Modern bushcraft !?!

[Toddy]

Gentlemen you may protest all you like, but the reality is that if you work near a fire for any length of time, you end up with sparks/cinders/....and the concommitant holes in clothing. Even my Iron Age kit gets marked. The finest wool just chars through though it doesn't go on fire.
We're not 'sitting on the fire', just working with it. I have seen people on fire and it's not something I ever wish to see again. There's a damned good reason that hearth rugs were made of pure wool while fake ones were lethal, and that clothing still comes with labels about open fires (look at children's bedclothes)

This is distracting from the thread, and that wasn't my intention.

M

 

[johnboe522]

Lost me with the fish thing I am afraid!, what I am getting here is that bushcraft/survival/outdoor kit and equipment has moved with the times the tools we use now are great for the jobs we want them to do. I for one like the modern kit and clothing but once in a while I will use a bit of more traditional kit just to experience what it was like and to gain a better understand of how the stuff I use now has evolved.

Example- I light a fire with a modern fire steel but now and then will use a bit of flint or a bow drill.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Modern kit is just the latest development of kit.
At one point a metal cook pot would of been modern kit.
Unless we are lucky enough to do a job which involves bushcraft skills its all playin in the woods.
And if im playing then I'm gonna play with the toys I like the most.
So wool canvas flint and steel are my choices cause I like them toys the most

 

[Bumbler]

A true bushcrafter is only using the most modern gear available to get the job done [better, faster, efficient, etc.]. Bushcraft is subject to evolution. In the early days humans used (pointy) sticks, later they used flint and more later iron tools appeared. If people used one and came across a more modern (better) tool: they wanted it ... Same principle is valid to this day.

Though, some people swing more to a specific period in time (stone age, bronze age, etc) that has their liking.

Very few bushcrafters depend on their kit to help them survive the daily grind. So we can afford to use old and obsolete equipment if we fancy to. I could always fire up my camp fire with my BIC and some petrol,
and get it done in 2 seconds. But it is far to fun to do it with my viking age design steel striker and flint. I could keep the said flint striker in a modern molle pouch from Maxpedition, but that sort of kit just looks a lot better in a leather pouch...and I carry a bic in my pocket too, so it's not like I can't use it if I wan't or need to.

Some people like to be dry and comfortable and not have to work their bum off to achieve it, others like the challenge of staying dry and comfy wearing what their grandfathers wore when out in the muck.

So I like to mix bot worlds. Modrn kit for convenience, older stuff because that works to, and is often more durable, and will look as good in 20 years as it does today. Some of my kit I may hand over to my grand children some day...and my son is 2 years old, so thats a while yet. Thats said...I wear Gore tex as an outer shell....

 

[Tiley]

Bushcraft is a set of skills.

I couldn't agree more. Having established that, what you choose to wear or use whilst practising those skills is really up to you and what you want from the experience.

Personally, I use both trad. and modern stuff. I freely acknowledge that Goretex keeps out the rain better than Ventile but that Ventile is more comfortable (when dry), is just as windproof and generally quieter. Synthetic fleece is wonderfully light but I still tend to wear wool for most outings because I find it to work better for me in most situations. I love the romance of sleeping under a reindeer hide but always use a sleeping bag... You get the picture: you choose - and use - gear the suits your specific needs for whichever season in the wilds, be that woodland, mountain, moorland, boreal forest, et cetera.

Always remember, though, that there is bushcraft and then there is the stuff that you choose to use while doing bushcraft. Ultimately, Ross is right: bushcraft is the skills you use to be comfortable in the wilderness; it is not the gear that you carry or wear.

 

[Macaroon]

I strongly agree with Toddy about the fire thing: I too have seen very bad injuries caused by synthetics melting onto skin, and it isn't something I'd care to witness again..............It's one of those scenarios where you only need to get it wrong once and you'd have a lifetime to regret it..............if you're not there, it can't happen, so to speak........................atb mac

 

[Corso]

the hostility that seems to appear in so many threads these days is realy begining to wear me down

 

[Toddy]

It's a discussion forum; we're not being hostile, just everyone's got a point of view

cheers,
Toddy

 

[johnboe522]

Hostile ?? Seems ok to me or am I missing something

 

[Macaroon]

I'm a bit nonplussed by your post, Corso; I certainly had no hostility in mind when I put my views, and I didn't detect any in the other posts..............would you care to elucidate, perhaps I need to learn something about how I phrase things?......atb mac

 

[Greg]

A little heated at times maybe...handbags at dawn sometimes...but hardly hostile..!!

 

[rg598]

I strongly agree with Toddy about the fire thing: I too have seen very bad injuries caused by synthetics melting onto skin, and it isn't something I'd care to witness again..............It's one of those scenarios where you only need to get it wrong once and you'd have a lifetime to regret it..............if you're not there, it can't happen, so to speak........................atb mac

Synthetics have come a very long way since their early days. You would be hard pressed to find synthetic clothing these days that will just melt on your skin or catch fire. Virtually all of it is designed to shrink away from the heat source. Some get damaged more easily by sparks than wool or canvas, while others are comparable in their resistance to sparks. Worst case scenario is that you end up with a pin hole in the clothing. I think all this "synthetics catching fire" thing is blown way out of proportion. If a person is catching on fire, there are much worse judgment calls being made there than the clothing the person has chosen to wear.

 

[Corso]

I'm a bit nonplussed by your post, Corso; I certainly had no hostility in mind when I put my views, and I didn't detect any in the other posts..............would you care to elucidate, perhaps I need to learn something about how I phrase things?......atb mac

you dont need to react

I'm just a bit tired of these forums

maybe everythings been said/read before and I'm bored by some personalities responses

 

[Toddy]

In general I agree with you Ross, and modern synthetics are a hundred times better than the earlier ones, but I really do see Buffalo shirts, craghoppers and the like with the burn holes from sparks/cinders.

At the end of the day, folks wear what they want. Personally I don't want my goretex full of holes when I've got a perfectly suitable old wax jacket or woollens for sitting around in near a fire, but that's 'my' choice.
Mac's right too though; you only need to see and smell it once when it goes badly wrong to become kind of insistant that it should never happen again

atb,
Mary

 

[Macaroon]

Ross: It's quite possible that I'm a bit out of date with the modern synthetics and you seem to know what you're talking about - I've never been concerned with clothing actually going afire but have seen stuff melt, but that's a while ago and things change.....................

Corso: OK, everyone gets sick of stuff now and then................................

 

[Greg]

I have and old army roll mat that is now very holy!
I took it to the beach the other week to sit on with my Son whilst we had a little fire to cook marshmallows whilst the sun set over Broadhaven in Pembs.
I wasn't messing with the fire but the pine kindling I bought from the garage was very lively with lots of sparks and little coals bursting out of the fire and landing on the mat..going straight through it....I also have a hole in the top of my trainer where one landed..!
So yes...modern synthetics do melt :11doh:

 

[rik_uk3]

I strongly agree with Toddy about the fire thing: I too have seen very bad injuries caused by synthetics melting onto skin, and it isn't something I'd care to witness again..............It's one of those scenarios where you only need to get it wrong once and you'd have a lifetime to regret it..............if you're not there, it can't happen, so to speak........................atb mac

Got any links, photo's etc? Are you talking about around the camp fire or an industrial accident(s)? I've seen a lot of people come into A&E with various burns but never from melting Gore tex or a fleece

 

[rik_uk3]

Synthetics have come a very long way since their early days. You would be hard pressed to find synthetic clothing these days that will just melt on your skin or catch fire. Virtually all of it is designed to shrink away from the heat source. Some get damaged more easily by sparks than wool or canvas, while others are comparable in their resistance to sparks. Worst case scenario is that you end up with a pin hole in the clothing. I think all this "synthetics catching fire" thing is blown way out of proportion. If a person is catching on fire, there are much worse judgment calls being made there than the clothing the person has chosen to wear.

A well reasoned post.

 

[dump of the stig]

you get guys in bushcraft as well as any hobby that loose sight of what
they are there for and are more interested in all the gear and looking the part. Tho admittedly I am guilty of wanting
the shinny kit and latest gadget (if money will allow and that's rare)

 

[John Fenna]

I have had gear holed by flying embers ... also from the days when I smoked a pipe and dropped bits down my front...
I wear what feels best on my body, looks best on my body, sits best on my ecco friendly mind and does least damage to my wallet and all with the style I prefer.
Personally speaking that means more natural fibres, trad materials and cuts in clothing and an avoidance of "gadgets for the sake of gadgets" - what I use is what suits me and I do not care who laughs ... as long as they don't mind me laughing at them too
Wear what you like - if it works for you then go for it!