The 'I've found a bargain' thread

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
771
242
Somerset
i got some of this when it was 2L for 50p

they ahve sales on every so often
just did a burn test in tealight holder plus ceramic wool, did much better than relisan hand gel

so might do for anyone who wants dragongel alternative....

Just did some water boiling tests using trangia mess tin, esbit stove ceramic wool and tealight cup, boiled 250ml in about 12 mins, using couple of pumps of hand gel, i think the winter in venice burns hotter than relisan, but still quite impressed at 25p/litre had to add more fuel at about 10 mins, so possibly 2 tealight holders might be better, theres plenty of space in an esbit. no residue on the tin at all, got better results than my alcahol stove and meths.....
 

DocG

Full Member
Dec 20, 2013
875
129
Moray
i got some of this when it was 2L for 50p

they ahve sales on every so often
just did a burn test in tealight holder plus ceramic wool, did much better than relisan hand gel

so might do for anyone who wants dragongel alternative....
Unfortunately they have an outrageous price policy for “Highlands and Islands” so the England-shire bias strikes again.
 
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Falstaff

Forager
Feb 12, 2023
235
101
Berkshire
Unfortunately they have an outrageous price policy for “Highlands and Islands” so the England-shire bias strikes again.
Don't think its a bias as such, just the old sales volume vs sheer extra cost of delivery in areas that don't have (or necessarily need) the level of postal and delivery services in the rest of the UK.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
771
242
Somerset
Don't think its a bias as such, just the old sales volume vs sheer extra cost of delivery in areas that don't have (or necessarily need) the level of postal and delivery services in the rest of the UK.


postage is high with cheap foods, best to get near 20kg....but then my wife added over 10kg of yeast and flour and treacle.....
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,891
2,143
Mercia
Unfortunately they have an outrageous price policy for “Highlands and Islands” so the England-shire bias strikes again.
We charge more to deliver to H&I in our store. Our delivery prices are directly in line with what couriers charge us to deliver. The couriers prices are based upon distance from the depot & distance between drops due to population density. This applies to many other locations (Scilly Isles, Channel Islands, IoM, Northern Ireland etc.) and is simply based on actual delivery costs. How is this a "bias"?
 

Falstaff

Forager
Feb 12, 2023
235
101
Berkshire
We charge more to deliver to H&I in our store. Our delivery prices are directly in line with what couriers charge us to deliver. The couriers prices are based upon distance from the depot & distance between drops due to population density. This applies to many other locations (Scilly Isles, Channel Islands, IoM, Northern Ireland etc.) and is simply based on actual delivery costs. How is this a "bias"?
Technically that might be a fair description:
slanting obliquely; diagonal - a bias fold,
e.g. the north south divide the newspapers like to refer to. The benefit is biased towards the geographical lower UK regions for the economic reasons/facts you have described. These days most folk regard use of the term in a negative argumentative sense. Which tends to trigger others!
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
771
242
Somerset
Don't think its a bias as such, just the old sales volume vs sheer extra cost of delivery in areas that don't have (or necessarily need) the level of postal and delivery services in the rest of the UK.


Bit like how in cities people can get 1000mb full fibre for £20 a month, and around here ive got loads of clients still on 2mb adsl, let alone fttc, lots of people taking up starlink as theres no signs of fttc let alone openreach full fibre rollout, and the rural fibre systes are "problematic" thats all just down to city infracstructure and density making it cheaper to deliver
 
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Falstaff

Forager
Feb 12, 2023
235
101
Berkshire
Bit like how in cities people can get 1000mb full fibre for £20 a month, and around here ive got loads of clients still on 2mb adsl, let alone fttc, lots of people taking up starlink as theres no signs of fttc let alone openreach full fibre rollout, and the rural fibre systes are "problematic" thats all just down to city infracstructure and density making it cheaper to deliver
Agreed, even in the south it needs a high user density to cover the cost of cabling. Govt is doing some quiet background subsidising and rule bending to try to get rollout.
There is a simple rollout solution used in Europe and most mountainous areas globally - broadband via radio using masts.
For some reason I cannot fathom, all of the UK firms have set their face against it even though it is a lot cheaper. It works fine and has been used for years now. The other newer one is Starlink, which I would go for.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
771
242
Somerset
Fair call by Brizzlebrush, we've gone off track. I'm not sure that Starlink counts as a "Bargain".
good point, although to be honest, starlink is cheaper than the mast systems, ive put in about 6 for people now, all good so far....but as they say..back to our usual programming...

There were some crackingd eals last night on amazon prime day on thermograpic cameras, £60....the hikmicro was £209.....in case anyone wants next time theers a prime day coming up
 
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GreyCat

Full Member
Nov 1, 2023
191
189
51
South Wales, UK
Agreed, even in the south it needs a high user density to cover the cost of cabling. Govt is doing some quiet background subsidising and rule bending to try to get rollout.
There is a simple rollout solution used in Europe and most mountainous areas globally - broadband via radio using masts.
For some reason I cannot fathom, all of the UK firms have set their face against it even though it is a lot cheaper. It works fine and has been used for years now. The other newer one is Starlink, which I would go for.

In Wales, they string the fibre from the local electricity poles. Not universal yet but surprising where you can ger full fibre broadband......

GC
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,891
2,143
Mercia
Technically that might be a fair description:
slanting obliquely; diagonal - a bias fold,
e.g. the north south divide the newspapers like to refer to. The benefit is biased towards the geographical lower UK regions for the economic reasons/facts you have described. These days most folk regard use of the term in a negative argumentative sense. Which tends to trigger others!
Bias is defined as

"the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment:".


I see nothing unfair in couriers charging a delivery fee that reflects higher costs to them in terms of labour & fuel. As others have said, every area has pros and cons. Where I live, for example we cannot get an Uber or a Waitrose delivery or, for that matter, streetlights. There are other things where we get "less" than urban areas. Less violent crime, less mental health problems, less respiratory disease, less early deaths.

Sure many rural areas have higher delivery charges. We live in the second largest county in England (and the poorest). We have zero miles of motorways. The roads are potholed & often single track. I would charge more to deliver here
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,413
1,700
Cumbria
Bit like how in cities people can get 1000mb full fibre for £20 a month, and around here ive got loads of clients still on 2mb adsl, let alone fttc, lots of people taking up starlink as theres no signs of fttc let alone openreach full fibre rollout, and the rural fibre systes are "problematic" thats all just down to city infracstructure and density making it cheaper to deliver
Round here it looked like we were close to joining the Broadband for Rural North AKA B4RN which started near Lancaster in a small village called Quernmorr. It was the first fibre to the house at 1000mb/s upload and download to domestic properties of its kind IIRC. Anyway it spreead out from there and only in rural areas avoiding towns and larger settlements. My village was on the lists due to get get it asap until it suddenly went off the list completely. However I was still hopeful because the service was in the next village and was going to the villlage the other side of us. It turned out to bypass us by a few hundred metres!!

My parents have it intalled but it will finally get turned on shortly. They are two miles away from us and about the same the other way was the last village to get it. I think there are a few properties right on the edge of our village with it but only because it goes through the land there to get to the next village.

I was on holiday on the Isle of Arran when I noticed one of the advertising trucks/trailers with two screens on opposite sides.. Those screens were advertising full fibre to your door at 1000mb/s (we were on about 2mb at the time) for £20 or was it £15. Anyway we can only get 200mb/s rated service but the guaranteed speed is something like 25mb/s or so. It is pathetic really and for that it costs best part of £30 per month with calls!! So there are places in Scotland that due to parliament subsidies get a ridiculously good broadband at a real bargain nobody in Britain can get. I am not jealous at all!! ;)

There is a north south divide. The north has all the beautiful places and the south has polluted London. I am so happy with living in the north!!
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,413
1,700
Cumbria
Where you live is a compromise on what you get in some ways. Poor services in the rural north but then again you get beautiful countryside, lower levels of pollution (woodburners excepted in villages), better standard of living, etc. You also get to leave your doors unlocked and everyone knows you in your village at least enough to say hello. Oh and they do say hello too. I finally knew that I was accepted when the local chippy owner started to wave to me as he delivered his product to houses in the area.

However we do have to put up with visiting tourists in summer or any day when it is dry and sunny. They park in awkward spots, block driveways at time and generally a lot more terrible parking. Plus loads of people walking past our house. I really can't blame them, I mean if I lived in Manchester I would come up here every single chance I got too!!

The other good things we have is an excellent EVRI delivery driver!! AIUI those in the south with their built up areas seem to be the ones complaining the most about EVRI. Up here in the north in both places I have used therir service we have had really good, reliable and friendly EVRI drivers. Also other couriers are great too. Amazon ones are very friendly albeit not from this country in most cases. Couriers deliver and they can leave parcels on our dooorstep without any fear of the parcel being stolen. Others leave it on our back doorstep or in our greenhouse. Very reliable and not too expensive because we are not Scottish highlands and islands. Good motorways to our general area being north lancashire / South cumbria areas.
 

66jj99

Full Member
Dec 22, 2011
62
37
Bristol
The Bushcraft Store has some heavily discounted clothing. I haven't seen the Swanndri smock for anything like as cheap anywhere else.


Great find. - this got me hunting. I fancied a splash of colour

Red original bush shirts/ smocks here - plus other Swanni bargains -not just women's!:

Blue Mosgiel cheap here:

 
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Kadushu

If Carlsberg made grumpy people...
Jul 29, 2014
944
1,024
Kent
Blue Mosgiel cheap here:

As worn by Sam Neil in Hunt for the Wilderpeople!

Those Ranger Shirts are an excellent price.
 

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