. "a day in the life of Ray Mears" might be of limited interest (although at leat one magazine did that last year, and very interesting it was), there are lots of others out there who would be interesting topics to cover. Alicia Hempleman-Adams forthcoming trip to Baffin Island for example. Lots of the technical information about the kit used would be of interest to people here.

Perhaps there already is a UK magazine around that caters for the outdoors enthusiast, there are enough US ones - some of which are very good indeed.

 

[Wildpacker]

OK, so TGO is already there, just needs to expand its bushcraft coverage.

 

[JimH]

OK, so TGO is already there, just needs to expand its bushcraft coverage.

Actually, TGO is a good example of how a potentially "samey" subject can be freshened up by having some decent writers and experienced enthusiasts on staff (in my opinion)

The key appears to lie in not being published by EMAP :roll:

Still lots of gear reviews, mind you. It must be a great help to newcomers, but does get aggravating for readers already in possession of kit (surely 90%)

Can't see a bushcraft mag being a commercial proposition, more a fanzine type thing, though in concert with a website, school and other ventures (expedition planning/arranging/guiding?) who knows?

Good luck, Tony et al. I'll buy it if no-one else will.

Hmm, that'd make it collectable

I'll have 10 copies of issue 1 :rolmao:

Jim.

 

[stevo]

I subscribe to 'Wilderness Way' magazine, which comes from the states. It is good, 4 issues a year, all about primitive skills, tracking, fire, edible/medicinal plants, cultures.....etc...... As I say good, but a bit American, you know.....bit too much about emotions and stuff....like the recent issue which contained a peice about being a dad!!! nonetheless good!"!

steven

 

[bushbasher]

Wonder if they'd ever consider putting the survival/bushcraft articles together into one manual? Might be worth a look....

They can drop the 'chicks in assault vests' thing, though.

I always thought that was the best bit!!

 

[ScottC]

Lol. Dryad Bushcraft, I saw you on the tele a couple of days ago.