Poor Mans Bushcraft @ Poundland.

I left the house on Friday night and using exactly £12 of pound shop equipment I have survived the Scottish wilds and eaten reasonably well all weekend all be it only a few miles of the beaten path for safety reasons.

Items they have that are of reasonable quality and worth having in my opinion.

1. fold away 5 litre ruck sack
Review : this was a little pocket pack which folds out into a flimsy neoprene ruck sack, the stitching on this wore out pretty quickly however it was suitable for a few quick forrages and when the stitching burst I had.... luckily for me I also purchased...

2. sewing kit with needles, thread etc.
Review : Came in handy to stitch up the cheap rucksack from item 1

3. firelighter / camping stove fuel.
24 brickets burning on average for about 7 minutes were enough to boil my water etc and cook my mushrooms in...

4. fold away pan
they have 2 fold away mess tins for a pound, they are not very well made however they are metal and they do the job, I certainly wouldnt recommend them as a long term solution but if its for a quick romp around the woods like mine was (essentially a morning mushroom forage)

5. pegs and pulls.
they have a little pack of pegs with some para cord and when coupled with the cheap clothes pegs they made my item 6 bareable. They also have little solar lights on them (I kid you not these lit my tinfoil tent up very well).

6. survival shelter
comprises of a large sheet of water proof foil which was actually pretty generous in size being damn near 8 metres in length you can get right inside this to avoid either entrance as essentially its just an "analogue" tent with 2 open ends. I coupled this with

7. survival blanket
a basic foil survival blanket which is sealed down 2 sides but open at the bottom and top, it was not ideal but did keep the rain out.

9. ground sheet
ruberised ground sheet which is water proof to an extent and certainly when coupled with the above and my extrodinary skills with my sewing kit made a really comfortable nights sleep and I was more than warm enough. (would not recommend testing this in harsher slimate or later in the year.

10. Dynamo Torch.
a few squeezes on this gave me approximately 5/10 minutes of light I was capable of checking my watch by. ITs certainly a worthwhile crappy torch and for a pound whos complaining !

All in for my tenner I was delighted and certainly I would say pound land is worth a browse as the survival shelter for a pound now lives in my every day bag and has been popped up a few times now while out and about as a make shift tools shelter and a wind break at the beach !
 
Thanks,

I am a big poundland fan at the moment. We only just recently started to see decent poundlines stock in the North of Scotland.

They also have a water canteen which is worthwhile as well, Its about 1 litre and has a straw and is reasonably durable to use with the exception of the shoulder strap which will break immediately (however again can be fixed with the poundland sewing kit of a bit of paracord.
 

bigroomboy

Nomad
Jan 24, 2010
443
0
West Midlands
Whilst cheap kit is great if it gets the job done my worry is always the throw away culture that continues in the western world. A prime example of this is tents and specifically so called festival tents. Its not possible to make a good tent £20 and even if it was possible is it really such a good idea when people then care so little about them as to set them on fire after a weekends use? Its true a lot of outdoor equipment is expensive/ maybe over priced but at least it makes people more respectful of equipment and less wasteful.

Anyway rant over and I'm sure it doesn't apply to people here anyway I just like to try to buy it well and buy it once.
 

plastic-ninja

Full Member
Jan 11, 2011
2,259
269
cumbria
I am going to have to try and find that 8m survival shelter.Sounds like it could be a fun item for Scouts outdoors box.
I have a few £ shop items but I'd never trust my life to any of them!More of my stuff is secondhand high quality kit from MSR, Berghaus, North Face and Arc'teryx which is still not cheap but every now and then you get a charity shop bargain or manage a barter or a really good swap.
Your kit sounds good for your mushroom hunt and £12 makes it worth a punt.Nice thread.
Cheers , Simon
 

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