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Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,211
364
73
SE Wales
Only truly desperate folks would consider a farm pond suitable to drink from....or maybe BG

M

Pond life anyway?..............................I'll get my smock! :)
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
If you can find one, that's not running through peat, bracken and the like too, good for you :)
Our local burns run over sand, clay, coal, and sandstone. They are alive with living things and they are surrounded in greenery....

Depends here. They are all surrounded by greenery (we're semi-tropical after all) The foliage all hangs into the streams. The branches are usually very clear due to their flow rates, but once they get up to the size of a creek, the water takes on a brownish color from the tannins; it basically brews.

There's several inches of debris at the bottoms of ditches and still water (that's where we rake up crawfish) but very little near the surface.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Only truly desperate folks would consider a farm pond suitable to drink from....or maybe BG

M

Pond life anyway?..............................I'll get my smock! :)

I may be a little OTT but I usually try to keep my dogs from drinking it as well.
 
Trip down memory lane this:-

Northern Light , Brass Sierra Cups. Really must clean mine up.


Chris Reeves Jerboam. The only hollow handle I've ever really fancied (apart from my old Swedish Army Bayonette MOD from the 80's)


Ancient German Army spleeping bag with arms that turned into a parka!


Hand knitted woollen socks to go with your breeches and boots with the red laces!

German army bag was my festival staple and I've worn one once for a couple of days and slept where I dropped. Super kit imo.
 

Dark Horse Dave

Full Member
Apr 5, 2007
1,739
71
Surrey / South West London
Just on the CCF vs inflatable mats thing:

I always use inflatables and have not seen a need to return to CCFs anytime in recent years. I certainly prefer the comfort!

I reckon CCFs do still have at least one application in which they are the better option though, and that is for my son and his mates when camping with the Scouts, where the CCF stands up better to boys running across them. Mind you, it has to be a robust CCF as well, as the cheapo one he had last time came back with great chunks out of it and big tear across it!
 

rg598

Native
I think the discussion on Milbank bags started in the context of items that are no longer used, or have gone out of fashion. In that respect, the assertion is absolutely correct. Other than a few people on sites like this one, almost no one uses them any more. 99.99% of people do not use a Milbank bag when out in the woods. In the US you can't even find one unless you want to import it from somewhere (at least I've never seen it anywhere).

As far as comparing the Milbank bag to a modern filter, there just isn't any comparison. Modern filters filter out a lot more particles than a Milbank bag. In our modern view of filtration, a Milbank bag is just a pre-filter. In that role, it works fine, but there are much lighter and smaller pre-filters on the market, or even DIY models. I use a DIY inline pre-filter for my Sawyer Mini, which weighs 0.2oz (5.7g):
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2012/04/sawyer-squeeze-filtration-system.html
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2014/05/sawyer-mini-squeeze-filter-pre-filter.html
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
I think the discussion on Milbank bags started in the context of items that are no longer used, or have gone out of fashion. In that respect, the assertion is absolutely correct. Other than a few people on sites like this one, almost no one uses them any more. 99.99% of people do not use a Milbank bag when out in the woods. In the US you can't even find one unless you want to import it from somewhere (at least I've never seen it anywhere). .....

I'd never even heard of one until I joined this forum. That said, the US might not be a fair place to consider them. I still know many hikers/campers that don't filter at all in the mountains. Even in the low Mississippi farmland we grew up drinking raw water from shallow wells and creeks.
 

forestwalker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
The boreal forest deposits a lot of crap in the snow that sits beneath it. Its just a front line pre filter that removes the bulk of the crud from the snow. I dont like surprises in the bottom of my brew :D

Melting snow. The bag full of snow gets heated by the radiant head from the fire, and water drips into the pot. I've done it with a knotted t-shirt or bandana and a plastic cup..
 

Goatboy

Full Member
Jan 31, 2005
14,956
17
Scotland
Digging round in me drawers this morning and came across something I'd totally forgotten about. Some of the older members will have memories of them, or at least of the blistered lips from using them!

A Meta 42 Stove. Remember reading somewhere about how the Australian and NZ troops stopped using meta-tabs during the Vietnam war as the smell gave them away in the field.

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tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Something I've started using again is the old US army two quart water bladder with its case and a shoulder strap. Actually the strap I made from a bit of nylon tape and a couple of 58 pattern dog lead clips. Whenever we go for a bimble , even just to a boot, one of the kids fills it and carries it slung across his chest like a handbag. Very convenient for keeping them hydrated. First got one back in the late 80s. Not seen many in use of alate.

atb

tom
 
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sunndog

Full Member
May 23, 2014
3,561
477
derbyshire
I still use 2qt canteen in its case. Mostly if I'm working in the fields all day in the summer
I find it dead handy to hang up in the tractor or on the back of the quad. Its also a goodly amount of water to last me all day
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,715
1,962
Mercia
Blimey \i paid a couple of quid each for mine :)

I also love the US Artic canteen - keeps a cold drink cold all day (twin wall)

My wife added a cover that makes me feel like a cowboy!

Flask 2 by British Red, on Flickr
 

huntersforge

Full Member
Oct 14, 2006
794
111
southern scotland
With reference to Goatboys mention of the Chris reeves jeroboam. I remember as a teenager when they did the review in SWAT and cut up an old oil drum. I nearly passed out with excitement at the thought of having one.......Never did though. Toted a Blackjack Mamba through my formitive years. Looks a bit theatrical now. Wished I had kept a hold of it all the same:)
 

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