Recommendations for Starter Kit

[John Fenna]

If you are a real cheapskate - make some of your own kit!
There is a little booklet on this some where on this site......
And - -ofcourse - there are lots of great tutorials dotted around as well!

 

[bilko]

The advise given sounds sound to me as a starter kit. What i have found though is that most of it is to do with weight. The lighter you want to go, the more expensive your kit will be.

You can spend hundreds on the latest fancy smanshy light kit but if you add a dutch oven one day all that weight saving and extra money has gone out the window.

I would say that a fair few people settle on 2 types of kit. The pack your van, bring everything and a carryable weight kit for overnighters on foot.

If you are going to use a car to get there and only have a few hundred meters to your site from the car it's not worth being an ounce counter. However if you are hiking for more than a few miles you will curse every extra ounce you have on your back.

People don't stray too far either side of issue kit ( weightwise ) imho for general use kit.

The group buy hammock is excellent but in order to get remotely comfortable i have to sleep width ways with a fully blown up thermorest.

Woolen undies and a warm beanie will keep you warmer than £300 worth of expensive jackets.

Use the kit you have for now. You don't want to spend a few hundred quid on fancy smanshy and then get interested in going primitive or finding a passion for wrought iron tripods, cauldrons and blanket coats.

If you are going to buy a tent make sure it is easy to put up and take down...in the rain ...or when the kids won't help. After many purchases i have settled on the single pole design of the bison lavvu.

The knife and fork in the kitchen drawer are just as good as the latest alpine mountaineering ultra light 20 quid ones. Forget to shave or just have a good belch and you've wasted £20!

Most of all, have fun. One of the things i like about bushcraft is window shopping all the latest gear and maybe having a bit of retail therapy every once in a while just for the hell of it.

 

[rg598]

I don’t know how comfortable you would be with my setup, but here is what I use:

Shelter:
Tarp-DD Hammock Tarp 3x3m-about $60.00 (sorry, all the prices are in dollars)
Bivi/Sleeping Bag-US Modular Sleep System-$300.00 new (it includes two sleeping bags, one rated to 30F the other to -10F which clip together and go down to -30F. A Gore-Tex Bivi is also included and clips to the bags-not a fancy bivi, but works great)
Sleeping Mat-closed cell foam mat-US army surplus-$20.00

Water:
Canteen-1Qt US Army canteen with the canteen cup and holder-$15.00
MSR 6L reinforced water bladder-$30.00?
MSR Mini Works EX water filter-$60.00

Cooking:
MSR Whisperlite International-$70.00
Snowpeak titanium 1L pot or MSR titanium 2L pot if with my girlfriend-both cost way too much. Any billycan will do, although it will weigh more.

Knife/Tools:
Belt Knife-RAT 7-$90.00
Spoon Knife-Mora-$10.00
Saw-Kershaw folding saw-$20.00
Multi tool-Leatherman Charge TTI-$80.00
Fallkniven sharpening stone (3in)-$30.00

Light:
Main Light-NiteCore D10-$60.00
Pocket Light- Fenix E01-$10.00 (much, much better than the Maglite mini)
Lantern-CR123A Lithium Pack-Away Lantern-$60.00 (don’t use it that much because the batteries are so expensive)

First Aid Kit:
Homemade (the only thing you might want to spend money on is some Quick Cloth sponges-they work better than bandages for large cuts, and are much easier to carry-cost a lot through-about $10.00 per sponge)

Fire:
Light My Fire Army Model-$20.00
Disposable Lighter
Waterproof Matches

I also carry other small things like rope, soap, Purel, etc..

 

[drewdunnrespect]

well a starter kit i baught snugpack softie elite 5 season and also it ges down to minus 15 comfortable and - 25 live but a bit chilly ie uncomfortable T

Then baught my self a dd hammock a mosinet and underblanket a dd tarp which leaked. (now fixed but bust agian difrent problem please note it is not the tarp they sell now it is an old modle). Then i baught my self a kelly kettle love it but not used much due to campin with out car, (but that i due to change now i have a car).

boots all ready had they are kat workmens wear boots ausome is what they are

then baught my self a small tarp no make works mint then baught the daddy of all tarps the true north out doors big tarp.

and have a massed other gear as required it cheers drew

 

[big_swede]

Don't buy so much stuff. Try to limit it to bare essentials.

Coffe tin billy can.
Blanket or sleeping bag.
Tarp.
Knife.

Clothing you already have (otherwise you would be a very eccentric and frozen guy). Try to see what you need and what you can improvise in the bush. That way you will develop skill and confidence, and you will gain experience. After a few outings start to evaluate what your goals with wilderness living is, is it to gain more skills (if so what skills), getting closer to wildlife, bragging for your mates, getting in touch with your primitive side, or maybe something simple as impressing girls? After you have decided in what way you wanna improve and evolve try seeing what stuff you need to meet your goals. Buying stuff on the base that other people use it is kind of silly, unless you want to do exactly what they do.

A sewing machine and knitting needles are my best bushy investments, and my favourite outdoors shop is a charity shop.

 

[rawshak]

Just a quick note on boots. I have a pair of £160 Meindle walking boots... sat in my cupboard at home! My favourite boots, are a pair of £15 British army issue, that I got from my local Army Surpluss store. They're really comfy, 100% waterproof and about half the weight of the Meindles.

As for my stove, that was free. I use a home made pop can stove (see youtube)

Get a decent sized metal mug you've got a complete cook system for the price of the mug.

You can buy perfectly serviceable tarpaulins from eBay or your local cheap shop for about £2 as long as you don't mind them being bright blue.

You can pick up a folding saw for about £4, not as good as the £20 bahco saws, but will do the job (don't go for the 'survival' wire saws, they're useless as they snap).

I have a couple of £45- £50 Hand forged axes (GB), but one of my favourites is a little second-hand hatchet I picked up on eBay for £1.99. It turned out to be made from really good steel, and (after a bit of TLC), it will happily hold a shaving edge all day long.

You don't need to spend a lot of money to get really good kit. I must admit, I get more satisfaction from the kit I've made/restored myself, or was a real bargain, than I do from kit that's ready to go straight out of the box.

 

[Aussiepom]

I'd go along with most of the above, and the advice of carefully considering which bits of kit to spend most of your money on is sound. The only difference of opinion I have is this: If you're just going to be knocking about in the woods why bother spending a fortune on expensive hiking boots? In fact why the need for boots at all?

Boots do have their place, but if you are carrying a light load and not hiking for miles and miles with a 50 lb pack then you don't need the ankle support of stiff boots, or the extra weight and cost that they incur.

For years now I've gone the route of taking a light load and just wearing trainers. Not the kind of latest fashion footwear that you see all the kids wearing up the high street, but the type that are used by adventure racers or as 'approach shoes' by climbers. They are light, comfortable, have good grip on the soles, and are far cheaper.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[rik_uk3]

A few quick ideas off the top of my head

Army Bergen £30
Mora knife £10
Set of army mess tins £5
Crusader mug £10 delivered or a cheap insulated mug £1.99
Thermarest clone £15 (Argos)
Army 95 sleeping bag, grade one, £29.50
Tent, small dome, take your pick £35
Cheap poly tarp off eBay to practise with £8 and use the tent until you know what you are doing with a tarp, forget the Hammock this year
Roll of paracord £5
Swedish Army Trangia £10, you can upgrade to a proper stove later
Head torch, Tesco, £3.99
Tesco Cree torch £7
Boots, maybe army type about £20 or trainers
Waterproof jacket, if you don't own an anorak use an army Gortex about £30
Use the clothes you use at home to start you off, jumpers etc

Thats come in around £200 and for that you have shelter, sleep kit, carry kit, cooking kit, so your up and running.

Upgrade as you gain experience and knowledge, try and find others to go camping with, and remember your better off spending £200 on basics and being able to afford to go out camping, than blowing your budget on some expensive bit of kit that has the right 'label' but means you don't have the money to actualy get out and use it.

Have fun

 

[rg598]

The guys here are right. Don't waste your money if you are not sure what way you want to go. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of spending alot on money on many cheap items. I remember when I was first starting out I decided to make my own stove in order to save money. I must have spent several hundred dollars making different cheap stoves. It would have cost less to just buy one at the beginning.

Also, I don't know how the water is where you live, but where I camp, there is very little water, and when you find it is will probably be in a swamp. If you are in a similar area, you need a good filter. If on the other hand you have access to clean water, just get some tabs.

 

[big_swede]

The guys here are right. Don't waste your money if you are not sure what way you want to go. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of spending alot on money on many cheap items. I remember when I was first starting out I decided to make my own stove in order to save money. I must have spent several hundred dollars making different cheap stoves. It would have cost less to just buy one at the beginning.

Also, I don't know how the water is where you live, but where I camp, there is very little water, and when you find it is will probably be in a swamp. If you are in a similar area, you need a good filter. If on the other hand you have access to clean water, just get some tabs.

If the water is clean, wouldn't it be enough to boil it? That's all I do at least. I guess there is a definition issue with the word clean. Hmm, do you mean clean as in 'not muddy' (small amount of humus particles) or as in not polluted (with chemicals) or as in not contaminated with bacteria (e.koli and others)?

 

[rik_uk3]

If the water is clean, wouldn't it be enough to boil it? That's all I do at least. I guess there is a definition issue with the word clean. Hmm, do you mean clean as in 'not muddy' (small amount of humus particles) or as in not polluted (with chemicals) or as in not contaminated with bacteria (e.koli and others)?

Milbank bag it

Then boil it

In the UK though, if it a day or overnight trip I take 2litre bottles of spring water from Lidl, about 25 pence for the 2 litres

 

[wildebassman]

If you're going to do a lot of rambling don't compromize on boots.
I use Lowa Mountain boots, pretty darn expensive but reliable and comfortable,
cost about £125 at ROvs.

Cheers,

Dennis.

 

[sandsnakes]

Try this chap for boots. With warm dry feet everything becomes a joy!

I have tried both expensive and cheap, Greman Para boots (new ones) come out tops for comfort, support and softness IMHO.



http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Desert-Daves-ToolBOX

 

[rg598]

If the water has a lot of sediment it will be hard to drink, even if sterilized. If the water is clear, boiling it should be fine. The Milbank is a good idea. I never got into the boiling of my water because I don't always have the time to sit, start a fire and boil. It seems to me like that works best only when you are already in camp.