Saturday, February 24, 2007

More gear!

So, I am working on completely kitting out a rucksack designed specifically for bushcraft overnights. I have worked out the gear so far, and have either ordered it, own it, or am awaiting financial resources to aquire it. In no particular order, here is the list of what I have, will have, or want:
Karrimor 45L rucksack, with external pockets. Everywhere I've read, this has been suggested for a decent weekend pack. I had to order one from the UK, and it cost quite a bit of money. So, as I await its arrival, I'll collect everything else. Review will follow.
Military Sleep System- This is essentially a winter bag, a summer bag, and a goretex bivvy bag, that can all be snapped together. Very rugged, I've had mine for years.
DD Hammock-another piece of gear that comes highly recommended. I only once spent a weekend in a hammock, when I was 14, and it was a miserable experience, to say the least. But, I have acquired a wealth of knowledge since then, and am willing to give it a try again. Besides, I once fell asleep walking, in the Army...so, how bag can a night in a hammock REALLY be? ;)
Swedish Army Stove- one word-GREAT! This stove, although heavy, is idiot proof, and works in any weather. And, its cheap!
1L canteen-NATO issue, with aluminum cup. Ah, holds water.
Mora Knife-with a nice leather bushcraft sheath.
Swedish firesteel-ferro rod & striker. Nice & simple for starting fires.
Poncho-military, for shelter.
First Aid Kit-I have an AMK ultralight .7-I havent added anything to it other than hand sanitizer.
Survival Kit-I'll go over this in detail in another post.
AMK heatsheet-an emergency blanket, just in case.
cordage-I could tie up a battalion of boy scouts!
Food-whatever I feel like putting in there. currently, I have a mac & cheese dinner, two packets of oatmeal, 5 packets of cocoa, and 4 instant coffee packets.
Clothing-appropriate for the season.
Sleeping mat-a Z-rest 3/4 length.
Wet weather bag-Army issue, turned inside out.
Flashlight-if I remember to pack something other than the one on my keychain, I use a princeton tec micro whatever its called. Its tiny!
Shovel-Army issue tri-fold. The blade part is sharp, and can double as a light duty axe.
Axe-cheapo one I picked up at a hardware store. I dont normally chop trees down, and it sits mostly in the back of my jeep. It goes in if I remember to put it in, but, not normally carried.
Saw-I have a Gerber hand saw, with a retractable blade. I havent tried it out yet, but, it looks like it will do the job. Next time I go out for a day, I am going to try it out building a lean-to. TRhe blade retracts right into the handle for nice, easy packing.
Thats it in a nutshell. It will be interesting to see if I can get all this into the rucksack when it arrives. you may notice that quite a bit of stuff in there is military issue. Being an ex-grunt, I've come to appreciate the functionality and ruggedness of army issue gear. I normally am a light hiker, and have a LOT of gear designed specifically for that. An ultralight pack, stove, sleeping bag, all that. But, for general bushcraft, where I am going to be less than nice (read: abusive) to my gear, nothing beats military issue. As most of my bushcraft stuff is done within 2 miles of my jeep, I dont really hump it very far. Besides, the gear total may weigh around 30 lbs or so, which isnt all that bad. Now that I think about it, I may weigh both my hiking setup and my bushcraft setup, item for item, and compare weights. That sounds like an excellent project! Stay tuned!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Very nice blog!