Bushcrafting stereotype

[silvergirl]

I once met someone from this forum in Waverley station, while i was waiting for a train.
He said he thought I was one of us ...(not sure he finished the sentence)

I was wearing an olive green jacket, a brown leather wide brimmed hat and had a small dark rucksack on my back.

I am however female, don't have a beard and wasn't carrying anything sharper than paper or even a fire steel

 

[ashes1627]

Something different but I feel I don't quite fit your model of a bushcrafter, rather the model of a teenage bushcrafter. Feel free to disagree with me on this one but I think a teenage bushcrafter is:
Wears DPM trousers at any given opportunity
Often a cadet, scout or both
Not fat, nor has a beard
Sleeps in a tent not a hammock (I do plan to move to hammocking but got to convince the parents first)
Constantly upgrading kit in parts but can't quite afford it like you lot
Has a decent rucksack
Bought a decent (e.g. snugpak) sleeping bag as the 2nd thing on the list
Got a SAK when they were younger and have been constantly upgrading knives but not quite hit the £100 mark yet
Loves getting ridiculous new kit all the time
If they can't afford it, they make it (including knives)
Has the required leather pouch, leather hat etc
Dreams of getting a sawnndri...
Knows far too many ways to make a fire and always carries the most difficult method to show off to friends (fire piston anyone?)
Cooks on a trangia
Wears a paracord wristband everywhere in case of TEOTWAWKI
Is constantly trying to convice friends, family and girlfriend that theyre not completely mad
Can't think of anything better than being in the rain or camping
Tends to cycle everywhere rather than walk


Ok I'll be at this all day if I continue, but it seems to sum up me and all my mates who are in to bushcrafting. Not all of the above applies to everyone but is quite a general standard to contrast with you more seasoned veterans

Don't forget the worry that they have of making it obvious that they are only a teenager on a popular bushcraft forum and people becoming prejudiced against them becuase of their age.

 

[lannyman8]

wears some form of DPM
has adleast 1 fixed blade on his belt or 3
has adleast 1 locking blade or 3
muat have a gb sfa
uses an army issue water bottle
has pockets full of tinder
has adleast 2 ways to light a fire or 4
always has a lighter as a last resort
has a jacket with millions of pockets
a folding saw
disslikes large groups and is a bit of a loner
is hardey and likes the cold

just a few for ya.....

 

[unorthadox]

Hmm i reckon a student bushcrafter

Wears DPM trousers whenever they can cos they are cheap
Not fat, nor has a beard but starting to show signs of both
Chooses to browse BCUK instead of doing their UNI work
Sleeps in a tent or a hammock, which ever they could get free off their parents
Constantly upgrading kit in parts by spending their UNI loan
Bought a rucksack on special offer or through ebay
Bought a cheap sleeping bag for a music festival and reuses it despite being rubbish
Has about a half dozen multitools and SAKs because they were cheap at the time, and only use one of them....very rarely
Loves getting kit they will only use twice a yr
If they can't afford it, they look on ebay for a 2nd good offer or buy a cheaper version
Has loads of military equipment
Dreams of getting nightvision or thermal vision
Would never buy a zippo and opt for disposable lighters to save money
Cooks on a open fire using a stone, crusader cup and the mesh they borrowed from the grill
Opts to buy a new knife instead of sharpening their current one
Is constantly trying to convice friends, family and girlfriend that joing them camping would be a good idea
Can't think of anything better than being in the rain or camping around a fire with the lads and a crate of beer
Tends to cycle everywhere rather than pay for bus fare or car
Opts for poundland as their first unmodified first aid kit of choice (and has never been used except the tape and scissors, which are now both lost)

 

[GlenM]

Maybe John would agree to be our ambassador to the rest of the known world - a poster boy if you like.

What do you say John?

How about a Bushcraft calandar, good enough for the W.I.! no guesses as to who's Mr January!

Glen

 

[darrenleroy]

Hates football.

 

[darrenleroy]

Tends to be white.

 

[darrenleroy]

Prefers watching fires rather than TV.

 

[lostplanet]

Cutlery:- Sheath knife on the belt, one round the neck and probably another three or four in various pockets.

....

 

[3bears]

I'm keeping my mouth shut... I'm sat here in a pair of 5.11 trousers, and have pulled about 7 feet of 550, and a Spyderco Ladubug out of my pocket....


BUSTED

 

[SteveD]

Can sit in a crowded pub, quaffing a pint of real ale by a roaring fire and alienate people who don't know the difference between Bear Grylls survival techniques and Les Stroud's.

Wears boots constantly - generally German para boots or ex issue ones while one day hoping to be able to afford a set of custom made Altbergs.

 

[spiritwalker]

uses a millbank bag even at a family campsite when there is a tap 10 yards away.
Lights fire after 30 strikes with a ferro rod when one click of a lighter will do.
dresses up in full hunting gear in asda
eyes up every fallen branch after the wind

 

[Melonfish]

Doesn't just wear green all the time BREATHES it

 

[bojit]

I was wondering just how many different shades of green one person can wear at one time ?

No two bit of my green kit seem to be the same shade .

Craig..............

 

[John Fenna]

How about a Bushcraft calandar, good enough for the W.I.! no guesses as to who's Mr January!

Glen

Dio you want to sell this calander or just scare young children?

 

[bojit]

Dio you want to sell this calander or just scare young children?

Both sound like a good idea .

Craig................

 

[Biker]

Is nick-named Ray Meers by his workmates.

Would be slung in jail and the key thrown away if he carried all the knives he owned in public

Pets dogs he meets in the street.

Helps old ladies across the road, even if they didn't want to cross.

Can so identify with that Rambo type bloke with the googly eyes who was in the series The Office.

Doesn't see anything wrong in wearing OG to a wedding reception.

Watches every documentary about nature and such that's on TV just in case he might pick up some new tip to practice.

Loves Buscraft Betty.

Visits this forum and is considering posting to this thread.

 

[bojit]

Biker , who dosen't love bushcraft betty!!

Craig..................

 

[Jinsin456]

I'll go for the bushcrafter between teenager and full blown as I'm in the transition period:

Has about two pairs of good jeans to go to the pub in but won't buy more cos that's £40 that could be spent on DPM.

Has spent about £100 on sleeping bags to find a good £20 one.

Gets nicknamed Bear Grylls by everyone at work.

Gets sarcastically asked 'U goin campin this weekend' then wehn you say yes and it's winter you get judged to be a crazy person!

Can lose hours on bushcraftUK despite having much more (Don't want to say better.) things to do.

Has more water bottles than socks.

If someone asks for a light for a cigarette they generally pull out a fire steel and a conversation is born.

Knows exactly what a bothy is and can find it on google maps within seconds.

Constantly wears a paracord bracelet 'just in case.'

Has a justified reason for owning a machete, not just 'I'm mental.'

Gets bushy presents for Christmas, Valentines etc.

Has at least one book by Ray Mears and a Collins book of some sort.

Hates festival campers with a passion!

Knows more knots than he knows what to do with.

The list goes on and on...

 

[Biker]

I Can lose hours on bushcraftUK despite having much more (Don't want to say better.) things to do.

Has more water bottles than socks.

Hates festival campers with a passion!

So true. Had to google Bothy though. LOL!

How about this batch. Just got back from the dog walk and couldn't stop thinking up other ones.

Carrys a lighter but doesn't smoke...

Carries matches in a old film case just in case the lighter fails...

Carries a genuine Whittler Kev' sparkstriker in case the two above fail and plus he likes to support the "little guy" and not some faceless corporation and their stockholders.

Notices it's raining 10 minutes after it started.

Will go the long way round cos' it prettier.

Clocks where the fire exits are inside of 20 seconds after walking into a building for the first time.

Will follow Tengu around a boot fair, not because she has a nice bum, but becasue he knows she knows where the best bargains are.

Secretly wishes he'd been Tom Hanks in Castaway (but without the home dental treatment :yikes

Is sure he was born 150 years too late and not in Canada.

Has beard envy, even if she's female or teenager. (go on, admit it, ladies.)

Thought "The Good life" in the 1970's was a documentary and not a sit com.

Doesn't see ex-army woolen blanket but sees smock.

Looks at the D.I.Y. forum here and has hobby envy, knowing his best efforts might just come close.

Can reverse engineer pretty much anything and make his own with improvements over the original... kinda.

Chooses not to hear the sarcastic tone when called Ray Meers or Bear Grylls by his workmates.

Doesn't use blu-tak. But fixes it properly

1am Lays awake unable to get to sleep because his mind is busy planning the new leather sheath for his knife.
3am pings awake with a brilliant idea that no one's used for attaching the fire steel onto the sheath.
7am alarm sounds and he has no recollection of having woken at 3am.

Has a hatchet, and a spare and another spare.

Sigh and thinks - So many projects, so little time.

Wishes he'd been picked for that Monty Don Masterclass TV series... even the weaving episode.

Has woken up and smelt the coffee.

Recycles stuff.

and lastly Keeps his gunpowder dry.


Great thread this, so true too, thanks for the knowing chuckles it's raised this end. Sorry my posting's so long.