Top 5 bushcraft skills
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in no particular order a basic understanding of the things below will start you off pretty good i reckon
Knots
Fire making
Knife use (including sharpening)
shelter building
And observation of your enviroment
Knots
Fire making
Knife use (including sharpening)
shelter building
And observation of your enviroment
I'd like to see a broader range of skills to enable a long term situation to be more viable, so probably
Blacksmithing
Pottery
Spinning/weaving
Basketmaking
woodsmanship/carpentry.
Blacksmithing
Pottery
Spinning/weaving
Basketmaking
woodsmanship/carpentry.
Have Patience, you can't download a bushcraft app straight to your brain.
Keep an open mind, no one knows it all.
Be observant and enjoy it.
Hand eye brain co-ordination and practice the ability to use them.
Be aware of the seasonal round of both the natural world and the skills appropriate to the resources thereof.
Keep an open mind, no one knows it all.
Be observant and enjoy it.
Hand eye brain co-ordination and practice the ability to use them.
Be aware of the seasonal round of both the natural world and the skills appropriate to the resources thereof.
That's nicely put, and all I'd add to it would be to develop an ability to adapt to change and use your imagination to the maximum.
Oops, that makes seven.........oh well.
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Shelter: The skills to provide a shelter that can protect you from inclement weather.
Fire: The ability to light a fire under virtually any conditions that you may encounter.
Water: The ability to purify water
Navigation: Finding your way, with and without map and compass (and/or GPS)
First aid: Basic first aid knowledge
Fire: The ability to light a fire under virtually any conditions that you may encounter.
Water: The ability to purify water
Navigation: Finding your way, with and without map and compass (and/or GPS)
First aid: Basic first aid knowledge
Navigation. Good Nav will help avoid the need for need for impromptu shelter building.
First aid.
These two basic skills will help contain a drama developing into a critical incident.
Once a situation is stabilised, shelter building/ getting out of the elements can become a priority.
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
First aid.
These two basic skills will help contain a drama developing into a critical incident.
Once a situation is stabilised, shelter building/ getting out of the elements can become a priority.
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
First you need to define bushcraft.
May seem obvious to you, but in many discussions, we all can't agree what bushcraft actually is.
So if bushcraft about surviving in the wild? If so, that means a list based on the priorities needed to keep the human body alive.
Is bushcraft about living at one with nature? Therefore, can you justify killing a tree to keep warm?
Or is bushcraft about enjoying the natural environment using traditional skills and equipment? Maybe you want to include modern equipment, but insist bushcraft means no cigarette lighters? What about knowing about plants? Do you need that to know what bushcraft is to begin with?
The point in, unless you have a definitive qualification to what bushcraft is, giving a top 5 is subjective. It all depends... so what you're going to get in response is a personal list based on personal understanding of definition.
Jump over that hurdle... then you have bushcraft with equipment or without. Bushcraft with a ready food source or without. With a tent, without a tent. Tarp or no tarp. Knife, no knife.
Minefield. Start to finish.
May seem obvious to you, but in many discussions, we all can't agree what bushcraft actually is.
So if bushcraft about surviving in the wild? If so, that means a list based on the priorities needed to keep the human body alive.
Is bushcraft about living at one with nature? Therefore, can you justify killing a tree to keep warm?
Or is bushcraft about enjoying the natural environment using traditional skills and equipment? Maybe you want to include modern equipment, but insist bushcraft means no cigarette lighters? What about knowing about plants? Do you need that to know what bushcraft is to begin with?
The point in, unless you have a definitive qualification to what bushcraft is, giving a top 5 is subjective. It all depends... so what you're going to get in response is a personal list based on personal understanding of definition.
Jump over that hurdle... then you have bushcraft with equipment or without. Bushcraft with a ready food source or without. With a tent, without a tent. Tarp or no tarp. Knife, no knife.
Minefield. Start to finish.
I think it depends how one approches bushcraft.
If it is for a survival reason I would say the the top 5 are:
Shelter building
Fire
Water
First aid
Foraging
If it is for fun:
Knowledge of the nature sorrounding us i.e. identify trees,plants and animals.
Navigation
Knife & axe use and safety
Fire
Shelter
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
If it is for a survival reason I would say the the top 5 are:
Shelter building
Fire
Water
First aid
Foraging
If it is for fun:
Knowledge of the nature sorrounding us i.e. identify trees,plants and animals.
Navigation
Knife & axe use and safety
Fire
Shelter
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Survival Techniques and Bushcraft Techniques go hand in hand with each other from the first item being the 5 things you need in survival is as follows;
Fire
Shelter
Water
Food
The Environment
All of the above is what you require but at the same time it all depends on your environment which could change depending on the situation you find yourself and which one takes priority over the other? Example: Weather Conditions extreme heat or extreme cold could make a difference to what comes first Shelter, Fire or Water.
Also there are natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes and wild fires all these dictate your situation and all can change at the drop of a hat so you are never fully prepared, most survival situations can be up to 72 hours (3 days) before any rescue anything after that is a serious situation that's when after your 5 Survival Techniques have been carried out you are now in a full survival situation so this is where any Bushcraft Knowledge comes into play, as a survivor you want to be as comfortable as possible until help arrives, A friend of mine came down in a light aircraft 6 years ago on the edge of the Amazon Forest, although he put out a Mayday Signal the rescue team had taken 15 days to find him he had injured his leg but was fortunate to have had basic first aid and being a pilot was a good navigator although he could have probably navigated his way out of the forest but due to the damage to his leg he probably wouldn't have made it out alive so he stayed where he was and assessed the situation taking into account the 5 Survival Techniques above after being alone for the first 4 nights he new he was in a bad situation the plane he crashed in wasn't a lot of good to him so started carrying out his Bushcraft Skills that he had learnt over the years, when the rescue team eventually found him alive and well he had built himself a basic bed a chair and table and a pair of crutches to help him get around (he found out later that he had fractured his leg), and due to the wildlife he managed to trap enough food to keep him going eating snake and spiders as well as other small animals and managed to get water from vines hanging from the trees, he had lost around 2 stone in weight but he survived, the point I'm making is that you never know what is going to happen from day to day and most of us would not be carrying our basic survival kit with us so everything would have to be improvised so Survival Skills and Bushcraft Skills go hand in hand when you put it into a real life situation.
Fire
Shelter
Water
Food
The Environment
All of the above is what you require but at the same time it all depends on your environment which could change depending on the situation you find yourself and which one takes priority over the other? Example: Weather Conditions extreme heat or extreme cold could make a difference to what comes first Shelter, Fire or Water.
Also there are natural disasters like hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes and wild fires all these dictate your situation and all can change at the drop of a hat so you are never fully prepared, most survival situations can be up to 72 hours (3 days) before any rescue anything after that is a serious situation that's when after your 5 Survival Techniques have been carried out you are now in a full survival situation so this is where any Bushcraft Knowledge comes into play, as a survivor you want to be as comfortable as possible until help arrives, A friend of mine came down in a light aircraft 6 years ago on the edge of the Amazon Forest, although he put out a Mayday Signal the rescue team had taken 15 days to find him he had injured his leg but was fortunate to have had basic first aid and being a pilot was a good navigator although he could have probably navigated his way out of the forest but due to the damage to his leg he probably wouldn't have made it out alive so he stayed where he was and assessed the situation taking into account the 5 Survival Techniques above after being alone for the first 4 nights he new he was in a bad situation the plane he crashed in wasn't a lot of good to him so started carrying out his Bushcraft Skills that he had learnt over the years, when the rescue team eventually found him alive and well he had built himself a basic bed a chair and table and a pair of crutches to help him get around (he found out later that he had fractured his leg), and due to the wildlife he managed to trap enough food to keep him going eating snake and spiders as well as other small animals and managed to get water from vines hanging from the trees, he had lost around 2 stone in weight but he survived, the point I'm making is that you never know what is going to happen from day to day and most of us would not be carrying our basic survival kit with us so everything would have to be improvised so Survival Skills and Bushcraft Skills go hand in hand when you put it into a real life situation.
As far as I am concerned, Bushcraft was very nicely defined a few years ago, after great debate, using a Venn diagram as the areas of overlap between Primitive/Indigenous living, Classic or re-enactment camping and modern survival, UL back packing and expedition skills. The only people who didn't like that definition were either those who objected to anyone trying to define it on principle, they didn't like labels, or those who were so firmly wedded to their own view that they could accept no other.
Anyway, for me the question is very much what you want your "top five" to do. I don't think anyone has suggested it, but the way I look at these skills is, ""hich bushcraft skills can be most usefully transferred into other activities, other parts of my life?" If you have a tool box of bushcraft skills, which ones can be taken out and used when you are not in the woods, or when you are not "bushcrafting"? First aide, knots, knife skills, navigation, and fire lighting all get used every day.
Anyway, for me the question is very much what you want your "top five" to do. I don't think anyone has suggested it, but the way I look at these skills is, ""hich bushcraft skills can be most usefully transferred into other activities, other parts of my life?" If you have a tool box of bushcraft skills, which ones can be taken out and used when you are not in the woods, or when you are not "bushcrafting"? First aide, knots, knife skills, navigation, and fire lighting all get used every day.
I agree with a lot of the comment in the thread, especially the ones that say about how hard it is to have a categoric list of stuff. I've often described bushcraft to friends as the ability to go for a walk, if night comes you have a choice of getting home or setting up a camp and sleeping out, sleeping out holds no fears because you have the skills and knowledge to be comfortable enough, so whatever skills you need to be abel to do that are ones you should practice.
I know this is very simplistic but generally for most people it's at about that level.
Can i get some water and food if I need to
Can i protect myself from the elements
Can I make anything I might need
Can I navigate my way home or rad the landscape enough to know where to set up or if I should really begetting home because that storm looks rough.
Do I have a positive attitude that's supported by my skills and knowledge
Can I look after myself if something goes wrong
Will I enjoy the experience (that's what many of us want from Bushcraft)
And the list could go on. For me Bushcraft is being able to do the things I'm wanting to do and so my priorities on what skills to learn/use are based now here I'm going what I'm doing and for some their priorities will change.
it is good to be able to make fire, get good water, make shelter, do first aid and navigate your way in and out of places....
I know this is very simplistic but generally for most people it's at about that level.
Can i get some water and food if I need to
Can i protect myself from the elements
Can I make anything I might need
Can I navigate my way home or rad the landscape enough to know where to set up or if I should really begetting home because that storm looks rough.
Do I have a positive attitude that's supported by my skills and knowledge
Can I look after myself if something goes wrong
Will I enjoy the experience (that's what many of us want from Bushcraft)
And the list could go on. For me Bushcraft is being able to do the things I'm wanting to do and so my priorities on what skills to learn/use are based now here I'm going what I'm doing and for some their priorities will change.
it is good to be able to make fire, get good water, make shelter, do first aid and navigate your way in and out of places....
good post and good point! basically i think what im asking is what do you want to be able to do when your out in the woods and are proud of?
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