Plastic free camping

[Woody girl]

Recently I have been attempting to get a plastic free camp kit. Not as easy as you might think !
So far, my cooking, and tools have been easy. Among my collection I have a canvas rucksack.
I use a tin for my fire kit, and a home made leather tinder pouch.
Ive been making some of my clothes from natural wool or cotton.
Carrying food wrapped in home made waxed cotton or grease proof paper and tied with cotton string. Water bottle is stainless steel, and a milbank bag for filtering water....so far so good.
But, then sleeping and shelter has been much more difficult. I have wool blankets, but they are bulky and heavy, a down bag has a synthetic cover, and unless I want to spend a fortune, with bushcraft spain for a lovely plastic free tarp,(and employ a donkey to cart it, )I'm pretty stumped.
Also I need an air bed, unless I hammock(which is not plastic free either)
So, I'm wondering, is anyone else trying to use more natural materials in their bushcraft,? what is stumping your efforts?
What are your solutions?
I'm still working on things, and am trying to go as light as possible but use as much natural material, and avoid as much plastic as I can. By no means perfect, but I'm getting there very slowly, and trying to make conscious sustainable choices .

 

[Stew]

Is it not more sustainable to use things you already have?

 

[Pattree]

I think about plastics a lot. The problem is that we became addicted long before we realised the harm.

I’m prepared to make an effort but I’m not about to beat myself up over it.

I’m starting with single use plastic. It means buying some more expensive brands. I carry camp food in plastic multi use jars - but the rice comes in metallic plastic 10K bags. The rest it’s glass, aluminium and steel - but then should I be using a single use steel can covered in plastic based paint for a single serving of mackerel?

So I suppose the answer to your question is No but I’m making something of an effort.

 

[Woody girl]

I think about plastics a lot. The problem is that we became addicted long before we realised the harm.

I’m prepared to make an effort but I’m not about to beat myself up over it.

I’m starting with single use plastic. It means buying some more expensive brands. I carry camp food in plastic multi use jars - but the rice comes in metallic plastic 10K bags. The rest it’s glass, aluminium and steel - but then should I be using a single use steel can covered in plastic based paint for a single serving of mackerel?

So I suppose the answer to your question is No but I’m making something of an effort.

That's what it's about, just being aware of what you are buying as much as possible, and thinking about what we can do to lessen the use of plastic in all areas of our lives.
I don't buy drinks in plastic bottles for instance, I'll take a water bottle with me, and I managed to find a stainless steel one with a bamboo cap rather than a plastic one.
Well done for making the effort to think about it though, and I'm sure eventually we can get there.

Stew, as usual you are being a bit of a devil's advocate with me. of course, you have a point, but the thing is, I don't not use items I already have, of course I do, but new purchases are scrutinised for sustainability, such as the wool duvet I bought last year when I needed a new one.
It's realy just an exercise in how sustainable, and plastic free can I be with bushcraft.
All of the stuff I'm using for this so far, I already have, so no problem there. It's just that I came up against hurdles when I looked at shelter (tarps, tents, and hammocks) and beds, (s, i, mats and sleeping bags.) it got me wondering if anyone else was looking at this , and had any brilliant ideas.
It was watching waypoint survival hobo series that got me thinking along these lines.

 

[forrestdweller]

for shelter the "plash palatka" (=russian military canvas tarp) might be an option or a DIY tarp from a painters tarp and silicone or some other waterproofing substance...

given our rainforest conditions here i'm sticking with my existing synthetic solutions which require less maintenance (and served me well for many years) but i understand your point

 

[Roger that]

Im gathering a similar, more traditional, sort of kit. For an air bed, you could substitute this with some large cotton bag to fill with leaf litter.

You could also make your own tarp, it's pretty much a case of proofing a bed sheet, and creating some eyelets.

The weight is the only thing that may be insurmountable lately I've been liking the idea of wrapping the blankets and tarp up in some sort of bedroll, instead of fitting all that in to a rucksack. With a haversack for water/food/frequent items.

Check out Kusk bushcraft on YouTube, his kit videos are top notch, might be what you're after.

 

[Woody girl]

Im gathering a similar, more traditional, sort of kit. For an air bed, you could substitute this with some large cotton bag to fill with leaf litter.

You could also make your own tarp, it's pretty much a case of proofing a bed sheet, and creating some eyelets.

The weight is the only thing that may be insurmountable lately I've been liking the idea of wrapping the blankets and tarp up in some sort of bedroll, instead of fitting all that in to a rucksack. With a haversack for water/food/frequent items.

Check out Kusk bushcraft on YouTube, his kit videos are top notch, might be what you're after.

Browse bed is fine untill you find everything is soaking wet!
I've already thought about using an old single duvet cover stuffed with leaves, but if they are wet, or you can't find enough... you have a damp and uncomfortable bed.
I used a palliass many hundreds of years ago at a girls brigade camp, which was stuffed with straw. It was the best and sweetest smelling bed ever!
No wonder we all go for this modern lightweight plastic stuff. It makes life much easier and kit lighter. A straw stuffed palliass was better for comfort, but not exactly portable!
Canvas is so much more comfortable to camp under, but a nightmare weight when wet.
The proofed bedsheet idea seems doable, let us know if you do it, and how it goes.

 

[GreyCat]

I tend to take a wider view. If it's an old refurbished thing then it may be synthetic but it's better to keep using it. Get as much life as possible out of stuff, then repurpose it and eventually dispose of responsibly.

Also worth considering the way things like "natural" fabrics are produced. Most cotton these days is grown in arid areas, irrigated using scarce river water (that's why the Aral Sea dried up) and needs heavy input of fertilizer and pesticides to reach harvest. It is also difficult to distinguish cotton picked by slave/prison labour.

Sooooo...... the sad reality is that most cotton will have been drenched in hydrocarbon-derived fertilizer and pesticides, and have a high environmental footprint such that it's entirely possible that a responsibly made synthetic canvas may actually have a lower environmental and social impact than cotton canvas.

You can get some responsibly sourced cotton dressmaking fabric but you need to be looking for it (there's some specific certification schemes) and typically it's quite costly- ideal for "forever" garments you make yourself- but most folk don't dress like that!

GC

 

[Kadushu]

You could try making a gum blanket with as lightweight a cloth as possible, not sure if that's what Roger meant? It still won't be anything like as light as a plastic fabric unfortunately.

 

[forrestdweller]

You could try making a gum blanket with as lightweight a cloth as possible, not sure if that's what Roger meant? It still won't be anything like as light as a plastic fabric unfortunately.

how would you make one?! iirc they were already around during the US civil war...
rubber trees are everywhere around here (not the species once farmed commercially, but a related species), but you'd have to collect quite a bit of latex and then be quick enough to apply it before it hardens.... (a modern coating would be fine with me )

 

[Barney Rubble]

For inspiration, might I recommend that you check out Giles Binyon on youtube. He's been on a similar mission to camp without synthetic materials and also keep his kit as light as possible. He has been very successful and I must say that I've taken some inspiration from him.

Just search his name and you'll hit on his channel. He hasn't posted for about a year now, but has a good back catalogue of videos.

I agree with Stew above though, don't be afraid to use what you already have. I dabble in some plastic free camps, but also like to use what I already have. I agree with other comments, that the more important mission is to cut out single use plastics. Wax paper and/or re-usable silicon pouches for the win!

Also, before you go consider shopping for a very expensive Bushcraft Spain canvas tarp, check out the UK makers who make better quality kit at a lower price. Thornhill Ultraheavy is one such maker that I can recommend and you'll find him on facebook, instagram and ebay.

 

[Kadushu]

how would you make one?! iirc they were already around during the US civil war...
rubber trees are everywhere around here (not the species once farmed commercially, but a related species), but you'd have to collect quite a bit of latex and then be quick enough to apply it before it hardens.... (a modern coating would be fine with me )

David Canterbury did a video about it but I can't remember the particulars

 

[Woody girl]

For inspiration, might I recommend that you check out Giles Binyon on youtube. He's been on a similar mission to camp without synthetic materials and also keep his kit as light as possible. He has been very successful and I must say that I've taken some inspiration from him.

Just search his name and you'll hit on his channel. He hasn't posted for about a year now, but has a good back catalogue of videos.

I agree with Stew above though, don't be afraid to use what you already have. I dabble in some plastic free camps, but also like to use what I already have. I agree with other comments, that the more important mission is to cut out single use plastics. Wax paper and/or re-usable silicon pouches for the win!

Also, before you go consider shopping for a very expensive Bushcraft Spain canvas tarp, check out the UK makers who make better quality kit at a lower price. Thornhill Ultraheavy is one such maker that I can recommend and you'll find him on facebook, instagram and ebay.

Must say that Giles 's videos are what inspired me to go down this particular rabbit hole.
I have looked at bushcraft spains offerings, but its a big ouch on price and weight!
No go for my pocket!
I've tried the haversack route, but it pulls me to one side too much and my spine doesn't agree that its a great idea, so it's the canvas back pack, which I already have, and minimal and non plastic which isn't hard, untill you get to the shelter and bedding, I have a great lightweight tarp and a good air bed and sleeping bag, which I can cope with on the ground for an overnight, ( tho its the hammock for anything longer, ) but they are not natural fibres. It seems such a shame to take the concept only half way.
Maybe personally I'll just have to accept I can't carry the weight nessasary to do this.

 

[forrestdweller]

David Canterbury did a video about it but I can't remember the particulars

thanks, i'll search for it (given the amount of videos he produces it might take some time but soon i'll hopefully have better internet available)

 

[Laurentius]

Plastic is insidious, it gets everywhere. It might be the buttons on your wool coat, the lenses of your spectacles, the washer on the top of your steel bottle. I guess when it comes to groundsheets and sleeping mats I give in. You could have the old rubberized mackintosh groundsheet, and a straw palliase I suppose.

 

[Pattree]

……… And if you drive to your camp site, well………

 

[Toddy]

Waxed cotton makes an okay tarp. You have to be careful about the folds, and rewax as necessary, but it works well.
Thing is, good waxed cotton is cotton, and that will swell when it's damp....ventile is the classic example....so even if it's not pristine, so long as you don't go too long without rewaxing the folds, it'll still be dry.

Waxed cotton is lighter to carry than canvas too

 

[Stew]

Waxed cotton makes an okay tarp. You have to be careful about the folds, and rewax as necessary, but it works well.
Thing is, good waxed cotton is cotton, and that will swell when it's damp....ventile is the classic example....so even if it's not pristine, so long as you don't go too long without rewaxing the folds, it'll still be dry.

Waxed cotton is lighter to carry than canvas too

Thing is if you’re going away from plastics for environmental reasons, cotton isn’t really an environmentally friendly product.

 

[Toddy]

Thing is if you’re going away from plastics for environmental reasons, cotton isn’t really an environmentally friendly product.

Well no, not ecologically.....but humanity needs clothes, and out of all the fabrics....cotton's thirsty, but it clothes a heck of a lot of the world.

Truthfully hemp is much better. It grows here, doesn't need so much water or pesticides or fertilizers, but...it needs different machinery because it's a long staple fibre. It needs decorticorers, it needs to be spun damp, which can cause it's own issues....the list goes on.

So, at the end of the day, non plastic cotton is what's widely available.

 

[slowworm]

Plastic is insidious, it gets everywhere. It might be the buttons on your wool coat, the lenses of your spectacles, the washer on the top of your steel bottle. I guess when it comes to groundsheets and sleeping mats I give in.

I find many modern plastics are worse, they break down far too easily but only into microplastics not fully degradable. I have some old plant support mesh that I rescued and must be 30+ years old and it still seems perfect. I bought some a couple of years back and it started degrading within a year and will be binned within 5 years.

So, for me it would be a question of if I have to use plastic I want something that will last.