Lightweight Bushcraft? An oxymoron in terms, or is there such a thing?

[Nova & Pinky]

Pinky and I are very keen to get outside a lot more this year having done a bushcraft taster weekend at the end of January.

We've done a little lightweight camping previously, but to be honest, we relate much more closely to the bushcraft 'ethos'.

That said, we want to be able to carry our 'home' on our backs and while loads of things I see on here seem brilliant for base camping and appeal hugely (dutch ovens, grills/tripods etc - I love cooking), the idea of carrying many kgs is somewhat offputting!

What are the best bits of bushcraft kit that can be easily reduced, so you have maximum efficiency and comfort for minimum weight?

How well do you think 'lightweight' and 'bushcraft' go together?

If you're taking heavy gear, do you travel by car to a site and if so, what do you do about parking?

 

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

lightweight- that doesnt come to mind with my pack is about 20 kgs without food, but it is alice pack but the weight doesnt bother me to much

why dont you take the things YOU really need with you, ya dont want to be carryin weight you dont neeed ^^

 

[sasquatch]

It's all about having fun to me, so I tend to go out with a goal or two. In December at a North Wood meet when it was below -10 at night my goal was to be well fed and have a few drinks with mates! It was all about staying warm and cooking with dutch ovens. Other meets the theme has been on the lightweight side of things with plenty of skills involved. It all depends on the time of year for me and what I want to do.

Most of my bushcraft skills have come from practice in my back garden or the local woods on day trips or crafty overnighters. Meets are a great way to learn though as different people bring different skills and approaches into the mix. My overnighters are always minimal kit, at meets I usually go over the top just in case I decide to use a piece of kit I have. It's all good if you're outdoors regardless of your approach in my mind!

 

[woof]

the 2 do go together, its just a question of figuring out what you need over what you want. I use a modern canvas pack, so its not light, but i did a 2 nighter last spring, wild camping, and my pack weighed 17 kilo's all in.

Rob

 

[chris_r]

I think it's all down to your perspective. Lightweight and bushcraft go hand in hand. Bushcraft is the application of knowledge and skills, and the accumulation of knowledge means that you don't have to carry so much gear; you'll be able to improvise and make use of natural materials that you find on your wonderings as you gain more know how. Having said that, everyone likes accumulating new toys, but there is an equilibrium. Eventually you'll settle on a solid base of equipment that's more useful than others and a lot of things that you though essential will be stuffed under the bed or into a bug out bag. Guess it's down to personal preference.

 

[silentpaddler]

You might find some good info on a backpacking forum. For example, doing the West Coast Trail or the Chilcoot Trail here in Canada you have to be self-supported
for a week or so and that means packing light and minimal...the people doing these sort of trips all the time probably have a pretty good master list.

 

[Treemonk]

surely the whole tenet of bushcraft is that you can improvise from what you find instead of carrying it with you?

tripod? 3 sticks and a withie.
Grill? split board, woven racket, rock - all fine
dutch oven? a lightweight cookset when used pan in a pan becomes an oven.
Kipmat? conifer boughs, braken, grass etc.

and since you are having a fire, then you no longer need to carry a stove or fuel, or a water purifier pump.

and you can stop carrying all that heavy food by foraging as you go - or at least use that to supplement small quantities of staples...

If you are just carrying conventional camping kit but paring weight, then isn't that just lightweight camping? where does the "craft" come into it?

Bushcrafters, outdoorsmen, whatever, carry tools for a reason - you don't need a 4" fixed blade to open your boil-in-the-bag!

 

[huffhuff]

Sorry to hijack.

I was born in a place called Oxhey. I am a moron.

That makes me an actual real life oxheymoron!

 

[Highbinder]

I think it's a matter of matching what you take to what you intend to do. Big difference between packing for a weeks hike, or packing for a weekend car camp. And cutting weight when you can as long as it doesn't conflict with your other priorities (comfort! fun!).

For me, I hate walking with a big pack. My bag is packed for this weekend and all in its' at 11kg. But I'll be strapping a guitar to it too ;P as it's only a 2km walk from the car.

The main culprits (other than expendables) will be your shelter, your sleeping bag, and your rucksack.

Being conscious of what you actually use when you're out there is another big one. I used to take a hatchet but never used it, now it stays at home.

I think it's a mental thing, I go camping with a particular friend quite often and I don't believe he's ever heard the term lightweight camping. He takes a blowtorch to get the fire going, I take firelighters; he takes a CD player / radio, I take an mp3 player; he takes a big four man tent, I take a lightweight hammock; he takes a camping chair, I take an offcut ccf pad to sit on; he takes a full sized kettle and kitchen pot, I take a mini Al kettle and Ti mug; he takes an airbed, I take a ccf pad. I think my pack must weigh half of his but I don't think I am any less comfortable than he is. Saying that the important thing is we're both happy with what we take and that is the most important thing IMO!

 

[FreddyFish]

I think it's all down to your perspective. Lightweight and bushcraft go hand in hand. Bushcraft is the application of knowledge and skills, and the accumulation of knowledge means that you don't have to carry so much gear; you'll be able to improvise and make use of natural materials that you find on your wonderings as you gain more know how. Having said that, everyone likes accumulating new toys, but there is an equilibrium. Eventually you'll settle on a solid base of equipment that's more useful than others and a lot of things that you though essential will be stuffed under the bed or into a bug out bag. Guess it's down to personal preference.

I think chris_r says it all really.

I think pure bushcraft is application of knowledge and skills and the ability to improvise and make use of natural materials. So if you have a knife (you could improvise with flint or bone tools) you could pretty much make the rest from what you find.
Tent/Tarp - Make a natural shelter
Rope/string - Natural cordage and withes
Matches etc - fire by friction
Cup/cooking pot - carve or burn one
Food - foraging/hunting
etc etc..
It's a full time job!

But the big trade off is time and comfort. So most people take stuff and spend the TIME just 'being' outdoor, socialising with like minded folk, practising and sharing various skills.

So can go as lightweight as you like if you have the time and a suitable location.

Also lots of people use meets/moots to bring lots of different kit to try out plus parking is usually very close to the camping area.

 

[Pepperana]

It depends on what kinda trip I am going.
I always know how far i am gonna walk.

If its like a 3 day hike I go lightweight.
Is it just a weekend on one place then I bring more stuff.

 

[salad]

If I am trekking and changing my camp every night for say 5 nights then my pack normally weighs approx 16-18 kilo depending on the time of year. Summer is more lite weight as smaller sleepin bag thinner clothes ect.

However if I am going to have a fixed base then I bring in the heavy stuff

 

[sapper1]

First you have to define "bushcraft"(can of worms now open)and the decide what is "lightweight.
I can do what "I" call bushcraft with minimal kit, maybe just a knife.
Lightweight to me again is minimal kit.My pack fully loaded without food and water for a winter trip weighs less than15lbs,I consider this to be ultralight.There is an american who considers 2.5lbs lightweight and I know of others who take 3 trips to get all their kit to camp.
So bushcraft and lightweight are two very subjective terms,what is light to one may be heavy to another.similarly what one person considers bushcraft may not be so to another.




I think this could be an interesting thread.

 

[Nova & Pinky]

I think this could be an interesting thread.

I hope so - I was hoping to start some kind of discussion and it's nice to see the different opinions.

I think we've a little flexibility as obviously we camp as a couple, so only need to bring one tarp, stove etc between us.
I do know a lot will come down to practice and experience though, to figure out which items we really need, and which we can scrap (and we'll probably have differing opinions on those!). Very much looking forward to doing meets etc, to see how other people do things.

 

[gordonmac]

Hi Nova & Pinky. My g/f and I sound quite similar to you guys, travel very light but not fitting completely into the Munro-bagging, gram-counting bright colour brigade either We like to enjoy the outdoors, looking at the flora and fauna, like taking knives and making fire, just like everyone else here.

For us the outdoors is not an athletic pursuit, but something we enjoy and we enjoy it most by carrying as little as possible

 

[Nova & Pinky]

Hi Nova & Pinky. My g/f and I sound quite similar to you guys, travel very light but not fitting completely into the Munro-bagging, gram-counting bright colour brigade either We like to enjoy the outdoors, looking at the flora and fauna, like taking knives and making fire, just like everyone else here.

For us the outdoors is not an athletic pursuit, but something we enjoy and we enjoy it most by carrying as little as possible

That pretty much sums it up perfectly for us - shame you're both up up up north- would be great to hear how you do things

 

[gordonmac]

That pretty much sums it up perfectly for us - shame you're both up up up north- would be great to hear how you do things

Haha, we are up up up north

Well, like you mentioned earlier in your thread, being 1 of 2 means that you can divide up all the single items of kit like tent, cooking stuff to make your packs lighter. We normally carry less than 10kgs each, and managed to get away with that on an overnighter in Glen Feshie (Cairngorms) in January without any discomfort

I think the BEST purchases we've ever made in terms of dropping kgs was down sleeping bags - so light and pack so small - that and the Terra Nova Voyager tent. Get rid of a big synthetic bag and you find you have room for other 'crafty kit

 

[Nova & Pinky]

Oh we did that already and have a pair of Alpkit Skyehighs (can't quite afford Pipedreams yet). Also have their Rig 7 tarp and a pair of Hunka bivys. Looking at getting a DD XL tarp though for a little more living space

 

[gordonmac]

That's nice kit

Have you had a look at Honey Stoves (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product397.asp)? It's my next fave bit of kit because you can either use it as a meths stove or light fires in them.

 

[Nova & Pinky]

That's nice kit I've been half thinking about getting a Hunka - they look really good for the price!

Have you had a look at Honey Stoves (http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product397.asp)? It's my next fave bit of kit because you can either use it as a meths stove or light fires in them.

Have had a look, but not sure how good they are in terms of being a heat source as well as a stove? Still on the fence about fires/cooking though. We've got a Primus Gravity II atm, but would rather have something more sustainable. Was contemplating whether a titanium Yukon firebox was a bit OTT and heavy, but again, between 2 of us..?

The Hunka did well the other weekend at about -5 degrees
I'm tempted to buy an XL though, because they're fairly close fitting and I prefer a little more 'wiggle' room!