Try this army surplus web site.
http://www.the-outdoor.co.uk
They have some good prices from time to time.
http://www.the-outdoor.co.uk
They have some good prices from time to time.
Newbie Needs cheap start up kit
- Thread starter surrey
- Start date
Carboots are good and so are charity shops (and rich uncles!)
Have you a local freecycle group?
http://www.freecycle.org/
another place worth trying is your local Scrapstore (sorry, not got the link for that but can find it) which I find handy if Im looking for bits for some project. (canvas, leather, small containers etc)
Or just keep your eyes open, its amazing what you can lay your hands on
you could try getting something you `dont` need and swapping it on here
Have you a local freecycle group?
http://www.freecycle.org/
another place worth trying is your local Scrapstore (sorry, not got the link for that but can find it) which I find handy if Im looking for bits for some project. (canvas, leather, small containers etc)
Or just keep your eyes open, its amazing what you can lay your hands on
you could try getting something you `dont` need and swapping it on here
Thanks for the links guys.
If I was going on a 2 day walk and wanted to sleep and eat out. What would I need in my bag? Whats the army issue Bivuoac tent like? Or should I just use some tarp and walking poles as a tent?
If I was going on a 2 day walk and wanted to sleep and eat out. What would I need in my bag? Whats the army issue Bivuoac tent like? Or should I just use some tarp and walking poles as a tent?
As Eric said above, it's all about the skills you have. Whether you use a tarp or a tent will be largely down to your choice, experience and circumstances. No one can give you a right answer to that, though certain global factors like how you are travelling will affect your choices.
For a two day walk think through what you are going to be doing and come up with your solutions to it. Avoid being overwhelmed by the choices, just think it through. Experience will alter your choices, but there is little here that people will agree on, everyone has their own preferences and a piece of kit that someone thinks is the best design ever, someone else will hate with a passion, and both with have good justifications for their positions.
Walking - what sort of terrain, what sort of weather, solo, overnight locations, how long, how remote, resupply possibilities etc. An example of what I mean here is that the Ridgeway runs along the tops of hills - water is quite hard to find, so you will end up carrying more of it. How do you carry it? Do you get it from taps, do you purify it and if so how?
Clothing - weather, changes etc
Tentage - what, pegs, cordage etc
Sleeping - bag, hammock, roll mat etc
Food and water - how much, what sort?
Stove, pans, knife fork spoon, mug
First aid
Cleaning - cooking, you, boots
Carrying system
I'm sorry if I'm seeming vague here. What I can tell you is that when you get it all together for the first time you'll realise that there is more than you can possibly carry and you'll have to make choices.
For a two day walk think through what you are going to be doing and come up with your solutions to it. Avoid being overwhelmed by the choices, just think it through. Experience will alter your choices, but there is little here that people will agree on, everyone has their own preferences and a piece of kit that someone thinks is the best design ever, someone else will hate with a passion, and both with have good justifications for their positions.
Walking - what sort of terrain, what sort of weather, solo, overnight locations, how long, how remote, resupply possibilities etc. An example of what I mean here is that the Ridgeway runs along the tops of hills - water is quite hard to find, so you will end up carrying more of it. How do you carry it? Do you get it from taps, do you purify it and if so how?
Clothing - weather, changes etc
Tentage - what, pegs, cordage etc
Sleeping - bag, hammock, roll mat etc
Food and water - how much, what sort?
Stove, pans, knife fork spoon, mug
First aid
Cleaning - cooking, you, boots
Carrying system
I'm sorry if I'm seeming vague here. What I can tell you is that when you get it all together for the first time you'll realise that there is more than you can possibly carry and you'll have to make choices.
What I meant to add, and didn't is, just think through each day from getting up to going to bed and think what you'll need for each activity. Write it out and then use it to create a kit list.
I also forgot navigation I see!
and probably a hundred other things.
I also forgot navigation I see!
and probably a hundred other things.Wow thanks for the help.
I would be walking in mainly deciduous downland. Would either be North Downs or Greensands and maybe South Downs.
Would be fairly easy well pathed terrain with me sleeping on private land with permission. Would do about 20miles a day so nice and leisurely. Would be near a river at some points. Won't exactly be wilderness so I could detour and pick up supplies but I would rather carry my own stuff. Water would be the only problem but I should be near streams and rivers.
I would be walking in mainly deciduous downland. Would either be North Downs or Greensands and maybe South Downs.
Would be fairly easy well pathed terrain with me sleeping on private land with permission. Would do about 20miles a day so nice and leisurely. Would be near a river at some points. Won't exactly be wilderness so I could detour and pick up supplies but I would rather carry my own stuff. Water would be the only problem but I should be near streams and rivers.
What exactly have you got? The basics that you will need are:
Something to carry your kit in - It may be a bergen, or a rolled up blanket tied onto a Roycroft pack frame made by yourself.
Something to sleep under, in and on - A tarp or tent with a mat of some sort, air or closed foam cell, and a sleeping kit of either blankets or sleeping bag. A bivvy bag may also be a good investment but not required in a tent.
Something to cook in/over - A billie can or an old pot from the kitchen. An open fire, if you have permission, or a brazier for charcoal, a hobo stove, hexamine, petrol pressurised stove, trangia, etc.
Something to carry water with - A 2 litre pop bottle, camelbak, dromedary, platypus, NATO bottle, 2 Quart American water canteen, etc.
A mug - Crusaders are good but expensive. Enamel coated steel is just as good and they look nicer too.
Eating irons - A spoon will suffice. maybe you might take chopsticks, they can be made quickly and easily by carving some thin sticks to allow you to turn meat you are cooking etc.
Food - There are some interesting foods that you can take with you that require minimum prep but have maximum taste, energy and ease of use. Haggis is fast becoming one of the foods I will be taking with me, it's very easy to prepare and tastes great.
First Aid Kit - Play with sharps and fire and you will get injured, it's just a question of time! Make sure it is what you need for yourself, so if you require medication of a pparticular sort then ensure you have enough. This doesn't want to be a massive kit but should be comprehensive. Some plasters, iodine for sterilising wounds (unless you are pregnant or have a thyroid problem), pain relief such as cocodamol or paracetomol, buterfly sutures, crepe bandages and a few safety pins are more than enough. A shell dressing is always handy for firelighting at a pinch.
Light source for night time - Candles, use an old bean tin trimmed down or a large plastic milk bottle as a wind shield. Head torch or hand held torch. Go for LED as the batteries last a lot longer. Try and get the kit so that it uses similar batteries to the rest of your electrical kit, it saves carrying loads of different battery types.
Wash kit - Wet wipes or a flannel and some soap. Alcho-gel for sterilising hands before cooking etc. Toothbrush etc. A comb, even if you have short hair. Passing a comb through your hair stimulates the blood flow in the scalp, and it makes me feel a bit fresher in the morning. Gets the twigs out of your barnet!
Spare clothing - Try to get lightweight gear that will be robust and keep you warm. Military Lightweights trousers are excellent for outdoors use and cost tuppence ha'penny a pair. They dry quick too. An old army jumper is great kit for winter. Spare socks and foot powder can be handy to have, especially in wet enviornments. Look in the surplus stores and get what you feel would keep you warm if you were to stand still for half an hour on an exposed ridge in Wales during a howling gale!
Lastly, Possibles - This is the stuff you'll need to stay comfortable in your enviornment. Keep this kit about your person. Should include a small knife or your main knife, a means of starting fire and it could be a couple of 1 pound lighters. It doesn't have to be anything complicated. A small cuts kit such as a few plasters. Maybe some cordage, a small light source such as a photon light, some matches maybe. Whatever hasn't been covered in the main kit.
Most of the above kit can be sourced at Surplus stores. For the summer, if you find a good place that you have permission to have a fire, a few blankets and a tarp will be all you need sleeping kit wise. A few bin bags stuffed with leaf litter from the floor will make a comfy mattress to keep you off the cold floor. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Many of us have high tech kit such as complete hammock sleeping systems, state othe art camp cooking equipment, technical bergens and clothing, expensive cutting equipment, etc etc. The list goes on and on, but for all the kit and knowledge I have, I'd be more impressed by a guy tipping up with a blanket rolled in a small tarp with a few bean tins and some rudimentary food and drink who would set up and have as comfy a time as me with all my gear. He would be a real woodsman.
Something to carry your kit in - It may be a bergen, or a rolled up blanket tied onto a Roycroft pack frame made by yourself.
Something to sleep under, in and on - A tarp or tent with a mat of some sort, air or closed foam cell, and a sleeping kit of either blankets or sleeping bag. A bivvy bag may also be a good investment but not required in a tent.
Something to cook in/over - A billie can or an old pot from the kitchen. An open fire, if you have permission, or a brazier for charcoal, a hobo stove, hexamine, petrol pressurised stove, trangia, etc.
Something to carry water with - A 2 litre pop bottle, camelbak, dromedary, platypus, NATO bottle, 2 Quart American water canteen, etc.
A mug - Crusaders are good but expensive. Enamel coated steel is just as good and they look nicer too.
Eating irons - A spoon will suffice. maybe you might take chopsticks, they can be made quickly and easily by carving some thin sticks to allow you to turn meat you are cooking etc.
Food - There are some interesting foods that you can take with you that require minimum prep but have maximum taste, energy and ease of use. Haggis is fast becoming one of the foods I will be taking with me, it's very easy to prepare and tastes great.
First Aid Kit - Play with sharps and fire and you will get injured, it's just a question of time! Make sure it is what you need for yourself, so if you require medication of a pparticular sort then ensure you have enough. This doesn't want to be a massive kit but should be comprehensive. Some plasters, iodine for sterilising wounds (unless you are pregnant or have a thyroid problem), pain relief such as cocodamol or paracetomol, buterfly sutures, crepe bandages and a few safety pins are more than enough. A shell dressing is always handy for firelighting at a pinch.
Light source for night time - Candles, use an old bean tin trimmed down or a large plastic milk bottle as a wind shield. Head torch or hand held torch. Go for LED as the batteries last a lot longer. Try and get the kit so that it uses similar batteries to the rest of your electrical kit, it saves carrying loads of different battery types.
Wash kit - Wet wipes or a flannel and some soap. Alcho-gel for sterilising hands before cooking etc. Toothbrush etc. A comb, even if you have short hair. Passing a comb through your hair stimulates the blood flow in the scalp, and it makes me feel a bit fresher in the morning. Gets the twigs out of your barnet!
Spare clothing - Try to get lightweight gear that will be robust and keep you warm. Military Lightweights trousers are excellent for outdoors use and cost tuppence ha'penny a pair. They dry quick too. An old army jumper is great kit for winter. Spare socks and foot powder can be handy to have, especially in wet enviornments. Look in the surplus stores and get what you feel would keep you warm if you were to stand still for half an hour on an exposed ridge in Wales during a howling gale!
Lastly, Possibles - This is the stuff you'll need to stay comfortable in your enviornment. Keep this kit about your person. Should include a small knife or your main knife, a means of starting fire and it could be a couple of 1 pound lighters. It doesn't have to be anything complicated. A small cuts kit such as a few plasters. Maybe some cordage, a small light source such as a photon light, some matches maybe. Whatever hasn't been covered in the main kit.
Most of the above kit can be sourced at Surplus stores. For the summer, if you find a good place that you have permission to have a fire, a few blankets and a tarp will be all you need sleeping kit wise. A few bin bags stuffed with leaf litter from the floor will make a comfy mattress to keep you off the cold floor. It doesn't have to be complicated.
Many of us have high tech kit such as complete hammock sleeping systems, state othe art camp cooking equipment, technical bergens and clothing, expensive cutting equipment, etc etc. The list goes on and on, but for all the kit and knowledge I have, I'd be more impressed by a guy tipping up with a blanket rolled in a small tarp with a few bean tins and some rudimentary food and drink who would set up and have as comfy a time as me with all my gear. He would be a real woodsman.
It's the haggis that caught your eye isn't it! I can tell!
You know me, always have a keen eye for a pretty haggis.
Seriously, I'm gonna take one next time I go to Middlewood or Delamere. It fills you right up and is simple to prep. Some tatties and some Swede and carrots boiled and mashed up and then some haggis on top, what could be easier in a fixed camp with a few billies on the boil?
We shall have to organise a communal Haggis-feast, pretty sure I promised Firebreather a fat haggis next time I was down that way
Edit: Sorry - all this Haggis talk has got me over-excited - and at risk of hijacking a good thread
It got me salivating, so much so that I just went and fried the last of my haggis off in some butter and made a haggis sarnie! Brilliant!
We shall have to organise a communal Haggis-feast, pretty sure I promised Firebreather a fat haggis next time I was down that way
Haggis fest here i come
I have been looking forward to it since the last middlemud meet. I want it freshly caught and shaved before you bring it down please 
Greg
It really is a fantastic food and would be great for sticking in your pack for a few days out. There is something similar with regards to filling you up for carrying very little, called Savoury Duck. God knows what is actually in it, but there ain't no duck! I've only ever seen it on sale in markets in Rotherham and Sheffield and the like. You just add water and heat it up and have it with mashed spuds. It would be another great food for on the trail as it keeps well, bulks you out and goes a long way.
Do what we all did at first......
Get what uncle Ray uses (cant be denied its good kit)
Then get what everybody on here uses, after they have got uncle ray's kit and decide that other shiny stuff might be better for them. ( still good kit for the individual)
Then get any and everything thats sharp and shiny or titainium.
Then and only after you have spent the GDP of a small third world country on stuff are you allowed to think about making your own kit or buying the cheaper option which will still work.
hey why should anyone get left out of the kit monster phase that we all went thru.
or was that just me 
.
On a serious note follow spam's advice on kit and you wont go far wrong. Army kit is made to work its not the best or most comfy but it works. Home made kit adds another element to the mix and is great. It usually gets the most looks and quieries of admiration.
Good luck and dont spend a fortune you just dont have to.
SSSHHHHH dont tell anybody that I have said all this or i will loose my title of kit monster.:theyareon
Greg
Get what uncle Ray uses (cant be denied its good kit)
Then get what everybody on here uses, after they have got uncle ray's kit and decide that other shiny stuff might be better for them. ( still good kit for the individual)
Then get any and everything thats sharp and shiny or titainium.
Then and only after you have spent the GDP of a small third world country on stuff are you allowed to think about making your own kit or buying the cheaper option which will still work.
hey why should anyone get left out of the kit monster phase that we all went thru.
or was that just me .On a serious note follow spam's advice on kit and you wont go far wrong. Army kit is made to work its not the best or most comfy but it works. Home made kit adds another element to the mix and is great. It usually gets the most looks and quieries of admiration.
Good luck and dont spend a fortune you just dont have to.
SSSHHHHH dont tell anybody that I have said all this or i will loose my title of kit monster.:theyareon
Greg
Twenty miles a day on the downs or weald isn't so bad - if you are used to it, that is. I remember our first long distance walk on the Ridgeway, we did 25 miles the first day but only 15 the next!
For that sort of countryside the first question I'd consider is where you'll be sleeping because that involves your bulkiest and heaviest kit - tentage and sleeping system. It could be a blanket and a sheet of plastic, or it could be a heavy army tent and sleeping bag.
If you are going to sleep on campsites (not such a bad place to start if you've not a lot of experience - toilets, showers, maybe even a shop), then you may be forced into the tent direction. Sleeping out in the 'wild' down there will mean sleeping on someones property and that means obtaining permission. Yes, when I was younger I will admit to doing so without permission, but really you should get it. You read about asking the local farmer, but nowadays in that area you are more likely to have to walk ten miles to find him! Since it's your local area though, you could plan and prepare. Find some campsites and get permission in advance. It might take the edge off the adventure as it were, but first times out you'll be juggling enough balls that it won't matter.
If you know where you are sleeping then you can make sure that your tentage and sleeping system is suitable - no point planning on a hammock if there aren't any suitable trees.
For that sort of countryside the first question I'd consider is where you'll be sleeping because that involves your bulkiest and heaviest kit - tentage and sleeping system. It could be a blanket and a sheet of plastic, or it could be a heavy army tent and sleeping bag.
If you are going to sleep on campsites (not such a bad place to start if you've not a lot of experience - toilets, showers, maybe even a shop), then you may be forced into the tent direction. Sleeping out in the 'wild' down there will mean sleeping on someones property and that means obtaining permission. Yes, when I was younger I will admit to doing so without permission, but really you should get it. You read about asking the local farmer, but nowadays in that area you are more likely to have to walk ten miles to find him! Since it's your local area though, you could plan and prepare. Find some campsites and get permission in advance. It might take the edge off the adventure as it were, but first times out you'll be juggling enough balls that it won't matter.
If you know where you are sleeping then you can make sure that your tentage and sleeping system is suitable - no point planning on a hammock if there aren't any suitable trees.
Fit with the purpose of the thread. One small tin of haggis and one tin of Ravioli stick them in the same pot and heat thouroughly. The ravioli will break up as you have to keep stirring and it'll end up looking like someone's already eaten it, but will be delicious eaten with a slice of bread and butter.
Cheap, easy to carry, and cook, and you'll get the tin's that you'll be able to see if you can make something out of them
Will only be 2 days and 20 miles was a guestimate. My garden backs on to the north downs path pretty much so would like to that. Only problem is the M25 that runs along side it. I would love to get the train to Guildford and walk back home or something like that.
Kit I already have:
A pair of these.
I have lightweight good quality clothing and a slightly knackered ruck sack.
First thing on the list is a good quality but not necessary expensive rucksack. Its tempting to spend hundreds on kit but I agree with you it really is not needed.
FInding drinking water has always been a puzzle to me. When I was on Isle of Kos last summer they had a natural spring in the village which was nice and easy.
