The ‘F’ word (Fjällraven)
- Thread starter Darryl of Sussex
- Start date
By eck!
If we are going to talk "First Kit", I started off with rubberised canvas ground sheet, PVC waterproofs, industrial boots and a single skin cotton tent with wooden poles!
Army surplus was a step up from that lot - but the originals gave me some great experience on the Pennine Way and in Scotland.
My first trips into The Cairngorms - in Winter - saw me living in a tiny tent (with no porch) and wearing cheap copies of WW2 style military clothing...
stuff I would think anyone suicidal to choose now, but it kept me hale and hearty back then (over 40 years ago) and only made me keener to get Out There.
I soon learned that knowledge is more important than kit and that snowholes are nice and warm!
If we are going to talk "First Kit", I started off with rubberised canvas ground sheet, PVC waterproofs, industrial boots and a single skin cotton tent with wooden poles!
Army surplus was a step up from that lot - but the originals gave me some great experience on the Pennine Way and in Scotland.
My first trips into The Cairngorms - in Winter - saw me living in a tiny tent (with no porch) and wearing cheap copies of WW2 style military clothing...
stuff I would think anyone suicidal to choose now, but it kept me hale and hearty back then (over 40 years ago) and only made me keener to get Out There.
I soon learned that knowledge is more important than kit and that snowholes are nice and warm!
I remember those cotton tents. Mine finaly fell apart after nearly 30 years use. I miss it.. weirdly. I got mine as a nine yr old as a birthday present. Happy days.
The few bits of Swanndri kit I have either come from the classifieds on here or from a sale at the factory shop in NZ - IIRC they were selling everything off cheap as production was being shifted to China.
Mrs Nomad has a Swannie jacket got for a tenner from a charity shop in pristine condition - only thing wrong with it is the colours - a hi-vis jacket would be easier on the eyes.
As with so many things in life, there are two paths which you can go by - on one path clothing and kit is a passport to outdoors adventure. The other, at its most extreme ends up with a Gollum like obsession with expensive stuff for the sake of it. As a species we seem to be drifting towards the latter course.
Back in the mid-1950s a group of Oxbridge students were given a couple of Land Rovers straight off the production line, they threw some basic camping gear in the back and headed off on a six month overland expedition to Singapore.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_and_Cambridge_Far_Eastern_Expedition
Sixty odd years later and there are now a whole range of Land Rover and overland travel shows which just like the Bushcraft Show are very commercial and IMHO quite cynical. At these shows venders all to easily convince punters that their pride and joy is not capable of safely negotiating a muddy puddle without several thousand pounds worth of bolt on bits and not to even think about a two week tag along trundle around Europe or Morocco without yet more modifications and thousands of pounds worth of rooftent and other camping kit.
It’s a free country and I guess if some people get a warm glow knowing the vehicle they have spent a fortune on vehicle could take them off on great adventures (even if deep down in their heart they know that next summer’s Land River Shows are the only realistic destination) then fine but it’s still a bit sad.
If the impression the OP has got from this forum that he can’t enjoy his first night out in some Sussex woods in safety and relative comfort without shelling out the best part of a grand on fancy branded kit, something is badly wrong.
He was by no means the only dedicated follower of bushcraft fashion - it was just the addition of the pink fairy and bored Mrs (who was probably cross referencing the price tags on the stalls with what he’d told he paid!) that made it look even more ridiculous!
I must admit boots are not an area I skimp on, i have had to many boots fail or just not be right to bother with cheap or mid price stuff.
He may well have been an expert, Ray mears looked just as daft with his full 80ltr rucksack for a few hours walk by the river lol
He was by no means the only dedicated follower of bushcraft fashion - it was just the addition of the pink fairy and bored Mrs (who was probably cross referencing the price tags on the stalls with what he’d told he paid!) that made it look even more ridiculous!
The disgruntled wife seems the same....but I imagine she was far from alone either! Lol
Generally i say buy what makes you happy!
It's a hobby, for enjoyment, enjoy it......although I reserve the right to silently judge you as you walk past me at the bushcraft show proudly displaying the knife at your belt LMAO
Or do you silently judge by the knife ?
I remember people buying those Rambo 'knives' and then trying to use them.... Was back in the 80'.
footwear: I find most modern footwear is very short lived. And the branded ones are crazily costly. But - they look cool when they are brand new!
I still prefer them to be made from a piece of cow, with tree sap sole. I always replace the shoe string to leather, as I have had even brand new strings break on me several times., specially after my boots were close to the fire.
I remember people buying those Rambo 'knives' and then trying to use them.... Was back in the 80'.
footwear: I find most modern footwear is very short lived. And the branded ones are crazily costly. But - they look cool when they are brand new!
I still prefer them to be made from a piece of cow, with tree sap sole. I always replace the shoe string to leather, as I have had even brand new strings break on me several times., specially after my boots were close to the fire.
Or do you silently judge by the knife ?
I remember people buying those Rambo 'knives' and then trying to use them.... Was back in the 80'.
footwear: I find most modern footwear is very short lived. And the branded ones are crazily costly. But - they look cool when they are brand new!
I still prefer them to be made from a piece of cow, with tree sap sole. I always replace the shoe string to leather, as I have had even brand new strings break on me several times., specially after my boots were close to the fire.
Not by the knife no. I don't wear a knife during the show cos I'm on holiday and it makes a nice change not to be weighted down by stuff on my belt and wear big boots and humping all sorts of kit around
Then I recommend you look into a Gerber designed by the Bushcrafter Supremo, Bear Grylls. Plastic handle, orange/black, so light and very visible!
(just joking)
(just joking)
There will always be those who feel the need to cut a dash at whatever they are doing, my point is that it is really sad when people get the impression that they can’t get out and enjoy the outdoors without spending a king’s ransom on kit!
Leather with a grey blanket liner, the collar is astrakhan.
Not standard Swedish Army issue. Any markings inside?
It could be a Regimental (or higher) officer issued.
(Not Navy either)
Quality sounds fantastic!
It could be a Regimental (or higher) officer issued.
(Not Navy either)
Quality sounds fantastic!
There will always be those who feel the need to cut a dash at whatever they are doing, my point is that it is really sad when people get the impression that they can’t get out and enjoy the outdoors without spending a king’s ransom on kit!
100% agree mate
What people should not forget is, that every fabric can get a spark hole.
So, if I want to sleep next to a fire I tend to let my Hilleberg tent at home.
If you don't need this tent, it should be a good option to let it in the shop, until you need it.
And most people do not need it, by the way.
G1000 is a fabric made from 65% polyester. It isn't spark resistant.
Equipment like that is something for people who will not start to cry if they get a hole in it.
If you are rich and like the Design:
Why not?
So, if I want to sleep next to a fire I tend to let my Hilleberg tent at home.
If you don't need this tent, it should be a good option to let it in the shop, until you need it.
And most people do not need it, by the way.
G1000 is a fabric made from 65% polyester. It isn't spark resistant.
Equipment like that is something for people who will not start to cry if they get a hole in it.
If you are rich and like the Design:
Why not?
Or someone who doesn't often use a fire just camping stoves. Not everyone is into the same things. Bushcraft is many things to many people afterall.
Or do you silently judge by the knife ?
I remember people buying those Rambo 'knives' and then trying to use them.... Was back in the 80'.
footwear: I find most modern footwear is very short lived. And the branded ones are crazily costly. But - they look cool when they are brand new!
I still prefer them to be made from a piece of cow, with tree sap sole. I always replace the shoe string to leather, as I have had even brand new strings break on me several times., specially after my boots were close to the fire.
I think my dad still has one of those crazy Rambo knives in the back of his garage somewhere. It was bought for me when I was a kid but mostly used for gardening. Don’t think there’s a knife bin in Brighton any more. Mum can barely stand his standard issue Kukri being on display anywhere, so Rambo gear is definitely out.
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