Not quite 'bushcraft' but camping

[Toddy]

I know that much of the ethos is being able to do a lot with very little, and doing an awful lot with natural resources on site, but at a static camp of over a week's duration, on a site that really cannot bear any more foraging, etc., what is the best set up/kit/materials to take along ?

Vehicle nearby, and safely so, enough that weight isn't much of an issue.

What would you take along to set up ?

My basics would be a tent with an enclosed inner room, and an outer room with a tarp set up above the doorway to extend a sheltered area. Leaves me free to not be fussed about bad weather and trying to keep my sleeping quarters clean and dry.

I do have a parachute, firebowl, etc., but that's a bit much for just one person.

I'd prefer an upright seat of some kind (I confess, the last Moot I went to in South Wales I bought a plastic garden chair for eight quid in Tesco in Bridgend. Much more comfortable for me than the folding ones that I sink into and feel trapped, and much more stable than the wee stools) but would be happy enough with a plank over logs. @Cobweb made a couple of those tripod and sack chairs that were surprisingly good though

Food prep ? and storage ? what about keeping stuff cool in Summer ?
Kelly kettle or billy ? Cast iron or lightweight pots ?

Just a kind of rambling discussion....what have you found that works well, and why ?

M

 

[Broch]

- too much maybe? The sleeping dog is optional.

 

[Erbswurst]

It depends a bit on the weather, and temperatures.

Do you always have wind protection by hedges or forest?

Britain only or where too?

Can you make a fire on the ground?

Do you want only a car camping equipment or a durable and very comfortable hiking equipment?

Do you want to use it for canoeing?
Do you have to count in portages or not?

Will you always pitch it for a week or also often just for one night?

How old are the potential users and how many should we count in?

I have several very different equipments.
One is the best here, the other the best there...

 

[Winnet]

A decent sleep mat or camp bed to get a decent night's sleep. I would often do 2 week camps with the Scouts and you need comfort.

Box to gather boots/trainers in.
Small table for cups, food, drinks.
Led lighting.

G

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[Toddy]

@Erbswurst

I was thinking generally.
Perhaps something like the Moot site. It's on a forested (pine, planted when the estate was trying to see what would actually grow on the site) part of the biggest sand dunes in Europe. It's just where the river runs into the sea.
Well drained (unlike where I live) but hard on groundsheets because of the abrasiveness of the sandy soil, good for being safe with open fires though folks are asked to use raised fires.
It's a very good site for social groupings, and social campfires.

@Winnet
I hadn't thought of a box for boots, that's a good one. One of those folding crates would do for that. I usually put an old doormat inside my car boot and I put that down at the doorway into my tent. That way I have some place to leave my boots and sandals that lets them dry and keeps the mud down, but I like the idea of something a bit more.

I have an Exped down mat, one of the long ones that fits snuggly inside the inner tent. It's been superb.

I have two folding tables. Both of aluminium slats. One's a really low one that's ideal inside the tent for making a cuppa or keeping a plate or bowl off the floor.

Led lights are superb

 

[Robson Valley]

I can report on several scenarios. Depends upon which "style" of camp site I'd like to pick for the level of socializing.
1. Wilderness. Stop the truck on a little old logging road with some clear and level places. Dry and sheltered in coniferous forest, no running water. All the best places have been used in the past. Look for the biggest rings of fire pit rocks.
These vary in size from 1 tent to a village of 6 families.
2. Primitive +/- reservations. Usually organized by some government environment agency. Tent pad, fire pit and log picnic table Often lakeshore or riverbank access. Good spacing from adjacent sites.
3. Reservation +/- a nightly fee. Inexpensive, pays for firewood. Much more than arm's length from the next site. Provincial Park. Central latrines, often a cold water tap.
4. Drive in parking for SUV, motor homes, trailers and so on. Armpit to armpit.
= = =
#1 is welcome solitude. #2 is great with advancing age. #3 and #4 are packed all summer. I just don't get it. The hum and buzz of generators as the kids play computer games, the fire pits are cold.
= = =
Standing room tent and rain fly. Tarps and ropes for outside shelter from wind and rain. Couple of chairs, everybody brings their favorite. Axe and saw for campfires (cooking grates?). I want my "green box" Coleman with fresh fuel. I need my Coleman petrol lantern with fresh fuel. It will sit on the ground for comfort's sake after dark. I'll take my little Coleman 533 stove to gain experience. It's like hanging onto a volcano. I need practice with flame control.

A 5 Imp. gallon water tank is about 22 liters. I want 2 of those for myself for a week. The village water is processed mountain snow melt runoff, far better than bottled. Several liter bottles of Grandpa's vitamins. Paper plates and wooden cutlery. Couple of knives and mugs.

All food, no matter what it is, no matter what you brought, gets locked in the vehicle at night. This includes candies and chewing gum. Of course, you won't need Bear Spray or shotguns. Food waste and scraps go into the fire. Stirred well and cremated. I don't feel obliged to repack everything. All packaging gets burnt in the fire, the food cans get roasted as well. They go in a garbage bag for home.

What do you like to eat? Luxuries, novelties, screen basket and popcorn for over the fire? Might as well pig out with food and drink as the whole trip is a bit of a novelty. I'll take things cooked in bulk and frozen. Eat what ever thaws out first. Every night MUST be some indulgent treats.

I made ice cubes in 500 ml plastic sour cream containers. A layer in the bottom of a bleach-cleaned Coleman insulated cooler. Great "ice box" but the melt water didn't seem fit for anything but the washing up.

 

[Erbswurst]

If you can make a fire and do not stand unprotected directly in a storm the Tshum 4P and the Tortuga Wanderkohte are the most comfortable tents I know.
Tschum is made in Germany, Tortuga designed in Germany, but made in Czechia.

Inside them, in the middle of the tent, you can ignite a well sized fire. You don't need a tent oven. You can heat them up like a sauna if you want.

Both are sectioned and can be used for hiking families or small groups. Both are made of fire retardant cotton. In both you use military ponchos as ground sheets for one or two persons, such as the olive green German army ponchos, which are very durable.
For car camping you can cut such a building site tarp in shape as ground sheet. That's better with sand ground of course. Garden pond foil would be another idea.

The pot hangs on a chain with open hook from the tip of the tent.

Cotton has no problem with sandy grounds. (Siliconised nylon would enclose sand into the fabric for example and PU coating would rubb off polyester fabric.)

Tshum is a one man business. These tents are custom made. Currently 30 weeks waiting list!

Tschum 4P KATUN - Trekking Tent out of Cotton

Tschum 4P KATUN

tschum.de

Usually the Tortuga Wanderkohte has no waiting list.

The 4 tent sheets of the Wanderkohte can be used as 2 man shelters:

TORTUGA Planenset Wanderkohte TC340, KD24 - Jurtenland - Zelte mit Fe

Planenset aus vier Wanderkohtenblättern der Qualität KD24, einer Abdeckplane 120 x 120 cm, KD24, ohne Zubehör

www.jurtenland.de

 

[Broch]

The trouble with trekking in a 110 Land Rover is that I can take pretty much what I like but these days I have different kit lists for different adventures - truck, canoe, backpack.... If I'm on my own it will be lighter weight - sleeping on the floor or in a hammock with a tarp, or with my old Spacepacker tent using the tarp as an awning as in the photo below. If the missus is with me it's the OZ tent and folding beds

The photo below was taken at the Moot in Feb 2019. I like a stable folding chair not one of these thin aluminium tube things that can break when you push down on the arms to get up. I also use Euro Boxes - these are standard Euro packing sizes that stack together (so two small ones will stack and lock in place on one larger one etc.); they have good hinged lids so rodents don't get in overnight. You may be able to see a large one in the back of the Landy and a small one behind my chair. Also in the back of the truck is a fridge (I've fitted a split charge second battery).

I rarely light a fire on the ground these days and carry a cheap folding fire pit as well as a small stove of some kind. With the Landy I carry my Dutch oven and a cast iron skillet as my preferred cooking pots but a stainless billy for water.

Sleeping wise, on my own, it's a sleeping mat. I usually put a groundsheet protector under the tent as well.

Luxury, it's a bottle of Islay malt and a bar of chocolate

 

[Erbswurst]

I like the 110 because one can sleep inside of it...

 

[Laurentius]

Tent to crawl into when the weather gets really nasty, tarp for generally living/sleeping under and a windbreak. Being vehicle based the ammo boxes I mentioned in a previous post to keep stuff safe and to serve as worktop/tables, trangia cooker, canteens and camelbak bladder for water and a plastic collapsible bucket.

 

[Billy-o]

Tarps and tables. Many.

Reverse the car up to a table ... big tarp over that. Work out of the boot ... or sleep in the car if its got the room. Add more tarps to spead out in the directions you want to, set up tables, establish a kitchen, firepit, sitting spot, clothes line etc.

Aside from regular camping things, about the most useful thing I can think of to take is a plastic sink bowl

 

[John Fenna]

My Winter Moot set up ...



Most of the kit is home made - not the tarps, chairs, ground mats or boxes (Belgian beer crates painted red for fuel storage, plain wood crates for main storage such as food, tools, cook kit etc, made for me by Dr Jones of this parish to my requirements) - and all fits with room to spare in my Fiat Doblo.

 

[Kav]

WHY is an area overused? Less desirable locales may offer increased solitude. Do we pack out other idiots' flotsam and jetsam? I do beach clean-ups and it's literally trying to stop the tides themselves with all the worldwide filth that washes ashore. There is now more plastic in the world's ocean than biomass ( seaweed, coral and animal) No trace camping needs to become more of the bushcraft ethos. I watch all these YOUTUBE videos with 'bushcrafters' building Iron Age forts and want to roll up just before dawn with a siege machine spouting Greek fire at them.

 

[Woody girl]

If I'm not going by motorbike which limits me to two soft panniers a 60 litre kit bag over the back seat and a comfy chair bungeed over that, I take my shopping trolly and use public transport. The one thing I really miss is a good table or two. One for prepping food and eating off, the other for my cooker, and cooking kit, washing up etc.
If I'm lucky enough to go by car, the tables are first in the boot!
I like a tent I can stand up in and get a decent high bed in, or failing that its my hammock, a large 4x4 tarp so I have plenty of dry space, my chair, and at the very least a small fabric folding table from aldi that is just about right height to cook or prep while sat in my chair. A large flexible IKEA lightweight chopping board gives me a decent firm area on the table, and weighs nothing, fitting on the bottom of my bag or trolly.
A really good bag for sleeping snuggly and a pocket rocket, two msr pans, and a small frying pan and medium size kettle.
After that, its all about tools, clothes and personal items. The one extra item I carry now is a small solar charger and power bank. Other than that I haven't changed what I take in years, though the items are of better quality now than they used to be.

 

[santaman2000]

Regarding the shelter/tent instead of rehashing what’s already been said, I’d also consider how many are going. I’d like a full wall tent (ticks all the boxes mentioned already plus some: roomy, able to stand in it, possible to have a fire or stove, etc.) but if I’m going alone it would be a real pain to pitch if possible at all.

 

[crosslandkelly]

My steampunk setup.

 

[Robson Valley]

Take a trip and never leave the kitchen. It's a beautiful sunny afternoon here. Maybe -5C, some blizzard snow melting in a gentle N wind. Nice out.
3:50PM and the fekking power goes off. Indeterminate on a sunny day.
All my major appliances are electric.

What's for supper? Have you got fuel and supplies for a hot meal?

 

[Roughneck]

For me it goes 3ways

• Super Comfortable ie vehicle to hand and lots of kit
• Comfortable shortish distance to amble
• Adequate "enough to get the job done "

Generally prefer Hammock Camping + tarp, but small 1man tent is still good.

Option 1 lot's of yummy food, Dutch oven Cook Bread, Slow cooked Lamb Comprehensive Breakfast sorted.

Option 2 Must have fresh meat ie Steak, Pork or Lamb, Sausages and bits for breakfast. Still Yummy.

Option 3 MRE's all sorts and snaky things to munch on so adequate.

One thing I never scrimp on is a decent sleeping system, you must be and feel rested in the morning for Reveille.

Can't wait to get out.

 

[Bee Outdoors]

WHY is an area overused? Less desirable locales may offer increased solitude. Do we pack out other idiots' flotsam and jetsam? I do beach clean-ups and it's literally trying to stop the tides themselves with all the worldwide filth that washes ashore. There is now more plastic in the world's ocean than biomass ( seaweed, coral and animal) No trace camping needs to become more of the bushcraft ethos. I watch all these YOUTUBE videos with 'bushcrafters' building Iron Age forts and want to roll up just before dawn with a siege machine spouting Greek fire at them.

As a youtuber and outdoorsman I refrain myself from building a permanent camp even on my permissions, all these forts, dens and useless structures are mostly for show. I can understand a survival or bushcraft school building temporary shelters for demonstration purposes but there is no need for most people to go out and do it. I also feel that youtubers have a responsibility to encourage LNT and most of them are encouraging the opposite, some are doing it without that intention but never the less they encouraging it

 

[Roughneck]

I totally agree, I take great care that when ever I leave there is a ZERO trace of my presences as I'm sure most of us have the same ethics.