Essential kit #5 – knowledge

This is the final part in my essential kit series and probably the most important piece of essential kit you will ever need.

Someone once said “knowledge is power” and in many cases they were right. Bushcraft and survival knowledge gives each and every one of us the power to safely practice what we have a passion for and enables us to continue to grow.

I would advocate everyone who has any interest to read, listen and watch as many items to enable you to gain as much knowledge as possible from as many different sources as possible.

Some of my personal inspirations that really helped me in my early forays into Bushcraft were literature by Ray Mears, Les Stroud, Lofty Wiseman and many more. There are also books out there that transcend the years such as the SAS survival guide written in the 80’s, but in a modern age the internet truly is our friend when it comes to the accessibility of skill sharing.

Some of my best online resources are websites such as bushcraftuk.com (a friendly forum of likeminded individuals); YouTube (with channels such as MCQBushcraft) and even Amazon where like minded survivalists  can write, publish and share books and tidbits of knowledge.

Ultimately knowledge doesn’t weigh anything, so learn as much as you can, be a sponge and soak it up and take pleasure in putting the theoretical into practise.

Boesman

Essential Kit # 4 – Clothing

It has been some time since my last blog post. It appears that the world in it’s perpetuity has been passing me by and my attention has been on other things. Now I am back to writing and intend to finish this essential kit series with the last two installments and continue to update you with our experiences.

Clothing in bushcraft and survival is a very subjective discussion. Ask anyone who does anything remotely outdoors related and you will get a myriad of responses as to what type of clothing to wear; breathable, waterproof, nylon, cotton; it’s all down to opinion and experience.

One thing that is never going to be in dispute though is that clothing suitable for your environment is essential for any outdoor pursuit whether it’s sports, bushcraft or survival. Shorts and a t-shirt aren’t going to cut it in November camp nor is a snow suit in the height of summer.

Most people overlook their clothing and think they will be fine but what you need to remember is that what you are wearing is your first line of shelter defense against the elements that may present themselves. Everyone will have been caught in a sudden downpour of rain whilst not wearing a stout coat and been soaked to the bone in seconds. In an everyday scenario that might be laughable and excusable but going out into the wild ill equipped for the weather could well cost you your life in a matter of hours.

To summarize, I am not going to preach to you about what brands are best, after all many suppliers of equipment are on equal par and your own preference will be the final cut. But the purpose of this short post was to emphasize the importance of having the right clothing to keep you protected from the elements come rain, wind or shine.

Plan your trip, check the weather and prepare for the worst. I would rather have carried extra kit and not needed it than be caught short and wish I had thought of it in the first place.

Boesman

Essential Kit #3 – Shelter

No matter how you spin it, regardless of situation, shelter is an essential part of any outdoor situation. Ask any of the celebrated bushcraft/survival experts past and present and shelter will always be high on their priority list alongside, water and fire. But why is that? Well I’m going to attempt to explain why shelter is essential, but not what shelter is better within this post.

Shelter is defined as “a place giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger” or “a shielded or safe condition.” From that we can take the shelter is ultimately essential by definition, as it is providing the user a place of protection be it from animals, threats or just the howling wind and driving rain.

Have you ever seen someone get caught in a rain shower and the first thing they do is start running to find a covered spot out of the rain? That is an inherent primal need to find respite from the overbearing conditions we have no control over, something that we as homo sapiens have as an inherent part of our being, bred within us from thousands of years of survival.

Just that, in and of itself has stressed that shelter is essential, but how does it apply to bushcraft? Well a good shelter system really does mean the difference between comfort and misery. A leaky tent that drips has nothing on a well put up tarp that rides the rain and shelters you from the wind, just so as a well constructed bender shelter will keep you dry and warm compared to a brick-a-brack lean to with holes in it.

For the benefit of the bushcraft practitioners I’ll detail as few different shelter types that can be well adapted to any situation:

• Tent – The most simple and easy shelter we can take with us. Ideal for beginners wanting to get the outdoor experience without having to know tremendous amounts of knots and complex techniques

• Tarp – The tarp is my preferred shelter type. It is very versatile, can be hung pretty much anywhere and doesn’t have to have level ground underneath to be put up right. Ideal for someone who wants to branch out but make sure you know your knots before going out the first time.

• Bender – A shelter that was favored by traditional travelling gypsies to extend their living space. It can be constructed entirely of natural materials or a combination of natural frame and tarp. Offers good protection and heat retention but requires good skill to construct.

• Debris Shelter –  One of the most traditional, natural shelters people will have seen. Takes good skill to construct properly but can offer a good level of protection. Insulation from the ground is essential to comfort.

• Natural Shelter – Generally natural formations such as caves, rock overhangs and fallen trees can offer the perfect bushcraft home for the night. With some minor modifications they can be comfortable, however do not solely rely on finding such a shelter when venturing out. ALWAYS have your primary shelter with you such as a tarp/tent and if you happen across a natural shelter you can then try it out should you wish.

When everything is said and done, no-one can dispute that shelter isn’t essential, but the types of shelters people prefer are always up for debate. If I had one thing to say to those of you reading this, it would be to try out every type of shelter you can, as in doing so you will be expanding your skill set and your knowledge whilst having fun with it.

The next time you go out, take your tarp or tent, set it up and then to pass the time make a debris shelter. This is what I have done in the past with my daughter, not only does it offer a fun pass time for her where she isn’t bored, but it also allows me to teach her and learn myself, try new techniques and experience alternative shelter that I wouldn’t otherwise have considered.

Boesman

Overnight trip in Snowdonia National Park 25/01/2015

So after attending the Bear Grylls half day survival course as detailed on the previous blog, it was the plan to head off into Snowdonia National Park and set up for a nice overnighter. In order to find a nice area suitable and amenable to hikers, backpackers and ramblers, we used the YHA website to find a hostel with wooded grounds not too far from the location of the Survival course.

The noticeable among you will see that in the above paragraph I wrote ‘we’. That’s right, my wife AND my daughter were present on this trip. They spent their time shopping whilst I was on the Bear Grylls course and after finding a lovely establishment to eat, we drove to the YHA establishment and parked our vehicle.

The target location was a wood called Coed Pen-Y-Plas. It was about an hours trek up the trails from the YHA car park to where we eventually stopped to set up, we pitched 2 tarps and 2 hammocks. My daughter would have the pleasure of being snuggled tightly in my hammock with me and benefited from the warmth as it was a drizzle filled night with a slight breeze.

Once we got set up, we spent our remaining time in the evening whiling away talking, telling stories, reading and signing by the fire from my DIY hobo stove before eventually turning into the hammocks and settling in around 22:00. The view on the way up the trail was beautiful and well worth the research to find the right place.

So after a drizzle filled night we arose around 07:00 after being ambushed by some hill sheep. They were just meandering their way through the woodland, eating whatever good vegetation they could find. They soon moved off once we started to get up and move around.

Once we were all up we packed away, wandered back down to the YHA and paid to have a full breakfast in the youth hostel who welcomed us in. It was a welcome change and a little more upmarket than I am used too when going out. I normally have a few sausages and some bacon cooked on the hobo stove but the full breakfast was lovely and in good company. Once we had finished breakfast we put our gear back into the car and explored the YHA ground some more before leaving for home.

It was a lovely trip, lovely scenery and with my favourite people. It really does make all the difference in the world to be out in a place with zero mobile phone signal and to just be engrossed in the company of the people you are with and nature.

Boesman, Mini B & The Wife

My half day Bear Grylls survival course experience – a short review

Like many survival and bushcraft practitioners, I am a big fan of the mainstream celebrities who bring our pass time to the masses. One of may favourites along side Les Stroud and Ray Mears is Bear Grylls.

Last year I was looking into the options of different survival and bushcraft courses to be able to try and learn some new techniques and take my skill-set to the next level. After endless Internet searches, I found a half day course being offered on behalf of Bear Grylls through his survival academy and decided to book. Yesterday was the day and off I popped to the Llyn Peninsula in Wales to take part in an afternoon of skills and activities.

Upon arrival at the location I was promptly booked in, waivers and disclaimers were exchanged and the group of participants assembled ready for starting. The running order of the day was to look at basic skill sets, progress from one to the next until participating in a final ‘adventure’ style challenge. The instructors were well versed in the skills they were trying to demonstrate and for the most part the following was covered:

• How to build a fire
• Learning about natural foods
• Building shelter
• Bear Grylls’ priorities for survival

I am not going to go into too much about each area as a lot of the information I took away from the course will be rudimentary for most who participate in survivalism and bushcraft. I will however just summarise the pros and cons as after all, I have titled this post “a short review”:

Pros

• Course is ideal for those looking to learn  the basic skills
• Location is ideal for the wilderness factor
• Very useful information on natural foods and not just localised to the area of the course.

Cons

• The final ‘adventure’ style challenge was gimmicky! Very stereotypical of a Bear Grylls activity
• More suited to beginners than experienced outdoors persons
• Content could cover more basic aspects

In summary the phrase “you get what you paid for” does come to mind. If you paid for this course thinking you were going to be as good as Bear Grylls once completed, you would sadly be mistaken, however; for those looking to have an experience, or for those wanting to learn or reinforce the basic skills I’d say it was worth the money.

The area of the country that the course is set in is spectacular and not too far from Snowden, so maybe do what I did, go do the course, enjoy yourself and then venture off into the wilderness of Snowdonia National Park for a night truly in nature! (stay tuned for the write up on that in the next blog)

If you are interested in looking into any of the courses on offer then visit the Bear Grylls Survival Academy website here:

Boesman

P.S. sorry for the lack of photos, the phone stayed in the car.

Essential Kit #2 – The fire starter

Fire is quintessentially one of the most important aspects of any wilderness/bushcraft scenario. For thousands of years it has provided us with light, heat, security and a means of cooking our food, preserving our food and treating water. Not only does fire offer these benefits it also helps boost morale and gives you something very nice to look at in the darkness. They call it natures television and you can understand why.

There is no doubt that when you venture out, be it on a hike, an overnighter or an extended trip, you should always have a means for starting fire. I personally advocate carrying 2 ways to start fire, whilst coupling it with knowledge of alternative fire starting techniques. This way I am almost guaranteed to be able to get a fire going.

Ferrosium rod (Ferro rod)

For me this is the most secure way of obtaining ignition when fire lighting, especially if you couple this with good tinder. The sheath of my Bushcraft knife has an attachment point for a Ferro rod which I carry with me all the time when I have my knife. By striking the Ferro rod with the spine of my knife, I can direct hot sparks onto my given tinder and obtain a flame to start to build my fire. They can be picked up quite cheaply on eBay but I would encourage people to buy for reputable Bushcraft suppliers such as highlander outdoors etc.

Fire piston

The fire piston is my second choice. Small enough to pack away and forget about but handy enough to use. It uses air pressure to generate heat in your tinder, thus creating an ember. It doesn’t always work but with practice can be implemented effectively. A fire piston such as the BE Fire Piston comes with my recommendation.

Tinder

I wanted to touch briefly on what tinders I carry in my fire kit. There are many varieties but the ones I carry have proven time and time again to help me get a fire going, even in the wettest of weathers. My tinders are:

• Cotton wool balls with Vaseline – cotton wool provides the fuel and the Vaseline increases the burn time to approx 3 minutes per ball.
• Birch bark – A natural tinder full of oily resin which takes a good spark.
• Char Cloth – Natural cotton fibre which has been heated in the absence of oxygen to create a black charred cloth. This takes a spark well and burns as an ember
• Dried grasses – I make sure every summer to collect a carrier bag full of dried grasses and store them in my shed. I then transfer a handful to my fire kit to use as a fire extender once we get a flame going.

With all that said, there is definitely no substitute for correctly understanding how to make fire. Regardless of whether you are using modern techniques or primitive ways, knowing how to make fire, how to nurture an ember into a flame and also how to build your fire will ultimately determine your success.

We would love to hear your comments on the fire starting techniques that you use. Please watch out for part 3 in this series.

Boesman

Essential Kit #1 – The knife

You will always hear differing opinions on essential bushcraft and survival kit. I have recently been throwing my hat into the discussions on various forums and I thought it might be worth doing an essential kit mini series.

Within these blogs I will detail what I feel is a piece of essential kit. Essential in my opinion is something that should you not have it, it will make being out in the wilderness 100 times harder than if you brought it with you.

In this first installment I will be talking about the knife. It is one of the most basic tools used for millenia, but one that can make the most difference. If you have ever been out on an overnighter, extended trip, maybe even a hike and forgotten your knife, I can almost guarantee that whilst out you found 10+ times in which you needed it.

The knife itself can be used for numerous tasks ranging from helping cut wood to build shelter, making fire and even killing/butchering game that you may catch whilst out. The most common misconception that people have is that a knife is just that, a knife. Most people think a small swiss army knife would be as good for cutting meat as it would for battoning wood. This normally isn’t the case, as a blade with a thick spine battons wood a lot better than a thin spine such as with a Swiss Army Knife.

On that note, it needs to be said that if you are looking at buying a knife to use in the wilderness, please do look to buy a blade that is designed for the rigors of the outdoors. A knife such as the Jaguar Bushcraft Knife is a perfect entry blade. It comes with a leather sheath for attaching to your belt, a ferrosium striker rod for creating fire and has a good edge on it from the off. I have one of these myself and use it religiously when out as it does everything it is designed for.

So I have a proper Bushcraft knife Boesman, now what? Well there are a few more things you need to know before you start thinking you can go out and start chopping.

The first being safe knife craft. Mishandling a knife is one of the biggest causes of injury and an injury is not what you want whilst miles away from civilization. A good introduction to handling a knife is the following video provided by the famous Ray Mears. Watch it and take note of his points. They may sound simple but will prevent injury nonetheless. Ray Mears has also done quite a few videos on using a knife effectively for Bushcraft, I would recommend giving these a watch as well as knowledge weighs nothing.

The second being the law. As I am located within the United Kingdom the laws are pretty restrictive on knives. It is well worth understanding the law, how it is interpreted and applied as the last thing you would want is to take out your brand new shiny knife and then end up being arrested for armed trespass whilst walking on public or private land. As this is a subject that has been covered by other well established websites I thought it best to link to an existing article for the UK readers here:

To summarize a knife is definitely an essential tool to have in your pack. You should never leave home without one when going out on a trek or exped and you should always make sure the knife you have is suited for the tasks you will be using it for.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for the second installment.

Boesman

How do I put up my tarp and hammock?

There are probably thousands of ways to hang your tarp and hammock and each different way has it’s own merits.

I thought I would put up a bit of info on the knots I use to hang my tarp and how I choose to rig my hammock for those who wish to see. I feel that the way I do things is probably the simplest way of doing this. No expensive kit is required and you don’t have to pay hundreds of pounds to get and effective and secure set up.

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Hanging the tarp

In order to hang my tarp I use the following configuration and knots:

• Ridge-line tree to tree
• Evenk hitch used to secure line to one tree
• Truckers hitch to tighten ridge-line and secure on other tree
• Tarp secured to ridge-line with prusik hitch coupled to D carabiners
• Guy lines pegged tight to ground.

The above is what I feel to be one of the simplest configurations. I my case I always have the tarp tied to the ridge-line using the prusik hitches permanently. Because of this, all I need to set up my camp is to only tie one evenk hitch, one truckers hitch and peg two guy lines. Below are some good videos on how to tie the above knots:

Evenk Hitch

Truckers Hitch

Prusik Hitch

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Hanging the hammock

I have opted for the simplest way to hang my hammock. I rig the hammock as follows:

• Webbing strap tied to trees with tree using  an overhand knot
• Marlin spike hitch tied into each piece of webbing and clip through a carabiner.

A simple 2 knot set up with the added bonus of having carabiners as water drips should it rain on your lines. Below are some videos of how to tie the knots and set up the hammock:

Overhand knot 

Overhand knot webbing to Marlin Spike Hitch (using carabiner)

Marlin Spike Hitch (standard with toggle-I replace the toggle for the carabiner)

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I hope this helps as an illustration on how I set up my camp. I plan on doing an instructional video very soon, step by step on how my camp is set up and how the knots are tied.

Thanks for reading

Boesman

Wilderness walk/Bushcraft outing 11-01-2014

The weather has been atrocious this weekend! We have had rain, sleet, hail and wind that chills to the bone.

We decided to take a trip out to a place that we have been before, but we have never set up the tarp or a hammock. We were privileged this time in that in addition to my daughter and I, my wife also joined us, so the plan was to find a nice spot, put up my newly rigged eBay tarp (cheap as chips), sling the hammock and toast some marshmallows over the wood gas stove I built (as shown in the last blog)

Our location was a place called the Pennine Edge Forest. The total land cover within the Pennine Edge Forest is 53 000 hectares with 3.6% of the forested area being woodland specific. It is an actively managed trust between a few boroughs in our locality and offers a variety of trails, walks and secluded spaces to really explore the wilderness. Upon arrival we set off along one of the trails and within 15 minutes of walking had found a very nice spot to stop and put the tarp up.

This was the first time I had put this tarp up since buying it. I bought it off of eBay for the grand old price of £9.95 and it measures 2.7mx2.7m. It’s a typical tri-layer woven tarp that can be used for a variety of outdoor purposes and has metal eyelets situated and intervals around the edge. I decided to rig this tarp in a diamond pattern, tying the ridge-line diagonally to maximize the length and overhead cover provided by doing so.

To make the rigging on this simple, I inserted a small, 500kg rated, screw locking carabiner into each eyelet on the corners. I looped my paracord through this and use them as my anchor points when tying the prusik hitches to the rigde-line. The addition of 2 paracord guy lines completed the rigging and this was erected using a evenk hitch and a truckers hitch in 5 minutes.

The hammock was then slung underneath and we had our shelter in case of any rain.

We spent the next hour pottering around in the woods. I didn’t get chance to take any photographs of the wood gas stove and marshmallows in action as a gentleman walking his dog stopped to have a conversation about my set up and it transpired he was a hammock camper too!

After an hour, with the wind picking up and my wife getting colder, it was time to pack the camp down and away, hammock first and tarp second to leave no trace once we left.

Most people would consider Bushcraft and the people who practice it as spending extended periods in the outdoors, isolated from civilization, surviving on berries and killed animals. This just isn’t the case. If I can’t get out overnight but I can get out for an hour, I use that time to still immerse myself in nature and practice my skills, try out new kit and techniques so that I don’t fall foul if I was out overnight.This is exactly what today was about. I got to spend time with my family, be in the outdoors and practice the tying of my tarp knots, the rigging of a new tarp and the gathering of fuel to get my wood gas stove started.

All in all it was a nice wilderness walk and bushy outing.

Boesman, Mini B and The Wife

DIY Woodgas stove – Make it, pack it, cook it, eat it

One of the most important things when spending time out in the wild is to be able to make fire and harness it to cook food and sterilize water.

The simplest way to do so is to make an open fire, but sometimes this can prove very problematic dependent on the weather and materials available. A good way to alleviate this is to pack some type of fire making kit or stove to help making a fire easier and also help with harnessing the fire into a specific position.

There are quite a few commercially available and DIY options, from commercially made hex stoves to methylated spirits penny stoves to what I am going to show today in a DIY woodgas stove. The reason I have opted for a woodgas stove over the others is that you have to carry no fuel for the woodgas stove as it is fueled by small twigs, feather-sticks and tinder; all of which can be gathered in the wild. The hex stove and the penny stove both require you to not only carry something to start the fire but to also carry the fuel to burn.

So what is a woodgas stove I hear you cry? Well it’s basically a small metal container fixed within a bigger container. The smaller container is where the fire burns and the convective currents of air act between the smaller and larger containers to stoke the fire more efficiently and it’s all fueled by wood!

In order to build your own woodgas stove you will need the following items:

• Small tin can I.E. soup can
• Large tin can I.E. coffee tin/large tinned product such as potatoes
• Electric drill with 9mm and 3mm drill bits
• Tin snips/Scissors

Once you have the above I would advise you to watch the YouTube video on how to put one together and get going with making one!

Here is the one I made. I carry it with some dry grass as well as cotton wool balls covered in Vaseline to aid starting the fire. A ferro rod provides the spark and it will light every time.

I think you will pleasantly surprised with the results for very minimal effort and not only that, it costs nothing! You are going to be recycling and will be able to make a brew or cook your food efficiently in the wilderness without the worry of fire spread.

Please leave us a comment telling us how quickly it boiled your cup of water, ours takes 3 minutes which is ideal for a wuick cuppa1

Boesman and Mini B