Campcraft questions

[Andy T]

If you are looking for a pot to cook in you could do worse than an msr stowaway. I've got the 1.1 litre it fits nicely on a honey stove or trangia triangle and is tough enough to use in the ashes of a fire, as a small dutch oven, or suspended over a fire with a small wire hanger as in this video. Cheap at around £18 and it will last a very long time, on the downside it is a little heavy.

http://youtu.be/hNaZxKtMWlU

 

[Goatboy]

Anything you can cook at home you can cook when camping, so, do you cook at home? It really is that simple. If you don't cook at home them surprise mom and dad by starting.

People often talk about the likes of Dutch Oven cooking, open fires, stoves but the principles of camp cooking is not far removed (if at all) from producing a meal on you kitchen stove or garden BBQ. Cooking outdoors is only hard for those who don't cook indoors.

Cook at home, learn the basics and don't be like some of the Kno*s on Come Dine With Me and say "I've never tried this before" and then wonder why they produce absolute poo poo.

I love food and am a fantastic cook but the great meals and cooking only came through practise.

I'm in total agreement with Rik on this. Folk often say that my mate and I eat better outdoors than they do at home. And there nowt really that we can't do out there that we can do indoors as he says. We do cheat and use things like a Cobb which is great for roasts and baking, but learning good fire control makes all the difference to other forms of cooking.

For lightweight trips we do vary our diet and techniques accordingly but for a base camp we do believe in treating ourselves. Have a wee peek at this book Moveable Feasts one of the best for folk learning the pros and cons of camp cooking, stoves and nutrition. (IMHO).

 

[mrcharly]

When cooking on a fire I always dig a shallow rectangular trench - one about the size of a roasting tin is about right for two people.

Build small fire in half the trench. Let it burn down to hot coals - now start some wood going in the other half, using some of the hot coals.

Cook over the coals.

This sort of fire is much safer if you are in an area with dry leaf litter or other combustables on the ground, but not of course for use in peat areas.

When you are finished with the fire, put it out with water and bury ashes/coals with the soil you took out.

Woodfires burn best top-down so work better in a shallow trench.

 

[Joonsy]

I echo what member uilleachan says on post 20 above, i personally never hang pots over a fire either, I suggest you try his suggestion first before trying to hang pots until you get more experienced but that is your choice of course, and remember it is the glowing embers that provide the heat not the flame itself. When you put a pot directly on top of glowing embers they may appear to darken a bit and stop glowing as much, this is fine and normal they are still giving off loads of heat even if you can’t see it, don’t assume you have to ‘’see flames’’ for there to be heat, this darkening of embers is just heat transferring to pot. You can use two sticks lying horizontally to each other with the fire inbetween them and place pot on top with embers underneath if you wish but use sticks thick enough so they will last duration of cooking. On your post number 6 above you show a typical household saucepan in your photo, is that handle on it plastic?, it is best to have a pot with metal handles so they don't melt from heat of fire and as metal gets hot also have a pair of gloves to hold handles so you don't burn your hands, work gloves or leather ones are fine just make sure the gloves are made from a material that will not burn either, also a pot that has a lid will be better but not essential. Many outdoor camping pots are usually much thinner and lighter than household pots so stir contents of pot regularly to stop burning your food. By cooking directly on top of a fire you can cook on a very small fire indeed, hardly any bigger than the pot itself, use very little fuel, and control it easily. -- PS if you do try a tarp be aware that most are made of some sort of synthetic/nylon material and if fire is too close to them sparks can land on tarp and melt small holes through tarp so keep fire a reasonable distance from tarp or set it so wind blows sparks away from tarp. Enjoy your camping and above all take care to ensure your fire is completely extinguished before you leave it and head home.

 

[THOaken]

Thanks, again everyone.

Concerning shelter, should I use a hammock or just stick with a simple tarp and sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag? How do you find sleeping on the ground? I'm not bothered by insects or anything, but I just wonder how comfortable it is.

 

[ozzy1977]

Dossing down on the deck all depends on how good your kip mat is.

 

[Uilleachan]

Thanks, again everyone.

Concerning shelter, should I use a hammock or just stick with a simple tarp and sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag? How do you find sleeping on the ground? I'm not bothered by insects or anything, but I just wonder how comfortable it is.

Varies with location. As Ozzy states above, a decent doss mat sorts most of that out.

Actually after a prolonged period of camping, I found it was sleeping in a bed that was uncomfortable. My first prolonged period was when I was 17 and had been camped up in the french alps for 3 months when I got a live in split shift dishwashing job in a hotel kitchen in the wee village of La Tour. Great, a real bed, I ended up sleeping on the floor and was actually quite glad to get back to camping.

Not sure the bones would agree with the above now, but then I haven't done 5 6 month trips like that since my 20's.

On the shelter issue, I'm a tent fan. But have done a range of dossing in different situation, from the "in the clothes in which I stand: under the stars", "in the clothes in which I stand: under the stars and rolled up in a bit of plastic sheeting" under fly sheets (what people now call tarps) to felt yurts. And, given the choice it's a tent every time.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Thanks, again everyone.

Concerning shelter, should I use a hammock or just stick with a simple tarp and sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag? How do you find sleeping on the ground? I'm not bothered by insects or anything, but I just wonder how comfortable it is.

It very much depends on the ground. A good sleep mat is a great investment to a good nights sleep. I tried a Polish army sleep mat earlier this month, very comfortable, but bulky. Thermarests are also good, but can be expensive. Have a look on ebay to see what's available.


This is my prefered three season set up using a 3 x 3 DD tarp.

View attachment 29400

 

[Baelfore]

I use a dd tarp now and a zebra billycan now but up til last summer this was a b&q tarp and a biscuit tin with a wire handle, both worked fine, the new tarp is just lighter and the billy has a lid. Try this first as you may not like it. I love it but a mate finds it hard to sleep.
I just use a cheap foam mate wirh a picnic blanket with foil om the back. This side faces up to me. In real cold n wet weather I use a belgian army bivvy bag over this and my sleep bag.
You can always usecnatural stuff to beef up your bedding, ferns for example.

Also look at the hobo stove idea. Cheap as chips and gives you both fire and stove.

Hope this helps.

Ste

 

[ozzy1977]

For thermarests have a look on car boots. I picked up a trail pro,(one of their warmest) for £10 minus the bag, 1 couple of emails to thermarest and 3 days later a new one arrived for free

 

[Clouston98]

Here's a photo of an adjustable point notch pot hanger I made myself from some green alder and ash:

As for hammocks had one, never used it and swapped it, I'm a ground dweller for life I think. I'm sure hammocks are comfortable , but for me ground dwelling is more practical for in the mountains with no trees (even though Im nearly always in woodland). It's personal preference though.

Something I'll say is invest as much as you can in good quality sleeping gear and clothing, it really makes camp life better. For sleeping bags I've always used Nanok, they're great bags I have a four season synthetic, about 11 years old and still great and an airlock down and synthetic mix about 1 year old, both minus 5 bags and I Se them all year round, they're durable and comfortable. For sleeping mats I use a mountain equipment Helios (fore gotten which number on the end) it's great, full body length and is an air mattress that also has some foam in so it's not like a crisp packet, packs quite small too. For tarps as I've said before Bilmos tarps are superb! I have a Rab ridge raider bivvy, great bag, well waterproof and pretty breathable. If you want to go tipi and stove route Tentipi Safir 5cp and a fronteir stove is great, I only ever use it when canoeing though. For lightweight tents I've had a vango something expedition tent and a north face tadpole, good tents but I went off that design a long time ago. I've now converted to wool blanket camping 17th centaur style and have a Hudson's bay blanket and a Yugoslavian army one, both great warm bits of kit.

Clothing wise it depends what you want out of it if you want spark proof, doesn't go smelly, well thorn proof, breathable and sometimes water repellent is go wool or other natural fibres, if you want a mix, poly cotton is good, or if you want really waterproof not 100% breathable then go the gore text route. I'm a natural fibre person and have been for a fair amount of time.

whatever you do its personal preference and you'll have to do quite a bit of shopping until you settle on what you want.

 

[rg598]

I only carry a 1L pot, so my cooking is simple (same as it is at home). I don't hang the pot. I just put it directly on the coals. It works fine for me, so I have never felt the need to get fancy. Make sure you get a pot without a plastic handle.

Stoves are great when you are on the move. You can get to camp after dark, cook your food in 10 minutes, and go the sleep. You don't necessarily want to take the time to make a fire, or have the luxury of doing so. If it is pouring rain outside, I'm not cooking on a fire; I just use the stove inside my shelter.

As far as tarp vs. tent, hammock vs. sleeping on the ground, etc, it is six of one, half dozen of the other. Each has advantages and disadvantages. I sleep on the ground and use a tent. A good sleeping mat is important.

 

[Cobweb]

I think, depending on how long you plan to stay, a cantilever type holder is good for short term, but for long term stays I much prefer the tripod to tripod style as it is really useful for drying socks and hanging coats and possible pouches off!

 

[THOaken]

Great responses everyone. I'm just mulling them all over now and need to think about purchasing on Amazon. I'm debating whether or not I should get a wood burning stove. A wood burner would be good in the woods when, as some of you have already said, I want a quick brew and can't be bothered to make an open fire (or I'm not allowed one altogether). I'd be doing most of my camping in the woods too. But if we're talking about hill camping where there is no wood a wood burner would obviously not be that handy. Thing is I don't want to have to buy two types of stoves because I'm trying to save money. Is it better to just go for a gas stove? My reasoning behind that being I could use it in the woods but also in the hills.

 

[dwardo]

I have a little whisperlite gas stove and its great for a quick brew or heating up food. Not that expensive either.
You will probably find over time that you try all of these different sleeping/cooking methods, that's all part of the fun.

 

[THOaken]

Something that's on my mind about tarps...

Pros of a tarp and sleeping bag set up:
They're very useful in terms of being lightweight and easy to carry
They're fairly easy to set up and versatile
You can set a fire near to it
You can sit under it and look out, enjoying the view when it's raining.

Cons:

Not much that I can see, but I'm having trouble imagining sleeping out in the open, on the ground and without much structure around me. I used my pop up tent simply because when I finished with the day I'd crawl inside and know that I'm inside the tent and, if I'm being honest, I didn't much care not being able to see outside. That's because I was outside the entire day anyway. That's the main reason I'm hesitating about tarps. But then again, the pop up tent I used was hell to carry (in a large circular bag of its own) and also to put away. And I guess if it's pissing it down with rain I can't do anything but sit in the tent, but with a tarp it's a different matter.

I think I'll go with the tarp and mat set up. Did anyone else have these thoughts?

 

[Haggis]

Reading all this has me reliving past experiences; great thread. I've cooked in everything from cast iron to aluminum foil, slept on most everything, slept under most everything, and sometimes under nothing but he stars. As with most folk, I've had the best cooking gear, and sometimes simply roasted what ever I had on a stick suspended over the fire, other times simply placed the meal to be a on a hot rock near the fire, and yet other times I've sat in the cold, hungry, promising I would plan better next time. As with many here, I've never rigged up a means of suspending a pot over a fire, I've just used hot coals around the edges of the fire. What an exciting thread this has been. It reminds me of how uncomplicated, or complicated, this business of being "Out There" can be.

 

[THOaken]

I tell you what, I was a bit worried about sleeping out in a tarp because it felt too open, but looking at the "A frame" setup has sort of dispelled that for me. It's basically like my pop up tent, except you can look outside. Just the right balance of closed/open feeling.

 

[crosslandkelly]

View attachment 29441 View attachment 29442 View attachment 29443
Simple Ikea hobo stove. Great for a brew or a soup.

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

I always have my little msr pocket rocket n a small gas cannister with me. I use it in the mornings when I can't be bothered too get out of my sleeping bag.its good if it's raining too.it lives in my bag.a small wood burning stove can easily be made from a bake bean tin etc .or just surround your fire with a few rocks and be careful not too damn age the ground too much.so I'd spend your money on the gas type.tegards sleeping I bought myself a doozy of a tent when I started camping out but after a couple of trips out I tried a tarp n have never used the tent since.get your self an british army issue gortex bivi for about 25 quid on the bay their just one of those must have peices of kit that work very well.hope this helps pal