I missed my wooly pully and 58 bag soo much when I left the TA that I replaced them. They dont get used as much now but they became old friends if you know what I mean.
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Kit Nostalgia....It's not what it used to be
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BOD
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
If you still have the kit how can you be nostalgic?
What's good I still use.
Probably the only thing I would like to have since its so small is the pocket can opener but then again I hardly ever carry cans anymore and the SAK opener will do
What's good I still use.
Probably the only thing I would like to have since its so small is the pocket can opener but then again I hardly ever carry cans anymore and the SAK opener will do
Now this thread has really brought back memories! I had a Globetrotter with the small canisters that fitted inside the two tiny pans. I bought it when I was in the Scouts - probably late 70s /early 80's. When my then girlfriend (now wife) and I went inter-railing for a month together in 1988 it was the stove that we took with us. We camped every night for that month in various parts of Europe, and cooked practically every meal we ate on it (no money for cafe's & restaurants - poor students!!).
When they stopped making the cartridges a few years later I really foolishly threw it out (I didn't even keep the pans).
I can't really explain or understand myself why I did that (I'd probably watched "Clutter Nutters" or some equally daft "De-clutter Your Life" programme), but will always regret doing it, and am now on a mission to try to find one somewhere that I will keep and cherish (even though you can't get the gas for them...)
When they stopped making the cartridges a few years later I really foolishly threw it out (I didn't even keep the pans
).I can't really explain or understand myself why I did that (I'd probably watched "Clutter Nutters" or some equally daft "De-clutter Your Life" programme), but will always regret doing it, and am now on a mission to try to find one somewhere that I will keep and cherish (even though you can't get the gas for them...
)
when I was about 12 I Joined scouts (mid 80's), and was given a few bits from my parents to use.
an orange "pack-a-mac" type fold-away "waterproof" I say "waterproof" it had no waterproof lining or water reppelency whatsoever.
It was literally just a thin nylon(like rip-stop) anorak. probably not even windproof, for some reason unknown to me, it had a buttoned crotch strap? why?
a green fold away "rucksack" again very thin nylon, not a sign of padding at all!
The shoulder straps were nothing more than thin nylon folded and sewn and metal buckles(they dug in), none of that Cordura rubbish
My mum had found some "walking boots" for me from a charity shop...they were solid!
The heavy, leather, was so stiff I could barely walk, or even move my ankles!
I think probably designed to be used with crampons, they even had the "Old school" screwed on soles! and the heads of nails on the inside.
I had a £5 Survival knife: (I hope no one had to actually survive with this knife!)
It had a plastic handle, saw teeth on the back, ball compass on the end. fishing kit, needles , matches, wire saw etc inside, and a mock camo leather sheath (I think the knife may have been stamped out of a sheet of metal and of course "made in china")!
and a bulldog cook set!
I always ended up burning porridge in the saucepan and getting food stuck inside the rim of the bowl part.
a sleeping bag (from argos):
with a reflective foil lining (ooooo!...It didn't work!) it had a 1ft metal zip, from the chest to the neck.(probably about 2 seasons but it always seemed cold)
a copy US army right angle torch:
Very big, very heavy, big heavy D-cell batteries,(plus spares), great cause it had a spare bulb in the base, but it ran out of batteries fast!
It did have coloured lenses to and a morse code button signal with, YAY!!!! ....never did though).
It's the only torch I've had you can field strip!.....literally has about 20 parts...it was a boring day!
somehow I remember it was all about Jumpers, hats and gloves! (even in summer)
I remember having to carry a couple of spares of each in my bag.
ah the good ol' days
or should that be AAAAAAAAAGGHH!!
an orange "pack-a-mac" type fold-away "waterproof" I say "waterproof" it had no waterproof lining or water reppelency whatsoever.
It was literally just a thin nylon(like rip-stop) anorak. probably not even windproof, for some reason unknown to me, it had a buttoned crotch strap? why?
a green fold away "rucksack" again very thin nylon, not a sign of padding at all!
The shoulder straps were nothing more than thin nylon folded and sewn and metal buckles(they dug in), none of that Cordura rubbish
My mum had found some "walking boots" for me from a charity shop...they were solid!
The heavy, leather, was so stiff I could barely walk, or even move my ankles!
I think probably designed to be used with crampons, they even had the "Old school" screwed on soles! and the heads of nails on the inside.
I had a £5 Survival knife: (I hope no one had to actually survive with this knife!)
It had a plastic handle, saw teeth on the back, ball compass on the end. fishing kit, needles , matches, wire saw etc inside, and a mock camo leather sheath (I think the knife may have been stamped out of a sheet of metal and of course "made in china")!
and a bulldog cook set!
I always ended up burning porridge in the saucepan and getting food stuck inside the rim of the bowl part.
a sleeping bag (from argos):
with a reflective foil lining (ooooo!
...It didn't work!) it had a 1ft metal zip, from the chest to the neck.(probably about 2 seasons but it always seemed cold)a copy US army right angle torch:
Very big, very heavy, big heavy D-cell batteries,(plus spares), great cause it had a spare bulb in the base, but it ran out of batteries fast!
It did have coloured lenses to and a morse code button signal with, YAY!!!! ....never did though).
It's the only torch I've had you can field strip!.....literally has about 20 parts...it was a boring day!
somehow I remember it was all about Jumpers, hats and gloves! (even in summer)
I remember having to carry a couple of spares of each in my bag.
ah the good ol' days
or should that be AAAAAAAAAGGHH!!
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When they stopped making the cartridges a few years later I really foolishly threw it out (I didn't even keep the pans
I can't really explain or understand myself why I did that (I'd probably watched "Clutter Nutters" or some equally daft "De-clutter Your Life" programme), but will always regret doing it, and am now on a mission to try to find one somewhere that I will keep and cherish (even though you can't get the gas for them...
PM sent.
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Ahhh - those were the days...
My first real hiking trip, aged 16, had me well equiped.
To tackle the Pennine Way in the heat of the "Drought of '76" I had...denim Jeans and Jeans Jacket, old fashioned Rugby shorts (the cotton kind with a drawstring waist and a pocket for your 1/2 time ciggy) cotton T-shirt, Denim Boonie hat, hand knitted "Ganzie" sweater,chambrey shirt, Ragwool socks, industrial Boots (not steelies thanks be!), the kind of steel framed canvas and leather rucksack that everyone now raves about, hexi stove (nicked of the Belgian Paras...another story there) nesting alu frying pan, billie, plate and plastic mug, bendy KFS set, SAK, Single skin, cotton duck "pup tent" with sectional woden poles and no ground sheet, waterproof cape (doubled as a ground sheet) and a poly waterbottle.
Note the lack of a ground insulating mat...I just used my spare clothing for that!
I nearly died of heat exhaustion due to almost total dehydration as all the streams were dry, but I eventually got as far as Malham before giving in...then I "recovered" for a couple of days in Hereford before wandering through Wales using the same kit, plus a sheet of Damp Proof Membrane as a flysheet as the weather broke!
Is it any wonder that I am now a kit junky?
My first real hiking trip, aged 16, had me well equiped.
To tackle the Pennine Way in the heat of the "Drought of '76" I had...denim Jeans and Jeans Jacket, old fashioned Rugby shorts (the cotton kind with a drawstring waist and a pocket for your 1/2 time ciggy) cotton T-shirt, Denim Boonie hat, hand knitted "Ganzie" sweater,chambrey shirt, Ragwool socks, industrial Boots (not steelies thanks be!), the kind of steel framed canvas and leather rucksack that everyone now raves about, hexi stove (nicked of the Belgian Paras...another story there) nesting alu frying pan, billie, plate and plastic mug, bendy KFS set, SAK, Single skin, cotton duck "pup tent" with sectional woden poles and no ground sheet, waterproof cape (doubled as a ground sheet) and a poly waterbottle.
Note the lack of a ground insulating mat...I just used my spare clothing for that!
I nearly died of heat exhaustion due to almost total dehydration as all the streams were dry, but I eventually got as far as Malham before giving in...then I "recovered" for a couple of days in Hereford before wandering through Wales using the same kit, plus a sheet of Damp Proof Membrane as a flysheet as the weather broke!
Is it any wonder that I am now a kit junky?
This is my Goodall Brand Elite Rambler from the 60s-70s a true classic i belive
[video=youtube_share;utDKWend72Q]http://youtu.be/utDKWend72Q[/video]elive
Ratbag I can confirm that my 58 pattern water bottle also has a distinct plasticy taste and when combined with my trangia (who's burner has a leaky lid) the taste of my brew is becomes very 'interesting'
Haha add an iodine tablet and you didnt need beer.
Got one of these issued in 1979 and was still using it up till last year always found them very comfy and would carry an amazing amount of kit, but time moves on and now use a Camelbak BFM and a Karrimor Preditor but I have fond memorys of my SAS Bergen.
Most of the above kit seems positively modern to me! Ah, even nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Only sentiment stops me from throwing away the Bukta single skin egyptian cotton tent my parents bought me for my tenth birthday sixty-one years ago. It weighed 5lbs dry and about a ton wet. It was single skin, no ground sheet and didn't fit in my rucksack which was packed with a paraffin stove in a tin box and a Gilwell canteen which was big enough for a patrol of Boy Scouts. My sleeping bag was a quilt bought from the Scout Shop and sewn up into a bag at home to save the purchase tax (VAT predecessor). My mum insisted that I also carried a ground blanket in case I got chilly at night, and a plastic butter dish- god knows why. The whole lot weighed 30lbs: much the same as my kit weighs today despite all the advances in lightweight kit over the years. But then I was lighter then too.
The rucksack was unframed, shapeless with three outside pockets, none of which was big enough to take anything. I still remember coveting a genuine "commando" rucksack from Bergan. They weighed 6lbs empty.
Well, it clearly did me no lasting harm other than a lifelong obsession for keeping my kit as simple as possible. I need that weight saving for medicaments, spare spectacles and mobile phone to remind my wife I'm still alive when on a solo overnighter.
Only sentiment stops me from throwing away the Bukta single skin egyptian cotton tent my parents bought me for my tenth birthday sixty-one years ago. It weighed 5lbs dry and about a ton wet. It was single skin, no ground sheet and didn't fit in my rucksack which was packed with a paraffin stove in a tin box and a Gilwell canteen which was big enough for a patrol of Boy Scouts. My sleeping bag was a quilt bought from the Scout Shop and sewn up into a bag at home to save the purchase tax (VAT predecessor). My mum insisted that I also carried a ground blanket in case I got chilly at night, and a plastic butter dish- god knows why. The whole lot weighed 30lbs: much the same as my kit weighs today despite all the advances in lightweight kit over the years. But then I was lighter then too.
The rucksack was unframed, shapeless with three outside pockets, none of which was big enough to take anything. I still remember coveting a genuine "commando" rucksack from Bergan. They weighed 6lbs empty.
Well, it clearly did me no lasting harm other than a lifelong obsession for keeping my kit as simple as possible. I need that weight saving for medicaments, spare spectacles and mobile phone to remind my wife I'm still alive when on a solo overnighter.
I wear my Wooly pully for winter. You should try it nice and warm and brings back good memories.
I remember as if it were yesterday, as a callow 17 year old, lying in a Blacks Stormhaven one sunny afternoon, somewhere near Whitby and thinking how nice such a tent would be just for one.
It was another 25 yrs before I had the cash and the inclination simultaneously but I got there...
Not quite a Stormhaven, but at 10' x 8', big enough for the average scout patrol and palatial for one. That tent is 15 yrs old now and I expect it will outlast me.
It was another 25 yrs before I had the cash and the inclination simultaneously but I got there...
Not quite a Stormhaven, but at 10' x 8', big enough for the average scout patrol and palatial for one. That tent is 15 yrs old now and I expect it will outlast me.
