Innovation in Bushcraft

[twisted firestarter]

I enjoyed reading about biologists in Pennsylvania who have tested out a 'bungee powered' back pack and found that it reduces the force of the load by 86%

http://www.gizmag.co.uk/go/6654/

I wondered if any of you have thought of any technology which could be applied to bushcraft in a useful way?

 

[Mikey P]

Kind of goes against the grain, technology and bushcraft at first glance.

But then I thought - firesteel, gps, hammocks & tarps made of plastics, OS maps, backpacks with various gizmos on them, technical fabrics, knives with artificial handles, fancy compasses. walking poles, tents, etc.

I suppose we just adapt technology for our own needs and it all has a use in bushcraft.

Personally, I would like to see a very small, battery powered dishwasher. I hate washing up.

 

[happybunny]

That is a really interesting thought. I'm always saying that developments in materials science have made a huge difference to so many sports - outdoor / wilderness ones as much as any others, and you have given so many examples re: bushcraft. In other pursuits things have become accessible to weekend amateurs like me that were only possible for the elite - personally I'm thinking about (easy) grade 3 rapids in an open canoe thanks to Royalex canoes and dry suits...

Isn't it interesting, too, how there is lots of interest in traditional crafts carried out partly in the woods, and partly in our centrally heated and electrically lit houses.

Even more lovely as an irony - we are discussing the application of technology to bushcraft through a medium which requires the pinnacle of modern technology - the internet.

"Bushcraft is about being confident and comfortable in the natural environment" as the front page of this site says, and I don't think many of us would swap our modern lives to become hunter gatherers (tell me I'm wrong...) yet we love to get out there into wild places and just "be" for a while. I'm fairly new to bushcraft, but I've taken my main annual holiday camping almost every year for a long time precisely because it gets me away from the screens (TV, computer, ...) that I enjoy so much the rest of the year, and generally hate to be without.

Random reflections, as ever, but I guess that this makes me feel that whatever helps me "get out there" is fair game (within reason - perhaps dynamite fishing wouldn't be a top choice) without taking up snobbish "that isn't proper" positions - if people want to take different levels of kit with them then whatever they feel comfortable with should be fine for them?

To look at it another way - why is lighting a fire with a firesteel so much more satisfying than using a match, yet I don't feel a burning desire (pun intended ) to create fire by friction every time I want a brew...

(Oh, and by the way, I'd love to have a go at fire by friction sometime...)

Thanks for a stimulating thought!

Ben

 

[dommyracer]

Interesting article - as well as reducing the force of the load, it also reduces the amount of energy needed to carry it:-

The pack actually reduces the metabolic cost of walking from one point to another by about 40 watts, or the equivalent of carrying 12 extra pounds.

 

[rich59]

Don't tell "TooMuchKitToCarry" or he will carry 4x as much!!!

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

Don't tell "TooMuchKitToCarry" or he will carry 4x as much!!!

LOL

You're right rich59

Cheers,

Phil.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Some interesting points there Happybunny,
Especially poignient, as it was through this site and meeting with others in some very cold Oxford woodland, that I managed fire by friction a year or so ago.
And to Twisted Firestarters list can be added - ceramics technology, as in sharpeneing rods. I doubt I would have been able to achieve a shaving sharp knife without it. And many others besides, titanium cooksets, nylon paracord and the holy grail.... Goretex!

ATB

Ogri the trog