Old-time kit

[Jimcatt]

I was inspired by another thread to have a look a some of my Grandfathers pic’s and it posed a question, has kit changed or just the materials used?

I'm sure my old man still has the tent somewhere....

 

[firebreather]

I was inspired by another thread to have a look a some of my Grandfathers pic’s and it posed a question, has kit changed or just the materials used?

I'm sure my old man still has the tent somewhere....

I think the answer is yes and no.
Some people use ultra modern kit while others take a traditional approach. I use a combination of both. I really like old style tents and have just started making my own. Retro packs are great and I am addicted but they will never replace a modern pack for the long haul. Wannigans are great too but heavy.
I have recently gone back to wool and ventile and much prefer it to gortex/ fleece combo for example.
I guess there is no real answer Just use what you like and have fun.

Greg

 

[stevec038]

Like most things related to technology, the goals we have, haven't changed much at all. We all want food, shelter, water and companionship (though not necessarily in that order) to enjoy our bush experience. Technological improvements just change how we get there. If its new and works well for you go for it. If it old and works for you same thing. One thing I have noticed through the years that certain old things add a bit of nostalgia, that for me anyway is part of the fun.

 

[Podcast Bob]

I was having a chat with Jed over at True North Tarps about this very subject this morning as a matter of fact.

If the folks in those photos were around today and spending time outdoors, would they use the best modern materials to service their needs, or stick to the old stuff, because they always used it?

Some of the explorers, woodsmen and trackers would have used whatever (a) was right for them and (b) fitted their budget, or I suppose (c) whatever they could make to do the job. (Bearing in mind they were probably much more into recycling than we are these days!)

So if they could have afforded it, and the new materials were about, would they have bought it?

My grandparents and great grandparents were woodsmen and carpenters. I still have some of their hand made very functional tools and use them. I often wonder if they were around now, with cash in hand, what they would buy off shelf and why?

 

[John Fenna]

Hhhmmmmm...
and there was me thinking folk were returning to trad materials (wool, cotton Ventile, waxed cotton, leather etc) as "modern" fabrics are not as suited to the rigours of the wilderness....

 

[Tadpole]

I think that back in the olden ‘golden’ days, there were few options, it was either buy or make,
The well to do, could afford to buy, and by heaven they bought the very best, and it lasted long after they were dead and gone.
The less well to do, bought the best they could afford, and it lasted their lifetime.
The rest made what they could out of what they had, they made it the best they could, out of the best that they had. Some of which are still usable to this day, others less so.

My new (to me) canvas 4 man family tent is at least 25 years old (the couple who gave it to me, had it 25 years, they got it from our church when the church up-graded their tents to nylon) it’s been patched a few times, but is still water proof (the moot proved that) More than serviceable and great for what I need, It cost something like £25 when new, which was a lot of money. It’s been looked after, previous owners have taken the time to maintain it, that, I think, is the key.

Modern materials do not need that much looking after, no proofing, no hanging up to drip dry, no care or attention. However, the trade off is modern materials don’t seem to last, they fade and be come fragile when exposed to prolong periods of sunlight or bad weather. Canvas / cotton will rot if not looked after or if it is not used that often, but so long as you do look after it, it can out live you.

 

[Steve27752]

I think the basic kit is the same, it is the materials that have changed.

 

[Oblio13]

In our modern consumer society, lots of gear is designed more to catch customers than to be practical. We're addicted to gadgets.

I like to combine the best of old and new. People hundreds and thousands of years ago knew much more than we do about living outdoors. They didn't just do it from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. We can learn from them and refine their technologies at the same time, for the best of both worlds.

There's no such thing as a new tent design. There are a limited number of ways to contort cloth, and they were all tried thousands of years ago. I like to stick to the ones that have survived the test of time. For me, that's a wall, wedge or pyramid of Egyptian cotton, with modern treatment for mildew, fire and water.

There's no such thing as a new pot design. But titanium or stainless steel are better than tin.

The same story goes for knives, compasses, axes, hats, socks, boots, and everything else.

Otzi the Iceman (the stone-age man who popped out of the Italian alps a few years ago) was carrying the same things I'll be carrying the opening day of deer season - weapon and ammo, knife and sharpener, fire and tinder, and first aid kit. Mine is just 5,000 years more refined. If we met, he'd marvel at my gear. I'd marvel at his knowledge.

 

[crazydave]

intersting if you go back a few years the principles are generally the same. I found a few generations of tents in the stores once. one was date form the 30's and was a thin cotton duck with bambo poles in a semi geodesic design. then found a more modern version of it from the 70's in nylon but again with bamboo poles. obviously the precursor to the fibreglass ones. we pitched them for the laugh on a wet windy night and both worked as good as the modern ones except for patching up the poles where they'd split.

we still wear leather boots, wool socks and wool undies. down is still the best insulator we just wrap it in pertex instead of cotton. marquees are still made of canvas as are military tents. the most versatile hard wearing jackets are cotton, waxed cotton or ventile. the warmest clothes are still wool or wool mimics.

I think the main difference is thinking we need a totally different set of kit to do activities with. your grandad wore his corduroy trousers, cotton shirt and wooly pulley. if it was cold he stuck his tweed jacket on and his trenchcoat when it was wet. I bet he wore his normal stout pair of walking shoes as well kid wise cotton duck tents a camp bed/cot and wool blankets or a mattress cover stuffed with straw.

I spent an afternoon discussing with my grandma what she got up to in guides before the war and it was fascinating with meat hangers and so forth. she was country girl so it was second nature to her.

 

[Jimcatt]

My Dad still has his fathers "Tommy Cooker" from WW1, a solid alcohol cooker how little the design has changed.

Not the original.

 

[Jimcatt]

I know a least one of the tents in the pictures went on to become, shorts, kit bags and a camp bed that is still in use today, almost seventy years on, the only thing is you need a pack horse to carry it.....

 

[crazydave]

alcohol (esbit) was the german version, tommy cookers were hexamine. we later pinched the esbit stove design

what I like is if its been made by hand then it can generally be fixed by hand

 

[Jimcatt]

Thanks Dave.

 

[arnoldus]

Didn't find info with the search function, so thought I might mention it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5076634.stm
Some guys (in 2006) tested the old style clothes worn by the Mallory expedition on Mount Everest, and found that the gabardine cotton was superior to their synthetic clothes.

 

[andybysea]

Those cookers were still used in ww2, only differance to todays hexi blocks is that then they were round puck type hexi blocks. they fold really small only problem is the circular disc is separate so the possbilty of losing it.

 

[helixpteron]

Didn't find info with the search function, so thought I might mention it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5076634.stm
Some guys (in 2006) tested the old style clothes worn by the Mallory expedition on Mount Everest, and found that the gabardine cotton was superior to their synthetic clothes.

Thank you for posting that, I found it fascinating, and it confirms the point made so well by Oblio 13.

 

[joejoe]

very nice is that black car a vauxall

 

[riggers]

The goblin who knows you will never finish eating you up
havent heard that i a long time mate