Les Stroud's Temagami

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QDanT

Settler
Mar 16, 2006
933
5
Yorkshire England
There ought to be x2 levels on BCUK :- 1 - actually going out and doing it, and 2 - kit queens, who’s got the most expensive designer label celebrity gear/links ?
 

marcelxl

Settler
May 2, 2010
638
0
Kamloops, B.C.
Although I have not heard anything mentioned about costs within the UK, on the other thread the cost to get one imported to the UK is very reasonable.
Granted, its more than the other Helles but in my opinion it does look like you are getting a bit more. Obviously carrying a Les Stroud endorsement and name would command an extra quid but nowhere near RM/BG money for their offerings and certainly far more appealing than BG's gerber signature thing. I have one on my wishlist, looks nice, look on the other thread-£126 imported is hardly silly money.


My stuff leaves the house, gets dirty, blunt, occasionally damaged but always loved. BTW
 
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Squidders

Full Member
Aug 3, 2004
3,853
15
48
Harrow, Middlesex
There ought to be x2 levels on BCUK :- 1 - actually going out and doing it, and 2 - kit queens, who’s got the most expensive designer label celebrity gear/links ?

Don't be a troll.

What do you think hunter-gatherers talk about all day? They talk about the bloke in the next village and his shiny new bow.
 
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JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,481
Stourton,UK
There ought to be x2 levels on BCUK :- 1 - actually going out and doing it, and 2 - kit queens, who's got the most expensive designer label celebrity gear/links ?

How about those folks that fall into both. And I'm sure that is a huge amount.
 

Xunil

Settler
Jan 21, 2006
671
3
55
North East UK
www.bladesmith.co.uk
A price is only fair if you are prepared to pay it.

If you aren't or can't then that's fine, and if you are and will, that's also fine - the underlying rationale or personal preference is academic since you either will or won't buy at the end of it all.

Personally I think that Mora's are underpriced for what they offer (nobody ever twists about something being too cheap though :D) while other endorsed knives are vastly overpriced.

Everyone's happy medium will be different and usually for very different reasons.

I know folks who have spent £600 and more (whether they could really afford to or not) on a custom folder and who use it daily, and I know others who spend half that on a Woodlore knife and put it away rarely to see the light of day. Still others would prefer to spend as little as possible either from necessity or preference, but if they are all happy with their purchase (regardless of the underlying reasons for them) why should it matter to anyone else ?

It's ironic that this comes up time and time again, particularly regarding knives, and yet if we were all actually doing 'proper' bushcraft we'd be striking flakes or knapping blades from flint .

I think we all have our respective collection of hypocrisies regardless of our kit and budget, and bushcraft has come to mean so many things to so many people it is impossible really to put a handle on it and actually define it with any clarity or accuracy.

To some it is the skills of the ancients, to others it is a form of lightweight camping while still others practice what I would call 'expedition camping' with more traditional kit.

If funds allow we have two choices available regarding any purchase - if funds do not allow then that decision is already made for us.

Although a lot of kit is bought by all of us I would say that even those who do go out and do it don't go nearly often enough, far enough or long enough to warrant the majority of the gear they have.

You might have a crappy car (or a top marque) but I'd still be grateful for a lift in it.

I might have an expensive knife or an old Sheffield leather washer handled bowie but that's down to me.

I don't see why this raises so many hackles, and the worst assumption anyone can make is that the more you spend on something the less you use it.

A couple of my recent users:

Damascus_hunter_2.jpg


my_damascus_hunter_1.jpg


The top one has gone to a new home and is used daily by one of the most skilled outdoorsmen I know.

The lower of the two is my own and gets used hard, but well looked after or, at least, well maintained.

Anyone want to guess what either of the above might cost ?

Would a Mora be just as good ?

No, it wouldn't, but a Mora is still a great knife, in its own right.

A friend of mine spent serious money on a Purdey damascus shotgun - he uses it often, and takes great pleasure in ownership of it, but he isn't any more (or less) accurate with it.

Go figure...
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,481
Stourton,UK
A knife is a knife. There is no difference between anyone that is only willing to spend money on a Mora, to anyone who is willing to spend a hundred times that on a custom knife. The intention to use it is for the same reason.... bushcraft, and a love of using the tool in the outdoors. So although we travel by different routes. We all end up at the same destination. And there's nothing wrong with either of those routes.
 
Jan 28, 2010
284
1
ontario
To change the topic a bit, the name Temagami caught my eye because it is an area a few hours north of where I live...been up there several times on hunting trips, and let me tell you-
if you ever get a chance to visit Temagami, you will never forget it. One of the most beautiful wilderness spots on earth.
 

John Lee

Tenderfoot
Mar 3, 2010
60
0
Deer Park, WA, USA
I'm with Danny on this. He is the Man. While he's out and about, others including myself are buying gear thinking that with the right knife, tent, sleeping bag, etc. we'll be real outdoorsmen. I admire Danny and am trying to emulate his lifestyle.
 

forestwalker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Hey you guys are talking about me there! I like posh kit, but I enjoy getting it dirty, smelly and blunt more!:D
Labels mean I can look as if I know what i'm talking about:pokenest:

A while ago in Bulletin of Primitive Technology there was an article on the style of "modern primitives". There is --IIRC -- the buckskin crowd, there is the 19th century crowd, and the BDU and whatever crowd. Newcommers might assume that those who has gone all the way to buckskin is the experts, while the man in "normal" clothes is another newbie. On the other hand a few hundred dollars (ok, more than a few) can buy you all the buckskin needed for a full outfit, no skill needed.

I have a buckskin shirt, and I use it sometimes; it is comfortable, sturdy, windproof and fairly warm (and I tanned the hides myself, except for one that my SO did). Does wearing a buckskin shirt, a Swannie or a akubra hat make one an expert? Does making your own clothes? Which is most anachronistic; buckskin and an ferrocerium stick, och wool shirt and bowdrill?
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
375
60
Gloucestershire
It seems to me that folk get very judgemental about gear - knives in particular - and the people that use them. The age-old point about having, say, a Woodlore knife not making you a better bushcrafter is obviously true but does that also mean that everyone who owns one is a bad bushcrafter. As Xunil says, it's up to you and your budget.

Thinking about the Les Stroud offering in comparison with Ray's or Bear's equivalents, I reckon that it's pretty good value for an endorsed tool; and, as I said at the opening, a pretty nice looking one too. On the strength of my admiration for what LS has done and his approach to the outdoors in general, along with the tool's looks, I have pre-ordered one. It'll be used and used hard in comparison with my first choice knife to see whether it passes muster for me.

As has been said, a knife is a knife; it is the hands, eye and mind of the user that determines whether it is a good one. I still get out and use the Frost's knife that I learnt with and enjoy using it; however, I enjoy even more the handmade one that is my main user when I return to it. Perhaps there is something in the Orwell sentiment (with apologies to Eric Arthur Blair) that "All knives are equal but some knives are more equal than others."
 

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