Recommendations for gear to start my bushcraft journey!

[Kav]

Addendum
The best shopping guide is actual ‘dirt time’ outdoors. I went on a university field trip to the desert. I was just home from military service
I borrowed a sleeping bag from a relative. I unrolled it at camp. It was all of two pounds kapok fill car camping bag ( for use in our old monster American station wagons.)
I had a miserable night freezing sleepless.
I took my very first G I bill educational Chequers to our local ski/ backpacking shop. He’s showing a three season down bag in the popular cobalt blue or red. I hesitated. ‘ I want WARM!’
He returns with a single floor model.
It was a monster four season beast
In a pea green color nobody wanted. I hesitated half a heartbeat. He quickly offered a discount $50 LESS than the three season bags in pretty colors. I grabbed.
Next trip, same desert. IT SNOWED. I had a huge ground cloth and just folded it over. I woke up under 8” toasty warm, looked around and everyone- even tent users had fled to their cars. HMMM
I guess a tent isn’t high priority. I went five years until buying one.
So get the BASIC items of a basic list; no scotch eyed augers for tapping trees, binoculars worthy of Monty VS Rommel or reindeer hides. Get dirty, maybe a little to cold or hungry when your stomach boldly states THEY SHALL NOT PASS When you try a freeze dried gourmet meal.

 

[Paul_B]

Also, your first kit isn't your last. Whatever you think you need will get tested and change with experience. The best item of clothing in tests or reviews or recommendations won't suit you but your second, third or fourth iteration of that clothing will get you closer to what suits.

By that time you've got a shedful of kit and either selling stuff on for next purchase or just hoarding.

 

[Woody girl]

The most important thing you will carry is knowledge. And the best thing is, it weighs nothing, and takes up no room in your bag.
There is definatly a rabbit hole of "kit"
I used to laugh at kit monkeys, as I called them, ...but its an insidious disease! I too have caught this horrible malady, and have far too much stuff, and buy extras as one is non and two is one.... see, it's awful!
A knife, a tarp and a stove and Billy, go and make a hobo stove or even a Billy can, make a spoon, learn to light and keep a fire, and there you are, overnights need a good sleeping bag, and mat, or hammock.. but then you need an underquilt too... it soon adds up both in cash and weight on your back, the Dutch oven, the lantern, the fire pit to keep the fire off the ground, the hot tent, and stove,........it never ends!
When I was younger, a tent, a mat, a sleeping bag, basic backpack and a gas stove, army square pans and a mug knife fork and spoon.
Water was carried in a reused plastic pop bottle.
Start with the basics, as above, and see what you could use from the home, then upgrade to better stuff as your skills improve, and you find the chinks of discomfort or what you can do without. Making your own gear is fun too, I've made lots of my own stuff, and the skills of that are part of bushcraft.
Don't be all the gear and no idea!
Most importantly, have fun!

Ps, my first purchases would be the mora, a bacho saw, and a ferro rod, some thing to boil water in, and a head torch . After that, its anybody's guess where you want to go... a tarp, a spoon carving knife, a lantern......

 

[Erbswurst]

Theoretically you could get the needed equipment at a flea market. But practically nobody does it really.

We nowadays rather haven't the problem that people can't afford a good equipment. The problem nowadays is that people get lost in the offers and especially beginners buy a lot of pieces that don't work well together or don't meet the needs.

In my opinion it's possible to get a single equipment that can be used nearly always and everywhere. For special areas you need some additions perhaps, but I use the same equipment nearly for everything.

Really robust equipment is usually a bit heavier than modern hiking equipment, but often less expensive. Regarding the price - value relation real military equipment is usually the best deal, especially if you buy it factory new, new old stock or used in very good conditions. Most of my equipment is military equipment, simply because everything else did fall in pieces sooner or later.

If you search in old threads and videos you will often find highly recommended stuff there that isn't better than similar other stuff, but we got it a decade ago dirt cheap and it was great to get so good equipment so cheap. Nowadays it often became so expensive that it isn't sensible to choose it, because you get better equipment for less money or just a bit more.

Important is how old you are, how used you are to be outdoors, how tall you are, how strong and sporty, if you want to use your equipment alone or with a friend or in a couple or even group or family and in which time of the year and where, probably mainly in your living area but perhaps also somewhere else?

A strong and tall young man can use different equipment than an old little lady, that's obvious. He simply can carry the lady in his rucksack. But the old lady perhaps even not his empty rucksack...

So tell us a bit more about you and your ideas please! The better we know you the better we can recommend you equipment.

 

[TeeDee]

I remember when Uncle ray was in his stellar orbit and bushcraft was the exciting new kid on the block.

I've always been messing around in the woods since I was a small lad so it came as a bit of a surprise to turn upto my very first official bushcraft course to seemingly be shown that there was some type of official uniform - The amount of long woolen Green over shirts , leather cowboy hats and certain make of Nordic trousers was certainly impressive and provided an amusing view into mob mentality.

Fortunately , I never succumbed.

I think the best thing one can do is to ignore the various wish list dream lists and just see how you get on with the basic over time - I think there is a great deal of learning the basics of bushcraft in the back garden with a knife and firepit and maybe the investigative walk around the lanes with a field guide book to be able to learn the flora and fauna.

Don't get too kit focused too early on. It can be detrimental to learning and wallet in my opinion.

 

[walker]

Paul kirtley.co.uk enough said

 

[walker]

Bushcraft on a Budget: All the Kit You Need for Less Than £100

Avoid shelling out for expensive bushcraft equipment. For less than £100 you can be fully equipped for the woods. Budget master Ben Gray shows you how...

frontierbushcraft.com

 

[dean4442]

My kit has mostly settled down but it has been a long and tedious( not to mention probably expensive) journey. Much has been tried and discarded or sometimes upgraded as the original just wasn't right but the better one was,
I will say that I've just come from another thread where the OP had a totally different mindset and didn't want to learn whereas this one is great.

 

[Erbswurst]

The recommendations in the frontier bushcraft article are outdated. Most of the equipment isn't the best value for the lowest amount of money anymore, because a lot of the things became expensive and other things entered the surplus market that are the current bargains.

One has to update such a list every year.

@Eros
Are you still on board here?

 

[1 pot hunter]

Hi Guys, you may have seen my introduction post earlier today - as stated I am new around here and new to bushcraft, but I LOVE the concept and the freedom that seems to come with it. That being said, I would love some recommendations from experienced bushcrafters with gear to start me off.

- Doesn't have to be 'low budget'
- would rather spend more to last longer

I would need everything from my knives/axes to tarps and things of the sort. What items do you guys own that you would never go on a journey without! Is there any specific brands you guys like when you look for clothing/tools etc.

Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing what you guys recommend!

When I just used to go camping before I got into bushcraft I had all
The gear.Now I just use a tarp a Bivvy bag insulating mat a sleeping bag warm clothes a cheap rucksack and a cheap mora companion knife along with a ferro rod the rest is in my head have fun.

 

[Wandjina]

Hi Guys, you may have seen my introduction post earlier today - as stated I am new around here and new to bushcraft, but I LOVE the concept and the freedom that seems to come with it. That being said, I would love some recommendations from experienced bushcrafters with gear to start me off.

- Doesn't have to be 'low budget'
- would rather spend more to last longer

I would need everything from my knives/axes to tarps and things of the sort. What items do you guys own that you would never go on a journey without! Is there any specific brands you guys like when you look for clothing/tools etc.

Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing what you guys recommend!

This is well worth a read:

Getting Started With Bushcraft: Kit Considerations For Beginners

To explore the world of bushcraft, making use of the natural resources all around you, you don't need much kit. This article outlines what you need and why.

paulkirtley.co.uk

 

[sidpost]

Spend some time outdoors before you spend much money. Experience will tell you what YOU VALUE and what you really need.

Good footwear and clothing is easy. I started with a $20USD tarp from Amazon and 35F sleep bag from Walmart and piece of paracord. It is amazing how much fun I had and what I learned with that modest investment!

If you want some cooking gear, the Trangia 27 sets are a great place to start when on sale. The little alcohol stove and a Ti 300ml cup with a tea bag is a wonderful thing on a morning walk too! My Hard Anodized set is pretty vesatile and compact so, easy to travel with as well!

With experience, you will find what works best for YOU! What works best for me might be similar but, likely won't be the same either. Save the bulk of your money until you have some experience. Do you really need a Gransfor Bruk Axe or Casstrom bushcrafty knife? No, but if you buy quality, they won't go to waste either.

As the weather gets worse, Bivy's and related things become more important but, that's not where you want to start. A ground tarp for moisture control and an overhead tarp for dew and light rain control, along with a good sleeping bag and the Trangia cookset will take you far and wide and allow you to grow into more advanced gear that makes sense for yourself!

 

[sidpost]

Spend some time outdoors before you spend much money. Experience will tell you what YOU VALUE and what you really need.

Good footwear and clothing is easy. I started with a $20USD tarp from Amazon and 35F sleep bag from Walmart and piece of paracord. It is amazing how much fun I had and what I learned with that modest investment!

If you want some cooking gear, the Trangia 27 sets are a great place to start when on sale. The little alcohol stove and a Ti 300ml cup with a tea bag is a wonderful thing on a morning walk too! My Hard Anodized set is pretty vesatile and compact so, easy to travel with as well!

With experience, you will find what works best for YOU! What works best for me might be similar but, likely won't be the same either. Save the bulk of your money until you have some experience. Do you really need a Gransfor Bruk Axe or Casstrom bushcrafty knife? No, but if you buy quality, they won't go to waste either.

As the weather gets worse, Bivy's and related things become more important but, that's not where you want to start. A ground tarp for moisture control and an overhead tarp for dew and light rain control, along with a good sleeping bag and the Trangia cookset will take you far and wide and allow you to grow into more advanced gear that makes sense for yourself!

In summary, don't burden yourself with excessive gear! Traveling light is also a lot easier! Money can be good or bad depending on how you deploy it. Buy less gear and travel more to learn more!