Ray Mears Kit Question

[Carcajou Garou]

Aussie :You_Rock_
In as much as I respect RM, RH, LS, MK, etc... very much aren't we getting into almost a god complex with these "survival experts". There just human.. you can be the best you can without become a "clone" of any of them, be confident of yourself, try new items yourself and then decide what is good for you.
Guess I wont get any PC prize for this. CG

 

[leatherneck]

Aussie :You_Rock_
In as much as I respect RM, RH, LS, MK, etc... very much aren't we getting into almost a god complex with these "survival experts". There just human.. you can be the best you can without become a "clone" of any of them, be confident of yourself, try new items yourself and then decide what is good for you.
Guess I wont get any PC prize for this. CG

LOL. No, I don't look at them as being "God-like". But, a lot of those guys you mentioned have taken top notch survival training and survival education courses, as well as doing Bushcraft for a living. If I take advice from anyone, I'll take it from those guys over any weekend warrior types. Though, I try to take be careful with any advice I get, professional or not.

 

[sodajoe]

I have all Ray Mears' books and DVDs and Lord help me I even bought his knife, so it's safe to say that I like what the guy produces.

But I think he is as much a gear-junkie as many others. If you look at his kit list in his Outdoor Survival Book and then compare it to his Bushcraft book then you can see for yourself just how much even Ray has changes his mind on what kit you should have. In one episode he can used more knives than a butcher for heaven's sake.
My belief is keep it simple. Besides, it's like the old maxim says that when you most need your kit, you probably won't have it.

"I learned how much of what we think to be necesary is superfluous; I leaned how few things are essential, and how essential those things really are."
Bernard Ferguson, Chindits, Burma 1943.

 

[Carcajou Garou]

It's not to belittle these experts but to make people realize that even if you don't have the same exact kit, or able to take the course from that one person, (thereby clone) still go out and learn, there are many sources out there that are revelant and will give you good value for money. "We" spend so much energy on the singular item and gloss over the whole experience that it is counter productive.
BY no way do I set myself in that classification of "expert instructors", (I'm just a breed) but at least go out and experience, then adjust kit, clothes till you get it as comfortable as you enjoy. As for Ray Mears adjusting his kit I would expect no less, the only constant in life is change. CG

 

[RGRBOX]

I hate to sound a little on the outside here.. and yes, I'm new to this forum... but what does it matter what watch, underpants, and socks that Ray Mears wears... Climate dictates most of your clothing.. and a lot of your equipment.. I spent ten years in the army, and stopped wearing Underwear back in 1986... I don't wear nylon clothing in the jungles nor the desert... but cotton.. as for the rest of the world I try to always wear wool, and other natural clothing.. and I do wear nylon pants in Europe on back country outing... I tend to try to stay away from synthetics because of fire... I wear the Traser Navigator H3 watch.. it's robust, and cheaper then my Omega Seamaster that cost too much, and is a piece of crap.. I went to Woodlore and found the experience great.. met some very nice people, and learned a lot I'd forgotten since I moved to Europe from the States..

Ray markets all of his equipment.. just look at his original Bushcraft /Survival book, and the ones that are out today.. he uses completely different equipment. I only had one problem with the course with him, and that is when you ask some questions.. your replied with the ol' you'll have to go to the next course to find out about that.. or we can't tell you.. not on this courses cylibus..

I have two of his knives, and they are great knives... but the Fallkniven is just as good.. I sell Norrona.. so I get the same price he does.. but it's still expencive.. I bought some of his stuff, which works great while I was at his course... but too expencive for what it is...

 

[AUSSIE]

Carcajou!!

You said exactly what I was trying to say!! Maybe I come up a little short in the articulation department here!! But for me the message is there is a time when you need to stop "practicing" bushcraft, stop idolising "gurus" of bushcraft and stop acumulating vast amounts of kit that the "bushcraft gurus" insist you must have and then actually go out and live in the bush!!!

RGRBOX

I also completely agree with your views on this topic!! I still have his original Outdoor Survival Handbook and you are right the basic gear recommendations have expanded big time!!

Real Bushcraft deserves and is worth far more than this consumer focussed, marketing hype!!

 

[Roy's Badger]

Flabbergasted that there are three pages on 'how to look like Roy'. What's next, where he gets his haircut or buys his pants??? Looking the part in bushcraft, like so much in life, has NOTHING to do with your ability. Yes, much of the kit he sells is excellent- that's why he sells it- but how about going into the environment, living there, and deciding what you actually need, as opposed to sitting in your living room THINKING you need it? Radical, huh?

PS, does anyone know which colour hair dye will give the best Ray results...?

 

[Klenchblaize]

Carcajou!!

You said exactly what I was trying to say!! Maybe I come up a little short in the articulation department here!!

Not at my reading Aussie although I would confirm that the matter of Ray's preferred covering for his 'tackle' has been asked previoulsy in a bushcraft thread and indeed with some concern for total accuracy!

I of course agree with the concept of simply getting out there and doing it but just what would occupy our hands & minds when we can't is surely the basis for our infatuation with so much of the kit discussed on this forum. Or should "kit", at least for the most part, actually read "big boys toys"? God knows I'm far from being immune to this malady and whilst I go to some lengths to ensure my toys are as different and fine as is possible I fully understand why someone would wish to own something so closely linked with their hero/guru. :notworthy

Mine is the the sadly little known and late guitarist Ollie Halsall. I can't paly a damn note but this doesn't stop me owning a white Custom Gibson SG with wammy bar - his trademark 'axe' througout the 70's!

If I were in Ray Mears' position you can be assured I would have at least twice as much kit for sale on my web site and all of which would happily carry my full indorsement!

Cheers

 

[steve a]

Patto ?

 

[Klenchblaize]

Patto ?

:You_Rock_ or rather they certainly did and in a very "Loud" & "Green" way too!!

 

[Adam Wilhelm]

M90 shirts are poly/cotton, made for army use and to last a long time, are made to be used as a baselayer all year around, from warm summer days to cold days in the arctic. RM uses them in the Extreme Survival series when i nthe arctic. The mixture of polyester and cotton is so it will be stronger and last longer and to be washed in 95c many many times.

Negative, the cotton is there to give some protection against burn wounds.
The Brits learned this the hard way in Falklands -82.

 

[addyb]

Yes, but what if that poly/cotton shirt becomes wet from sweat, or rain? And what if you don't have a spare change or clothes, or you're caught in the middle of a sudden blizzard and unable to build a fire?

That wet cotton slowly begins to lower your core temperature.

With a core temperature of 36 degrees celcius, shivering becomes intense and you are unable to perform simple tasks.

With a core temperature of 27 degrees, your thinking becomes irrational and you'll probably drift into a stupor. Your pulse rate will probably slow to a crawl.

When your core temperature drops to below 25 degrees, death usually occurs because the your body is too far gone for recovery.

Is it really worth risking all of that because of a cotton shirt?

Adam

 

[Carcajou Garou]

If your caught in a blizzard with only a cotton shirt or its the only one you got, you have already made a lot more serious mistakes than just the cotton shirt, got to stop all these way out scenario, just carry an extra wool shirt or such as a matter fact. I use a cotton T all summer and if it gets wet wring it out and get on with it. I also carry a full shirt a matter of practise.

 

[Viking]

Negative, the cotton is there to give some protection against burn wounds.
The Brits learned this the hard way in Falklands -82.

I thought the polychal was for protection from fire...

 

[Viking]

Yes, but what if that poly/cotton shirt becomes wet from sweat, or rain? And what if you don't have a spare change or clothes, or you're caught in the middle of a sudden blizzard and unable to build a fire?

That wet cotton slowly begins to lower your core temperature.

With a core temperature of 36 degrees celcius, shivering becomes intense and you are unable to perform simple tasks.

With a core temperature of 27 degrees, your thinking becomes irrational and you'll probably drift into a stupor. Your pulse rate will probably slow to a crawl.

When your core temperature drops to below 25 degrees, death usually occurs because the your body is too far gone for recovery.

Is it really worth risking all of that because of a cotton shirt?

Adam

Many armies has used cotton until very recently, when I did my service in in the min 90´s we had cotton long johns during the winter and no one had a problem with that.

Stupidity kills, not cotton!

 

[Andrew Middleton]

I have just purchased some Rapha merino wool undervests for cycling www.Rapha.cc. They are a revelation to me, as I have been using man-made tech fabrics previously. They are also exactly what I have spent years looking for for hiking/bushcraft etc. They're not cheap (£40 for sleaveless, £45 short-sleeved and £50 long-sleeved) and they only come in black or white (no olive drab), but if you want the perfect outdoor undervest in natural material then these are for you. If they can handle the sweat of road-cycling and keep you comfortable at sub-zero temperatures while standing around waiting for one of you team mates to repair a puncture, then they should be perfect for more sedate activities. They're at least half as light as Ulfrotte 200g.

I have no connection what-so-ever to Rapha, so go for it: you won't be disappointed.

Andrew

 

[JimH]

All this talk of Ray's clothing (and underwear!) has brought that old Reeves and Mortimer sketch unbidden to mind.

Seriously, though, I see nothing wrong with taking the recommendations of someone "in the know" as a starting point when you are, err, starting. That said, an ounce of experience is worth a stone of background reading.

Swanndri clothing and those alloy firesteels are the main "Ray kit" discoveries that I've taken up - both excellent, by the way.

Take the advice of others based on competence, not fame. There are plenty of knowledgable folk here who've never been on t' telly.

I think I first read the wool recommendation in Anthony Greenbanks book "Survival for young people" back in the 70s when I was one!

(but it surfaces in Nessmuk and Kephardt, though with little synthetic competition it'd be a no brainer, and IIRC, Kep recommends cotton longjohns...)

Jim.

 

[demographic]

That looks like quite the watch! I too, wear an automatic, but mine is a Seiko that I spent far too much money on.

I can't stand wearing quartz watches, I don't find them to be real enough. And I think the worst part of quartz/battery watches is the question of "How long will my battery last?"

Granted, in past years I've had watches where the battery has lasted up to five years, but I'd really hate to be stuck in the bush when my one source of time dies. As well, when your battery dies, you either throw out the watch and buy a new one, or have to take a trip to the mall to get a new battery. That thrown out watch and battery contributes to the world's garbage, and I don't agree with that concept.

With a mechanical watch, as long as I wear it daily,
and have the movement serviced about every five years, it will never stop ticking. And I think that is VERY cool.

Adam

Hmmmmm, am I missing something there

 

[addyb]

Demographic,

:You_Rock_

Perhaps you are missing something there, but maybe that post of mine was one of those "Gawd, it's 6.30am and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet".

I suppose the point I was trying to make is that with a mechanical watch, it's dependant on the wearer for it's life force. I can't really explain the feeling to you in words, it's just....nice. (But if you do own one, stop reading this post)

A mechanical watch isn't really artificial, and the fact that all of those intricate parts are working together in perfect harmony to achieve time is....perfection. If it stops, you pick it up, give the rotor a shake and it keeps on going. I've got my Grandfather's Rolex from the '40's kicking around, and it still runs quite well. A lot of my friends ask me weird questions like

"You're 21 man, why the hell did you buy that watch?" while they proudly display the clocks on their cellular phones.

I guess I'm a bit old-fashioned?

Cheers,

Adam

 

[oops56]

I buy them wined up ones with a cover its nice to here it ticking by the bed side at night no counting sheep whatever its not to loud like them big Ben's