Complete budget kit.

[Great Pebble]

I just see remarkably few folks getting up one morning and deciding "I'm going to be a buschcrafter like that chap, Mears, Tarp, billy and a knife is all I need"

And among those who do, sorry, but if the first time you head out, even for a single overnight, if your total experience is Ray's TV shows and a couple of books you've read then your first "bushcraft" trip is likely to be cold, hungry and uncomfortable. You meet the odd person that thrives on that kind of thing, but they're few and far between for most it would be an exercise in endurance. Not apt to warrant a second go.

If on the other hand they've a tent,doss bag, stove, tin of beans etc. then at least they're likely to be warm, fed and rested. The practicing of bushcraft-y activities under these circumstance are fun and as skills develop people are able to judge for themselves those things that they no longer need.

 

[Rhapsody]

Surely a budget kit for bushcraft would be

Knife, whatever was available
Blanket or two
Billy can - made of any suitable can.

I cant help but find this thread as proof of the fact we seem to be loosing site of the idea that bushcraft is (in theory) carry less by knowing more. Of course a light camping kit or backpacking kit is a different story.

But in order to learn more we surely have to get out there in the wilderness? And without a decent kit, the person with a lot to learn would surely be up the metaphorical creek?

I totally agree that the all that the experienced bushcrafter needs is contained in your list, and in studying bushcraft I think we are all aiming to reach that stage, but it is just not enough for someone who is still going through the learning process. I myself would love to be able to enter the woods with the kit you mention and live comfortably for a week but the truth is that I, and those in my position, simply don't have the knowledge to do so... yet. My philosophy for learning Bushcraft is that of occam's razor; removing that which isn't vital. Matches were vital to me until I learned of good natural tinders for use with sparks and a basha was necessary until I could make a good enough shelter out of natural materials. My firesteel will be by my side until I can reliably start a friction fire and I'll be taking any food I need with me until I know the difference between what'll feed me and what'll kill me. You have to learn by doing and until you can 'do' reliably you'll always need something to fill the gap in your skills.

 

[mal]

You put it so much nicer than me i totally agree with every thing you have said and sorry if i went into one

Mal

 

[Andy]

I would list

knife- Mora (infact the morew I play with expensive knives the more I think this may be the best one)

*plastic tarp from a market
*an army blanket
*a pot, I may have to go back to a large baked bean tin for a while
*food, things which you can add to from around you would be best
*pop bottles for water
*fire lighting kit (even if you can use a firedrill I'd take this just incase)

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

O.k., a few pointers for new people. We have various outdoor shops that rent gear. I knew somebody who rented a sleeping bag. Sadly,it had not been laundered and was full of poison oak oils. So Rule #1 anything bought or borrowed should be thoroughly cleaned and given a simple going over before use. Rule #2 commercial kit is bright and gawdy. Red is a perrennial favourite. It does marvels for a photograph and after a few polar expeditions used it became a image item. Many people prefer subdued colours. It doesn't have to be the latest digitally created cammies either. There is a grey-green set of work fatigues that seem to render people invisible anywhere and I've tripped over people in woolen plaids. This is a tossup. If your hurt or lost looking like a peacock on LSD is a plus. We have a recent thread at ETS about a hunter. He was in full cammies and the searchers couldn't see him! He had to remove his white underwear and wave it Nobone is immune to disaster or trouble. Buy a big bright pink,orange or mellow yellow I love Donovan square of cloth at the least. You can hide it until needed. Rule #3 It can actually get crowded out there. Not so much in numbers, but in philosophies and use. I was with an Audoban bird watching group. They got very upset when some upland hunters passed with a string of pheasants. I GOT UPSET when one of my companions goosestepped all over a small stand of rare native plants trying to see a siberian pelican or something. So listen to people out there. They may turn out to be a landowner or a world famous biologist ( or a marijuana grower)

 

[arctic hobo]

...your first "bushcraft" trip is likely to be cold, hungry and uncomfortable. You meet the odd person that thrives on that kind of thing, but they're few and far between

Hello! :wave:

 

[Emma]

My tip to anyone after a cheap tent would be to ask local youth groups if they're chucking any tents away, then intercept them or rescue them from the bin.
(Of course they may not be completey waterproof, and need to be checked thoroughly for mouse nibbles and nests and a complete set of poles that will hold it up.)

 

[Celtic Dragon]

I've got a £30 single skin tent from Argos, ok, its never going to be up to the worst of weather, but its kept me dry after I reproofed all the seams with fabsil. Its even stood up to all that snow we had this time last year!!!

I also managed to snag UK camo pattern hoochie of Ebay for £15.

 

[Great Pebble]

:wave: Hello!

There's a name for people like you! :shock:

 

[bambodoggy]

I agree with most of what everyone has said below, I think all are right to some extent.

The Ideal...or certainly my ideal is to go out with knife only and stay as long as I like without issues of food or shelter and all that it entails...I'm about 60% confident I could do it now maybe more but I don't and haven't tried yet mainly due to the same concerns Gary points out about enviromental impact of natural camp set up....not so bad once you're sorted but the set up takes a bit of hacking etc.
I also agree that most first timers (Chris excluded... ) need a little more kit to make there first few trips out more fun but this isn't always the case. Many is the time that me and couple of mates all said we were staying at each others houses and just walked into the woods near us and built a small fire and stayed there for the night....no sleep at all, just chatting and joking....having our first ciggy's (we were only 13 or 14 at the time!!!!!). The only "Bushcraft" kit we had was a box of matches and that was more to light the fags we'd nicked from my mates dad. We always had a great time and were still doing this up to when we left school. To be fair we only did it in the summer and in nice weather but then again we were only wearing jeans and woolly jumper...this was my first experience of bushcrafting alone, other than this it was always with a cub or scout leader. It was special because we could do what we wanted...it didn't matter that we didn't do anymore than sit and chat...it was our choice.

I think the thread is a good one and my basic and budget kit would be:

knife (folder will do) (50p at car boot sale)
fire steel (can be the cheap £4 one...doesn't have to be the Swedish Army)
Old empty large bean tin (Free)
water bottle (old coke bottle is cool and free)
Old army blanket (£4 to £8 or free if you happen to have one)
Rain top (Ideal is gortex but doesn't have to be...could use old army Poncho - £10ish)

Total kit price: £22.50 (top costs used) But the above it just for me. If I was taking my wife (if only) then I'd take a shed load more to make her more comfortable. I think a beginner would be fine with the above kit provided they either read up or were shown how to get the best from those bits and bobs.

And having said all of the above I LOVE shinney new kit and so have loads of it!!!!! lol :rolmao:

 

[maddave]

We can all buy loads of kit and like Bambodoggy I like shiny things too, but you can get away with surprisingly little. An army blanket will keep you warm and also double as a haversack to carry your stuff in. The key is to have many uses for one thing and see your kit on a basic level.. For example.. A Zebra billy is just a tin....A posh tin but a tin all the same. A Norrona rucksack is just a bag for putting stuff in and a Granny B is just an axe. The native american peoples managed OK without stainless steel, gore tex or the latest technical footwear. It's just a state of mind. Now I'm not having a go at the good stuff, indeed I own some nice gear and it makes me very comfy when I am out, all I'm saying is, it's not neccessary to have all the latest bells & whistles to enjoy yourself in the woods... Just enough to be comfy with !! :biggthump

 

[jakunen]

Absolutely. Totally agree with you. Some of my kit is pretty old and I'm not going to upgrade as:

1. its still good.
2. it does more than one job.
3. why should I buy a new shiny one (at ludicrous prices) when this one still works?
4. New 'improved', doesn't necessarily mean 'better'. But its a great marketing word.

And by using multi-functional (ok it only took me 5 attempts to spell) kit, you reduce weight, volume and price. And its a few less things to lose or bust.

But... by reducing kit and using multi-functional kit, if it breaks or falls down that ravine, unless you know how to work around it...

So no matter how much kit you have - minimalist or string-of-sherpas, you still need to have the basic knowledge to work with and without the kit you carry.

 

[Not Bob]

Budget kit(summer only):
Build debris hut/kennel - no need for blanket!
Knap yourself a cutting edge - no need for knife!
Make a bow drill set, light fire, dig clay, make pot and fire it - no need for billy can!

OK I'm being a little facetious but it's a way of echoing what Gary said:

I cant help but find this thread as proof of the fact we seem to be loosing site of the idea that bushcraft is (in theory) carry less by knowing more.

By increasing your knowledge and learning to improvise you can do away with a lot of the knick-knacks we all seem to lug round with us (I'm not pointing fingers as I'm as guilty as the rest). As an example my boss told me once how when he was a child sometimes he didn't have a pocket knife with him and when he was building a den he'd need to cut some string. It was a sandstone area so no sharp rocks and it wasn't safe to carry a piece of broken glass so he'd just pull the string tight round one rock and bash hell out of the string with another rock until the string broke. Took a while but the string got 'cut'.
I'm not saying you should cut string with a blunt rock but you can do a great deal with very little if you think of alternative ways to get to the desured end.

 

[arctic hobo]

There's a name for people like you! :shock:

... masochists? ):

Seriously though, I'm practical, not a hardnut. I don't ditch kit because I like getting cold/wet/tired, I just don't mind them much. Plus many of the favourite places in the world are cold and\or wet, so I just put up with them because it's worth it. After a few times, you just get used to it and it's normal.

 

[steve a]

I spent the best part of week living with nothing more than the clothes I stood up in, a knife,saw,billy,1 snare,4 fishing hooks,20m of line and 2 fishing lures, and thats your lot.
We were staying where we could fish for brown trout, snare rabbits,had a good source of carbohydrates ( cattails).
A lot of hard work was needed building the shelter, gathering food, maintaining the fire and as it rained for most of the week, keeping dry.
I learnt a hell of lot doing this, the main points are, yes you can practice bushcraft and be comfortable with the minimum of gear.But if you can only get out for one or two days at a time it is much easier to take a shelter than build one, have some food items with you and add to them by foraging.
I think as always it is best to find your own way, if you like a fair amount of gear and are prepared to carry it good luck to you,for the minimalists, if thats the path you wish to follow thats good too.
For myself, a balance between comfort, time, enjoyment, weight, is what I am striving for, I'll let you know when I get there.

 

[Mr Cissey]

Oi Not Bob! That was my string cutting method that I was going to market to the kind of people who buy ready made bow drill sets; I wouldn't have bl**dy told you if I'd known you were going to tell other people about it.

 

[jakunen]

SteveA , when you get there mate. Send us directions...):

 

[steve a]

:rolmao: :rolmao:
Jak, do your own thing mate, we are all individuals.We should set our own targets and ambitions and aim for those, anyone elses, I can take on board, learn from it and use what suits me, if someone wants to sleep under a hanky fine but I think it also valid that some people may wish to use a hammock, hootchi, tent, or whatever and I would not Knock them for it,nor any of the other stuff people use.If they think it is valid for them, good,other people have their own choice to use it or not and I would not take a view of I'm better than you because I use b....ger all to achieve my aims and you lot need all that gear, maybe their aims are not the same as mine. :?:
Save some of that juice for me !!

 

[jakunen]

Don't worry mate. I decided to walk my own path long ago and find my own solutions.

After-all, what can you truly achieve and call your own if you walk another mans shadow?

 

[Viking]

I think the thing with kit is:
First you have only a few but good items
Next you start buying all you can get your hands on and spend a smalla fortune doing this.
Bu in the end you go back to the few but good kit that you had from the start.

If I was going to start with bushcrafting or recommend kit to anyone I would start looking around what I got before I bought anything, friends and family often have lots of old gear laying around that they will be more then happy to get rid off. Look in surplus and second hand shops there you can make som real bargains.

Knife - most people have one otherwise there is always someone who has been doing this for a while and has a knife too many.
Pot - any old tin can will do, in secon hand store you can often find old coffe tins in diffrent sizes.
Sleeping - an old blanket, 2 plastic bags and dry grass (lots of options), a tarp does not have be an axpensive hootchie or basha look for plastic tarps that is used to cover cars and boats, they are really cheap and work great.
Fire - Matches are cheap and most people have them at home
Waterproofs - if you don´t have any, use a pastic bag as a ponco or fins an old tarp and make a poncho out of it
Clothes - What do you have home, look for wool, poly cotton and army surplus and second hand stores but don´t be afraid to use cotton as long it´s summer you will get by just fine.
Rucksack - Make yor own, all you need is three sticks some and some cord and some old sack (or and old sweater) use your imiganition. Otherwise you can get swedisj 35 litre frame packs cheap or why not an old 70 litre used for about the same price.
Other kit - Look around you at home, what do you got, what more do you really need?

If there are any new swedes that want more tips on exactly what to buy pm me and I will give you some more tips.