It just goes to show you - put 3 Bushcrafters in a room and soon you will hear six opinions on any bit of gear
Only six!?!
Kit you wouldn't recommend
- Thread starter Qwerty
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Only six!?!
Had the same problem, then bought the Wenger turbo lighter, expensive but absolutely superb never any problems with it in 2 years of use - oh and its Shiney
I have had in total 3 of the storm lighters and only one still works but I have found these alot better and cheaper:http://www.dealextreme.com/p/jet-1300-c-butane-lighter-1320
and at the price it don't matter if it breaks
Plastic pegs either normal ones or the twizel pegs bought them ages ago to go into difficult ground and they never seem to hold anything down always gets pulled out or blown away so now I use SS or titanium ones And before anyone says to use wooden pegs instead, sometimes you can not find wood easily especially in a desert or out on the plains
and at the price it don't matter if it breaks
Plastic pegs either normal ones or the twizel pegs bought them ages ago to go into difficult ground and they never seem to hold anything down always gets pulled out or blown away so now I use SS or titanium ones
And before anyone says to use wooden pegs instead, sometimes you can not find wood easily especially in a desert or out on the plains
Oh, about the MOD Knife I have one of the origianls and it's going great but you have to think that in the army you either had a light machete or a small folding knife or the aircraft riggers knife. The MOD survival knife was designed to be an all round, any enviornment, heavy knife that can do heavy camp chores such as chopping, hammering and splitting at which it excels at, it was meant to be heavy and my only gripe with the knife is that cause they did not want metal to touch your hand (artic conditions) they made the wooden handles larger but they cause blisters so most people sand them down to make them comfortable and also the guard which is meant to keep your gloved/ungloved hand away from the blade can did into the bit of the hand between your thumb and index finger. But it holds and excellent edge and can be easily sharpened. It does what is was designed to do, but it is easy to sort out the minor problems with the knife.
-Anything with a wind up handle on it (all my scouts seem to have wind up torches- WHAT IS THE POINT- IT WINDS ME UP LIKE CRAZY! Especially when they are LED, and a single aa battery costing about 20pence will power it for hours.....)
-Sporks
-Horizontal carry sheaths (i worry about skewering my kidneys every time i sheath a knife in one)
-Anything marketed by thatchreed (highlander, webtex etc)
- Army issue socks (the black ones)- like having a little cheese grater stuck to each foot
-Sorbothane insoles - they always seem to push my heel an inch higher in the boot to a place its not supposed to be, then it rubs like you wouldn't believe
- thousand mile socks- guaranteed to last a thousand miles because after 2 miles you take them off never to wear them again.
-Sporks
-Horizontal carry sheaths (i worry about skewering my kidneys every time i sheath a knife in one)
-Anything marketed by thatchreed (highlander, webtex etc)
- Army issue socks (the black ones)- like having a little cheese grater stuck to each foot
-Sorbothane insoles - they always seem to push my heel an inch higher in the boot to a place its not supposed to be, then it rubs like you wouldn't believe
- thousand mile socks- guaranteed to last a thousand miles because after 2 miles you take them off never to wear them again.
Useless, IMHO:
All of the '58 pattern webbing, not just the large pack. I used it for 6 years because I had to. Cannot imagine why anyone would actually choose to use it: heavy, absorbent, awkward fastenings, smells.
All turboflame lighters. I've owned several and they've all failed.
Woodlore knife...well, I'm being a bit unfair here, as it is quite good, especially at meets where lots of people are keen to try it. But I almost never use it otherwise - too heavy and too valuable for a proper trip.
Cheap paracord. Suggest you use garden twine as it tends to be more robust.
All of the '58 pattern webbing, not just the large pack. I used it for 6 years because I had to. Cannot imagine why anyone would actually choose to use it: heavy, absorbent, awkward fastenings, smells.
All turboflame lighters. I've owned several and they've all failed.
Woodlore knife...well, I'm being a bit unfair here, as it is quite good, especially at meets where lots of people are keen to try it. But I almost never use it otherwise - too heavy and too valuable for a proper trip.
Cheap paracord. Suggest you use garden twine as it tends to be more robust.
ferro rods- wrongly named and from all firemaking methods i tried the least reliable and successful one
Seconded!!!!
I went to the Outdoors show (last one at the NEC) and I saw a Tool Logic folder that has a firesteel and an LED torch built in, was a bit pricey at £30, then I saw the Webtex version of the same thing. Luckily I was able to hold them both to check the quality, in the end I bit the bullet and bought the Tool Logic, the Webtex was pants. Also I bought a Viper radio pouch for work, the velcro was so weak we ended up just wrapping the strap around our belts and tying it in a knot!
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Because they work, 100% reliable (so long as you have fuel), fantastic windshield and overall design, used by thousands of Scandinavians often in camping/weather conditions few of us will encounter, certainly on a regular basis. I'm talking about real Trangia's now, not the Army PITA/POS
Put a Nova burner in one and ...WOW, just about the best stove combo you can imagine.Back to the original question
'Commando' wire saws
Ventile jackets
Anything that has 'Tactical' in its description
Titanium pots
BOD
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
WOW.
I agree with so many of the nominations. This thread is a good idea.
Collctive wisdom in action
I agree with so many of the nominations. This thread is a good idea.
Collctive wisdom in action
In the woods here in Michigan, it is pretty common to carry an axe, bucket and shovel during fire season. A chainsaw is better but it takes up more room and then you also have the gas to deal with. Also, it's not uncommon to have to deal with large trees that have fallen across the roads from heavy winds. Again, a chainsaw is best, and a hand saw is good to have but I also carry a full-sized axe.
I think you've been unlucky, there are rods and rods. I have some of each, and a couple of particular favourites. One of my favourites is the BlastMatch but there are some cheap copies which are pretty poor -- they go into my suggested 'Made in China' category. Persevere with them, it's worth it. The striker is important too, I find the sharp broken edge of a broken high-speed steel hacksaw blade is about the best.
Anyway, back to the topic...
Windows!
Ventile jackets? Oooh, controversial there Rik. I'd be wasting £300 sovs if I went to Westwinds then.
Which is a good point, perhaps I should have made my statement more accurate by saying in the UK as there seem to be quite a lot of folk who get a felling axe on here then spend all their time trying to justify its purchase when all they really do with it is split logs.
I have been known to chuck a chainsaw in the back of the van round about October, November if there's gales on as one of my mates lives in an area where there's sometimes trees down on their land and it makes sense to clear them up.
Over here there's not that much land that isn't owned by anyone in particular and the woodland is often someones crop.
Can't say I would bother with an axe for that but it does help that during the last few years I've been given two chainsaws (although one of these "Gifts" was by one of my brothers and he knows he can use it anytime he wants and I look after it better than he would so I think I'm just servicing it and sharpening the chain for him some times) which is nice.
I don't own any woodland but I'm fairly sure that if I did and spotted someone ambling through the place dressed like Robin Hood with a felling axe they would have to have a very bloody good explanation for why they had it and exactly who's trees they were planning to cut down with it.
Another one I disagree with - though I am with Rik about Trangias
I don't dislike Ventile jackets John, had them when I was a wee lad, but they ain't really waterproof truth be told, certainly not on open ground and they are bloody expensive for what really is a nice quality cotton anorak. One of those Swedish smocks would be OK for the woods I would have thought and you won't burst into tears when you rip one on some thorns.
That said I'm due to blow about £300 on a new waterproof shell so who am I to criticise. I'd not mind another wax jacket though Mmmm food for thought there.
I managed to make something out of mine by adding some extra closures with paracord and velcro but still pretty much don't use it. Talking about packs how come people are so anti-highlander? I find the forces range of packs to be brilliant, so much so I have 3 in different sizes and for the money they can't be beaten.
Because they work, 100% reliable (so long as you have fuel), fantastic windshield and overall design, used by thousands of Scandinavians often in camping/weather conditions few of us will encounter, certainly on a regular basis. I'm talking about real Trangia's now, not the Army PITA/POS
Hah! Used one December after a long hard walk to boil some water. Filled the burner right up and lit it. Warmed the meths and turned the vents to the breeze to get air in for the burn. Then sat back in the freezing cold and watched the meths burn out and re-filled 4 times!! Heck! I gave up and went to the pub and got smashed to forget how hungry I was. Next day I borrowed a mate's can top gas stove and cooked my dinner up for breakfast. Never used a trangia again.
Except for a mini trangia clone I got. It was actually better made than my mates authentic mini trangia but the bloody thing was next to useless as the "windshield" was totally ineffective.
Lesson learnt! The only Trangia I might ever use again is the burner inside a honey stove in 4 sided setup. That is until I end up getting the Evernew Ti burner with double row of jets. Better stuff out there nowadays IMHO. There is a reason why old tech gets replaced with new tech and that is performance. Caldera Cone is better than trangia any day. More fuel efficient and lighter. Cheaper too. Can be made by anyone with a little handiness and the willingness to google instructions.
