Complete budget kit.

[Andy]

The only bits of kit that I wont skimp on are my pack, my boots and the the knife. But I keep thinking maybe I should go back to a mora :yikes:
The only reason for the boots is you should always have good footwear, I spent £15 on some boots but they are good for my feet. The pack is beacsue when your camping you start off with heavy weight stuff you want a good pack that wont do your back in. This is good for you not the most expensive one you can find

 

[Snufkin]

So, nobody is including first aid kits? :shock:

 

[Rhapsody]

First aid kits are for the weak! If I injure myself in the woods then simply I maul off the affected limb and cauterise it by setting my face on fire and rubbing mit against the wound at the speed of sound! There's no more effective way to prove your manliness!

 

[zambezi]

So, nobody is including first aid kits? :shock:

Mmmmm. A couple of years ago Tina and I were part of a 8 person group that walked the West Highland way. Should have been a walk in the park.

Unfortunately, Tina tripped on one of the particularly well maintained stone paths and fell heavily on same. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and we assumed a dislocation was involved. Later that day the A&E at Fort William established via xray that she had shattered the ball at the top of humerus into 3 pieces, and the ball was also separated from the humerus. :shock:

A complete trooper, she walked off the mountain with nothing more that a handful of Ibuprofen and her arm in a sling.

The point? Well even though we could count three doctors amongst our group, no one other than myself carried a first aid kit! Even if it is "just a walk in the park", there is a minimum you should carry.IMO

 

[Viking]

I always carry the army´s first aid that can handle most situations that can happen and most important I know how to use it.

I t does not mattet how good you r first aid kit is if you do not have the skills. Have been with some nasty accidents but have been lucky to have people that havd the right knowledge to handle the situation and no one has carried more then the army´s firs aid.

A first aid course is probably the best first aid kit there is...!

 

[Paganwolf]

I always carry the army´s first aid that can handle most situations that can happen and most important I know how to use it.

I t does not mattet how good you r first aid kit is if you do not have the skills. Have been with some nasty accidents but have been lucky to have people that havd the right knowledge to handle the situation and no one has carried more then the army´s firs aid.

A first aid course is probably the best first aid kit there is...!

Good point Viking, having a first aid kit is one thing, having it plus the knowledge of how to use it and how to act in an emergency is another, Natural pathways are doing a good 1st aid course, I recently renewed my ticket with them and can recommend it highly :biggthump all outdoor shops, boots,and your local chemists can supply you with a good fundimental 1st aid kit...

 

[Ronin]

Maybe what kit you choose and what kit you carry is all about balance. About what you feel comfortable and safe with.

Maybe bushcraft is about balance, being in balance with your environment and in balance with your own skills...hopefully the kit follows on from that as a result.

I think we all agree on the fundamental kit list but we keep touching on the most important part of the kit, knowledge.

Great thread guys, sorry if I digress. A Mr. Miyagi moment. :roll:

 

[woodrat]

like to add my 2cents if I my. first yard sales flea markets thrift stores, start there, [they have those things in u.k. don't they??. get yourself a good pocketknife and agood fixed blade knife. every thing else spend the minimium on to start out. heres why as your skills grow your kit will evolve, what you will want a year from now is'nt nessarily what your going to start with. improvise, not just to save money but because its a learned skill, and in my opion the most essential skill in bushcraft. you likely have some stuff around home you can make do with to start out. save your money, a year from now start looking for more permanent additions to your kit. what works well for someone else might not for you. exsperiment, try differnt things I've been doing this for 35yrs. and I still like tin can billies , and other homemade gear. scrounging around for gear is good for your imagination, the second most useful bushcraft skill. hope this helps and I hope you enjoy it as much as we all do.I think if I were going to recomend for someone starting out to spend wisely by using there money to go to ashdown or simialer event, or to contact one of us who is closest to them and say, if i spring for grub would you care to bushcraft for a night or too and share you knoledge?. that would be the wisest investment in my opinion.

 

[Bob Hurley]

The native american peoples managed OK without stainless steel, gore tex or the latest technical footwear.

I do quite a few outings with only the clothes and kit commonly carried by a c1760 Cherokee on a similar trip. The clothing is far better suited to the woods, and I don't feel there's anything missing from it even though it's a light kit (I will admit a modern firestarter would be nice). I take the food I need and don't count on hunting or wildcrafting for dinner, and I'd have to say I'm comfy and well-fed. I'm not an especially good woodsman. The simple clothing and kit they used works as well now as then.

 

[Justin Time]

HI Bob..

You've got to give us some photos and a kit list for that :biggthump

 

[Paganwolf]

Yes id like to see that too! i think i saw your Pic in the gallery with out looking is it you dressed up? scared me :shock: the only thing is if in Sweden or the UK a cherokee may freeze his dangley bits off :shock: eather that or get arrested :rolmao: :rolmao:

 

[neo_wales2000]

A good first aid kit is vital, but as said by others, first aid skills are to a degree more important. Look at http://www.uwtv.org/programs/med.asp and click on "Back country medicine" its well worth a look. I've been a nurse since 1988 but not all nurses are good emergency first aiders; do a course in emergency first aid and learn from it as I have. My kit is small but does the job:

Ibuprofen tablets 200mg
Rennie/Gavascon tablets
Piriton tablets for allergic reactions (take 2 and they help you sleep)
Small high quality and sharp scissors
Good quality tweezers
Assorted plasters
Roll of micropore tape
Cotton wool balls (can be soaked in fuel and used as fire starters)
No alcohol wipes as I use meths, paraffin or coleman fuel and can clean wounds with any of those
Suture/stitch pack (only used to fix a flysheet rip to date)
Couple of rolls of bandage (1" and 3")
Thats about it; whole thing fits a ziplock bag.

I keep a couple of plasters and in winter lip salve in a small ziplock bag in my pocket. You can improvise pads for wounds from toilet roll or clothing.

 

[Bob Hurley]

Yes id like to see that too! i think i saw your Pic in the gallery with out looking is it you dressed up? scared me :shock: the only thing is if in Sweden or the UK a cherokee may freeze his dangley bits off :shock: eather that or get arrested :rolmao: :rolmao:

Here's a picture of me standing in front of a "deluxe camp", much more stuff than I'd carry on my back. This is the Cherokee equivalent of the guy with the satellite dish, and would have been carried on a pack horse. It includes an oilskin tarp, extra clothes, and extra cookware and food. The knife is a replica of a large French trade knife, it's only useful for food prep and stabbing things, I usually carry a smaller plain trade knife.

A larger view:
http://www.colonial-enthusiast.com/pics/bh_tsalagi_campsite.jpg

In the woods, I wear
Wool breechclout held up by a thin leather belt
Braintan deerskin leggings, garters of the same
Braintan mocassins or barefoot if terrain permits
Linen shirt (or two)
Wool fingerwoven sash

and carry:

Wool twined small shoulder bag with shooting supplies and bear oil, a little jerky & dried melon
Powder horn
Belt knife tucked in sash, crossdraw
Tomahawk tucked in sash at back
Water in a gourd on a carry cord, or in a tin canteen (this isn't traditional, but with water quality now ...)
Trade musket

Rolled up in a wool blanket and carried by means of a tumpline

Large tin cup or small kettle, spoon
Food in cloth and deerskin bags - parched corn, dried hominy, dried sweet corn, salt pork, jerky, dried melon or pumpkin
Extra shirt and/or wool vest
Silk scarf or two
Spare mocassins
Awl and small amount of deerskin for repairs
Needles and thread in a small section of river cane
Tobacco and pipe
Flint, steel, tinder conk, cedar bark for tinder
Wool leggings, and a capote or extra blanket in temperatures below freezing.
A lightweight, small (5'x7') oilcloth if hard rains are expected.

The wide part of the tumpline goes across the chest just below the points of the shoulders, not on the head. Head carry is for short trips, heavy loads. It's a comfortable carry but a bit strange at first.

The blankets, capote, and oilcloth are the heavy items, and it pays to do without as much of that stuff as you can. A blanket makes a good coat and a decent shelter from light rain, and I usually camp by rolling up in a blanket beside the fire. I pick my spot carefully, with the rhodadendron, small pines, and other underbrush we have here, there are a lot of spots that stay fairly dry unless there's a long downpour.

This is at an event, I normally don't wear the red ochre in the woods - but if I was going to be out for several days hunting, I might. You can see what great camoflage it is, had I been wearing other than a white shirt. (Well, it was white once...)

 

[Snufkin]

Very cool outfit Bob. Just a question that's a bit off topic but if you could have any one piece of modern gear what would it be?

 

[Bob Hurley]

Very cool outfit Bob. Just a question that's a bit off topic but if you could have any one piece of modern gear what would it be?

Hmm...I'd say a lightweight basha of some sort, probably one of the US ponchos. The light oilcloth won't stop more than a drizzle, and the heavy one is ... heavy. A lightly loaded bedroll/tumpline is a pleasure to carry, and a heavy one is miserable.

 

[Gary]

Excelent stuff Bob thanks for sharing that with us! :biggthump

 

[Paganwolf]

Love it Bob :biggthump , thanks for that, wicked picture!! :biggthump

 

[RovingArcher]

Thanks for sharing the great pic of yourself in traditional regalia. Good stuff.

 

[bambodoggy]

No alcohol wipes as I use meths, paraffin or coleman fuel and can clean wounds with any of those

You can improvise pads for wounds from toilet roll or clothing.

Excuse my ignorance but can you really clean wounds with Parafin or Coleman fuel? I can see Meths might be ok but the other two....? ? ?

Gotta watch out for clothing not being sanitary and toilet paper sticking to the wound too otherwise removing the dressing brings the scab off too and you're back to square one!
I have "Deep Cut Plasters" in my basecamp FAK (as used in hospitals) and they are very good.

Know what you mean about not all nurses knowing 1st aid.....an old girlfriend of mine was a nurse but when she cut her finger on a bit of glass once she didn't have a clue what to do!!!

Oh and how did this thread turn into a FAK thread? ? ? :?:

Top Pics and info Bob...looks kinda scarey though! thanks for sharing.

 

[arctic hobo]

Top class Bob :biggthump Is it me or is your rifle huge? :?: