The bushcraft industry

[bojit]

With threads like Gift it on and the the amount of bartering and pure generosity of the people in the bushcraft community,
with the all the skill sharing for free that goes on and so many of the raw materials that are gathered for free .

also there is such a crossover between other sports and pastimes and professions .

The true figures could go from tens of millions to hundreds of millions .

Craig...............

 

[Mikey P]

I'll give you £20 for it.

 

[789987]

But folk refer to 'The Outdoor Industry' all the time and subsets of it such as outdoor retail, outdoor education, Outdoor product manufacturing.. So if you can define the 'traditional' outdoor industry. Why not the 'Bushcraft' industry?? Wouldn't the subsets basically be similar...

Bushcraft Retail, Bushcraft training / expedition provision, Bushcraft media etc... What would be difficult is getting an appreciation of the size of the low volume / hobby / part time maker sector.

reckon you cracked it there. bushcraft would basically be a subset of the outdoor industry. reckon that the way to gauge the popularity would be through places like this. probably for everyone that posts theres 20 that lurk and 100 that have a casual interest.

then you just need to check the demographics of the participants, factor in their disposable income and come to market with a exciting new item that no self respecting kit ***** can do without.

 

[palace]

Bu

With threads like Gift it on and the the amount of bartering and pure generosity of the people in the bushcraft community,
with the all the skill sharing for free that goes on and so many of the raw materials that are gathered for free .

also there is such a crossover between other sports and pastimes and professions .


The true figures could go from tens of millions to hundreds of millions .

Craig...............

Bushcraft is a hobby or even way of life for some. However where there is demand there is a market a market creates more demand there will always be entrepreneurs and yes some con men to supply that demand and canny buyers & some mugs with more money than sense to buy.

As a result the world wide interest in Bushcraft must run into billions that is where forums such as this can guide and help prevent "bushcrafters" falling into the pit...

 

[Manacles]

i,m just a little bit sad to hear the words "bushcraft" and "industry" used together in the same sentence,...

i understand the question,..and that the manufacturers and service suppliers associated with what we do have created an "industry" that can be measured,...

and i also subscribe to it , (i,m typing this now for eg) and i use an array of shiny toys,...

but i sit in a busy transport office all day looking at warranty margins and support budgets,.....


So can i at least pretend that there isnt a "buscraft industry" ?....(i didnt know what i did even had a name until a few years ago!!)

and that i go into the woods to forget and just enjoy the outdoors,...

that is until the government introduce oxygen tax, and sunlight penalties,...

Cheers

Stu...

You've made a very interesting point there Stu. With Mr Mears, Mr Grylls et al on the TV bushcrafting has gained a popularity of recent years that maybe could ultimately endanger it as a hobby/way of life. A recent press article in one of the daily rags criticised foragers for "stripping woods of mushrooms" and blamed the rise in "River Cottage" style food preparation for this imagined phenomenon. The very last thing bushcraft needs is some civil servant thinking to himself "hello there are people camping out in the woods and they are unregulated" and trying to impose some sort of overnight camping permit on us.

Inevitably it is a risk connected wth growing popularity of the sport, and one must remain mindful that the very publicity that engenders the tags "business" and "industry" is also responsible for bringing many good people to bushcrafting.

 

[Mikey P]

Like anything, as soon as popularity increases, there's money to be made and people will want to set up businesses in order to make it.

Part of me likes the idea that the popularity of bushcraft has made equipment and training much more available and has widened interest, making a lot more resources available to us. Also, the tax revenue goes towards paying off the national debt. Hurrahs all round.

However, on the other hand, it has also led to a glut of cheap rubbish products, a lot of terrible advice, some really poor books and DVDs, and a lot of people out to make a fast buck. Caveat emptor and all that (nice one, centurion!)

Business wise, I hope it grows in a sustainable manner, and we all gain something from it. As to its worth? Hard to say as it encompasses many areas of the outdoor industry but, judging by the number of websites that are adding a 'bushcraft' section and the number of hits on eBay if you search for 'bushcraft', it has to be worth a few bob!

 

[lucan]

I began sleeping under tarp's out in the woods, catching our food and eating around a camp fire over 30 years ago with my Grandad, Then we called it Camping out, Now it's Bushcraft

It has come on in the last few years or so because of R.M. B.G. and more so for me because of Les Hiddins, who i use to watch on t.v way before i had even heard of the other 2, There is money in Bushcrafting, I wouldn't go so far as to say it was an industry at the minute but it's popularity is growing fast, you just have to look at the equipment that is available now and how easy it is to come by than what it was even a mere 20 years ago, Like everything else the invention of the interweb has made it greatly popular too.

 

[Manacles]

I began sleeping under tarp's out in the woods, catching our food and eating around a camp fire over 30 years ago with my Grandad, Then we called it Camping out, Now it's Bushcraft

It has come on in the last few years or so because of R.M. B.G. and more so for me because of Les Hiddins, who i use to watch on t.v way before i had even heard of the other 2, There is money in Bushcrafting, I wouldn't go so far as to say it was an industry at the minute but it's popularity is growing fast, you just have to look at the equipment that is available now and how easy it is to come by than what it was even a mere 20 years ago, Like everything else the invention of the interweb has made it greatly popular too.

Les Hiddins - is he Bush Tucker Man? I used to watch that religiously, it was great!

Yep, it was camping out when I was a Cub and then a Scout back in the seventies.............

 

[bojit]

Same here i was a big fan of Les Hiddens , Although there doesn't seem to be very many witchetty grubs in Scotland .

But he did make me want to go out and find food that i could eat , and i even tried to make my own swag bag out of an old canvas tent - i got soaked !

We had an old rubber backed tarp in our cellar so i used that for a while but it must have weighed about 10pounds .

Craig..............

 

[Manacles]

Same here i was a big fan of Les Hiddens , Although there doesn't seem to be very many witchetty grubs in Scotland .

But he did make me want to go out and find food that i could eat , and i even tried to make my own swag bag out of an old canvas tent - i got soaked !

We had an old rubber backed tarp in our cellar so i used that for a while but it must have weighed about 10pounds .

Craig..............

That was eactly it, he made me want to have a go at it too........

 

[yerbache]

I began sleeping under tarp's out in the woods, catching our food and eating around a camp fire over 30 years ago with my Grandad, Then we called it Camping out, Now it's Bushcraft.

When I was a 12-year old I went to the hardware shop and bought a piece of plastic sheet for a shelter. That was the sum total of my expenditure on "bushcrafting". Now I whip out the debit card the moment something catches my eye and I don't go anywhere without my £95 Fjallraven trousers, my £88 (at least it's locally produced) Bison Bushcraft guide shirt, my £55 Granny B SFA......(you can see where this is going)

So I wonder what happened in the meantime to make us all so willing cough up so much of our hard-earned pennies for the industry...? I can't help but think that a lot of it is just part of the human condition - needlessly wanting stuff to raise our status and be the envy of our bushrafting buddies....but let's not forget why we all got into this in the first place....?

 

[mountainm]

When I was a 12-year old I went to the hardware shop and bought a piece of plastic sheet for a shelter. That was the sum total of my expenditure on "bushcrafting". Now I whip out the debit card the moment something catches my eye and I don't go anywhere without my £95 Fjallraven trousers, my £88 (at least it's locally produced) Bison Bushcraft guide shirt, my £55 Granny B SFA......(you can see where this is going)

So I wonder what happened in the meantime to make us all so willing cough up so much of our hard-earned pennies for the industry...? I can't help but think that a lot of it is just part of the human condition - needlessly wanting stuff to raise our status and be the envy of our bushrafting buddies....but let's not forget why we all got into this in the first place....?

I think part of it is a need to "keep the hobby going". You regret not being able to go out and actually do it (work and family commitments) but buying gear keeps your foot in the door. That, and as a group we all probably have a "collectors" gene that kicks in - we like to collect useful stuff 'just in case'.

 

[yerbache]

I think part of it is a need to "keep the hobby going". You regret not being able to go out and actually do it (work and family commitments) but buying gear keeps your foot in the door. That, and as a group we all probably have a "collectors" gene that kicks in - we like to collect useful stuff 'just in case'.

Think you've hit the nail pretty much on the head there, mate....

 

[lucan]

Les Hiddins - is he Bush Tucker Man? I used to watch that religiously, it was great!

Yep, it was camping out when I was a Cub and then a Scout back in the seventies.............

Aye thats the fella, He kinda relit the love for the outdoors in me. For years i always tried to spend as much time as i could outside, It seldom ever happened though, Family and work commitments.

Camping out seems to have evolved into Bushcraft without me noticing, and that old pillow case i used for a rucksack turned into a Vango sherpa.

Lucan

 

[bojit]

Before i got married and had kids 16 years ago i had spent the previous 10 years climbing, mountain biking walking and just general camping all over Scotland .

With the kids arriving family life and work took over , even so i still kept a lookout for good kit at decent prices buying the odd piece here and there .

Now that my youngest is nearly 13 we as a family have started in the last year , sailing, kayaking, camping out with the kids (we had a camper before)

But bushcraft has got us all fired up and we are buying kit left right and centre , the house needs finishing but we would rather go camping !

Craig..............

 

[demographic]

If people make money out of teaching it, making kit for it, writing books about it, yada yada yada it's an industry, no matter how much everyone here is trying to avoid being labled.
Same as football, cycling, fishing and many other hobby's.
Just look at the amount of posts in the Kit Chatter forum then try and tell me that its not an industry.
Get over it and enjoy yourself.

 

[yerbache]

Bang on.....

 

[hog]

Ray Mears-Millions.

 

[yerbache]

Ray Mears-Millions.

Personally I'm really glad Mr Mears brought what has become known as "bushcraft" into a wider sphere of understanding and acceptance. He's done a great service by opening people's eyes to the fine details in the craft and illustrating a deep appreciation of the wider world. Moreover, he's still passionate about the subject and his original ideals after years in the business, and if he's made a million or two in the process, fair play to him.

Likewise because of him and people like him, people like us can now find suitable gear for our purposes with far greater ease.

I do think some of the stuff on his website is over-priced, however, and if I had his money I would make a point of running free courses for people who would really benefit the most from learning about the outdoors and self-reliance (i.e. inner-city kids who don't usually get a chance to experience the joys that a dawn chorus or starting your own fire by friction can bring.....but that's my tuppence...)

 

[Manacles]

I think part of it is a need to "keep the hobby going". You regret not being able to go out and actually do it (work and family commitments) but buying gear keeps your foot in the door. That, and as a group we all probably have a "collectors" gene that kicks in - we like to collect useful stuff 'just in case'.

I'va always viewed the "collectors gene" as a leftover from the times before 4000 years ago when all humans were hunter gatherers and had to forage for much of their food. If they came across a cache I guess they would collect and keep it for leaner times. On that basis it is rather nice the bushcraft types "collect" a bit of gear, kind of keeps it going I reckon............if an industry has grwon up as a result are we poorer for it? I doubt it.