What to buy

[charlesr]

Hi I am quite new to the site and to Bushcraft. Well when I say new I mean new to practicing It, as I had previously been a fervent watcher of all things Bushcraft but had never seemed to get round to practising the art.

My question is what to buy on limited funds. So I would love to know what all the experienced members would advise as to what is most important and in what order I should build up my gear. My birthday is coming up and so is christmas so its a great time to build up a little on the resources.

Thanks.

Cha.

If youre going to do it, do it right.

 

[korvin karbon]

a decent knife, and as many many many many people will say, get a Frosts Mora, one of the, if not the best cheap knife you can get.

I do recommend some decent boots and clothes, no point in being able to make a fire from the fluff of a rabbits belly button if you are dead from exposure.

 

[Zammo]

A rucksack would be a good start. Highlander ones are meant to be good and cheap:


http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr3366.html

 

[Tengu]

A firesteel

a poncho, good multi use kit

some good strong needles and a sailmakers palm for when you make/alter/repair kit

a bag to put it in

what have you already got?

as xmas/birthday is comming up you could ask for decent boots or sleeping bag

 

[LazySod]

A Firesteel.
A Tarp.

and most important .....

A sence of humour for when things don't go to plan.

 

[charlesr]

Thanks for the advice and for the speed of it. By reading a lot of the posts before posting I had guessed that the members were a nice bunch but the speed of the replies has surprised even me so thanks a lot I love the idea of the Mora knife, Im definitely going to take a look. thanks

 

[korvin karbon]

A Firesteel.

A sence of humour for when things don't go to plan.

the first and last thing everybody needs in life LOL

 

[Dan1982]

Try your local Army surplus store aswell. Great for all things bushcrafty on a budget!

Good luck and welcome.

Dan

 

[nigeltm]

Hi Charlesr,

Think about what you want to do first. No point going out buying lots of fancy (if cheap!) kit if its going to sit on a shelf until you know how to use it. Also, think about the basic areas of use (cutting, fire, shelter, food, first aid, carrying, cooking, light and clothing). As Tengu suggests, multi use kit like the poncho is a good idea.

Totally agree with korvin. A knife is the most basic tool you need. The frost is less than a tenner on eBay. I bought two for my kids.

That's basic cutting sorted. Then think about fire. You can get a Light My Fire Scout firesteel for about £6. There again, until you know how to use the firesteel a cheap Bic disposable lighter (50p?) will keep you warm.

Shelter? Until you start overnighting you won't need a tarp, bivi bag or tent. When you are ready for one, a british army bivi bag with roll mat and sleeping bag is a good investment. When it comes to the bag get the best you can afford, but don't rely on the salesman in Millets! Sleeping bags are a bit of a personal choice, go for what fits you well and something in the £40 to £60 mark shouldn't be too wrong. Personally I use a Ultralite Ranger for summer and a Softi 3 season in spring and autumn.

Thats enough from me for now. I'll rest my fingers and give the rest of the guys a chance!

One final comment, knowledge is the best thing of all to invest in. Browsing these forums is a great way to get started. Also consider buying a basic book or two. Ray Mear's "Essential Bushcraft" or Mors Kochanski's "Bushcraft" are a couple of crackers.

Nuf saide for now. Join in, have fun and hopefully we'll all catch up at a meet some time.

Welcome!

Nigel.

 

[Peter_t]

tarp, ex military ones are avalable quite cheep and with all military kit its bombproof

mora knife

firesteel, get the 'army' model, more expensive but it will last much longer

i second nigeltm on a good book i think the best one iv come across has to be mors kochanski's bushcraft

 

[Stupot]

Try your local Army surplus store aswell. Great for all things bushcrafty on a budget!

Good luck and welcome.

Dan

I agree, I'm on a very low budget and I find that army surplus is dirt cheap and extremely durable and tough-also great for not being seen lol. I use the yoke system on large expeditions to keep things that I need at hand close to my body. It cost less that £15 all together and it's great!

 

[Sniper]

Local builders merchant can supply a plastic tarp as a starter and it should'nt cost more than a fiver, a length of paracord, a knife, Frost Mora is an ideal starter as already mentioned and try "surplus & Adventure" website for Swedish army trangia cook set consisting of a couple of pans cooker windshield and fuel bottle for meths all for a fiver, the same place can provide a swedish army rucsack for about £6. I agree, spend money on a decent sleeping bag and a bivvy bag and your pretty much away total for this lot should be no more than £100 - 150 then when youv'e got a little bit of time using this gear you will begin to get kit you can judge is good for you. We all have different tastes and preferences, what is right for me might not be right for you but this suggested kit will at least get you out and started.

 

[Thijzzz]

About cooking: to make a small stove (hobo stove) you can use IKEA utensil pots or old tin cans. That's dirt cheap and fun to make. It keeps your fire small and easy to maintain, and difficult to spot. That might give you some more confidence on first nights out that the ranger won't pick you out.


Cutting/chopping for shelters, fire wood: you could buy an axe, but more efficient is a foldable saw. You could buy a Bahco Lapplander (expensive), or start with one from the 5 quid-bin at your local DIY or gardening center.

Knife: well, I guess you know what I'm going to say...........................Frost Mora - period.

Sharpening: Wooden planks with sandpaper glued to them, or a standard course/fine sharpening stone. I have a white/orange one from Skandia, costs 2-3 quid more thant the standard grey stones, but it is much better.

Have fun, and let us know what you've found and at what price. We're always hunting for bargains too!

Thijs

 

[Nelis]

Also, considder getting yourself a subscription to the Aldi and Lidl digital newsletters. They sometimes have decent but cheap outdoor gear.

Stuff I bought there for less than 5 pounds;

- folding shovel (for the sanitary breaks)
- Diamont sharpening kit (for course sharpening of axes and knives)
- Folding saw (not the quality of a laplander but les than 1 tenth the price)


And often they have some outdoor clothing, polo shirts, and plastic sheets.

 

[dwardo]

Taking sharps = Firstaid kit , trust me on this one i have the scar`s to prove it lol

 

[saddle_tramp]

In several ways, youre at an almost enviable advantage. Im sure most of us here have our perfect choice kit lyng nearby, our choice rucsack, sleeping bag, etc etc and most of it will be pretty expensive, top quality and things we wouldnt want to be without. But at the same time, im sure many of us can remember when was kids, and we had none of this expensive gear. we slept under polythene sheets, cookd in tin cans, wrapped up in blankets of a night. and what we didnt have, we didnt miss. Nowdays, my kit has to be perfect. each item picked to function perfectly, to be of such quality as to last many years. and if a single item gets lost or damaged. it quietly grates until i can replace it with the same or better. Maybe today im far more comfortable, more organised and such goes hand in hand with experience, but the reason im still interested in bushcraft after all these years, i think comes largely from the purity of experience, of a time when what i pocessed, didnt matter at all, and we all simply made do.

As to the question, I think id only repeat what others have already said. A fixed blade knife like a mora, an army surplus sleeping bag, some waterproof clothing and maybe a cheap ferro rod. look around the forum, and youll see loads of improvised kit, cheap alternative to expensive stuff, and quite often, none the worse for it.

oh, and welcome to the forum

Paul

 

[nigeltm]

As Thijzzz says a Laplander saw is expenive (£25 on Ray Mear's web shop!) but a good piece of kit. You can get them cheaper.

Thanks to verloc for this link;

http://www.bexpress.co.uk/pageview.php?page=show_product&ecommerce_stockcode=BAH396LAP

 

[nigeltm]

Just a thought on first aid.

Dwardo's right that a good knife is never safe and accidents always happen. I always carry an army first field dressing when playing with things that bite back. You can pick them up for @ £4 from some surplus sites. You can also consider a shemagh or a similar large cloth or bandanna.

Obviously not as good as a FFD, it does have many more uses. Scarf, head covering, ground cloth (keep your behind dry and warm as well as somewhere safe to tip out your pockets), makeshift filter or just to tie to a tree so you can easily find your camp in the woods (yes, I did get a little spacially challenged once upon a time )

 

[Peter_t]

car boot sales are great for cheep kit, they often have huge stalls selling old tools and its a great place to find an axe. just remember you dont have to have the best kit, you can buy a grandsfors bruks axe for £50 (most people rave over these) or you can get a rusty old axe for 50p. don't think just because its rusty its no good, most old tools are made of high quality steel and once cleened up and sharpened it will perform neerly as well as an expensive axe. you cant go wrong
i wouldnt recomend a cheep axe from B&Q etc most are made in china and the steel will be very poor and will not hold an edge

pete

 

[firecrest]

try some carboot sales. You can pick some some quality gear for next to nothing!