Suffolk Bushcraft Group

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Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
Next they'll want you to buy liability insurance and bring your own lawyer!

Fed up with overregulated nonesense. I'll stick to the indie events myself.

I can understand why they say no fires, you only got to see how people act when out in the woods or even when you go on campsites that allow fires, even other Group meets only allow a communial fire, sometimes you can have your own if you got a fire pit to protect the ground.

Over regulation is only brought on by the actions of a people albeit a small minority or even maybe people that dont have the knowlage, understanding, or the skill base that others may have gained over the years..

So I can see how they would want to protect the woodland from careless users.

Last year for example I took my Girl Friend camping at a site that allowed fires, for Three nights, we cooked all meals and had a fire untill bed time, we used, think it was Two bags of wood, while most campers used three bags of wood every night just to have a fire... they thought they were getting better effect with a big fire, she comment on how little wood we used to other people.... and how we left less trace from the fire then thay did.

When you look at it we used just over two barrow loads at the last group meet, we collected dam near a barrow up to take back... and that was for about 7 people.
 

SJStuart

Settler
Jan 22, 2013
997
2
Suffolk Coast
So perhaps rather than saying "one fire" they should instead educate people and ration the wood. Hell, give people 6 bricks with their barrow of wood and tell them that's how big their fire must be. That way, the barrow of wood will easily last a day and a night, the fire stays small, and apply a fine to anyone who leaves trace from their fire.

I've been having fires in the woods for years, and when I'm done there's never a trace that a fire was ever had. If I can do it, anyone can... and those who lack knowledge should be taught rather than have that knowledge restricted, those who choose not to should be punished as an individual.
It's like saying "5 people stabbed themselves accidentally with a kitchen knife last year, so now we're confiscating all the kitchen knives of everyone in the UK" (with this nanny state of ours, that could happen).

Like I said before: I'm fed up with unnecessary overregulation and universal punishment for the actions of a few. It's counter-productive, regressive, and downright insulting.
 

Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
Have just sent out PM's re this Friday, I spoke to Tony, and we think that the group size for the place we will be at is at its max, and we have decided to do a one nighter now, Tony has g other things to do and if the weather is as bad as it's spoken about , two nights may be a pain if people get cold...
 

Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
2 Nighter at Orchards for the 5th and 6th April 2013,

Confirmed with Orchards. I thought it might be nice to get there on Friday night again as there will be more light as the clocks go forward - I am going straight from work, but arrival after midday is good.

All Welcome, Experienced, Newbies, Tree and Ground Dwellers.

http://www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/

The charge is £5 pppn.
There is wood that can be brought on site £7 per barrow - (cost divided amongst whole group).

There will be a Saturday Group Meal, Last time was a Beef Stew and Dumplings, cost of last time came to £3.00 each. (will try to keep to the same sort of cost...but that's down to how much it cost from the Supermarket....) - of course you can cater yourself if you require.

There is a Toilet Block (showers and toilets), open and water is available from Taps on the site,

Of course Photo's and the Micky being taken is compulsory ....

And Fluffy Hot water bottles/slippers are welcome.....

Also don't forget, people do bring swaps and items for sale so a meet can be a great place to get some kit..

Alan has said that there will be some other campers on site that weekend, how ever we can use a canoe on the river if anyone would like to bring one to go for a paddle.

I you plan to attend then Paste and Copy the Whole Post and place name on bottom of list, adding also if you require the Group Meal, and how many nights your staying.

If there is any activity you would like to do, just add it to the list, hopefully someone will be able to help, or you could show someone what to do.. :).

List of Attending
1. Big Stu -Group Meal - 2 nights
2. SJStuart - Group Meal - 2 nights (baring some terrible "act of God" or the apocalypse!
3. Rumclet - Group Meal - 2 nights
 

SJStuart

Settler
Jan 22, 2013
997
2
Suffolk Coast
Oh and btw Carl (mitch66).... I was able to get 4 varieties of those lovely Tesco "boil in the bag" meals at Martlesham!
Also picked up some other kinds of boil in the bag meals for around the same price (some even cheaper, and from Heinz too) to try out :)

My Mrs is so interested, she's convinced me that we should try out the Chilli one tonight (I think she's feeling lazy and doesn't want to cook because it's her turn)

Anyway, cheers for pointing them out!
 

mitch66

Nomad
Mar 8, 2010
466
1
king's lynn norfolk
hi, i went to tesco's tonight and bought all 4 again infact 3 of each £1.50 each, shame the camp it full this weekend i was very interested, maybe next time if there's a hole going spare. have fun boys please take some photo's. carl
 

Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
hi, i went to tesco's tonight and bought all 4 again infact 3 of each £1.50 each, shame the camp it full this weekend i was very interested, maybe next time if there's a hole going spare. have fun boys please take some photo's. carl

Carl you'll be first on the list for the next one......
 

roman-soldier

Settler
Mar 7, 2012
592
0
colchester
Carl I finished your fat snakeskin today also made a spare normal snakeskin if anyone wants one, I also modded my DD snakeskin by cutting it in half as a tarp snakeskin pulled from both ends, this means the gather is in the middle a lot better. Got my snugpak top quilt and also the dyneema tarp ridgeline from eBay, tried it tonight and it's superb. Can't wait to get out there, just got to get to tesco for the boil in the bags.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
 

roman-soldier

Settler
Mar 7, 2012
592
0
colchester
What's this about the camp being full?
Don't worry I've read the posts. I may be out for 1 night this weekend if anyone's interested.
 
Last edited:

roman-soldier

Settler
Mar 7, 2012
592
0
colchester
2 Nighter at Orchards for the 5th and 6th April 2013,

Confirmed with Orchards. I thought it might be nice to get there on Friday night again as there will be more light as the clocks go forward - I am going straight from work, but arrival after midday is good.

All Welcome, Experienced, Newbies, Tree and Ground Dwellers.

http://www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/

The charge is £5 pppn.
There is wood that can be brought on site £7 per barrow - (cost divided amongst whole group).

There will be a Saturday Group Meal, Last time was a Beef Stew and Dumplings, cost of last time came to £3.00 each. (will try to keep to the same sort of cost...but that's down to how much it cost from the Supermarket....) - of course you can cater yourself if you require.

There is a Toilet Block (showers and toilets), open and water is available from Taps on the site,

Of course Photo's and the Micky being taken is compulsory ....

And Fluffy Hot water bottles/slippers are welcome.....

Also don't forget, people do bring swaps and items for sale so a meet can be a great place to get some kit..

Alan has said that there will be some other campers on site that weekend, how ever we can use a canoe on the river if anyone would like to bring one to go for a paddle.

I you plan to attend then Paste and Copy the Whole Post and place name on bottom of list, adding also if you require the Group Meal, and how many nights your staying.

If there is any activity you would like to do, just add it to the list, hopefully someone will be able to help, or you could show someone what to do.. :).

List of Attending
1. Big Stu -Group Meal - 2 nights
2. SJStuart - Group Meal - 2 nights (baring some terrible "act of God" or the apocalypse!
3. Rumclet - Group Meal - 2 nights
4. Roman Soldier own cater 2 nights
 

mitch66

Nomad
Mar 8, 2010
466
1
king's lynn norfolk
What's this about the camp being full?
Don't worry I've read the posts. I may be out for 1 night this weekend if anyone's interested.
Hi roman soldier, thanks for the snake skin we'll sort some form of payment out im sure, looking forward to seeing your mk2 snake skin in action. i have also orderd a second tarp ridge line with the toggle mods and larger line size we talked about over the weekend. i am interested in your overnighter if you could let me know day / location. bet they told you the same thing when you had your 20+ check up lol. how did your good lady like the chilly? its the after burn the gets me. off to work now. later lads
 

SJStuart

Settler
Jan 22, 2013
997
2
Suffolk Coast
Hi roman soldier, thanks for the snake skin we'll sort some form of payment out im sure, looking forward to seeing your mk2 snake skin in action. i have also orderd a second tarp ridge line with the toggle mods and larger line size we talked about over the weekend. i am interested in your overnighter if you could let me know day / location. bet they told you the same thing when you had your 20+ check up lol. how did your good lady like the chilly? its the after burn the gets me. off to work now. later lads

Please also keep me posted on your overnighter (I want to get out as much as physically possible).

I'd love to get my hands on one of your tarp snakeskins (even if it's just for my 3x3, I remember you saying the material is 3 meters wide meaning you can't easily make one for the XL or 4x4)

My 4x4 tarp arrived on Monday as expected, and I just need to get out there and try it out now (looking to go out today and just do a daytime pitch somewhere in the local woods, cook a boil-in-the-bag meal and enjoy the fine weather)

I've bought some rope as we discussed (Carl) to modify the hammock.

Paul, I'm using the snakeskin you made for me for the USGI Poncho Liner Underquilt. It means I can now suspend both the hammock and UQ without either getting wet or dirty, makes setup and packup much eaiser, and looks pretty cool too! I've also improved the poncho liner mod so that I can now tie it off above the hammock to form a "pea pod" type thing to block out more cold air. I'll find out on Friday how affective that modification is!

I intend to run into Ipswich today to pick up a self-inflating matress to go beneath me in the hammock (I reckon it made a notable difference on Saturday night) as well as a Zebra billy can (my current cook kit isn't big enough to do the boil-in-the-bag stuff)

I'm also going to do a few videos on some of the new modifications I've made (including the internal ridgeline for the DD Frontline with mosquito net I did in the middle of the night on Saturday, and my new cradle for suspending mobile phones on that ridgeline so you can watch a film or whatever while your arms remain inside your sleeping bag, snug as a bug in a rug)

Here's the only photo I managed to take on Saturday night before all my batteries went dead from the cold (taken with the front camera on my Galaxy S3, light provided from my head torch on red mode):
photo.jpg

This was me inside my hammock after making my internal modifications. The camera was suspended (crudely) from the internal ridgeline (made from a long length of shotcord, looped through the top and bottom "tapes" inside the mosquito net)

The weather also damaged (slightly) my Nikon D90 (it actually cracked the UV filter on the front of my lens, and no I absolutely didn't bang or drop the camera before anyone suggests that... easily replaced, thankfully)

I have a special insulated pouch coming, along with three charcoal hand warmers and lots of fuel. I intend in the future to place all my batteries (including my power brick) inside the pouch along with one of the hand warmers to keep the batteries warm and prevent the cold from killing them again (it's really bad for batteries to be so rapidly and totally discharged)

I'm making one of those clever Ridgelines you showed me on Saturday, Carl, but I'm just using the Amsteel I already have. I'm thinking of using snap button tapes instead of toggles (because I have a load of them from an old rucksack that's no longer servicable, and I like to recycle these things as much as possible)

I have a massive role of mil-grade ripstop nylon and a not-so-massive roll of mil-grade ripstop polyester coming... because I came up with an idea for some low-profile, light-weight "hammock end socks" which are basically cones that slide over the top and bottom end of the hammock to keep the colder air out (and warmer air in).
This is based on my experience on Saturday where the wool blanket I hung around me made a massive difference to most of my body, but cold air was still getting to my feet and face (until I was able to crudely tie the ends of the blanket, less than ideal but a good proof of concept).
The best part is they'll definitely slide neatly inside the hammock sleeve (or "snakeskin") without increasing the profile of the packed hammock in any noticable way :)

It's an eternal learning experience, right?
 

ReamviThantos

Native
Jun 13, 2010
1,309
0
Bury St. Edmunds
2 Nighter at Orchards for the 5th and 6th April 2013,

Confirmed with Orchards. I thought it might be nice to get there on Friday night again as there will be more light as the clocks go forward - I am going straight from work, but arrival after midday is good.

All Welcome, Experienced, Newbies, Tree and Ground Dwellers.

http://www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/

The charge is £5 pppn.
There is wood that can be brought on site £7 per barrow - (cost divided amongst whole group).

There will be a Saturday Group Meal, Last time was a Beef Stew and Dumplings, cost of last time came to £3.00 each. (will try to keep to the same sort of cost...but that's down to how much it cost from the Supermarket....) - of course you can cater yourself if you require.

There is a Toilet Block (showers and toilets), open and water is available from Taps on the site,

Of course Photo's and the Micky being taken is compulsory ....

And Fluffy Hot water bottles/slippers are welcome.....

Also don't forget, people do bring swaps and items for sale so a meet can be a great place to get some kit..

Alan has said that there will be some other campers on site that weekend, how ever we can use a canoe on the river if anyone would like to bring one to go for a paddle.

I you plan to attend then Paste and Copy the Whole Post and place name on bottom of list, adding also if you require the Group Meal, and how many nights your staying.

If there is any activity you would like to do, just add it to the list, hopefully someone will be able to help, or you could show someone what to do.. :).

List of Attending
1. Big Stu -Group Meal - 2 nights
2. SJStuart - Group Meal - 2 nights (baring some terrible "act of God" or the apocalypse!
3. Rumclet - Group Meal - 2 nights
4. Roman Soldier own cater 2 nights
5. Reamvi thantos- 2 nights own catering if ok!
 

Big Stu 12

Bushcrafter through and through
Jan 7, 2012
6,028
4
Ipswich
2 Nighter at Orchards for the 5th and 6th April 2013,

Confirmed with Orchards. I thought it might be nice to get there on Friday night again as there will be more light as the clocks go forward - I am going straight from work, but arrival after midday is good.

All Welcome, Experienced, Newbies, Tree and Ground Dwellers.

http://www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/

The charge is £5 pppn.
There is wood that can be brought on site £7 per barrow - (cost divided amongst whole group).

There will be a Saturday Group Meal, Last time was a Beef Stew and Dumplings, cost of last time came to £3.00 each. (will try to keep to the same sort of cost...but that's down to how much it cost from the Supermarket....) - Of course you can cater yourself if you require.

There is a Toilet Block (showers and toilets), open and water is available from Taps on the site,

Of course Photo's and the Micky being taken is compulsory ....

And Fluffy Hot water bottles/slippers are welcome.....

Also don't forget, people do bring swaps and items for sale so a meet can be a great place to get some kit..

Alan has said that there will be some other campers on site that weekend, how ever we can use a canoe on the river if anyone would like to bring one to go for a paddle.

I you plan to attend then Paste and Copy the Whole Post and place name on bottom of list, adding also if you require the Group Meal, and how many nights your staying.

If there is any activity you would like to do, just add it to the list, hopefully someone will be able to help, or you could show someone what to do.. :).

List of Attending
1. Big Stu -Group Meal - 2 nights
2. SJStuart - Group Meal - 2 nights (baring some terrible "act of God" or the apocalypse!
3. Rumcelt - Group Meal - 2 nights
4. Roman Soldier - Own Cater - 2 nights
5. Reamvi thantos - Own Cater - 2 nights
 

mitch66

Nomad
Mar 8, 2010
466
1
king's lynn norfolk
Hi, Simon would you have the name of the maxpedition importer or a store that you would recomend, as i would like to get two 12"x5" water bottle bags with joining straps and a E-trec GPS case all in khaki for my pack, did you have any joy getting your kit list today if so what size pot? if you require a hand with your hammock mods im only to glad to give you a hand at our next meet. paul, did you get the yellow tarp ridge line from dave at hammocking solutions ? his work is spot on and prices are very good. would you also have the make of your wood stove to ? i have the bush buddy but it a very light weight unit and yours just looks stronger and from what ive seen of yours is very reliable even if its a bit on the dark side. thanks for your time carl ps , good chance i will make the next weekend meet but with 2 kids thing's change so il wait a bit before i sign on the list.
 

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