To give you an idea of whats useful and whats not, here is a typical day out for me in the local woods. I don't profess to be an expert in bushcraft and wild camping but I know what i know and find myself comfortable in the woods in all weathers.
Started out my bag is generally packed with most of what I will take depending on the season.
The weather was hot and sunny at 11am so I took the bare minimum in terms of clothing for a few hours in the woods and maybe a 3 mile walk about. Had a decent breakfast so just had snacks with me.
I haven't been walking much lately so with a full pack I would feel it. I have been gradually adding weight so I am fit enough for a decent day out walking and a comfy overnighter.
I took my newly handled enzo trapper, axe and saw this time for a bit of practice on some dead wood.
Using the GPS I tracked back to the spot I liked the look of a couple of days ago and spent a bit of time looking about on arrival. it seemed others had been there trying to set up natural shelters, there were no signs of fire damage or any junk about.
Only having my knife on my belt when out of the way of GP, I unpacked some kit and Started with some shaping of branches with my enzo to get used to the handle, all seems fine so far. Then had a bit of a chop with the axe to make a staff for walking about with. spent a bit of time cleaning up the knots and stuff on that.
Had a go at making a pot hanger for a fireplace just like ray does on the telly. that went ok. I don't tend to use a billy can but I still like to practice.
Then out of nowhere it started raining, this was totally unexpected. luckily I have been experimenting with basha storage so I had my kit with me. Omni pouch wasn't big enough so I went with a whole side pouch and just stuff the lot in there.
Set up ridgeline in pretty quick time. usual evenk one end and a adjustable knot the other end. In my wisdom i didn't have the guy lines attached and this took the longest time. One to organize which cord went where and then to tie them on wilst the rain pelted me. way to slow. they will be left in place and hanked up from now on.
having most of my kit stopped me having to fast pace it back to the car and make the day short. I had crusader mug, honey stove and plenty of birch bark with me so laid out a bed of green sticks to rest the honey stove on and got a few twigs and kindling and got it going. Birch bark is such superb stuff. The enzo scraped some good sparks off the firestick, in no time I had a flame.
I'm glad i did that because the bugs were out in force and biting well. a bit of nordic summer kept them off my hands and neck whilst setting up and they soon scarpered when the honey stove got going.
Got some fuel sorted out and stripped off any of the wettest bark. then left the fuel near the stove to dry off for a bit. I must have used 10 handfulls of pine sticks in total over the hour or so underneath the basha.
Made a brew of hot chocolate and stayed under the tarp sipping my drink. what a way to relax. No distractions apart from keeping an eye on the stove. Rain hitting the tarp and trees was somewhat hypnotic and I thorougly enjoyed my stay. if I hadnt have had the tarp/basha it would have been a very different experience.
I had it seup about 4 feet at the front and about 3 feet at the rear mainly coz I was in a hurry to get it up. worked out well with the stove underneath, no real sparks came from the stove as long as I left it be. Was cozy under there. would have been nice to have a had a small wall behind me as my back was getting a bit cold due to the wet and slight breeze. Maybe a practice of some different basha shapes is needed.
Anyway, Rain eased off a bit so I decided to pack up and made a move back to the car. Only about a Kilometer away in light rain. I kicked myself a bit that I didnt take my poncho or any other form of weatherproofing but actually i didn't really need it. The nice neat packing system I started with went a bit out the window whilst it was raining. This is the only way you can know what works for you in the wilderness. The fact that the light had dropped made things harder to see and wet things tend to act differently to dry things, the constant bombardment of gnats and flys, trying to stop water getting in places you dont want.
After a good walk round checking for rubbish and lost items of kit, I tried to leave only my footprints and headed out.
I think for newbies, it would be good practice to move camp after a full setup just to see what packs and unpacks easily and what needs to be got at quickly. Theres far to much to need to do than can be imagined from a distance. practice really does make perfect. Having everything you need in set packed spaces works for me but it has taken a long time to get organised, test and scratch uneeded kit. I have a lot of redundant kit laying around now. I think I have finally found a system that works well for me, but I find a lot of the fun is being able to improve, adapt and improvise how you camp when new design kit becomes available.
This is the general kit I carry for a weekend camp or a walkabout.
Here's what I took :
Lowe alpine sting
2 plce side pouches
right one with bufffalo wind shirt, Nato 1 liter bottle fresh water.
left one with basha loosely folded and stashed, small bag with 4 pegs, spare paracord.
1 omni pouch karrimor- empty
map lives in waterproof berghaus case behind right hand pouch (clipped with a crab), with silva type 4 compass, roamer, notebook, pens,
GB SFA lives under left side pouch.
couple of extra straps, aloksak, wetones stashed, bog roll in aloksak, pacer beads,
Inside the Pack:
Army issue Field pack/NBC pack
1 liter nato water bottle in crusader cup
leather gloves
Thermo mug/mini flask
brew kit and snacks
Bin bag
saw
Dutch issue washbag/pouch with birchbark, honey stove, couple of tent pegs (spare fire stick and some rubber innertube)
Snugpak responce pack contains:
FAK, issue field dressing, DC4, spare batteries, head torch, thermarest repair kit, mossie net, nordic summer, electrical tape, blister kit, spoon, baccy tin of emergey stuff/odds and sods.
Old ortilieb mapcase of emergency stuff, paracord, snickers, stuff, lives permanently at the bottom of the sting.
Wearing:
Craghoppers kiwi shirt
5.11 TDU trousers
ronhill running shorts
Hanwag SF boots
tilley T3
leather belt made by BCUK member
1000 mile lightweight socks
Carry,
GPS, watch, sunglasses, leatherman, phone, enzo trapper with firestick on double dangle sheath.
Next trip out:
when my DD frontline arrives I will go out for a test run so,
Depending on weather,
May add (some or all) - poncho, buffalo special 6 shirt(for mornings), thermarest, merlin 3 sleep bag, DD frontline hammock, closed cell foam mat, bivi bag, more water, lock and lock sandwich box for food, karabiners, washkit.
Possibles - gaiters, goretex trousers, goretex jacket, snugpack softie, poncho liner, 5.11 tac shirt,
Might seem like a lot of stuff to some and not a lot to others, everything I carry has a use although that use may not become apparent on every trip out. It is hard to draw the line of what might be needed and what is no use at all. This can only come with experience and actual use of your kit over time.
If I have realised anything about bushcraft and wild camping it's not just the load of gear you haul on your back it is also the load on your mind which can make things harder.
Meaning having to constantly remember what kit you have and organise it in an efficeint manner can be a drag and I find now having less kit that does the job more enjoyable to work with.
The K.I.S.S system quoted means a lot.
It's all good fun anyway thats why we do it, main thing is to get out there as much as you can while you can.
Hope that helps.
Started out my bag is generally packed with most of what I will take depending on the season.
The weather was hot and sunny at 11am so I took the bare minimum in terms of clothing for a few hours in the woods and maybe a 3 mile walk about. Had a decent breakfast so just had snacks with me.
I haven't been walking much lately so with a full pack I would feel it. I have been gradually adding weight so I am fit enough for a decent day out walking and a comfy overnighter.
I took my newly handled enzo trapper, axe and saw this time for a bit of practice on some dead wood.
Using the GPS I tracked back to the spot I liked the look of a couple of days ago and spent a bit of time looking about on arrival. it seemed others had been there trying to set up natural shelters, there were no signs of fire damage or any junk about.
Only having my knife on my belt when out of the way of GP, I unpacked some kit and Started with some shaping of branches with my enzo to get used to the handle, all seems fine so far. Then had a bit of a chop with the axe to make a staff for walking about with. spent a bit of time cleaning up the knots and stuff on that.
Had a go at making a pot hanger for a fireplace just like ray does on the telly. that went ok. I don't tend to use a billy can but I still like to practice.
Then out of nowhere it started raining, this was totally unexpected. luckily I have been experimenting with basha storage so I had my kit with me. Omni pouch wasn't big enough so I went with a whole side pouch and just stuff the lot in there.
Set up ridgeline in pretty quick time. usual evenk one end and a adjustable knot the other end. In my wisdom i didn't have the guy lines attached and this took the longest time. One to organize which cord went where and then to tie them on wilst the rain pelted me. way to slow. they will be left in place and hanked up from now on.
having most of my kit stopped me having to fast pace it back to the car and make the day short. I had crusader mug, honey stove and plenty of birch bark with me so laid out a bed of green sticks to rest the honey stove on and got a few twigs and kindling and got it going. Birch bark is such superb stuff. The enzo scraped some good sparks off the firestick, in no time I had a flame.
I'm glad i did that because the bugs were out in force and biting well. a bit of nordic summer kept them off my hands and neck whilst setting up and they soon scarpered when the honey stove got going.
Got some fuel sorted out and stripped off any of the wettest bark. then left the fuel near the stove to dry off for a bit. I must have used 10 handfulls of pine sticks in total over the hour or so underneath the basha.
Made a brew of hot chocolate and stayed under the tarp sipping my drink. what a way to relax. No distractions apart from keeping an eye on the stove. Rain hitting the tarp and trees was somewhat hypnotic and I thorougly enjoyed my stay. if I hadnt have had the tarp/basha it would have been a very different experience.
I had it seup about 4 feet at the front and about 3 feet at the rear mainly coz I was in a hurry to get it up. worked out well with the stove underneath, no real sparks came from the stove as long as I left it be. Was cozy under there. would have been nice to have a had a small wall behind me as my back was getting a bit cold due to the wet and slight breeze. Maybe a practice of some different basha shapes is needed.
Anyway, Rain eased off a bit so I decided to pack up and made a move back to the car. Only about a Kilometer away in light rain. I kicked myself a bit that I didnt take my poncho or any other form of weatherproofing but actually i didn't really need it. The nice neat packing system I started with went a bit out the window whilst it was raining. This is the only way you can know what works for you in the wilderness. The fact that the light had dropped made things harder to see and wet things tend to act differently to dry things, the constant bombardment of gnats and flys, trying to stop water getting in places you dont want.
After a good walk round checking for rubbish and lost items of kit, I tried to leave only my footprints and headed out.
I think for newbies, it would be good practice to move camp after a full setup just to see what packs and unpacks easily and what needs to be got at quickly. Theres far to much to need to do than can be imagined from a distance. practice really does make perfect. Having everything you need in set packed spaces works for me but it has taken a long time to get organised, test and scratch uneeded kit. I have a lot of redundant kit laying around now. I think I have finally found a system that works well for me, but I find a lot of the fun is being able to improve, adapt and improvise how you camp when new design kit becomes available.
This is the general kit I carry for a weekend camp or a walkabout.
Here's what I took :
Lowe alpine sting
2 plce side pouches
right one with bufffalo wind shirt, Nato 1 liter bottle fresh water.
left one with basha loosely folded and stashed, small bag with 4 pegs, spare paracord.
1 omni pouch karrimor- empty
map lives in waterproof berghaus case behind right hand pouch (clipped with a crab), with silva type 4 compass, roamer, notebook, pens,
GB SFA lives under left side pouch.
couple of extra straps, aloksak, wetones stashed, bog roll in aloksak, pacer beads,
Inside the Pack:
Army issue Field pack/NBC pack
1 liter nato water bottle in crusader cup
leather gloves
Thermo mug/mini flask
brew kit and snacks
Bin bag
saw
Dutch issue washbag/pouch with birchbark, honey stove, couple of tent pegs (spare fire stick and some rubber innertube)
Snugpak responce pack contains:
FAK, issue field dressing, DC4, spare batteries, head torch, thermarest repair kit, mossie net, nordic summer, electrical tape, blister kit, spoon, baccy tin of emergey stuff/odds and sods.
Old ortilieb mapcase of emergency stuff, paracord, snickers, stuff, lives permanently at the bottom of the sting.
Wearing:
Craghoppers kiwi shirt
5.11 TDU trousers
ronhill running shorts
Hanwag SF boots
tilley T3
leather belt made by BCUK member
1000 mile lightweight socks
Carry,
GPS, watch, sunglasses, leatherman, phone, enzo trapper with firestick on double dangle sheath.
Next trip out:
when my DD frontline arrives I will go out for a test run so,
Depending on weather,
May add (some or all) - poncho, buffalo special 6 shirt(for mornings), thermarest, merlin 3 sleep bag, DD frontline hammock, closed cell foam mat, bivi bag, more water, lock and lock sandwich box for food, karabiners, washkit.
Possibles - gaiters, goretex trousers, goretex jacket, snugpack softie, poncho liner, 5.11 tac shirt,
Might seem like a lot of stuff to some and not a lot to others, everything I carry has a use although that use may not become apparent on every trip out. It is hard to draw the line of what might be needed and what is no use at all. This can only come with experience and actual use of your kit over time.
If I have realised anything about bushcraft and wild camping it's not just the load of gear you haul on your back it is also the load on your mind which can make things harder.
Meaning having to constantly remember what kit you have and organise it in an efficeint manner can be a drag and I find now having less kit that does the job more enjoyable to work with.
The K.I.S.S system quoted means a lot.
It's all good fun anyway thats why we do it, main thing is to get out there as much as you can while you can.
Hope that helps.
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