kit help

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J14

Member
Aug 22, 2008
38
0
30
county durham
I just joined and have been into bushcraft for a while but was wanting to know some cheep alternatives to expensive stuff
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
Best thing to do is list what you have and what you need. Then you will get more worthwhile advice. It also depends on what you want to do as well, how long you want to go out for, staying overnight or not, want to use technical gear or old school methods, etc, etc.

There was a thread showing real cheap kit to get started on, can't remeber the title though. Dig around in the archives, use the search function and if you really can't find anything then people will help you out.

For a starter kit, a cheap pack (Surplus and adventure LK35 for a fiver) a few cola bottles for your water, a builders tarp, a mora knife for less than a tenner or a Opinel 9 (just got two today, they're massive!) to whittle stuff and cut your food for dinner, get a massive old bean tin from a cafe or similar as a cooking pot or use a tin from Wilkinsons for tea/coffee/sugar and make a decent cheap billy, make a penny stove to burn methylated spirits, get a few old blankets or a surplus sleeping bag, some waterproof clothing (A poncho is good as it doubles as a tarp) and spend good money on a good first aid kit and training to use it.

There are other things you can get, the above is a simple kit list that you can expand on, but there isn't a need to get expensive kit straight off. If you really like the hobby, you'll replace kit as you go along and grow out of it. To be honest, I'd be more impressed with a guy spending a few nights in the woods with a bean tin billy can and a few blankets than a guy with a grands worth of technical titanium gear!
 

Sniper

Native
Aug 3, 2008
1,431
0
Saltcoats, Ayrshire
Do a search for Swedish army trangia, look round the results, I've just got a great little cook set for £4.50, bombproof. Check out allplas.co.uk they do a tarp 2.7 x 3.5 for under a fiver combined with a ball of string from wooly's, a frost mora from any of the bushcraft sites for less than a tenner (I got one for £6.80) and check out the surplus sites for bergens and sleeping bags, old 58 pattern sleeping bags are a bit big and a wee bit heavy but again bombproof and cheap. The same sites will also produce a 58 pattern water bottle with mug in a pouch. This will cover all the basics you need after that it's up to you for luxury items and upgrades as and when you can.
Cooking & eating
Shelter & sleeping
Water
Carrying
Probably no more than £50 the lot, and your off.
A 2nd hand german or sniper sleeping bag is about £25 at the moment.

Hope this helps for ideas for a cheap startup.:rolleyes:
 

Lasse

Nomad
Aug 17, 2007
337
0
Belgium
You might also like some clothing, a great source are the army surplus shops, if you don't mind olive green or camo at least. I've got a woolen ABL (belgian army) shirt with reinforced sholders and elbows and love it, doesn't cost a leg, does exactly what it's supposed to do. I'd say you can hardly go wrong with a woolen shirt and gloves and hat and underwear and socks and... ;) Especially in our cold, wet climates!
(do note: I'm addicted to wool)
 

durulz

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 9, 2008
1,755
1
Elsewhere
2 key things.
Firstly, don't be in a rush to buy. Read the comments that have already been posted on this site, and read the ones that will get written to see what you will need.
Secondly, you will see that there are all sorts of places you can go to get perfectly serviceable kit without having to shell out sh!tloads on named brands. Truth is, an ally pan from Wilkinsons does the job just as well as a titanium one bought from Blacks or wherever. Hunt around. Places like Wilkinsons and Woolworths are selling camping stuff at the moment. And don't forget Poundland and Poundstretcher.
Try NOT to do a budget version of the most important items: sleeping bag and tarp. They will keep you dry and warm! Someone earlier mentioned an old German army sleeping bag - avoid them. Yes, they're cheap, but it's wasted money. You can get a decent 3 season hollow fibre sleeping bag for £40 and it'll keep you ten times as warm and weigh only a tenth the weight.
You can get a good sized pack from an army surplus store. Ask for an 'all-arms bergen' (sometimes known as a 'turtle pack')with the side pouches. Shouldn't cost anymore than £30 or so. And it's absolutely cavernous. And, because it's designed for the army, it's extremely tough.
Anyway, rambled on long enough. Don't rush into it - read these posts (autumn's knocking on the door now anyway, and if you don't have something decent enough you are going to have cold and wet nights and that's not fun. And don't forget the good old Christmas list) and see what others are doing. Practice in your garden (we've all done that). By 'practice in your garden' I mean practice using your kit and get to know it before you're in the field. That way you get to know its limitations, and you can start customising it to your needs (everyone does this) and you can see what you need, what you can do without etc.
OK, that was a double ramble on. You've got the idea.

Oh, and as for clothing...well, you've GOT to have a good old Norwegian army shirt. God bless 'em. Cracking item that is soft, warm, cheap and durable. It's surprising how cold it can be at 2 in the morning, even in summer. You can get these in army surplus shops.
 

Sniper

Native
Aug 3, 2008
1,431
0
Saltcoats, Ayrshire
Try NOT to do a budget version of the most important items: sleeping bag and tarp. They will keep you dry and warm! Someone earlier mentioned an old German army sleeping bag - avoid them. Yes, they're cheap, but it's wasted money. You can get a decent 3 season hollow fibre sleeping bag for £40 and it'll keep you ten times as warm and weigh only a tenth the weight.

That's the great thing about these forums. I agree with most of what Durulz says but I disagree on the german sleeping bag and tarp. A tarp to me is a windproof and waterproof shelter to keep the elements off you, it does not have to be fancy or expensive. I have used a german sleeping bag for years and found them warm and waterproof and windproof, in fact an excellent bit o kit, but heavy. If you have a tight budget then this cheap stuff allows you to get a full basic kit to start out. Again I would agree with Durulz you will want to upgrade, as I see it, then is the time to spend as much as you can afford for the items you will by then want. This is purely a difference of opinion and Durulz and I see things in a different way, both are correct and both opinions have merit, I think it depends on what your budget is, whether you get a cheaper start kit or slightly better quality kit but if you double the cost of the sleeping bag for example will it leave you without some other bit o kit?
I mean no offense Durulz?
 

bikething

Full Member
May 31, 2005
2,568
3
54
West Devon, Edge of Dartymoor!

J14

Member
Aug 22, 2008
38
0
30
county durham
Thanks for the advice I can see chosing a sleeping bag is harder than I thought. and thanks for the tip to look at car boot sales
 

J14

Member
Aug 22, 2008
38
0
30
county durham
Today I was at a surplus shop and was given a NDC suit. I was wondering if they were any good for keeping you warm/dry etc?
 

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