The Amazing Amazon £50 Challenge! Now it's your turn!

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Jul 26, 2017
7
1
Peterborough
Hi Folks -

Bit bored so decided to have a bit of fun. Maybe you'd like to have a go yourselves and post what you come up with as a reply!

So, the goal / idea was - If I had just £50 to spend on kit for a couple of nights in the woods - Could I get everything I would need, delivered to my door, for less than a good night in the pub, all from Amazon? Read on, dear reader..

Couple of Caveats - I'm assuming you (or I) will already have/own things like clothing and shoes, loo roll, socks, some creature comforts - you get the idea.. We aren't starting buck naked here. Let's assume we own warm clothes. Also, this is just a 'fun' kit for an overnighter or 2/3 day trip. This is NOT a survival kit, or bug out bag. This is a 'random buddy joining the trip last minute and needs gear' type of kit. The basics. Mostly like I said it seemed like a fun idea while stuck infront of a computer for a while. Finally, I'm also assuming access to food and the ability to fill up a big empty soft drink bottle for your water source (big empty soda bottle for our American friends).

Those things out of the way, here's the list & links!


1) - Hultafors RFR Craftmens Knife (Stainless).
Obviously, this was always going to be #1 on the list. A knife is fairly essential if you're going to be playing around in the woods. We all know the score here. Why not a Mora? Hultafors are pretty decent and sturdy, and just that little bit cheaper than Mora. Again, this isn't a survival kit - if it breaks, it breaks, unlucky but not life threatening. Every penny counts in this challenge!
B004O9RZJM

2) - Silverline pruning saw - £5.08
An 'add on item' - 27.5 cm blade, includes sheath - only a fiver for all the firewood I can saw? Sign me up! Gonna be needing that firewood.. Also obviously practical for shelter building and general camp craft.
B000LFVT5Y

3) - 10ft x 10ft (3m x 3m) Blue Tarpaulin - £6.49
Not exactly going to blend into the surroundings with this one, but hey it's a DD size tarp for only slightly more than the cost of a bushcraft magazine. Hard to complain. Should last at least one or two nights!
B00ITRZLLY

4) - Disposable lighters - pack of 10 - £2.89
Many of you will be looking on this list for a firesteel. Let me save you the bother; there isn't one. With the super limited budget, I figure 10 lighters - that's one for every pocket, one in each sock, one in every rucksack pocket - and some left over - is a better spend than £7 or £8 for a decent firesteel. Yes, lighters break, and can get lost - but with 10 of them, you're probably going to be all right for a while. ALSO - Did you know these things are basically waterproof? I made a video on it some years ago.. will post the link at the bottom if I can find it.
955218062

5) - Stainless steel mug - 700ml - £6.99
Assuming our budget friendly bushcrafter has access to oats or any kind of food at all really, then this is going to work as a cooking pot, mug for tea, water collector if it rains, basket to put things in if foraging.. basically it's a big metal fireproof pot cup thing. As with the knife, we all know the score on this one. I could have saved a quid or so by going for a smaller one but I figure 700ml is a decent size and other stuff can be stuffed into it for transport
B00HCQASC0

6) - 5mm Polypropylene Cord/Rope - Blue & White - £4.03
Don't think i'd forgotten about the cordage.. There's something of a blue and white theme developing here actually..! Anyway, obviously useful for putting up a tarp and/or constructing a shelter. I suppose you could pick it apart and make some fishing line but remember, this isn't a survival pack, it's a fun cheap set for someone starting out in bushcraft or just a spare to have around for an unexpected guest. Should be strong enough and visible enough to not trip over. Bonus.
B06WRSBKJC

7) - Camp Gear unisex Foam Aluminium sleeping mat - £3.95
After all that fishing with the rope our bushcrafter is gonna be tired - this should provide some measure of insulation when he/she needs a kip. Hopefully our penniless chum knows how to build a raised bed and a long fire!
B06Y2FRSS6

8) - Yellowstone Essential Envelope Sleeping bag & Carry Bag - £9.49
This might not actually be too bad if it's a warm night. If it's a cold one then yeah.. about that long fire.. Still, better than nothing and hard to argue with that price.
B002ZF2EBG

9) - 35L 3 Day Assault Tactical Military Outdoor Sport Rucksack Backpack - £2.88
Not sure what's going on with this one - that price seems suspiciously low and I doubt they'd actually deliver it. Either a scam or just mispriced, but nevertheless it's there on Amazon so I'm including it.
B00W78MDX0

(For those who feel the bag is a little close to 'cheating', my original pick was this: B01MDRQR7Z- Looks plenty big and I think I actually prefer it..! )

10) - Outdoor LED head lamp torch 5W 600 Lumens - £1.59
Pretty cool that this is about the price of an ice cream when you remember what head torches used to be like before the advent of the white LED. Cree bulbs have transformed lighting really, super bright and low power. This is junk compared to some of the good stuff on the market but it's bang on budget and will brighten the view when things go bump in the night.
B01MSMBWYM


TOTAL COST: £50.43

Ok, so i'm 43P over budget. I can live with that. I'm pretty sure there were cheaper head torches, and I could have gone for a slightly smaller steel mug, so I'm only a few clicks away from getting it under £50. Maybe i'll revisit it another time.

So there you go! Add in a few skills and some local knowledge and I reckon you could be perfectly comfortable for a little jolly into the woods with the above, but what do you think? If anyone wants to have a go themselves and submit a list i'd love to read someone elses take on things. Tarp vs tent, firesteel vs lighter, saw vs axe.. lots of options.

Who knows maybe the next step is we put our money where our mouths are, but our £50 kits and try putting them to use! That'd be a fun meetup!!

Oh yeah, waterproof lighters - here's that vid : [video=youtube;XSaNSkBMCic]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSaNSkBMCic[/video]
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Nice65

Brilliant!
Apr 16, 2009
6,438
2,859
W.Sussex
Believe we had an Amazon promoter on Real Outdoors Forum recently. He got fairly short shrift. As this is a polite place, I'll refrain.

It's just an advert for Amazon, we're not fools, we recognise spam.
 
Jul 26, 2017
7
1
Peterborough
Believe we had an Amazon promoter on Real Outdoors Forum recently. He got fairly short shrift. As this is a polite place, I'll refrain.

It's just an advert for Amazon, we're not fools, we recognise spam.


Er, ok....?

Not an advert for Amazon. Why would Amazon come onto a forum to advertise? I'm pretty sure Bezos has better things to do with his time..


I'm a bit disappointed this is the only reply to be honest, I thought it'd be a bit of light hearted fun to see what we could come up with. I was looking forward to seeing some of other peoples ideas. If keeping it amazon focused doesn't float your boat then maybe just £50 in general as a challenge. I quite liked the extra layer of getting it all from one place, though. Otherwise it just turns into who got the luckiest bargain buy on fleabay. I bought an Arc'Teryx hat for £2.. that sort of thing.
 
Last edited:

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
1,980
933
Devon
I think its a fun idea. How odd to immediately think its spam.

As far as I understand it all the links are Amazon referrals as they have tag ids of busuk-21 on them. If you click on them and then buy the item the original poster (assuming he's busuk-21) gets money as he's an Amazon associate.

Perhaps the OP can confirm and explain why this was not mentioned?
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Bezos is plenty rich, I prefer to give the business to a brick and mortar in first place, an online trader if I have to. Amazon comes last.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Nomad64

Full Member
Nov 21, 2015
1,072
593
UK
Well they were……… ;)

How about, Can you kit out for under £50?

M

Or from the annoying ads and clickbait that I get;

"South Lanarkshire woman spent £50 on camping gear - you won't believe what she looks like now!"

"If you went camping between 1995 and 2005 then you need this insane camping kit for £50"

"Not got a portfolio of £250k, then tough, you can't retire but if you have got £50 you can at least go camping this weekend"

:)
 
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Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I'm taking that as a joke, but mind I'm the computer clutz mod; if I have left links that ought not to be there when I edited his post, please let me know ?

M

…£50….ehm, that'd cover a mora, a laplander, an Ikea drainer for a hobo stove, a set of poundstore camping stuff (from tarp to head torch too, surprisingly :) ) I reckon that'd do fifty quid's worth :D
 

Nomad64

Full Member
Nov 21, 2015
1,072
593
UK
I'm taking that as a joke, but mind I'm the computer clutz mod;

Sorry Toddy, no offence intended - I was alluding to some online news pages which intersperse genuine (or is it fake - so hard to tell these days) news with dreadful "clickbait" links for people supposedly from your area who have made a fortune, lost weight, whitened their teeth, lost wrinkles, claimed back their PPI and all you have to do is click the link to see how amazing they look now. Funny though the faces stay the same but the locations change if you log on somewhere else in the country!

Then there is the toned grey haired bloke on a surfboard always telling me I can retire now if I have £250k to invest.

:)
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Sorry Toddy, no offence intended - I was alluding to some online news pages which intersperse genuine (or is it fake - so hard to tell these days) news with dreadful "clickbait" links for people supposedly from your area who have made a fortune, lost weight, whitened their teeth, lost wrinkles, claimed back their PPI and all you have to do is click the link to see how amazing they look now. Funny though the faces stay the same but the locations change if you log on somewhere else in the country!

Then there is the toned grey haired bloke on a surfboard always telling me I can retire now if I have £250k to invest.

:)

None taken :D
I don't like removing threads, I can do it though, but where I can I prefer to edit just enough to keep within the rules, etc.,
and the premis of can you get all the kit for fifty quid sounded sort of interesting…..despite the fact that a heck of a lot of the individual pieces of mine cost a lot more than that :eek:

My birthday's coming up soon, all I get as adverts are life assurance and 'things funeral directors don't want you to know' :rolleyes:
I could get paranoid about this !

M
 

Bazooka Joe

Tenderfoot
Oct 27, 2011
77
6
Danmark
Never mind the Amazon nonsense (postage, and the 25% surcharge for living in Denmark would ruin that idea for me anyway), I like the idea of a 'put a kit together on a budget' challenge.

I think I could put an okay kit together from my local hardware stores and supermarkets.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
1,980
933
Devon
Indeed, I'm quite happy with the Lidl pruning saw for example, so I'd have got way under the £50 by shopping around.

Also, at this time of year, many places are selling off their camping stuff very cheaply so you might be able to pick up some items very cheaply from the high street.
 

Tony

White bear (Admin)
Admin
Apr 16, 2003
24,131
1
1,877
53
Wales
www.bushcraftuk.com
Not sure what's going on here, but we have viglink installed and that auto links things like this to Bushcraft UK's amazon account so that we pick up the odd commission when people follow links from the forums, off the top my head that looks like our link and not one that's been put in by the OP
 

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