Doing bushcraft without a tractor and trailer

[william#]

doc thought your advice is solid

accept for water proof trousers

you can buy such cheap light weight ones they are reel worth popping in the pack as having complete protection against the rain and damp conditions can make a hell of a difference

most of the time i dont use mine but the few times i have i have been very glad i had them


the rest of the advice is solid

 

[Peter_t]

- DD Travel Hammock
- Stove (Primus Omnifuel) with 600ml liquid fuel
- Gransfors Small Forest Axe
- pocket GPS
- steriliser
- Leatherman multitool
- toothbrush & lightweight shaving kit
- Trowel for the necessaries


there is no need for these imo.


hammocks are just gimmicks and far from essential (unless your planning on going to a rain forest)

a stove isn't necessary as surely you will be using a fire? but if a fire isn't possible (not allowed or too wet) i would go for a trangia stove. runs on meths, much lighter and has no working parts to go wrong. you can just use the burner on its own with your billy can suspened aboth it as you would over a fire.

if you cannot rely on your own navigation skills you should not be out! GPS systems break or run out of batteries and if you can only navigate with a gps your in trouble. learn to use a map and compass before you plan any trips.

you don’t need to carry sterilisers if you can boil water. although a milbank bag is a good .

i used to carry a leatherman but soon learned that they have very little use outside of society unless you carry complicated equipment like the pressure stove you suggested. keep it simple is the rule - complex equipment can make your life much easier but can also make your life much harder if it goes wrong.

SHAVING! that is almost blasphemy in bushcraft! seriously though, you can go without shaving.

i never bother burying my poo, animals don't so why should i? its no different. there are other times you mite need to dig such as foraging roots but a digging stick is more suitable and you don’t have to carry it with you!


hope this helps, other will disagree but i think in bushcraft you need to loose as much reliance on equipment as possible.


have fun!
pete

 

[durulz]

Well, whilst you may need all of those things at some point or another, you won't need ALL those things ALL the time.
You only take out with you what you think you will actually need for that actual trip.

 

[william#]

hey peter

again solid advice

have always loved tarangias as they are low tech and extremely reliable

down side slow and bulky and use a hell of a lot of fuels

honestly pocket rocket is fast cheap and easy to maintain - though mixed butane canisters need to be kept a little warmer this time of year (thats why i store them in my sleeping bag when im out keeps the mix working properly

hammocks as a gimmick

hmm

well they are a bit this time of year they are pretty un usable even with a a great sleeping bag due to the compression you get under your weight also yes you are dependent on trees but tbh if i can sleep in a hamkmock i choose it every time over being on the floor it just feels great - and thats inportant to me when im out

 

[andythecelt]

As others have said, ditch the sleeping bag as soon as spring is well underway. I use a fleece liner as a bag in my hammock as soon as it's warmed up enough to do so wearing all my clothes. I'd suggest taking a hard plastic bottle for water, filling it with hot water before bed and shoving it down by your feet will keep you a lot warmer, nothing keeps you awake like cold feet. It means you can ditch the bulky sleeping bag earlier in the year.
A thermarest is something I tend to always carry but a lighter alternative is a cheap closed sell foam mat, some of them are just a couple of hundred grams.
Most of the cooking you seem to be doing is basically just boiling water. An aluminium pan would be just as effective and a lot lighter. Keep it as small as possible, certainly under a litre. I don't worry about it having a bail handle necessarily, I just shove it in the side of the fire. You only need a crane type setup if you need bottom heat and for boiling water it's just not necessary. It also saves the time it takes to make one.
An axe is a luxury I tend to use more on day hikes, I can spare the weight then since I'm not carrying sleeping kit.
Ditch spare undies. Get a pair of polypropylene that you can rinse as needed, wring out and put back on. Same goes for clothes, keep them light and easy to clean so you only need one set. Put the lot on at night, saves duplicating insulation in your sleeping bag.

 

[SimonM]

Just packed for an over nighter tomorrow,

Shelter & Sleep:
DD Tarp XL (Rain forecast for the whole day & night & want a dry bit to sit in!)
Nomadsland hammock
Snugpack underblanket & quilt

Cooking & Water:
Honey stove & Tatonka meths burner
Meths bottle (500ml bottle about half full)
3L Platypus (Not sure about water where I'm going)
1L waterbottle & mug
Titanium cooking pot
Millbank bag
Long handled spoon (eating out of a bag & hate messy fingers!)

Food:
Dehydrated exped type food (left overs from an earlier outing)
Oat so simple
Coffee / milk powder sachets
Snack bars

Luxuries:
Single malt

Hygiene:
Trowel / tissues / alchol gel / lighter
Mouth wash
Bio degradable travel soap
Pack towel

Misc:
FAK
Lenser P3 torch (single AA type)
SM beltknife
Folding saw
Flint / Steel & tinder

Spare Clothing:
Clean socks
Moleskin smock

Not weighed it, but am guessing at about 13kg when I include water.

All carried in a Lowe Alpine Sting (quilt & Underblanket not compressed to fill up the space)

HTH?

Simon

 

[Hugo]

Some great advice given here guys.
@ Paul B. 10 Kg carry weight, that is interesting.
I found the water on Dartmoor OK to drink, I never used the purifying tabs, beer from the Old Inn Widdicombe and at The Tavistock Inn Ponsworthy was OK too.

 

[william#]

i always have puriying tabs somewhere in the pack but tbh they taste so awefull never used

 

[Miyagi]

This may seem like heresy...

But you can ditch the kip mat and use your day jacket underneath. Or cut it down (not a good idea with the inflatable ones) so it only goes just past your hips/buttocks.

If you're a smoker, the socks that you forgot to wash yesterday in the stream etc., can be used to blow your blocked wood smoke/nicotine filled nose. Then wash them!!

You can dry underwear, socks on the outside of your pack as you walk or underneath your jacket below the bergan straps. This has no possible connection to me developing arthritic shoulders - allegedly...

If you decide to shave, keep the warm soapy bristly water to clean the carbon from your mess tin/billy if you've used a wood fire. Also use a pine needle floor, grass floor or moss as a scrubby - or cut down a wee bit of scrubby pad/scotch brite.

Don't throw away wet wipes (even kacky ones, folded carefully), they will dry pretty quick and can be re-used as tinder.

Make do and mend.

Above all enjoy.

It's only the folks that don't bimble in the cuds that think you smell,

Liam

 

[malente]

This may seem like heresy...

... (even kacky ones, folded carefully) ...

origami?

 

[Miyagi]

origami?

If you make them look like a swan, it adds a touch of class...

Basic Origami, first lesson is making a box out of paper, no scissors etc. it's called a Hakko.

It took me months to get that right - no, it really did!

On a tangent, we've all heard the jokes, but you can actually get a black belt in Origami.

 

[maddave]

My kit for a bimble is usually:...
rucksack
sleeping bag
DD hammock & Tarp
underblanket
Crusader cup
crusader stove base & pop can stove
1ltr waterbottle
food for the distance between villages (why carry when ya can top up en route)
A fixed blade knife (Mora F1 BG Bushcrafter etc)
gransfors mini hatchet or folding saw
small pack baby wipes (1= wash, 2=bath)
small bottle of "camp suds" (great fer washing people, pots or clothes)
Map n compass
spare T shirt, spare undies n socks (1 of each)
head torch
normally worn clothes
small first aid kit
small point n shoot camera
Bandana or Shemagh (soooooooo useful)

Head full of mischief (optional)

 

[Paul_B]

If you like meths seriously try a whitebox stove. Even if you don't like meths stoves but prefer the gas stoves try one. They boil water almost as fast as a gas stove but are lighter. The fuel weight is an issue though. If you like a honey stove they work in them too but are a lot lighter than the trangia/tatonka style of meths burners and more efficient I believe based on tests done by others.

A lot of your kit will improve with a few trips and purchases. The main way to reduce weight is with the big three. Shelter, rucksack and sleeping bag. The shelter is a tarp, hammock set-up so should be quite light (anything less than 1kg is quite good for one really) so that is ok.

Rucksack is probably 3kg or so. This is the first and most obvious item to reduce the weight. If you want to reduce the weight then it means a bit of money. If you can also reduce the bulk of your gear (that will come later with the third item) then a smaller capacity bag would be suitable. If that is the case a 50litre sack can be found weighing about 1-1.5kg yet still capable of carrying loads up to 18 or even 20kg. My 1.6kg sack has carried 26kg before now (I suspect once it was nearly 30kg too). It is 50l +10litres over stuff and a single compartment sack (alpine). I suggest that these sacks are the best for weight and capacity since it is easier to fill it efficiently.

The last one of those three items is the sleeping bag. I reckon you have a heavy synthetic bag if it is from a bushcraft supplier. Seriously, how often have you gotten it wet through? Down can get damp but if you treat it with care, keep it in a drybag and only take it out in shelter or in the dry, then it will be ok IME. they are also the lightest for their warmth and have the best packability. They also last longer supposedly. The lightest are expensive but shop around and you will find deals. I got a £200 quilt for £100 in an end of season, end of line sale. The latest version costs £295! It is only 600-700g as well.

The first thing to do with weight reduction is to go out with what you think you need then at the end when you get home dump everything in 3 piles. Essential (FAK, shelter, sack, etc), used and unused. Throw away all unused stuff, re-pack all essential and look at the used pile carefully. If anything in the used pile was not used much is it worth the weight? Is the item heavy and/or bulky? Can it be replaced with something lighter?

Then re-pack with the stuff to take on your next trip. It should be lighter straight away.

You lose the most weight by leaving stuff behind. After that it costs money. Some people discuss this as £ per 100g weight saving before buying anything new. Also food on longer trips is best being dehydrated. Also non-dried food should ideally be high calorie. Some reckon 400kcal/100g is the lowest recommended energy density. There are weight weenies out there you know.

 

[Paul_B]

BTW according to he writer of the Book of the bivvy recommends that it is better not to carry more than 2 days food on a linear trip. He reckons it is better to travel 8 miles out of your way than carry 4 days food. I don't agree when you use dried food they are calorific and light. Choose your food better and its less of an issue. His argument has some merit though as 4 days food is generally considered to be 1kg per person per day. 4 days is 4kg. 2 lots of 2 days is only 2kg. So that means walk for two days then the last day end up at a village and re-stock (might take some distance off the path). On top of only carrying 2 days food a stop at a pub for a dinner before heading out again means you carry less.

I prefer to carry the food and stay up in the hills. However someone mentioned a good pub down there. It you pass it at lunchtime or near dinner then that is a good meal (pint perhaps too) and one less meal to carry. I walked around the Lakes for 2 weeks once and ate at pubs for a few meals to carry less food.

 

[Tengu]

What did Nessmuk take? (a far superior bushcrafter than Raymundo.)

knapsack
ditty bag
knife
folding knife
hatchet
tent
blanket
pots
little cloth bag to ue as pillow

Was there anything I missed, off the top of my head?

Hammocks are heavy, uncomfortable and decidedly unversatile.

Also they turn your skin blue.

I use a simple beach shelter with zip up door.

 

[springer5]

Well I'm lost for words (and that's unusual for me, or so my wife says !).

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences with me. I'm beginning to wonder if I've fallen foul of the Ray Mears marketing machine from the sound of many of you.

It's such a confusing array of kit out there it's hard to know where to start with it all. However, there do seem to be some obvious things I can do now without spending another penny for the moment.

I am heading off on Monday, so this staggering weight problem (quite literally) has been a bit of an unexpected last-minute setback, with not much time to sort it out.

I'll read through these comments quite a few times more over the w'end, and give some serious thought to whether some of the potentially optional stuff (like the axe, shaving kit, stones etc) are really necessary (I can see that they're probably not now). With respect, possibly a bit of a harsh comment about "if you can't trust your navigation you shouldn't be out"; we all have to start somewhere. If we all stayed at home until we could completely rely on our nav skills, we would never get out because we'd never allow ourselves to take that first step. If you can't be out there until you can nav perfectly then you'll never get out there, because you can't learn to nav perfectly unless you do get out there - catch 22. It's just a case of limiting what you do and having a bit of help from technology as a backup to verify my practice attempts.

As for the sleeping bag I am limited by moral beliefs on that one (I'm a vegan) so I can't use a down bag on principle (please don't make fun of that, it's just what I believe in - I'm sure no one here is like that, but you'd be surprised how much stick I have to put up with on some other forums), but the blanket idea is a good one, especially as the weather gets milder now. The Woodlore bag is heavy (about 1.5 kg I think) and the Karrimor sack is even heavier (about 2.75 kg).

Some of you may start seeing some of these items on eBay from the advice I've seen here, but once I've completed that first trip I think it will help a lot to see what was important and what was just a waste of space.

Many thanks again to everyone who offered advice. I'm positively blown away by how helpful you've all been, and if anyone else is going to Dartmoor next week to do a bit of "bushing", keep an eye out for a balding, fat g!t bent double under about 2 tonnes of bergen, then come over and say hello, it'll probably be me !!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Bravo4]

Was there anything I missed, off the top of my head?

Many years of experience.
Custom made kit.
Job as writer for outdoor magazine.
A guide, sometimes? (correct me if I'm wrong, somebody, this is the internet and I've not time to fact check this.)
Otherwise, sure. ...except the blue skin thing, have yet to see that.

Springer5, you can leave about half the items on your list at home. Which half is going to depend on, and here is the magic secret, you only need.....

wup'....dinnertime, and you've pretty much just ended the thread. Have fun!
and it is all a catch 22, itsa catcha 22, catchatwentytwooooo!!!

 

[QDanT]

cheers Danny

 

[JonathanD]

Of course, now you have people giving their own preferences in kit, which will be very different to your own. Your best bet is to go out with the kit you think you need now, and when you get back home, you can modify your list and start packing the equipment that suits you. We are all so different in our comfort levels and kit specs, only you can decide what you need and don't. And to do that, you need to go forth and experiment. Keep us informed and have a great time

 

[rik_uk3]

Dump the axe and take a small folding saw, you can baton the wood with your knife. Keep the Omnifuel as even with fuel it won't break you back, will light in any weather and your not grubbing around looking for twigs; fire is a bonus for me and not an essential part of camping (bushcraft or otherwise) and trust me when its peeing down you want your brew fast.

You've spent a lot on kit, stop buying now and get out and about and see what you need.

Hammocks you either love or hate, I don't get on with them, a small tent is a better all round shelter IMHO and you are not limited to camping in the woods with a tent.