The trouble with consuming and other modern irritations...

[dwardo]

I have leant towards the "make it your self" for quite a few years now but recently I experienced another side to this, i couldnt afford to keep any of the things i made my self as i needed the cash just for bills n stuff.
It is all a trade off, time versus money, lifes ballance. I have friends who work round the clock all the overtime they can manage then spend it all on toys. Where as i like to work as little as possible and spend as little as possible, this gives me more time with the boy and the missus and for my hobbies. Both are just the same in many repsects we just have diferent priorities.
In regards to being disappointed about certain kit I can only say do your homework first. I read a multitude of reviews and research it to death before i buy anything as i only like to buy once and dont have the money to get it wrong.

 

[emrock]

I'm only in my 20s but most of my time camping has been with very little kit at all. For a while all I had was a swedish army trangia, a 1940s canvas tent and a half decent sleeping bag. I have now invested in a few things I thought might last me- sleeping bag, mat, tent, honey stove. But I just don't have the money to buy stuff that isn't going to last me years. I have slept under nothing but a wool blanket with nothing under me, but then I can testify that hypothermia is not fun.

In general, if I can make it I will, but I do like being able to come and read articles here about the stuff I don't intend to make myself.

 

[realearner]

Interesting thread, yes for us newbies to these sites some threads are all new and shiney as they say, for you longer more thread wise guys see it all and been there got the t'shirt all old hat.
But I digress I have been both not earning much and loads of time to just recently being flat out earning loads, I still prefer the first option, however with me I must say it is greed that drives me to work so much, but not to buy the best shiney items (cause I still like to make em) but to have money in the bank incase the lean times come again.
So I think my point is do what you enjoy and do it to the best of your ability, and I still think a lot of bushcrafters would fair better long term than your average consumer driven person.
Well that's my take enough said ha ha

 

[Vulpes]

Yeah I'll admit that I have talked about kit alot - I don't want to seem like I'm contradicting myself, I'm just feeling the shame of throwing money at everything to be honest. I've been through the same kit lust phase as everyone, but I'm moving into more homemade things with the extra time I have at the moment. It's going ahead slowly...very slowly, but I'm making progress. I've just started by sticking knee reinforcements/pockets on my old Dutch lightweights, instead of forking out £30+ for new 511s. My next project is to use the pattern from some old worn out desert boots and reproduce my own with a higher leg. So far I've only made a mock-up to get an idea of it, but the leather will be coming in once I've got some spare cash. I plan to sole them with leather and some vibram stick-on rubber for minimalist shoes. Failing that if cash is tight, it'll be an old tyre! It's impossible to never talk about kit and to have everything alternative - it's true that some innovations I really rely on in this day and age.

I can't say I enjoy trying and reviewing new gear when I find something that works in the first place. Whether or not something works fractionally better, I don't care.

I understand time is a very precious thing in this day and age and you do need alot of it to do hobbies, crafts, etc, which can make buying things more attractive.

I have a collection of expensive clothing and items, but most of it doesn't get used and just sits. All in all if I'm out and about, I drive a Jap car from 1997 that does about 45miles to the gallon, I have various old shoes, boots and wellingtons in the back of it, the most expensive kit I wear is Ullfrotte and I bought that in about 2004 (a 200g was about £32 then!)which when it finally does wear out will be replaced with an alternative and I generally tend to carry a multi-tool which I received as a hand-me-down.

Nowadays I'm holding onto my money for actual travel fees. With the money I don't waste, I fly every few months to the continent and I have several outings a week in my old banger to explore and frolic.

 

[Manacles]

Most bushcrafters would NOT survive much longer than the average person. Why? Simple. They still do rely heavily on the same things Joe Average does; food, water, electricity and fuel. Yes, some can tie a knot and yes, some do sleep in hammocks, but in the end they'll be no better of. Maybe even worse, because they became arrogant and think they can do it and fail.

I don't think it has anything to do with that instinctive hunter/gatherer-thing. It has to do with a much more basic instinct; greed. Always wanting more than you have or need....

It's a fair point Ron, but I was thinking more of it as instinctive, whereas I see greed as a modern disease created by an abundant society (you the sort of thing "the right to buy" etc). I, perhaps naively, feel that previous generations were maybe less greedy.

 

[Manacles]

Yes, but that layabout with the plasma screen and massive DVD collection (I know him too) do you respect him?

I have too little money to worry about kit; I just get what I please from the car boot

Nope I don't (the layabout that is), but I've met you and respect you, so I guess you must have it right

 

[Vulpes]

I just reminded myself of when I did my brief stint of HFT when the guys would buy new rifles one month and desire something different the next, so they'd sell it for a stupid price to the gun shops or on airgunbbs, loosing several hundred pounds just so they could have something new...

 

[mountainm]

Having just got back into archery - one of the main reasons I was looking at longbows and flatbows and not compounds and recurves (ending up with a flatbow) is that you can't accessorise them to try and "buy yourself better". They are what they are. There's no niggling thought that a better balance beam, sight or grip may gain me a better score. I knew full well it's a trap I would fall into so I steered myself away from it.

 

[Manacles]

I just reminded myself of when I did my brief stint of HFT when the guys would buy new rifles one month and desire something different the next, so they'd sell it for a stupid price to the gun shops or on airgunbbs, loosing several hundred pounds just so they could have something new...

Sadly that seems to be the modern way...

 

[santaman2000]

Yeah I'll admit that I have talked about kit alot - I don't want to seem like I'm contradicting myself, I'm just feeling the shame of throwing money at everything to be honest...

...I can't say I enjoy trying and reviewing new gear when I find something that works in the first place. Whether or not something works fractionally better, I don't care.

I understand time is a very precious thing in this day and age and you do need alot of it to do hobbies, crafts, etc, which can make buying things more attractive.

I have a collection of expensive clothing and items, but most of it doesn't get used and just sits....

...Nowadays I'm holding onto my money for actual travel fees. With the money I don't waste, I fly every few months to the continent and I have several outings a week in my old banger to explore and frolic.

Granted on many points. I don't like the idea of throwing money after kit that doesn't work, or as you say, works marginally better than what I have. I also enjoy making some gear (notice I said "some." I wouldn't care to try making a saddle or a parachute) On the other hand, as you say there is a limit to time as well and often it's better spent by simply buying the gear and going out straightaways.

I've also had my periods when I either didn't have money to spend in which case being economical makes loads of sense. However!! I've also had periods where I had the money to spend but ruined any enjoyment of it by simply being cheap. It took me a while but I finally realized it's ok to spend money on indulgences (IF you have it so spare)
Think about it a minute; what else is money good for? (AFTER you have taken care of your and your families basic needs) After all, that's what it's for, To BUY things. You can
save it. So what? Does having a large bank accout really give you the pleasure that buying something would? The key there is to choose wisely (without over-agonizing over the choice) just what to buy. If bushcrafting gear floats your boat. go for it. If you want to learn a new skill (music, skydiving, cooking,etc) then pay for classes. If you would get more pleasure going to an impoverished country to help the less fortunate, then spend your money that way. You get the idea. Again the point is that money has NO intrinsic value of it's own; it's ONLY worth what it can buy.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

a friend of mine upgrades his motorcycle every couple of years

his reasons are that the new model is 4 lbls lighter and has 13bhp more,...

and he simply has to have it,..

the fact is he consistantly gains bodyweight way in excess of that every year, negating the benifit of his £3-4000 part exchange deal...

I know and he knows that the real reason he upgrades is not for the extra performance.,,,

he cannot ride the current model anywhere near its ability ,....he's a consumer


consumerism ,.....the world is different now,...

some people can make do and mend and have the skills to do so,....

most cannot and have not so will pay for someone else to do it,....

but paying for a factory or paying Bill Smith down the road ,...your still a comsumer arent you?...

i'd love to grow my own veg and chickens and have a well to draw water from...

then my job would be to directly support my family from home and have the time to spend with them,....

reality is i work in an office and earn the money to pay other people to these things, (Morrisons, N power, Hiennie Haynes lol)

so unless you are a farmer,mechanic,baker,butcher,doctor,etc etc etc all rolled into one ,....you ultimatly end up being a comsumer dont you?



in essence its all just about "Things and Stuff"

 

[RonW]

True Raikey,
and making the switch back from consumer to (larglely) self sustaining is quite a difficult one!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

One can certainly assert that most bushcrafters would survive a shortage of foodstuffs/water etc more easily than the average couch potato..

" One can certainly assert that most bushcrafters THINK THEY would survive a shortage of foodstuffs/water etc more easily than the average couch potato"

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

I don't think it has anything to do with that instinctive hunter/gatherer-thing. It has to do with a much more basic instinct; greed. Always wanting more than you have or need....[/QUOTE]


Greed, in the way it's being discussed in this thread absolutely IS the gatherer instinct, minus the self discipline to control the urge!

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

This is a very interesting point Mat. The late Clare Rayner used to host a radio show many years ago and one of the subjects she tackled was "collecting". Her theory, and one I subscribe to, is that we have been agrarians for a very short time in comparison with the time we spent as hunter gatherers. The instinct to collect what is available hence remains very strong (see a blackberry bush take more fruit than you need etc), and, for example, supermarkets tap into this part of our psyche with "two for one" deals etc. This explanation can also be used to in part explain the rise in obesity - the availability of fatty foods which in times of yore would have been sparse, taps into our primal need to store fat for the lean times. To go full circle I would argue that perhaps the rise in interest in bushcraft (and collecting bushcraft equipment) taps into that same subconscious desire - a subconscious need to prepare for lean times. One can certainly assert that most bushcrafters would survive a shortage of foodstuffs/water etc more easily than the average couch potato...........any thoughts?

I agree wholeheartedly with you with regards to our hunter gatherer heritage living on with us. I find it odd that so many people forget we're still just animals just because we've developed a lot of technology to make our lives "easier". And that's not knocking the amazing advances we've achieved. But as you say, evolving for a few billion years, "civilised" for a few thousand years, no contest really! I do find anthropology a fascinating subject, combine that with the advances being made in the study of the subconscious and you realise our logical conscious mind is only a bit player in the make up of our personalities and choices.

I have to say though being pretty slim, drop me and a 20stone couch potato in to an arctic emergency and I suspect the rescuers would be finding a cold potato and a frozen me! Lol Although if I had my mora they might well find me nice and snug wrapped in a skin, chewing some blubber and keeping warm by a tallow lamp! Lol

 

[Harb505]

I think taking inflation and the average wage into account people have more money to spend on luxury items these days, while certain things may cost more than the use to (as a percentage of your wage) many cost less. I think the avarage person probably has more material goods these days. I do like good quality kit and I spend time hunting for it and often find it cheapish if 1) its a new unheard of product 2) Its from an honest company 3) (and most likely) buy stuff in the end of season sale e.g. winter kit at the start of sping.
Repairable lasting kit is still avaliable but people often go for the lighter easier to handle kit e.g. my friend uses a 30 year old army sleeping bag to -10 I use a pipedream 600 and doubt will last 15 years.

 

[SimonD]

errrrm.... what's a poo skinner? and does anyone know where i can buy one?

 

[ex-member Raikey]

errrrm.... what's a poo skinner? and does anyone know where i can buy one?

which model you after?...

i have the Poo Skinner 8000 ,

i,m looking to upgrade to the 8001 (it has a laser!!)

so you could take this one of my hands if you like...

 

[SimonD]

which model you after?...

i have the Poo Skinner 8000 ,

i,m looking to upgrade to the 8001 (it has a laser!!)

so you could take this one of my hands if you like...

is that the camo version? i like all of my stuff to be camo if possible.

 

[ex-member Raikey]

is that the camo version? i like all of my stuff to be camo if possible.

of course!!!!! is there any other colour?????

you can mount it horizontally over the chest too for those "shopping mall / zombie" scenarios.