Some pic's and thoughts on winter gear

[Ivanhoe]

I've just come home from a three day outdoor trip and I'd like to show some pic's from this adventure
and talk a little about gear in general.

I was inspired to post after I read the 'Jokkmokk Trip Report - Andy' thread.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103646


Now, the only purpose with gear is to allow you to have good outdoor experiences. You can have amazing trips without any
expensive gear what so ever. I'm not trying to sell anything in this post, but to show you just how far you can take your
interest in gear, if you want to.

I know some of you are interested in the gear itself, so I'm going to show some pictures.

Anyway, here we go!

There was a storm coming, so four days ago I drove deep into a forest about 30 km from where
I live, here in Sweden.

I had rammed my little adventure car full with gear!

Those are old Army skis, a shovel and a glass fibre sledge.

A large backpack and a chimidan fits perfectly, with room to spare, and a sledge like this enables
you to bring everything you might need for a week. Ice drill, water, firewood or whatever...

I've added the reflectors just to feel safe while on the small road.

The quality is, as always, in the details.

It's about -5 degrees C and I'm skiing straight out into the forest, using a compass bearing and map.
A storm is approaching.

It is a crystal clear sky filled with stars.

I've found my camping site and I'm raising my tent in total darkness, but for my LED headlamp.

I'm wearing a Taiga FS02 Gore-Tex uniform and cap, that has so many great details that I can't
begin to show them all.

You can also spot a Mora 2000 utility knife.

My backpack has a winter camouflage cover, that's also from Taiga.

In fact, all my underwear, underpants, T-shirts and undershirt are from Taiga and has the same
olive green colour. And my jersey and sweater. It is great to have stuff that are designed to
work well together.

My main backpack is a Sacci Jägare-90, that looks saggy here because it is not fully loaded.
It is the best sack I've ever tried and today I have more than 10 Sacci backpacks of various capacity.

I have improved it in many ways and you can see various pouches for tent poles, tent pegs and
lamps and stuff.

 

[Ivanhoe]

I've made a lot of things for myself when there hasn't been anything similar available in the shops.
Bags for camo nets, bags for various small items and a cover for an inflatable sleeping mattress.

At the bottom is a cover for three tent poles that fit perfectly, making it impossible for them to rattle.
You can see some of the bags have the same width and the same distance between the fastening points.

The colours are prefect for this type of terrain.

The big Sacci backpacks all have metal D attachments for pulling a sledge, but I prefer to have
the sack packed on the sledge, so I've built a harness for pulling the sledge with.

It is very rugged and will probably endure whatever I subject it to.

The white release buckles are for when I fall into the snow and have to get away from the sledge...

The skis I use are old school and the wax used is tar, which I don't want all over my car, so I've built
a bag for them.

It has padding built into the short sides, to protect from sharp ski tips and ski poles. The zipper
has a snow protection and can be opened from both sides.

The sleeping system I use is a Snugpak 'Military Combo' double, with a -30 degrees comfort rating.
If that isn't enough, I can put another DPM Snugpak one I have on the outside!

I'm no longer tough enough, so I always use a pillow when I'm outdoors.

My best tent is a Hilleberg Staika of the old model with whole pole channels, better and thicker fabric
and the better Easton poles. It might be the most wind secure tent on the market.

I have improved it in many different ways. Like the numbers and colours on the pole holders.
Just by looking I know which corner I'm holding and where the doors are.

---

It is a mistake to think that products always get better with time. The quality, like many other things,
tend to follow the 'normal distribution curve' over time. As a company grows the management gets
more and more interested in cost cuts, which will eventually affect the quality, or price, in a negative way.

---

 

[Ivanhoe]

I use a metal lantern in my tent for light, heat and general cosiness. It uses normal candles, which
lasts forever.

Yes, I do know about the risk of burning down my tent and up myself, but I'm a grown man and I
choose to do this.

Being out in nature sometimes make me super concentrated and on those occasions I like to have
music to listen to. Here are two of my Mp3 players that I have filled with high quality and loss less
copies of my records. The left one also shows pictures, films and whole concerts. I've got more than
10 Mp3 players.

I always thought such a small screen would be worthless, but I was totally wrong! The green metal
miniature ammo box protects the Mp3 players and I've even put padding on the inside. The ear
phones are brilliant ones from Skullcandy.

As I've said, it is not every time I use them, but I always have them with me. It might be because
I'm outdoors quite a lot, for several days sometimes and very often all alone.

The nicely coloured fleece blanket is one with the cartoon moose Hälge on it!

Here I'm cooking dinner on a Primus OmniFuel gas burner, that can run on virtually any fuel
available.

By now you can probably guess how many outdoor kitchens I have...

I really don't like the gas ones, especially when it's cold, so most times I use a regular old school
liquid fuel burner.

Here's an old picture of a bag I've made for such a burner.

All the cutlery and stuff have pockets to be in and you roll that piece of fabric, so there's no rattling.
The bag is inside out here.

The best outdoor food I know is the Norwegian field rations made by Drytech. Three packs sits
together and equals 24 hours of hard work. Those are the dark green ones.

Map and compass are absolutely necessary. A small pair of binoculars are great for finding wildlife
to look at!

The world's most hardcore survival knife!
The Finnish m/95 Sissipuukko!

I put a longer webbing on it, so I can have it securely in the right leg pocket of my trousers.

What do you think this is?

A garage for my sledge and skis! I've made the tarp myself.

Base Camp Thor!

Two fluorescent Emergency Exit signs show the way out into the wilderness!

Sunset deep in the forest.

The Sweden that I love!

Someone's out skiing all alone. (There are two kids you can barely see in the background, also
skiing).

 

[RonW]

Are you in the military, Ivanhoe?

To be honest.... I love that lantern!!

 

[Greek1983]

That Taiga Gore-tex Uniform is AMAZING!! Wish it didn't cost a fortune to obtain it, whenever possible...

http://www.ebay.de/itm/ORIG-SCHWEDI...261179527595?pt=NATO_Shop&hash=item3ccf8351ab

 

[vizsla]

Wow great picks I love the snow camo on the tent looks Awsome. Some great gear, cheers

 

[MartinK9]

Nicely done.

Love the sledge.

 

[Teepee]

Very nice and neat DIYing there Ivanhoe

Thanks for posting

 

[Dave]

Brilliant. Love all the personal touches you've made.

 

[maddave]

Wow, some proper gucci kit there mate. Love the pulka

 

[Andy BB]

Top stuff by someone who clearly knows his onions! THanks!

 

[Tiley]

Great post, filled with useful info. and pictures. That Taiga suit really does look the business.

Many thanks for sharing your experience - it has really fuelled my desire to get out to those Northern Climes in winter!

 

[Ivanhoe]

My interest in the outdoor is really filled with contradictions. I am most interested in
the experience of being a part of nature.


To feel the variations in perception, body heat and how the food affects the well being.
It is like a form of meditation to me.


Unfortunately I'm too crappy at English to write about these things, and I'm not even
exaggerating now.



I also have a too cheap camera to take proper pic's, and I don't want to reduce the experience
into a photographic mission.



- - - - -

My interest in gear is just a side effect of my love for nature and I have many other things
I am interested in.


What I can say for sure is that it is good for you to have at least one area in life where you strive
for perfection, and won't accept any compromises. It is good for your mind.


The biggest change in my view on gear came when I learned how to make things with my
sawing machine. Suddenly my gear became things made for actual use. It really was a
revelation to me at the time. If something breaks or needs alteration, I just fix it!


I have put great effort into choosing the best gear, but it is also fun to do, so that's easy to do.




I have strong opinions on gear and some of the most expensive brands are proper crap. I always
end up with military gear, because it really is better than civilian gear. At least in my experience.





Of course I know some people hate camouflage patterns, but I'm to old to bother too much with
other peoples opinions. Using surplus gear helps me to blend in and adapt to the environment.

You wouldn't believe how close wildlife has come to me.

I also, of course, have completely civilian gear in fluorescent colours.



The important thing is the experience. The gear is secondary.

Here in Sweden I can buy a complete winter set, boots, socks, a large backpack
and all the clothes needed for £ 50 if I choose surplus. There really is no reason
for not having proper gear.



You start by buying your first proper item. Preferably used. And when you can afford it
you buy the next one. I'm probably twice as broke as most of you, so it is more a
question of perseverance...


- - - - -

Today I figure I am about half way through perfecting my gear.

- I still haven't found the perfect storage for the normal food I bring with me and
all the small gadgets. I have two plans for bags that will solve this, but I haven't built them yet.

- I would like to be better at moving around in the woods at night. It might be a myth that some
soldiers can do this unaided.

- I'm not as fit as I would like to be.

- I haven't found the perfect binoculars yet, if there is such a thing...

- - - - -

* How do I start?
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79125&p=960383#post960383

* Never trust the catalogue - try the gear first!
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78532&p=964924#post964924

* Don't worry about breaking stuff!
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80010&p=970178#post970178

* Do You bring too much crap with you? Here's a great book for You:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86558&p=1046017#post1046017

 

[Greek1983]

1) Perfect binoculars? Steiner comes to my mind, but expensive.

My take would the "Baigish" 8x30. A bit retro since mine, my grandparents bouht it almost 30 years ago in Bulgaria, also has the "Made in USSR" tag.

http://www.baigish.ru/en/cat/b/bpc/bpc5_80h30/
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=baigish+binoculars&_sop=3

2) When you say moving around in the woods during night, you mean you need a Night-Vision device? Well, Gen. 1+ or Digital Night Vision is the answer, Gen2, Gen2+ are expensive, Gen3 are forbidden (go to a camp, steal a Theon NX-122 the Swedish Army has and off you go!). A FLIR Thermal Imaging camera would be ideal, but only if your bank account has many zeros...

 

[Tiley]

- I haven't found the perfect binoculars yet, if there is such a thing...

I've got a pair of Steiner 7 x 50 Commander binoculars available for sale. They are boxed and haven't actually been outside, I'm embarrassed to say... If you're interested, p.m. me.

Oh, by the way, your English is very good - concise, clear and accurate.

Now, this Taiga FS02 Goretex clothing - is it easy to get hold of?

 

[sasquatch]

Great thread, awesome pics! I love the Taiga gear, I'll try to forget seeing it as I don't need it but it sure looks sweet! The sissipuuko is a great choice of blade. Plenty of kit to have a merv at here, thanks for sharing!

 

[vizsla]

Loving this thread, I think you've made it onto my list of people I'd like to go camping with, great how passionate you are about everything
regards binoculars I use kenco 10x40 and I love them best I've tried yet and not too expensive, cheers mate keep it up

 

[copper_head]

Really enjoyed this thread, thanks Ivanhoe.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Thanks for all the bino input, guys! You're all spot on!


I will either go for a high tech gizmo one, or a "cheap" russian one.
There are some great russian binos, reasonably priced, if you can
get hold of them.

 

[BushrangerCZ]

As for the binos... try EDF 7x40, produced by Carl Zeiss Jena, East Germany. Now they are called Docter, making all sorts of gucci red dot sights and optics. These binos are the most rugged and durable on market, with excellent illumination and perfect ratio of magnification and lens width for observation. Not the cheapest ones though, but if you search german ebay long enough you can get one for reasonable price.
http://vickerstactical.com/tactical-tips/binoculars/